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Post by mom on Feb 15, 2017 7:04:18 GMT
Don't be dumb like me. When my kids were growing up we barely ever drank but had alcohol in the house for parties. We kept the vodka in the freezer, and one day we tried some and it had gone bad and turned watery. So we threw it out. Ten years later I overheard my kids talking about how mom and dad were oblivious to them taking the vodka out of the bottle and pouring in water. I thought I was such an aware parent. Oh my gosh this is hilarious!
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Post by mom on Feb 15, 2017 7:08:56 GMT
Our beer is stored in the fridge in my husband's man cave. There isn't much in there, though. The 'good stuff' is stored in my pantry, in the top cabinet. Not locked. I have two teenage boys, and both have had sip of alcohol. Dh and I are not major drinkers - I only drink liquor and DH only drinks beer.
We have always taught our kids that drinking responsibly is key. Never, ever drink and drive. And my DH and I don't drink and drive. I know my boys will drink as they get older - I just want them to be responsible about it.
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msliz
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The Procrastinator
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Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Feb 15, 2017 11:40:27 GMT
We keep beer in the refrigerator, wine in a wine rack, and a bottle of Baileys where I make my coffee. It's always been accessible, but my kids (now 18, 18, and 13) were never interested. We've offered them tastes over the years, so it's not like it's a forbidden substance. They understand that there are times/ places when consumption is appropriate and when it absolutely is not appropriate. I'm not so worried about their friends being around it, but if they chose different friends I could see that changing.
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Dalai Mama
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Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Feb 15, 2017 13:24:57 GMT
I understand what you are saying Gennifer . I'm still scared to try alcohol. It's more of not knowing how I'll handle it, what is my limit kind of thing. I feel like I have to always be very alert because of my son with special needs. My husband has a drink or 2 on the weekends. He doesn't lock up the alcohol. It's taken me years to get to this point... one of the best pieces of advice I had was to drink enough to get buzzed at least once, just so I can recognize the feeling. I've yet to get drunk, and don't anticipate wanting to ever. But, yeah, it's hard knowing what are the acceptable levels: Can I drive after having a drink with dinner? How much does it take to get drunk? Will I know I am? These are all things that other people figure out in their twenties. My brother and I had a friend growing up who drove away from a party and wrapped her car around a tree.
Will you know that you are drunk? Probably. But, if you are too impaired to drive, will you be able to judge whether the person who is driving you home has had too much to drink? Much less likely.
After our friend's accident, my brother and I agreed to zero tolerance (he was 17, I was 16) and that has extended to our husbands and kids. The person responsible for driving home doesn't drink, period. Not a glass of wine with dinner, not a 'just one is fine'.
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Post by mom on Feb 15, 2017 15:15:29 GMT
It's taken me years to get to this point... one of the best pieces of advice I had was to drink enough to get buzzed at least once, just so I can recognize the feeling. I've yet to get drunk, and don't anticipate wanting to ever. But, yeah, it's hard knowing what are the acceptable levels: Can I drive after having a drink with dinner? How much does it take to get drunk? Will I know I am? These are all things that other people figure out in their twenties. My brother and I had a friend growing up who drove away from a party and wrapped her car around a tree.
Will you know that you are drunk? Probably. But, if you are too impaired to drive, will you be able to judge whether the person who is driving you home has had too much to drink? Much less likely.
After our friend's accident, my brother and I agreed to zero tolerance (he was 17, I was 16) and that has extended to our husbands and kids. The person responsible for driving home doesn't drink, period. Not a glass of wine with dinner, not a 'just one is fine'.
That is our rule as well. If I am drinking in restaurant , then DH isn't. Our boys know that if they have one sip - of anything - that I or DH will come get them and they will not be in trouble. No lecturing, no questions asked. I never want them to think they have to hide they've drank (and then drove). We extend the same offer to our kids friends - no questions asked, no lecturing, we will get you home safe.
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Post by leftturnonly on Feb 15, 2017 15:47:40 GMT
I understand what you are saying Gennifer . I'm still scared to try alcohol. It's more of not knowing how I'll handle it, what is my limit kind of thing. I feel like I have to always be very alert because of my son with special needs. My husband has a drink or 2 on the weekends. He doesn't lock up the alcohol. A safe, general rule of thumb is to limit yourself to one drink or less (part of a drink) when someone else is around to help with your son (so you don't feel guilty). Have a glass of water to sip on as well as something to eat. You might feel the alcohol a little, but you won't become incapacitated. I'm sure that a lot of people will think that advice is being overly cautious. I don't drink to get drunk, so I don't have a problem with that criticism. Gennifer - the thought to lock up any liquor never even crossed my mind. I can totally understand how different this must be for you.
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,004
Jun 26, 2014 8:22:26 GMT
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Post by Gennifer on Feb 15, 2017 16:38:05 GMT
Man... a lot of variation here. You guys have given me a lot to think about, so thanks.
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Post by krc11 on Feb 15, 2017 17:42:26 GMT
I'm just going to say that my parents (usually my mom) used to have a cocktail every once in a while when we kids were young and they socialized more. So there was a bottle of vodka and another liquor in the cabinet over the fridge and it had been there for years before I decided to sample. I can't remember when exactly that was - maybe late junior high or freshman high school. I put water in the bottle to fill the line to same position. They never knew. And I was the goody two shoes girl that never did anything wrong or got in trouble. And I never expressed an interest in alcohol to my parents. Just throwing that out there for all the people with kids with "no interest". Watch the bottles you do have and taste them once in a while to make sure the vodka isn't getting weaker.
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Post by krc11 on Feb 15, 2017 17:48:46 GMT
Don't be dumb like me. When my kids were growing up we barely ever drank but had alcohol in the house for parties. We kept the vodka in the freezer, and one day we tried some and it had gone bad and turned watery. So we threw it out. Ten years later I overheard my kids talking about how mom and dad were oblivious to them taking the vodka out of the bottle and pouring in water. I thought I was such an aware parent. My point exactly.
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Post by compwalla on Feb 15, 2017 20:18:45 GMT
You could decide to eschew liquor altogether. There are better alternatives.
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Post by red88 on Feb 16, 2017 2:56:54 GMT
I'm lucky enough to live in Oregon's wine country Me too! Are you in Yamhill county? Yes.
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Post by yivit on Feb 16, 2017 3:56:21 GMT
You could decide to eschew liquor altogether. There are better alternatives. If only I didn't have a clearance and the possibility of random tests... That said, the ONE time I got popped for a random test was shortly after DH passed. They do a UA and a breathalyzer. I'm guessing they bust way more peopl coming to work still legally intoxicated than they do on the list of drugs they UA-test for. ETA: all this booze talk made me make a toasted almond - amaretto, kahlua and heavy cream (except I didn't have HC so it's with milk) with cinnamon either sprinkled in or served with a cinnamon stick.
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Post by Neisey on Feb 16, 2017 4:08:02 GMT
ETA: all this booze talk made me make a toasted almond - amaretto, kahlua and heavy cream (except I didn't have HC so it's with milk) with cinnamon either sprinkled in or served with a cinnamon stick. That sounds delicious...is it equals parts each? I'd have to start with milk, although heavy cream sounds so yummy!
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Feb 16, 2017 5:56:10 GMT
ETA: all this booze talk made me make a toasted almond - amaretto, kahlua and heavy cream (except I didn't have HC so it's with milk) with cinnamon either sprinkled in or served with a cinnamon stick. That sounds delicious...is it equals parts each? I'd have to start with milk, although heavy cream sounds so yummy! ^^^ I agree! please post the recipe, yivit! yum!!
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Post by katiejane on Feb 16, 2017 6:32:43 GMT
Wine and beer is in the fridge and we have some spirits in a cupboard in the kitchen. No bar or cocktail cabinet. And not locked away. As for drinking and driving - not one drink it's not worth it.
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Post by Delta Dawn on Feb 16, 2017 8:20:20 GMT
If you are going to do pot, be careful with how much food you eat during the day. Also, edibles. The brownies were excellent but it was too much to eat. A bite of a gumdrop is sufficient and lasts most of the evening. (One doctor says no way, the other says I have tried everything else under the sun, why not give this a whirl.)
If you are going to drink, I am all about blender drinks. Margaritas, daiquiris and whatever else. If it's sweet and needs a parasol I am all about it!
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iluvpink
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,291
Location: Michigan
Jul 13, 2014 12:40:31 GMT
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Post by iluvpink on Feb 16, 2017 14:56:40 GMT
Ours is just out, not locked up or hidden. We don't drink often but we do usually have a few bottles of liquor on top of the fridge and some Mike's in it, maybe a bottle of wine.
I probably would lock it up but my dd has so many health needs that she has no social life and no pressure to drink, rarely, if ever has friends over these days. She's also on so many meds that absolutely can't be mixed with alcohol and is quite aware of how dangerous it is for her. She seems to know that alcohol will probably be something she can never drink. Now if for some reason I ever think her attitude has changed/she becomes rebellious, it will all be out of the house etc.
I will say that many years ago when dh and I were young newlyweds, we had my younger BIL living with us for a few months. At that time we pretty much never drank, didn't have any interest. However my FIL had given dh these mini bottles of liquor, I'm not sure why, he was moving and had a collection of them for some reason and no longer wanted them. Dh took them and just had them on a shelf in our finished basement and promptly forgot about them. And then BIL who was just eighteen moved in with us for a few months. We had a feeling he partied with friends at times but we didn't know for sure and we had forgotten all about the little bottles of liquor. Long story but we later found out he had drunk them and filled them with water/food coloring. We were young, naive, and rather straight laced so it never occurred to us to think he might drink them (plus we had really forgotten they were there at that point). At that same time we realized he had many problems so asked him to leave. Anyway just something to consider.
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DEX
Pearl Clutcher
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Aug 9, 2014 23:13:22 GMT
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Post by DEX on Feb 16, 2017 15:08:19 GMT
When my son was young the liquor was locked up. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. I definitely tried alcohol in HS. My son takes after me personality wise so I knew what he was capable of.
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Post by busy on Feb 16, 2017 15:16:16 GMT
Me too! Are you in Yamhill county? Yes. Waves hi from Washington County
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Post by quinlove on Feb 16, 2017 15:17:26 GMT
Growing up my parents socialized a lot and always had quite a bit of liquor in the house. They made a liquor cabinet out of an old console tv with wooden doors and drawers. Perfect. It was never locked. As a teen, I helped myself and my friends to this endless supply. When my parents noticed that bottles looked like some was missing, they put a line with nail polish on the bottle. So - I either took off the mark and added a new one or just added water. I don't recall ever really getting caught or in trouble over it.
Now, I rarely drink. I'll buy some Baileys or similar liquor with the anticipation of this unrealistic scene enjoying my drink, that just never happens. So the unopened or almost full bottle sits in the fridge forever until someone comes over and asks if they can have it/some because obviously my expectations over my fancy, smanchy cocktail hour by myself is not going to happen.
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Post by yivit on Feb 16, 2017 18:11:51 GMT
That sounds delicious...is it equals parts each? I'd have to start with milk, although heavy cream sounds so yummy! ^^^ I agree! please post the recipe, yivit ! yum!! Depends on which recipe you read. Most say equal parts, but if I'm using milk instead of heavy cream I usually do 2 parts milk, 1 part kahlua, 1 part amaretto. Cinnamon to taste (tip: mixing the cinnamon in with the liqueurs before adding the cold dairy prevents some of the clumping you may get - you can strain if bursts of cinnamon powder offend you LOL). Typically served over ice, but if your dairy is cold enough I say skip the ice (just in case you don't drink it fast enough to prevent the drink from watering down - I never have that problem)
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StephDRebel
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Jul 5, 2014 1:53:49 GMT
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Post by StephDRebel on Feb 16, 2017 19:53:46 GMT
Don't be dumb like me. When my kids were growing up we barely ever drank but had alcohol in the house for parties. We kept the vodka in the freezer, and one day we tried some and it had gone bad and turned watery. So we threw it out. Ten years later I overheard my kids talking about how mom and dad were oblivious to them taking the vodka out of the bottle and pouring in water. I thought I was such an aware parent. Oh my gosh this is hilarious! This was many aunt and I (Same age) My grandpa thought he was building up a tolerance to his good gin and didn't realize until we confessed after we were grown and married that we were totally drinking it and replacing it with water.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Feb 16, 2017 20:03:06 GMT
I've offered my kids a sip of wine, mainly to deter them from wanting to drink right now. Right now, we have the alcohol in a cabinet above the wall ovens, so it's fairly high, but certainly where my teenagers could reach it if they wanted. I want to normalize drinking for adults, but I also don't want them to think that it's free game for them at this stage in their life. I just really have no idea what normal people do, since alcohol isn't a thing people in my life do, or have ever done. Normal people do all kinds of things I don't like wine and dh and I used to drink in our younger days, but we don't usually have alcohol in the house. For no reason other than we just don't drink it much. He has a beer occasionally, he'll sometimes pick up a 6 pack for a camping trip. I had a drink at the concert on Monday night, he didn't. I usually only drink at my 3 day music festival every year.
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Post by gorgeouskid on Feb 18, 2017 16:28:53 GMT
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stittsygirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,580
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Jun 25, 2014 19:57:33 GMT
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Post by stittsygirl on Feb 18, 2017 16:46:58 GMT
Thanks for starting this thread, Gennifer. I got drunk once in high school (Mormon kids can party with the best of them ), and have tried alcohol a couple of times since then, but I just don't have a taste for it. My husband, on the other hand, discovered he loves vodka, lol. I too want my kids to have a healthy relationship with alcohol if they choose to drink as adults, and we are trying to figure out how to navigate that. Despite my Mormon upbringing, my grandmother in Bountiful was an alcoholic, and it helped lead to her death. And my grandfather on the other side owned one of the very few bars in Provo for decades. My inactive dad would sneak beer in on occasion to, and I would see him drink it. It was all very confusing for a young Mormon girl who was being taught that alcohol was so evil to see these people she loved drinking it.
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Post by refugeepea on Feb 18, 2017 19:10:01 GMT
Despite my Mormon upbringing, my grandmother in Bountiful was an alcoholic, and it helped lead to her death. And my grandfather on the other side owned one of the very few bars in Provo for decades. My inactive dad would sneak beer in on occasion to, and I would see him drink it. It was all very confusing for a young Mormon girl who was being taught that alcohol was so evil to see these people she loved drinking it. For me, it wasn't necessarily an evil thing but a Word of Wisdom thing. I couldn't "sin" because it was in the scriptures. My beloved grandpa admitted to joining the church only because he wanted to play church ball. A requirement way back in the early 1900's. I couldn't equate it as evil because even though my grandpa was technically Mormon, he rarely ever went to church. So in my TBM mind at the time, he didn't truly understand the scriptures. Same with his coffee drinking. He loved his beer and my dad would buy it for him at our local small town store and not say a word to the town gossip owner. Even with 2 alcoholic uncles, it was more of they need to stop because they are addicts. Both of my parents didn't come from strong Mormon families. It's so odd how it's different now with my siblings; all TBM. Same with my nieces and nephews. We are definitely the black sheep. ETA: If I had seen my dad do this who was not terribly active because of constantly working, I would have had conflicting feelings for sure.
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Dalai Mama
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Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Feb 18, 2017 19:21:15 GMT
I'm just going to say that my parents (usually my mom) used to have a cocktail every once in a while when we kids were young and they socialized more. So there was a bottle of vodka and another liquor in the cabinet over the fridge and it had been there for years before I decided to sample. I can't remember when exactly that was - maybe late junior high or freshman high school. I put water in the bottle to fill the line to same position. They never knew. And I was the goody two shoes girl that never did anything wrong or got in trouble. And I never expressed an interest in alcohol to my parents. Just throwing that out there for all the people with kids with "no interest". Watch the bottles you do have and taste them once in a while to make sure the vodka isn't getting weaker. Honestly, even at that age, if my kids had wanted to taste alcohol, they just needed to ask. When I was 14, my family went out to dinner at a restaurant and they served me wine with dinner (French protectorate, perfectly legal). My parents didn't even mention it. I never binge-drank because there was never a need - alcohol wasn't forbidden and I was comfortable enough drinking reasonably around my parents.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Feb 18, 2017 22:13:21 GMT
It's taken me years to get to this point... one of the best pieces of advice I had was to drink enough to get buzzed at least once, just so I can recognize the feeling. I've yet to get drunk, and don't anticipate wanting to ever. But, yeah, it's hard knowing what are the acceptable levels: Can I drive after having a drink with dinner? How much does it take to get drunk? Will I know I am? These are all things that other people figure out in their twenties. My brother and I had a friend growing up who drove away from a party and wrapped her car around a tree.
Will you know that you are drunk? Probably. But, if you are too impaired to drive, will you be able to judge whether the person who is driving you home has had too much to drink? Much less likely.
After our friend's accident, my brother and I agreed to zero tolerance (he was 17, I was 16) and that has extended to our husbands and kids. The person responsible for driving home doesn't drink, period. Not a glass of wine with dinner, not a 'just one is fine'.
Same. My friend died. It's a zero sum game for me. I'm almost always the driver.
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Dalai Mama
Drama Llama
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Posts: 6,985
Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Feb 18, 2017 23:01:36 GMT
My brother and I had a friend growing up who drove away from a party and wrapped her car around a tree.
Will you know that you are drunk? Probably. But, if you are too impaired to drive, will you be able to judge whether the person who is driving you home has had too much to drink? Much less likely.
After our friend's accident, my brother and I agreed to zero tolerance (he was 17, I was 16) and that has extended to our husbands and kids. The person responsible for driving home doesn't drink, period. Not a glass of wine with dinner, not a 'just one is fine'.
Same. My friend died. It's a zero sum game for me. I'm almost always the driver. My friend lived which was probably even a better lesson for the rest of us as we got to see her daily struggles with talking, moving her limbs, remembering her family. Going to my brother's for my BIL's birthday tonight. We're walking there and back.
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Post by bdhudak on Feb 18, 2017 23:21:46 GMT
Those that host- stand to loose- lock it up. When our kids were in high school and had lots of friends over often- diverse groups- all ages- we locked the bottle's up and the beer. We have a roll top desk with a lockable file drawer, kept in our bedroom. This is for the spirits. We bought a small fridge for our beer to keep chilled. This too is lockable and is in our laundry room. The fridge for the teens is in the garage stocked with pop and water. They grab what they want. We felt with under age guests in the house- locking it up meant our peace of mind.
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