Wow, that sounds exactly like it!! Hmmm . . . stress. Definitely could be--D.C. is not known to be a low-stress place to live! And it seems like it does feed on itself, and the more he thinks about it/focuses on it, the worse the manifestations are. The mind is an amazing thing. The thing is, how do you convince someone that their (very real to them) symptoms are, well, not real, and just in their head?! That's the thing. Thanks for the reply! It really does help to know that there are other people who have experienced this same sensation--none of his friends/family can relate!

This is a little hard to explain, but I'm going to try to do it without going into too many details and revealing who I'm talking about. We have a friend who has felt for the past 4 months that he has been infested with something--that little bugs are crawling around on him, in his ears, etc. He says he's "itchy", but he doesn't really seem to scratch at all. It seems like the problem is more the sensation of things crawling around, biting, on him. It started when he went on a business trip to Colorado. He stayed in a cheaper motel, and when he came back, the itchiness had started. For awhile he was very concerned that he was going to infest his whole family and anyone he came in contact with, but no one in his house--not even his wife!--has ever had any of these same feelings. He treated himself for scabies, lice--pretty much every thing you can think of, even though he really didn't have the physical symptoms of anything. SO, it sounds like he's cracking up, right? But see, he's not the kind of person who would just make up symptoms! It's just so weird to watch. He has been several times to a family practice doctor, to a dermatologist, and also he's had an MRI. Nothing has shown up, although no one really did anything, like take skin scrapings or anything. He doesn't have any visible symptoms. A psychiatrist might be helpful, but since he is military with clearances, there is no way on earth he would go there and have that kind of thing on his record. A few weeks ago, a friend at his church told him that he had experienced these same feelings, and that is was a "bird mite" infestation, from a birds' nest right outside their window. I googled bird mites, and while the symptons do seem to be similar, a lot of stuff doesn't exactly fit, like that fact that no one else has ever felt these things, and also that they started the beginning of March, which is not when birds are leaving the nest (esp. in COlorado!), and that seems to be the key for when these mites would invade a house or person. His poor wife is about to go crazy, and I really don't know what to say. Does anyone have any ideas? Known anyone who ever felt anything like this?!

I had a terrible rash at about the same time in my fifth pregnancy. It started under my arms and on my back, and also spread to my tummy, and it was SOOOO itchy. It never sounded exactly like anything (puppp or anything else), but I just lived with it, and about a month later or so, it went away. My OB had wanted me to see an endocrinologist, but I had gotten a waiver to go to an off-base doctor for that pregnancy, and I knew I would never be able to get a referral from Tricare to see an off-base endocrinologist (and I couldn't face the military system, LOL), so that's why I just tried to ignore the whole thing. Here's the thing for me, though--that pregnancy was my first girl! I had already had the ultrasound, which the doc said showed the baby was a girl, but I was skeptical (after 4 boys). When I got the rash, however, I started thinking maybe it WAS a girl, and the hormones were just different or something, since I had never experienced anything like it in any of my previous pregnancies. It was a girl, but so was my next baby, and I didn't have any mysterious rashes then! Maybe I was used to the hormones . . . I'm pregnant again, so I guess we'll see what happens this time! I wish relief for you! Hang in there!

I think all of the recent Graco models fit with Graco carseats. For our last baby, I bought a Graco infant seat (since our other infant seat was too old), and then I bought a Graco double stroller (the Duo Glider) off of Craig's list. They were within a few year's of each other, and they snapped together just great! It is still a heavy stroller, but boy, it sure is a lot nicer and lighter and easier to fold up and maneuver than the double stroller I bought 9 years ago when we had our second one! That thing (also a Graco) was such a bear! Strollers really have come a long ways!

I always add 4 eggs, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup veg oil, and one small package of an appropriate pudding flavor (usually chocolate or vanilla) to any cake mix I use (instead of whatever proportion they call for on the back of the box). The cakes are never dry--and since I have a lot of kids, it seems like I am always making a cake for someone's birthday!

That's wonderful! So exciting! I had been wondering what ended up happening--I figured if it HAD been twins, you would have posted right away, LOL! Your son must be over the moon to be having a little brother finally!! My boys are hoping for a boy this time too. We'll see!

Doolies! Air Force 4th classmen are called doolies! A gift card would certainly be the most useful. Our best friends' son just went to USAFA 2 yers ago, and we got him an iron, of all things (he requested it, LOL). The absolute best gift you could possibly give him is letters each week while he is in basic cadet training--from the end of June until mid-August. They have no contact with anyone outside except for letters, and it is a physically and mentally draining time. Letters, even about boring, mundane stuff, are so encouraging, because they know people are thinking about them. When we were stationed there (my DH was in charge of a squadron of cadets), the ones who had regular support from family and friends back home went throught the tough times with such a better attitude.

Wow, we just got back on Tuesday from a similar trip!! We drove out to Salt Lake for a wedding, then up to Yellowstone, over to Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands, and then back here to Virginia. It was 5600 miles and 21 days! We had a wonderful time, with lots of good books on CD to pass the time and the miles. We especially enjoyed listening to The Long Winter while driving across South Dakota. I wished we had another day so we could take a side trip up to De Smet and see where it all happened! Have a wonderful trip, and pack warmly because it is still pretty chilly up in Yellowstone!

My dh had many long talks with Tricare and also ds's primary doctor back at Bethesda. Finally the dr authorized him to go to the ER because she wanted it looked at, rather than waiting another whole week (yay!). They took x-rays and cut it off there. One of the bones was not completely healed, but they didn't re-cast it. The doc just put a splint on the arm. DS is thrilled because he can bend his arm now (his cast was past his elbow, so we'd have never been able to wiggle it off!). We'll have it checked at Bethesda in a week when we get home. I was so glad to be able to wash BOTH of his hands!

We are seriously considering it. Our 4 year-old boy broke his arm April 25. He had a temporary cast put on, and then a week later the arm was x-rayed to make sure things were healing correctly and the permanent cast was put on. The cast was supposed to come off last Tuesday (May 27), but we are 2200 miles from home visiting family in Utah. We thought the local Air Force base could remove it, but it turns out they don't have an ortho clinic, so that stuff is all done off-base. We have been trying to get a Tricare referral, but it is taking forever. We're supposed to leave today to drive to Yellowstone for the next few days, then on to Mt. Rushmore, and eventually home the middle of next week. Because of Tricare's slowness, we aren't going to be able to get it off today, and I am so ready for the stinky thing to come off!!I really do not want to wait ANOTHER more than a week till we can get back and get an appointment at Bethesda. So here's my question--doctors always say avoid water like the plague because the cast will not hold up in it. So . . . if he were to say, fall in the pool or something, and the cast just fell off. . . would that be okay? : ) Would it really just slide off in a pile of muck? Sigh. I'm tired of military medicine. And I'm very tired of stinky casts and grimy hands on little boys too.

Oh my goodness!!! How exciting! I will certainly be waiting anxiously for the u/s results! One baby could have been hiding behind the other at the first u/s, right, especially if she was just doing it quickly?! Wow, I bet that got your heart going! I know I would have been shocked! : )

Well, I do both. I scrapbooked a while before I ever started blogging, and the pictures are very important to me. I started blogging as a way to keep my far-flung family updated on what we're doing, and it has really helped my family members "know" my children better (but not dh's family members, since they just won't read it!). The blog is more casual, and all from my point of view, pretty much, I guess like a quick journal. The scrapbook is more from a family view, and I think I would rather have that passed down. I often go back and look at the blog entry for an event I am scrapbooking, however, since it refreshes my memory. I think I've heard that you can get blogs printed into a book though? I would like to have that done at some point. I'm sure I'll need something to read over in my old age to bring me back to the time when I had all these little ones running around, making me crazy! : ) The pictures in my scrapbook remind me of what everyone looked like, and the blog reminds me of really individual moments, both good and bad!

I had one that someone gave me. It was a Motherhood one, but it wasn't very spandex-y. It must have been more cotton, because it took FOREVER to dry. Also, I felt like it . . . clung . . . too much, if you know what I mean. I never felt really comfortable in it, although I did wear it. But really it was just a tankini with an extra layer under the top part that had nursing slits. i always had a hard time fitting anything through those actual slits, so I ended up lifting up the whole thing and using a towel. By the end of summer, I had just bought a tankini from Lands End, and I was much happier!

LOL, I just say the number, like "We head west on 70 and then north on 75" or something. Or maybe "I-70". No article in front, though. You would definitely get priority on AF bases as well. I know you can call now and make reservations, whereas we who are trying to stay space-A have to wait until the day before to call. Rooms sure are cheap though--less than $40 a night usually, and often the lodging is housing units that are furnished, so you would get a 2 or 3 bedroom place. Works great for our big crew! : )

Okay, I'm back. I've nursed and looked at your route. I also dug up an old "Military Travel Guide, USA" that has info on all the installations CONUS. Here's what looks like it's on your route: Luke AFB, Phoenix, AZ-- lodging phone number is 623-856-3941 Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM-- 505-846-9652 Tinker AFB, Oklahoma City, OK-- 405-734-7426 Little Rock AFB, Little Rock, AR-- 501-987-6753/6652 As far as how far to go in a day, 500 miles takes us about 8 hours with just bathroom/food stops. We try to go about 600 miles, no more than 700 miles, in a day. I use http://www.randmcnally.com/rmc/directions/dirGetMileageInput.jsp?cmty=0, this mileage website, to determine mileage between cities, when I'm trying to plan out our stopping points. I hope this is helpful! Where are you starting out from? San Diego? Feel free to ask me about any other locations, or more specifics about any of the bases. Air Force lodging is usually really nice.

Because I'm sure you could stay in Air Force and Army temp. quarters as well, esp. on orders. Hmm, I'm trying to think of a website that has a map of all military installations CONUS, but I can't think of one, and I don't have time to google right now. We're leaving Monday for a big trip west for a wedding. We're going to try to stay at F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming and Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, and that's just space-A! As far as hotels go, we have 6 kids, and it is always hard to find rooms. We pretty much always stay in the Comfort Inn family of hotels (www.choicehotels.com) because a LOT of them have rooms with 2 beds and a 2-person pull-out sofa. We usually get the phone number of the place we are thinking about staying off the internet, and then make the reservations by calling the hotel directly. We've found that often the local places don't even care that there will be 8 in a room, especially when they find out how young our kids are (the youngest 2 are still in pack-n-plays). This usually means we have to stop somewhere near a bigger city to find hotels with the 2 bed/pull-out sofa rooms, but we're usually able to do it. But we definitely can't just stop when we feel like stopping--everything has to be very well-planned! I hope it all works out!

It turned out that Marie in OH and I knew each other in college (Cedarville U.). We were both married while students, and our husbands were both in the Air Force, and we even went to the same dining out once! Now they live in Ohio again, and we're here in Northern VA. My dh happened to put a copy of our Christmas letter on the desk of his boss, who he knew was a Christian and whose wife also homeschooled. (They live on the other side of the city, however, so our families had never met). The boss's wife started reading my blog, and she is good friends with Marie in OH. She figured out that we might have known each other--and she was right! How fun to reconnect with someone from your past, and realize that you really have a lot in common!

It's just too stressful to go out with everyone when the whole world is also going out. I told dh I wanted a day with no dishes, so we ate left-overs on paper plates, LOL. Actually, he took me out to eat on a date Friday night. Now THAT was a nice celebration! I love being a mom, but I also really, really enjoy celebrating that by myself or with other moms. I guess I am adult-time deprived, LOL.

I've always sent in a copy. I used to send in my test results and NOI in together--only one envelope to send registered! Now we do the NOI online too, since we're also in Loudoun.

We have a 2000 Odyssey with 137,000 trouble-free miles on it, as well as an 8 seat Sienna that we bought a year and a half ago, before we had our 6th baby. To be honest, I love both vans. We wouldn't have bought the Sienna if we hadn't run out of room in the Odyssey. We've been very pleased with our Ody. But I also love, love, love the Sienna. I don't think you can go wrong with either one!

We just had this go through our house a month ago. Even with vigilant handwashing, almost all 8 of us got it, and it spread to both eyes for us. I had a hangnail on my right middle finger, and that got infected with the staph bacteria too. My finger swelled up, and I ended up having to have it lanced at the hospital, which was so incredibly painful I thought I was going to vomit and pass out. It was horrible!! We have had viral pinkeye as well, in years past. The drainage is not as thick, although it lasts longer. It's contagious too, unfortunately. Cool chamomile tea on cloths on the eye is very soothing--I discovered that after googling when we were dealing with it all.

I've tried shutting everything down. I've checked the printer settings, but I can't find anything remotely related to HTML. They all seem to be dealing with paper, direction, color, etc. I reinstalled the printer driver on one printer, but that didn't do anything either. Wow, nothing like having 2 good printers, one of them even fairly expensive, and not being able to figure out why they're not printing the right stuff! I'm just so frustrated. Thank you both for the suggestions though. I appreciate the help! Claire

Has anyone ever had this happen?! My crazy printer has started only spewing out pages and pages of HTML code when I try to print something off a website. I can't even figure out who to ask for help! Boy, I never realized how much I actually print off the internet--recipes, coupons, hotel reservations, emails, etc.--until I can't print them anymore! I am so frustrated. We have an HP laser jet printer, as well as an HP all-in-one, and both of them are printing the same gibberish, so it seems like a problem with the computer? I am so not technically minded. Grrr!

Can anyone recommend a good place to stay just for a few nights near Yellowstone? We have a wedding to attend in Utah in May, and we were thinking we'd visit Yellowstone on the way back. We can't camp, since we won't have room to bring any camping stuff across the country, but it doesn't have to be anything too fancy. The catch is that there are 8 of us, although the youngest 2 are still in pack-n-plays (ages 1 and 2), and some suite-type hotels let us all stay in one room if we call and ask the hotel directly. Or maybe we should try a cabin thing, and not a hotel at all? Also, any good hikes to recommend, especially with kids? I guess I need to head to the library and start looking around on-line as well, but thought I'd ask here first! Thanks! : )

I must have been about the same age because I know we were stationed in Okinawa at the time. I started seeing discharge on my underwear, so I immediately began throwing my underwear in the closet (not the hamper because I didn't want my mom to know, not that she was paying a bit of attention to my underwear, LOL) and thinking that something was dreadfully wrong with me. Eventually my mom did notice that I no longer had any underwear in the wash, and so I had to confess my dread disease symptoms. She laughed and told me that was perfectly normal. And it must have been because I never had any problems! I didn't start my period for another few years though--maybe 2-3 more years. I guess things were just gearing up.