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AFwife Claire

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Posts posted by AFwife Claire

  1. Actually 2 weddings, one week apart. I have looked at the mall in the usual department stores, but it seems like everything out there is a halter sundress in bold geometric patterns. I'm not excited about showing off my arms, but my main problem is that I have a poochy tummy from having 6 kids! All the dresses seem to have a belt or something that accentuates the waistline--exactly what I do not want!

     

    What I would like is a dress with maybe an empire waistline (is that what it's called when the dress drops down from under the bustline?), in a nice solid color and a fabric that doesn't scream "ah yes--the wedding season of '08", LOL. I'm thinking I'll have to look online. Does anyone have any recommendations for sites that have nice, classic dresses (that aren't outrageously expensive, since it's not actually me getting married, LOL)?

     

    Thanks so much. The only thing worse than shopping all day in a mall for dresses is not finding anything, so I'm ready to be done with all that! : )

  2. just over the Fairfax County line (just past Reston, actually). I definitely agree that anywhere in the Beltway that is north west is probably just fine. and I think trying to live close to a metro station is an excellent idea as well. We really are not that close to one, and it does limit our downtown trips, I think. We still get there though!

     

    I have enjoyed NoVA a lot more that I expected to. We were transferred here, and I thought we would be itching to go at 3 years, but here it will be 4 years this summer, and we are staying another year! I have found it to be a wonderful place to homeschool. There are a lot of women who have similar standards to mine who homeschool here, so I definitely don't feel like I don't fit in, what with the Latin, etc, LOL. And like someone else said, there are a TON of activities for homeschoolers of all ages and all interests. I can forward you a SHARENET email that basicaly tells everything homeschooling-wise that is going on for the whole NoVA area if you are interested.

     

    Feel free to ask me any more questions too! One thing is for sure--housing prices may still be expensive compared to other areas, but they sure have dropped like a rock in the last 2 years! Houses are MUCH more affordable now (comparatively), I think, and there are no crazy bidding wars, etc., like when we moved here! : )

     

    I don't know if my email shows up somewhere, or even if I put it in my profile anywhere, so it's bcbolha at aol (dot com of course).

  3. Ours suddenly died a few weeks ago. We read up on dishwashers in the Consumer Reports at the library (I think one of the latest issues--March, I believe--has the article on dishwashers). A Kenmore was rated #1, although it was more like ~$700. That is the dishwasher we were planning on getting, except that over the course of about a week, we had the worst experience dealing with the salemen at Sears, so finally we just bought a Bosch from Lowes, LOL. It was really bizarre.

     

    I will list off what ones Consumer Reports recommends in the top 20 that are $500 or less for you--that was you won't have to go to the library yourself! : )

     

    7. Whirlpool DU1055XTS $350 (This is a CR Best Buy)

    12. Kenmore 1373 $500

    21. Whirlpool DU1100XTP [also DU1145XTP and 1148XTP] $450

     

    Also, #10, which is Bosch SHE33MOUC ($540) is another CR Best Buy, although a little more expensive.

     

    I think all the dishwashers are a lot quieter now, which is a good thing because what surprised me the most was how LONG all the cycle times are--close to 2 hours, sometimes longer! You need something quiet for that long!

     

    Hope this helps! Feel free to ask me more questions! It's funny, after spending a lot of time buying an appliance, I feel like some kind of expert--decibel levels, silverware rack advantages and disadvantages in design, wash times, etc., etc., etc--I'm all over that right now! : )

  4. A virus has been going around both dh and ds9 had it. It included pink eyes, like you described, a cold, sore throat, little cough, slight fever. It lasted about a week and a half from start to finish. This "eye cold" went through a few other families as well.

     

    Hmmm . . . a week and a half . . . Well, it could have included vomiting, so I should be counting my blessings that it is just pinkeye/cold! : )

  5. Does anyone know how to tell this? We've been dealing with pinkeye since last Wednesday, and I'm PRETTY sure it's viral. It just doesn't seem that bad, you know? The eyes are a little matted together upon waking, but then throughout the day, gunky stuff appears in the eye, but not overwhelming amounts. The thing is it has just been hanging around. Everyone has good days, with very little gunk and redness, and then days with a lot more gunk. Like me today. I thought I was pretty much over it, but today has been worse. We have 6 kids, my dh is TDY, and I am so ready to be done with all this!!

     

    Anyhow, the reason I'm asking is that I am going to have to make an appointment tomorow for myself (for a completely unrelated problem--I have an infected hangnail, of all things!), and I thought I would at least make an appointment for my oldest son as well, who seems to have pinkeye the worst. Also, he has a sore throat and is running a fever, so I want him to be tested for strep. But I want to make sure I shouldn't also make appointments for some of the others who are still having pinkeye problems. One son is finally all better, 2 sons never got it, but my 2 daughters are gunky, but not in much discomfort. I wouldn't just on my own take them in. Oh, and this military clinic will not see other family members if you haven't made separate appointments for them, and I won't be able to get many appointments tomorrow either. : ( Lovely military medicine.

     

    SO, back to my original question: does this sound viral, in which case it will just need to run its course? Or does it sound like antibiotics might possibly help, and everyone is needlessly suffering because I haven't taken everyone in yet?

     

    Thanks!

  6. They are older (in their 80's) and do not have a computer, so I couldn't email like I do the rest of dh's family. But I also know how much they enjoy getting my letters and reading them. My in-laws are a crusty bunch. They are definitely people who don't want to be happy, so amazingly enough, nothing ever makes them happy. When we were first married, my MIL didn't like me much. She didn't know me at all, but she thought I was "after Bob's money", "not smart enough", and she was concerned about our marriage because I "didn't know how to ski or play tennis". I was pretty hurt by all this because I really couldn't imagine anyone not wanting me as a daughter-in-law, LOL, but I started writing her letters. Just chatty, updating ones, but they made such a huge difference in our relationship. We're not close by any means, because that's not really their style, but they like me and are glad I married their son. What a difference! She just told me last week how people will call and leave messages or talk briefly on the phone, but no one else takes the time to write them letters, and she liked that, even though she knew I was the busiest since I have the most children of all dh's siblings.

     

    Of course, I don't write anyone else, LOL. One reason I like scrapbooking so much is that I handwrite my journaling, and I feel that it's important to have my thoughts be in my handwriting, so my kids, grandkids, etc. can see that. Handwriting is so unique for everyone! I do think we're losing something precious by never writing stuff anymore--although in most cases I am too lazy to do anything about it! : )

  7. It's been about one decade since the scrapbooking craze took off and I'm just wondering how much scrappin' you moms do. Here are my questions:

     

    1. How often do you scrapbook?

    2. How important is scrapbooking to you?

    3. How would you describe your scrapbooking style?

    4. What drives you crazy about the scrapbook industry?

    5. Which scrapbook magazines do you subscribe to?

    6. Are you a digital or paper scrapbooker?

    7. Do you have a favorite scrapbook celebrity?

     

     

    1. Before we moved, I scrapbooked about once a month with my best friend, and maybe a few other times on my own. Now I have more children, plus I find I am just not as motivated to do it without having someone to do it with!

     

    2. It is very important to me. As others have said, I love watching my kids page through albums and remember things we've done. Each boy has his own little album (with 4 pages per year), and they love those things.

     

    3. My style is "get the page done", LOL. Simple pages, and a lot of pictures per page so I don't have to use too many pages. I use some paper to accent, and some stickers, but that's it. I do journal--that's very important to me, and I love that the kids will be able to see my handwriting when I'm gone!

     

    4. I don't like the emphasis on all the doo-dads in the scrapbooking industry. It's much too expensive for me.

     

    5. I don't subscribe to any now, but I used to get Simple Scrapbooks.

     

    6. Paper only

     

    7. No, I've never heard of any!

  8. The reason I ask this is because one of the light bulbs in a fixture in our basement fell out like that, shattering into a million pieces all over the floor. No one was down there at the time, thankfully, but when we discovered it, we couldn't figure out what had happened. Then we realized that the boys running around on the main floor had loosened all the bulbs, and there were actually several other loose ones too! We had to go around and tighten all the bulbs in the basement!

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