Yeah, she's right, because as homeschoolers, we never have to be anywhere by a certain time...therefore, our kids have absolutely NO experience getting up and getting themselves ready. For sure, they will enter the workforce baffled and confused when their boss expects them to be there early in the morning. :001_rolleyes: A hefty dose of snark--that's been my response when we've been asked that totally dumb question. I guess all those mornings of church, and co-op classes, and various appointments fail to teach our kids this life skill. Bummer.

My sister has volunteered with the SPCA and a no-kill cat shelter for years and is something of an "armchair expert" on pet behavior. This is the flyer she gives to her friends who want to introduce new pets to one another: http://www.animalhumanesociety.org/training/library/introducing-dogs-and-cats The biggest thing is to take it SLOW...since you didn't know to start out that way, just hit the virtual "redo" button and follow the recommendations above. It could be more difficult because they've already had a hasty introduction, but maybe the tips will help them adjust over time. Good luck!

I also DIY color my hair, but I MUCH prefer having it done at a salon. I use whatever product is on sale and/or I have a coupon for. I also use a highlighting kit to add more dimension to the color. Usually it turns out OK. People are usually surprised to hear I cut and color my own hair--but I have curly hair, so it's more forgiving. I am sure I could not get away with it if I had straight hair that showed all my scissoring flaws and uneven color! I also use the root-touch-up kits between coloring sessions.

As a hopeful adoptive mom, I also get giddy over stories like this! Congrats to your friends!

Lenny Kravitz's "Fly Away" is my anthem when I'm overwhelmed. It always makes me feel better to belt out those lyrics! Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" works pretty well, too. :lol: "Maybe I'm cray-zay...maybe I'm cray-zay..."

How long did you live there? I thought your story was so touching!

Wow...that made me cry, too. We built a website for one of these small orphanages in Uganda: http://www.bojmu.org. And we hope to adopt one of these older children, as well as try to get our small-but-generous church involved in sponsoring some of the kids. There are times that they get just one meal of porridge a day. We've had opportunities to Skype with the pastor and the kids, and they are just the sweetest people you will ever meet. My whole family can't wait to go see them--hopefully sometime this year! Word got out that we donate our time to building websites, so we're working on another one in Busia, Uganda. The orphan crisis there is truly appalling. Any little bit that any of us can do to alleviate their suffering is huge. Another great ministry we've gotten involved with is http://www.sixtyfeet.org. They minister to the imprisoned children of Uganda--and yes, that's "imprisoned" as in "behind bars"...most of these kids' only crime was to be abandoned by their parents. There are even infants in these prisons. It's just beyond anything we can imagine here in our comfortable little western world. Check it out--maybe see about hosting a Cupcake Kids sale this May. Or if you could support the BOJMU ministry, that would be awesome. It truly is my passion now to help these kids in whatever way I can. My entire family's lives have been changed just by knowing them. That sounds so trite, but it's true. I can no longer complain about anything now that I know what daily life is like for these precious children. Supporting the orphanages is SO important to keep these poor kids OUT of the places that SixtyFeet ministers to. The ones willing to take them in, man, they SO need our help!

Probably a dozen times a day! :glare: But I am a pushover sometimes. So it's my own fault...

One thing I'm making this year is called Leprechaun Crunch. Basically, it's like any other white chocolate bark recipe, but you use crushed mint oreos, green m&ms, broken pretzel sticks and the shamrock marshmallows from a box of Lucky Charms. :)

And to think, just the other day I was feeling so nostalgic for the good experiences of school that I contemplated--for a moment--letting the boys go back to school. Um. No. We're just fine homeschooling, thank you!

My youngest is still going strong at 2 1/2, and honestly, this is longer than I ever thought I would nurse! (The other two weaned around a year old.) He is so healthy, though, and I know it's because of nursing. A few people think it's strange, but I truly don't care what anyone else thinks. I'm fairly private and haven't nursed in public since he was around a year old. But sometimes he'll shove his hand down the front of my shirt and yell "Bee?!" when we're out. Which makes it kind of obvious that's what he's asking for! Oh well--I figure it's a good opportunity to educate people on the benefits of nursing beyond 2, if they comment on him asking for it.

Does anyone know if dry lentils can go bad? I would love to try this recipe, but I realized the lentils I have on hand have been in the pantry at least two or three years! LOL

I agree that it's normal, but also that she should call to have her levels checked. I took it during part of my last pregnancy. I also experienced mild, period-like bleeding off and on that was linked to the lovenox (so tell her not to panic if she sees this--I had no clue and totally freaked out!). I also occasionally got multicolored bruises the diameter of baseballs at the injection sites. Wicked stuff, but if it's needed, you gotta do it! Good luck to her!

My FIL believes this. He is broke, but somehow recently managed to finance a fancy new Harley and my DH said he's probably counting on the fact that he won't have to pay it back. But my FIL (and SIL, for what it's worth) live on an entirely different plane of reality, all their own!

Thanks for the feedback. I know I need to make dietary improvements and exercise more. Then, of course, I read about Andrew Breitbart this morning, who collapsed while walking... I definitely think that a lot of it has to do with just being older and more aware of it. And I agree that stress has a lot to do with it--it must!

The prayer request shared here earlier for the 32-year-old who had the massive stroke was the SIXTH person under 40 that I've heard about in the past year who has had a serious coronary event! :ohmy: Three were men right around 40 who had sudden heart attacks--one died, the other two lived, thankfully. The other two are women in their late 30's who also suffered serious strokes. They both have a seriously long recovery ahead. Only one of those (one of the men) was a morbidly obese, heavy drinking, smoking kind of guy that you'd sort of expect to have some kind of serious health problem. The others, though, are all thinner and at least by appearances, quite healthy. Their events were very surprising to me. I'm 43. My husband is 45. My sister is 46. I am obese, have PCOS, and an unspecified autoimmune disorder. Those all put me at higher risk for such problems. Thankfully, though, when I had my cholesterol checked last, all the levels were great. Still, I find this so scary. Has anyone else noticed that it seems more early-middle-aged people are having strokes and heart attacks? Even those who appear to be healthy and exercise regularly?

We sponsor a little girl in Thailand. Definitely a great organization!

This was the line that made me laugh: "I think of the mournful home-school kid watching his friends board the school bus, laughing, gossiping and enjoying all that vital socialization we call schooldays." :lol: Oh, he is totally a moron if he thinks school days today are anything like what he grew up experiencing! He's also clearly not known any homeschoolers in real life. Every member of my household smiles when that bus rattles by in the mornings--and then we roll over and sleep another hour or two. :D My boys have even made comments that they feel sorry for their friends that have to catch the bus so early. I was a public-schooled kid who hated riding the bus--I hated school in general. But the bus was truly torture!

Wow, this city girl has quite enjoyed this "egg-ucation". :)

I didn't think I would ever stop wanting more babies. Because of PCOS infertility issues, all of my babies were hard to conceive and hard to keep carrying. Yet, as soon as DS3 was born, I wanted to TTC again because of my loudly-ticking biological clock. I had a lot of issues during that pregnancy and postpartum--including a cardiomyopathy scare that didn't turn out to be that, but was still scary enough to make me have second thoughts about putting my body through that again. However, my desire for a fourth child always overrode those fears. I finally convinced DH that we should leave it up to God. So far, God has said no...and I have finally reached the point that I'm OK with that. Two main reasons: DS3 is a terrible sleeper and I have not had a decent nights' rest in nearly three years. Neither DH nor I think we are up to another three years starting over again with a newborn. But we are looking into older child adoption to maybe have the size family we always dreamed of. My test was tonight, when I went to see a friend who had a baby girl on Monday. The baby was so precious and it was odd being at the same hospital where my youngest was born. I held her for a long time and felt...nothing. None of that familiar stirring to have another! Amazing! I didn't think that urge for a baby would ever go away, but it has. It's nice to feel peace over it.

I had a wedding vow renewal ceremony. It wasn't marking an anniversary, but we had it a few weeks after my husband came home from a 15-month deployment to Iraq. It was several months after our 15th anniversary, and it was very meaningful to both of us. We'd had a very small wedding; there were only a couple dozen people at the renewal ceremony as well. But he wore his dress uniform, I had a pretty dress, the kids were there--it was like recommitting our family to God, together. The party after was big; we had about 100 or so in attendance, with lots of food. A friend made a huge wedding cake. It was all very sweet. The years that followed were the toughest in our marriage (PTSD and other issues linked to the deployment) but we made it. We celebrated 21 years last month. Anyhow...do what feels right to you. Those who matter won't mind, and those who mind shouldn't matter. ;)

I will be 59. :001_huh: Hubby will be 61! Good heavens, we are old. Hoping there are lots of grandchildren by that point. DS1 will be 30 and DS2, 26. Still kinda "wowed" to see those numbers!

Sending prayers of peace and protection over ALL of you. I cannot imagine how difficult this is for a loving mother to do. I admire your strength--sometimes it is so hard to do the right thing.

I am so glad you reminded me of this! I first used that years ago, but have since forgotten about it, as it's only convenient to go to TJ's a couple times a year. However, as non-impressed as I've been with Truvia, Sun Crystals, etc. I think a trip to TJs is in order!

Not really, but I admit to feeling a little twinge when someone announces a pregnancy by saying, "I'm going to have a baby!" After suffering through my first (of several) miscarriages I realized how presumptuous that statement sounds...you're only pregnant. Unfortunately, it doesn't guarantee a baby in your arms at the end.