He was insulted in very strong terms. It isn't silly to be upset. Or wouldn't you find it insulting if the same had been said about you?

I am sorry you are dealing with all of this, but I'm glad you got more than you were hoping for instead of less.

:grouphug: Moving is hard. Moving around the world is even harder. I know you are tired and stressed right now. The kids are probably dealing with some strong emotions, too. If you can legally, I'd take a break from school. Have them read if you want. Use some time to go explore your new surroundings. It sounds funny, but when I move I even spend an afternoon walking through the new stores so I know what they carry and how they are laid out.

I haven't read the other replies. I'm not all about welfare, but I think this is wrong. At least as a routine thing. If someone came in to apply and was obviously high, I don't know. I've never been around drugs. Is it obvious?

Really? There were multiple threads about Arnold. There is a long list of reprehensible politicians. Both sides. I don't think anyone in this thread doubts that.

I've never used the ignore list and probably won't. It would be interesting to see a poll asking how many people use ignore and to what extent.

:iagree: My Dh can be selfish (in a thoughtless way), but he is a good guy.

I usually buy my cooking supplies in bulk so when I go to the grocery store it is usually for fresh produce and any junk we want. I don't have any funny combinations, but I do wonder what people think when they see only the two extremes.

Everyone has their hot buttons. Adultery is one of mine. But beyond what he has done to his wife, what really gets me angry at him is that he accused someone else of hacking into his stuff. He was willing to wreck someone else's life.:confused: What kind of person would do that? (That is a rhetorical question. I know there are many people who would rather wreck someone else's life than own their actions.)

I usually glance in several doors and see which one looks the cleanest. ETA: And has a door that shuts properly.

:grouphug::grouphug:I am so, so sorry.

I only experienced let down when a newborn was crying. It didn't even have to be mine. The oddest thing I ever experienced nursing was when my milk came in with my oldest. I doubled in size in less than an hour. :001_huh: My mom, who never makes personal comments, laughed and said, "You've got some jugs." I didn't leak ahead of time, but I know people who did. I think there is a verrry large range of what is normal.

So many mean teachers.:confused: This would have made me livid if it was one of my kids, but I have to admit: I laughed when I read this. It made me think of a mischievous, hyperactive boy and wonder what he'd thought up. Still, poor kid.

Congratulations! There was a post that made me wonder, but I didn't want to ask.

I responded other. I only have two siblings. But all 4 of my grandparents had between 8-14 kids in their families of origin. My mom was one of ten. My dad only had two siblings but on one side he had 97 cousins. So I have a large extended family. I only have four kids. I will have more if my Dh will agree. I love large families. My sis has five and would like five more. I firmly believe we want lots of kids in part because we've seen that example.

:thumbup: Good for you.

For my family of 6, I do about 10 loads per week. I have a REALLY BIG washing machine.

:grouphug: I only have four kids and I've never had one with a chronic illness, but I've been through times like that. You may not have days where you can sit and relax, but it won't always be this crazy. If anyone can help, try to accept it. The last time we moved I was having all day morning sickness and Dh was reroofing our house that summer. The men from church helped Dh with the roof and the Sat. before our appraisal, the ladies came and cleaned and painted and trimmed bushes. It was really hard for me to accept their help, but it was a Godsend. I would have pushed through and gotten it done, but I honestly didn't know how I was going to do it. Could you do something like Dave Ramsey's debt snowball. Do one thing that can get done and stay done so that it is one less thing hanging over your head? Maybe pick the easiest/cheapest home repair and make that your goal.:grouphug:

:confused: No need to shout. I'll repeat again - I don't begrudge people their use of food stamps. I never said that you haven't given up whatever you could. I didn't say anything about you at all. I wish you all the best. I hope your husband's business picks up. I hope you get the help you need. What I don't understand is why people get so upset at hearing stories of people who made it through lean times. I only posted my parents' story in support of Mejane's comment that it is a good thing, not a bad thing, for people to work through their hard times without assistance if possible.

I know where you are coming from so I'm going to take your question with a grain of salt because 10 years or so makes a difference. I'm not extremely young, but I am younger than you. I looked it up. The minimum wage when Mom was working for 5 dollars an hour was about 4.25. She eventually started charging more (incrementally over 15 years). She made 8 dollars per hour at some houses while I was in college and after. She never increased her rates at some houses because she cleaned for elderly people on fixed incomes. She cleaned part time because she also took care of the home and worked on the farm. 5,000 a year was a good year, income wise, for her. The 15,000 to 20,000 Dad grossed in a good year came from working 3 jobs working from 6:30 in the morning until 6:30 to 9:30 in the evenings in the winter and from 6:30-7:00 in the morning until dark in the summer six days a week. And from the 15,000 to 20,000 he grosses, Dad had to buy shots for the cows, baling wire, seed, fertilizer, gas for equipment, equipment, fencing material, material to build barns, etc. Did you catch the part where he netted $7 for the farm one year? All of us worked hard that year. I never did the math, but I doubt the $7 dollars would have paid us kids more than 1 or 2 pennies an hour. I'm not complaining; I had a great childhood. But we really didn't have money.

I said earlier but perhaps should have said again in each post that I don't begrudge the people using food stamps. I do get bothered when people act indignant at even the idea that many people could get by with less than they have. In my first post, I said I didn't care what people bought with FS if they could budget it in with their allotment. But it isn't an honest conversation if people want to say they should be able to do ________, but don't want to hear about people who choose to live without ___________ because they can't afford it on their own. Comparison is the death of contentment. I live in a decent house with a lovely yard. Until my sister moved last week (in with my parents, by choice, but that is a whole 'nother thread), she lived in a lovely 400,000 dollar home with a really nice kitchen. In my badly laidout kitchen, the refrigerator freezes the food in some areas, the big burner on my stovetop doesn't work, I have to turn the oven on with a screwdriver and I can't fit a cookie sheet into it, and my dishwasher (the only decent appliance) broke two weeks ago. If I only compared my kitchen with my sister's, it would be depressing. But not everyone has a nice, modern kitchen. Saying I deserve good appliances just isn't - I don't know - correct? I'm sure many people put up with worse kitchens than mine. No one, I hope, wants people to go hungry. But many people do without other things to buy their own food. I don't think it is bad for people to know how other people live - on all sides of the issue.

The Mark of the Lion series was my favorite books. I hated the first half of The Scarlet Thread but liked the second half. Redeeming Love is well written, but I didn't care for it. I did like the Sin Eater a lot. And the Shofar Blew was good. She is an excellent writer.

Three years goes by quickly. Really, it does. We get transferred every so often. I'd kind of like to pay cash for our next place if we can swing it and save money to build. I think in 3-5 years we could save enough to build if we went bare bones. I haven't quite talked Dh into it.