It is snowing here, too, one state to the south - but no accumulation.

My baby is only (almost) 9 months old, but I see all these pictures of sweet little infants and think I need to have another one. Your children are beautiful.

Absolutely! Dh has the only job in the office that will be an automatic transfer. The other six workers will probably be let go. Four of them are either retirement age or close to it. Two of them will really be hurt financially. Dh can't even warn them this is coming.:glare:

I could have never made it as a military spouse. My Dh found out yesterday that his company is restructuring. His office will be closed in 6-18 months. He will be transferred for the 3rd time in 6-7 years (depending on when it actually happens). I am very thankful that he has a job. I am even more thankful that he likes his job. I like his steady paycheck, bonuses, and benefits. But - here is where I get really whiney - I don't like moving. I like to put down roots. It takes me a long time to set up a house, make friends, and get involved in a community. I thought we would be here for 5-10 years. Now I find out we will be here for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 years. Thank goodness for homeschooling. If Dd7 was in public school, she would be in her third school district by 3rd grade. This isn't bad news for us, but I'm feeling very tired today. At this point, I don't even care where we go as long as we can stay there.

The kids and I went to a new dentist last week. Everyone in the office was so nice to the kids and me. Nobody fussed about the baby sitting on my lap or the kids playing in the lobby by themselves. Nobody fussed when I asked the boys to come into the room with me to watch the baby a minute, or when they had to leave the room again to go to the bathroom.

Whew. I'm glad you aren't paying as much as I thought. It would grind me to pay over 1% a year anyhow. When I taught in KS, it was optional, and I always opted out.

I spent between 1 and 2% on Christmas gifts. This year I may spend over 3% because I want to get Dh a very expensive gift. I shop for: Dh 4 kids (although Baby Girl won't get much) 6 adults and 5 kids on my side 7 adults and 4 kids on Dh's side 2 neighbors (very nice people who shovel our snow and take care of our dog while we travel) 6 people who work in Dh's office 2 gmas and 1 aunt since we are visiting them this year 6 coop teachers/instructors various friends Gifts for those in italics will probably be 10 dollars or less each, but it all adds up.

ouch

Dh with Baby Girl in August.

Everyone has such beautiful kids. When I say Baby Girl is the most beautiful baby in the world, my Dd7 says, "You can't say that; you don't know." But isn't it funny how every parent can say it - and it is true every time?

Your kids are lovely. They really are. Why would anyone with such lovely children let them pose with a Jayhawk? Meriwether - who met Mr. Meriwether while attending K-State

This picture is from August. It isn't the best of any of them, but I don't have many of the four of them together.

You and your kids are beautiful. I think I would trade my house for that baby. I LOVE those teeny, tiny ones.

If this works, this is a picture of my family from two years ago. Since then I've lost weight and then had a baby (gained a bunch of weight) so this is almost exactly what I look like now. Hopefully, I'll be back to the "real me" soon.

You know, I watched little bits of that show last night, but I didn't catch where they were filming. I DID think, "Hey, I bet Renee would find this interesting, because her husband works at a track.":tongue_smilie: I'll have to pay closer attention if it comes on as a rerun. My aunt was in the crowd at the reveal on Extreme Make-over last night, too.

I've heard people joke about homeschool kids not learning how to stand in line, but I realized a month or so ago that my kids 7, 6, and 4 really don't know how. They line up to leave Awanas. Each kid comes to the doorway, gets his/her candy, and then the helper checks to make sure the parent is present before the kid is released. It takes awhile. My kids stand quietly in single file. But they are in the back every. single. time. Obviously, I need to work on this, but I just can't bring myself to tell them to try for the front of the line.

:grouphug: I don't have any experience with adoption, but I'm sorry the IVF didn't work for you.

:thumbup: Nance, you are doing a great job. I read this post for the first time tonight. I had a baby in Jan. and am just now down to 179 (approx. 40 pounds lost). I still have 10 more to go for Baby #4, 20 more for Baby #3 and 5 to lose from a miscarriage, so I have a lot of weight to lose to reach my goal weight. Altogether I've gained approx. 200 lbs with my pregnancies, and I've lost approx. 165. I just said all that to encourage you. I have noticed a pattern with my weight loss. One week each month I would show a higher weight (or less loss that I expected). I know you were disappointed the week you lost less than 1 lb. If you keep track, you might notice a cycle of weight loss. Knowing my cycle really helps me from getting discouraged.

Maybe it would sound meaner to others in your circle, but that doesn't mean the OP's Dh was mean. Something about the incident struck her as odd. Odd enough that she would post about it. Maybe she didn't do a good job explaining what was so odd about the crying. Maybe a lot of people got distracted by the term "man up" and assumed her Dh was being mean. Or maybe her Dh was a real jerk and the kid will be scarred for life. I don't have strong feelings about the original post one way or the other, but I would give the OP the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to the conclusion that the Dh was mean.

:iagree:

This made me think of my kids feeding cows with my dad. When they came in their faces were all dusty. Turns out they were eating the cattle feed on the way out to the pasture.:glare:

I let my kids eat theirs. too. My oldest boy still has some of his from last year. This year I'm telling him "use it or lose it". After Jan. 1, I'm giving it to the other kids. I would really like to feed my kids the boxed mac and cheese. I like it. They won't touch it. I'm training Baby Girl right, so I can make it "for her". We have Shoo Fly Pie and Funny Cake for breakfast whenever it is available. When we were first married, my Dh couldn't believe we ate apple dumpling and strawberry shortcake for supper (they are only dessert if you eat them with ice cream, either one eaten with milk is a meal).

:iagree: I'm not entirely sure why people think "man up" is so bad. If someone says "man up", it is telling the person they are capable of being tough. I only have one brother. He is very sensitive if that qualification is important. From what I've seen, boys want to be men. When my brother was 11, his summer goal was to stack the hay higher and tighter than my dad could. Of course, he failed at 11. He failed at 12. He failed at 13. He failed at 14. By the time he was 15, he was as valuable in the hayfield as any man. Also by 11 he helped my dad almost every Saturday and vacation day with his construction jobs. His goal? To be as good or better than Dad. He eventually majored in construction science. I'll never forget the first time he came home after he'd started his first job. The first thing he did was show Dad his toolbelt - he'd always used Dad's old one when Dad got a new one - which was much bigger and fancier than anything Dad had. When my brother was in high school, many Sunday afternoons featured a wrestling match between my 50 year old Dad and my brother (and my brothers two best friends). Dad could take all 3 of them at the same time.:tongue_smilie: My brother kept trying and trying and trying. Until one day he could beat Dad. I'll never be convinced that proving himself against the alpha male harmed my brother. I don't know that anyone used the term "man up" with him but the idea was there. But then, I'm the mean Mama who told her 4 year old to be tough and get back with the other kids after he had gotten hurt (after a hug and I'm sorry your got hurt). Oh, I also tell my kids if they whine and fuss "No one likes a fussy baby/kid." My kids, oddly enough, are happy, well-adjusted kids who feel confident in their relationship with me and frequently express their emotions. As far as the crying in the OP, we have only the description we are given. I wonder why so many people assume they know what happened better than the OP. Nobody knows what was going on in that kid's head, but the OP has a better idea than we do since she actually witnessed the incident.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion (said in a friendly tone:)). I always regret posting something critical, but that doesn't always stop me from hitting "submit". What gets me - this is not a direct response at you - is that conversations along these lines tend to start with the assumption that people are conservative because they are ignorant and they would be liberal is they just knew better. See my above rant on the term narrow-minded. Some conservatives ARE narrow-minded. Some liberals are, too. Many conservatives are educated, open-minded people who actively decide they agree with conservative ideas and values. Travel can certainly broaden your experiences, but a wider set of experiences and appreciation for other cultures does not equal "liberal".

Praying for the person next to you is great, but I wouldn't want to hold hands.