Awesome thanks

I wish we had an outside grill. My husband never wanted to get one. I tried the small indoor grills but haven't had good results. The chicken seems dry and not very flavorful.

What are lasagna roll ups or do you mean just regular lasagna noodles? The sounds good.

Exactly. And he is so sneaky. We had a box of donuts on the middle of the table. We thought he couldn't reach it. Dh got the donuts at night and there were a few we were saving for breakfast. Darn I was looking forward to it. Anyway I went to get my donut in the morning and it was gone-no crumbs on the table , the box was shut. No one else's took it. We learned our lesson though and are very careful now.

That's the strange thing. There aren't any trees nearby at all. We live in a subdivision and most of the backyards are fenced. Our dogs are fenced up and can't reach anything. I'm just wondering if somehow another animal could be bringing them into our yard. I'm also not 100% he vomited the whole thing. I should have looked more but I was just struggling to clean up due to my back. It looked like he did. I worry a bit about the cyanide bit he seems 100% normal.

I'm going to have an empty nest by September 1st. I want to go back to the days of all of them piling on the couch for read-a-louds. I miss having them all sitting around the table for dinner. I have never been a good cook but I had major back surgery and now have a very small time I can be on my feet. We are tired of frozen dinners and my husband won't eat leftovers so I don't want to make the same things I did when we had 4 or 5. Any ideas for good meals for 2 people?

I'm also wondering this. We are thinking about asking son's teenage friend to take care of our 2 dogs while we are gone. They will be need to be let out in our fenced bag yard and pretty much right back in. Then he just has to make sure they have food and water. We will be home during the evening on the 2nd day so it would probably mean a total of 6 times he would have to let them out. I would probably ask him to get our mail too but no watering plants or anything else. We only live a few houses down from him. The hardest let would be letting them out early the 2nd day. I was thinking $20 a day but wasn't sure that would be enough. I can't imagine $50 but them again we have 2 dogs. He has let them out in the past but it's been a few years. He was younger then and $20 meant more.

Ok good. I googled it and it really made me worry but I would assume it would be worse for small dogs. I was hoping it was something I could just keep an eye on rather than rush him to the vet. He vomited but seems fine. I just wish I could figure out where he is finding them.

Is anyone a dog expert on here? My 65 pound lab got into peach pits a few weeks ago. He was fine but it happened again. We can't figure out how. I'm the only one that eats them and I securely wrap the pit up before putting it in the garbage. The garbage is under our sink. Plus if he got into the garbage we would see evidence. We had some on the counter last week but they see in a bag far back behind something on the counter. Again we would have seen some evidence if he got a hold of one. Someone is usually home. I thought maybe our neighbors were composting or leaving their pits outside. They are good neighbors so I hated to ask them and make them feel like I was accusing them of something. I finally called them and they also say they put the pits in their garbage outside and it has a lid. Plus we have a fence and our dog isn't getting out. He isn't out for very long. The only thing I can think is other animals are bringing the pits into the yard. I guess possibly someone else is throwing the pits into our yard but no one is ever back there. There is a good distance between or yard and the back door of the other houses. It wouldn't make sense. So we have no idea how many or how often he has eaten them. This morning he vomited another pit. I think he threw up most of it but I'm not sure. There is no way to know if he ate more. He is acting fine now. I don't know if I should bring him to the vet. I can't drive because I had back surgery but if I have to I will have to see if someone else can. My husband isn't home.

Thank you everyone for all of the help. I gave her the information and we are both going to look into it in our towns. I'm also going to look into buying some online. I just need to make another EBay and Paypal account since it's probably been 7-18 years since I've used it. She hasn't seen her room yet. I think she will on Monday. She starts in 2 weeks so that deosnt give her a lot of time. Apparently she does get a small stipend but she has a lot she Needs for the classroom since she is expecting the furniture but not much else. She will need to supply anything else. Her pre-k classroom last year was a mess (different school). But at least they had a lot already in the classroom. This year she is excited to start from scratch since this is their first year having 4th grade. Unfortunately this also means there wont be a library or anything else. She was hoping they at least gave her math manipulatives. My daughter loves reading and feels it is a very important part of the class so she wants to provide them with a great classroom library. I told her that it is something she will have to build. There is no way she can have it all in 2 weeks.

I live in the suburbs of Chicago and she lives in Florida.

Thank you for your time!

This is great. Thank you!

I would love that if you have the time. It's been a long time since I had a 4th grader.

Love this.

Excellent idea

My dd is a 2nd year teacher. Last year was pre-k but this year is 4th grade at a new school. She is trying to build her classroom library from scratch and doesn't get a stipend. It's a new classroom this year. The first year they will have 4th grade. I could absolutely kick myself for getting rid of all of our homeschooling books and many reading books. What was I thinking? We used to have so many books after homeschooling 14 years. All my kids are grown now 😢 Anyway money is tight for her and she moved out of state. I'm trying to figure out ways to help her. What would be a good place to get books without spending a lot? Also what would be the cheapest way to ship book? If my health allows I'm hoping to go to a few garage sales too.

My husband convinced my daughter that she didn't need to go to the doctor. He tends to belittle things. My daughter isn't one to go to the doctor anyway so she was quick to agree with him despite my opinion that she should go regardless of what size it is. I called the doctor today to see what they say. The nurse told me their practice was to just keep an eye on it. I felt better about it until she insisted that it must not be a deer tick because it wasn't small enough. I don't think that is correct information. It was small but big enough to see. She works at a forest preserve as an intern but the full timers deal with this all the time. They were also pretty casual about it when she told them she found one stuck in her arm. I would feel better if she would get profilactic antibiotics but I can't talk her into it. Btw we live in northern Illinois. I checked and our area doesn't have a lot of tick borne illnesses but it does have some. I wish she was under 18 and I could insist that she goes.

My daughter found a tick embedded in her armpit area today. She works outside every day so she isn't 100% sure how long it's been there. She doesn't think longer than 36 hours. It was very small but she also thinks she would had noticed it when she shaves if it was there longer than today. She discovered it while shaving. My husband pulled it out but the head broke off. He thinks he got all the pieces out but isn't sure. Is there anything else she should do?

I had delicate surgery on nerves in my spine as well as having my sacral bone reconstructed. I've actually been in bed for a month and gradually doing more now. I have major restrictions for 2-3 months (no lifting, bending, reaching, twisting or pushing). It's a very gradual recovery. To put things in perspective I just spent 10 minutes cleaning up our kitchen table and island. It was a mess because no one did it since I've been down. I also acidentally bent down to try to reach something under our sink. I keep on forgetting my limitations. I had immediate pain and now I'm in bed. I am gradually getting better though. Up until a few days ago I hadn't been out except for the doctor. My daughter is moving tomorrow so I'm forcing myself a bit. I made it through dinner out but it was about 1/2 hour and I had to sit with 2 cushions. (Baby steps !!). I can't even do physical therapy for 6 months. Realistically I can't go to church or really go anywhere by myself yet but I'm trying to plan ahead. I won't be able to do anything where I have to sit or stand or walk too long but I eventually will be able to do more. I think I will be able to sit first. It's discouraging especially due to the circumstances and I've felt very alone. I want to get out of this funk I'm in and start over. I probably can't hold down a job right now but I definitely can start to think of ways to meet people. I love playing games like Yahtzee and simple things like that so maybe I can find a game club. Eventually when I'm capable I would like to volunteer with dogs but that will probably be awhile. There are many volunteer ideas that people have posted but realistically it will be awhile before I can do that. For instance I can't stand long enough to be a greeter. Things will get better but right now my pain and nerve medication make it hard to think clear so I can't do anything with kids right now but eventuality I can. So I'm open to ideas like that. I don't want to teach or even tutor but I'm sure there are other ways I can help. So please keep the ideas coming even though it might be 6 months or a year before I can do them. Of course I'd love ideas for now too thanks. Please give me strength. My daughter is moving 1200 miles away tonight. This is so different from college. Her room is almost empty and her walls are bare. She is only taking what fits into her small car I'm so sad that we spent most of the last 9 months fighting. It's amazing though . She has been a different person ever since the last day of work. . At least I know she hadnt changed completely . Apparently the stress of the job changed her more than we knew. I think our relationship is better than I thought and she truly does want to be part of my life after all.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I find it so hard as a shy introvert. I got past my shyness through my children because I needed to for them. I wish so much that I already belonged to a church because I almost have an anxiety attack over going to one by myself now. It's not so much that I expected to only have only couple friends but as a young married women most of my friends were also young and married or engaged and really wanted to do things with their husbands. Sure i would go shopping etc with my friends but they weren't too understanding when I kept on turning down invitations to parties or dinners. Then it became difficult for me when I had to hear about these wonderful parties that I didn't attend. It was very difficult to keep up those friendships. I tried to make friends when we first moved here when my kids were young but other than one couple my husband refused to socialize with any of the neighbors. We were friends with one family but they only lived here for about 3 years. When they moved my husband wasn't very Interested in keeping that friendship and it caused my relationship with my friend to suffer. He didn't try to make any more friends or invest in that one. He has a few friends but mostly gets his socialization through work. I tried for awhile to make friends but it all focused on my kids' activities and most ended when the season ended. I really think I missed out on an opportunity to make friends by not going to church or working. I find it hard making friends as an adult. There have been times I've been lonely but I've kept busy with my kids and their activities. Now that they have grown I don't feel a sense of purpose. Of course it hasn't helped that I've been in pain for 7 years. The past year or so there is no way I could sit through a church service. I still have a long recovery ahead of me after this surgery but I'm trying to look ahead to when I am better. It's been so long since my husband and I have spent any time doing anything just the two of us I honestly don't even know what to do. It almost feels awkward. Once I'm better I want to try to do activities together if I can somehow convince him. I don't even have any ideas. I'm not sure if I will be able to return to work for awhile but I can't just stay at home and do nothing. I've been able to handle the loneliness up until now because I've kept busy going to my children's activities but that ended last year when my son graduated. I will have an empty nest in 2 1/2 months so I need to think of something. I really don't even know what kind of hobby I would like. I am going to see what activities my local park district has. I live in a fairly small town so I don't think they will have much. I live in a suburban area so hopefully once I start to feel better I can check the surrounding towns too. These past two decades have really just flown by. I wish I had planned better.

I put my heart and soul into raising my kids and now what do I get in return? They decided to grow up and be independent 😉 I was a stay at home mom for almost 25 years. I was planning on returning to the workforce when my youngest started high school. Unfortunately I started having medical problems 7 years ago. I also started with severe back pain which was only diagnosed last year. I had major back nerve surgery about a month ago. I am recuperating but it is a long recovery. I have a lot of restrictions the first 2 months and can't do anything very strenuous for 6 months. Full recovery is 2 years. I made the mistake when I married and lost all of my friends. My husband refused to do anything with my friends and their spouses. Of course I could go out with them alone but after awhile I lost friends because they wanted to do things involving their spouses. They eventually gave up on me after I declined so many invitations to parties etc. I was young and in love so at the time I was ok with it. I wish I had insisted my husband join me. He doesn't have social anxiety or anything like that. He was fine doing things with his friends and their spouses. Also I made the mistake of not really having any ambition to do more than have a family. I worked for several years from age 15-26 but I did secretarial work which is pretty much not needed anymore. I put myself into the position of counting on my spouse and kids for happiness and sense of worth. My kids have all grown up. My oldest is moving long distance on Friday. Come fall my youngest son is transferring to a school 5 hours away and his other sister is a senior about 4 hours away. My husband and I have no relationship. My husband has no desire to spend time with me no matter what I try. We will remain married (or at least that's what he tells me but I have no faith in that). I only truly have one friend. She is dear to me and we email daily but she is very busy with her job and taking care of elderly relatives so we only see each other every few months or so. As I type this I know I sound truly pathetic. I know that I need to take charge. The only one who can change my life is me. I am 51 so if I'm going to change my life I'd better get going since I'm not young anymore. I just don't know where to start. I do not belong to a church. I am Christian but we haven't belonged to a church in a decade. This was another disagreement with my husband. He would not go unless it was a Lutheran church even though religion was less important to him. We only have one Lutheran church in our area but he did not like it so we didn't go to church very often. He would tell me I could go alone. (He didn't want the kids to go to another church when they were young). Then when they were older they didn't really want to go. I did teach them about God and our faith but unfortunately church hasn't been a big part of their lives. This actually makes me so sad and I regret that I didn't stand up more to my husband. Our lives could have been so much more fulfilling and the kids could have had more friends. This especially breaks my heart regarding my middle daughter. She is very closed off and doesn't make friends easily. She is a wonderful young lady but for some reason she doesn't allow herself to get close to people and also has trouble with social skills and reaching out to people and work social cues. I guess that is a matter for a different discussion. Anyway I don't feel comfortable going to a church by myself so I don't think that's really my solution. I wish so much though that I was part of a church family. The past few years have been very challenging emotionally and physically and I could have used the support of a church family. This is also a very tough recovery I'm going through and I don't have very much support from my husband. I feel very lost. I may eventually go back to work but I have no idea what I would do. Right now it isn't a necessity and I can't go to work at least for a few months due to my recovery. My husband wants to move within the next few years. I also want the freedom to be able to travel to go visit my kids and hopefully go a few places I've wanted to see. We've been limited due to my pain. So I'm not sure if getting a job would be the best idea. I really want to find a group of women that I can meet with. It's tough because I'm too young for the seniors groups. Most women my age seem to be working or training for a marathon lol. I also don't realiy have any hobbies or skills. I don't really have the best vision, dexterity or patience for something like knitting. I know I sound pathetic and negative but I am only being honest. On the other hand I feel like I'm a clean slate and ready to create "a whole new me". I just don't know where to begin and I'm would appreciate ideas. I want my life to be more meaningful. Of course my family will always be important to me but I need to find fulfillment beyond them. The empty nest is hitting me especially hard because they were so much of my identify. I know that's not healthy but I didn't realize it until it was too late. I loved teaching them and being a very hands on mom and I think I was good at it. It brought me much joy but now that it's gone I don't know who I am anymore. Since I don't have a good relationship with my husband I feel very alone.

I might do the Amazon box of pantry items and then send something a else a little fancier. I found a really nice pitcher at Crate and Barrel. I think anyone would like it and find it useful for every day or for company. They also both have birthdays coming up in July so I can send more then too. I completely forgot I started saving up gift cards awhile back for Target etc so I can do that too I wish I knew her boyfriend better. I would hope he wouldn't somehow take it wrong me getting the necessities for the pantry. I don't want him to think I don't think they can manage it by themselves. My daughter doesn't cook but he does somewhat. On the other hand if his parents are buying them furniture then I think I could do this. I just know spices etc are expensive and I would have loved that when I was first married.

My daughter is moving out next week and is moving in with her boyfriend 1200 miles away. I've posted about the situation before. It's been a tough year with our relationship but it's gotten better. I won't get into details but we weren't happy with the situation at first. I have always believed that you didn't move in with someone until you are married. She is almost 25 so it's her decision and I've come to accept it. I don't condone it but she seems very happy so I'm happy for her. I would like to buy them something for their new apartment and will be sending it there in a week or two. I have no idea what to get. He is a bit older and has been living on his own awhile so he seems to have most of the basics. Actually he was living with friends so I'm not sure how much stuff was his. His parents bought them a living room set and a few more things so between that and stuff he already has they say they don't need anything. We have only met him once so I know very little about his tastes. I also figure we will hold off on a bigger gift until they get married (he is saving for a ring) but I definitely want to give them something. I am unable to go out shopping since I recently had major back surgery and I'm recovering. I will have to buy it online. i find this difficult since I can't really browse stores looking for ideas. I would appreciate ideas. I'm hoping to spend 50-100 but it can be on more than one thing.

I will have her mention that to the neurologist when she sees him in May. Thanks.