I'd pay her and be done with her -- and never hire her again. To me, it's not worth the conflict to argue with the pet sitter, and it's certainly not worth the few bucks to not pay her. Frankly, paying her for most of her days and just subtracting for the missed shifts sends the entirely wrong message -- as it's sort of saying that It's OK to miss some shifts, which obviously it is not. BTDT many times . . . We have a lot of pets, and we hire sitters when we travel. It's really hard to find reliable ones. We *own a vet hospital* and still have trouble finding reliable pet sitters, despite having a dozen or so competent employees at work at any given time, lol. It's really hard to find trustworthy pet sitters. When you find one, pay them *really* well and stock the house with snacks they like . . . and hope for the best . . . My theory has been to overpay pet sitters, hoping they'll love the easy money so much that they'll do an extra good job. Works sometimes, not all the times . . . If you have a pet that needs meds, you're probably best off using your vet hospital for boarding for that pet unless/until you have a SUPER reliable long term pet sitter. Oh, also, we require pet sitters to *stay* at our house over night. That at least guarantees that they'll be around AM & PM . . . But, you do have to pay $$$ for that service.

FYI http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/deposit-refund-bankrupt-company-1267.php

If the rumors about contractor vs employee status are serious . . . and if they are being audited . . . they could easily owe HUGE back taxes & penalties. If an employer messes up status, the employer has huge liability, way beyond the back taxes themselves. Audits can go back many years . . . The catastrophic consequences of mis-categorizing an employee are one of the many very good reasons that I, as an employer, always err towards categorizing someone as an employee. You could save 10k in taxes each year for a few years by mis-categorizing someone . . . and then end up owing 100k+++ a few years later between all the taxes and penalties, let alone CPA and attorney fees. I will repeat: don't mess with the IRS. They scare me, lol. So, THAT's the sort of incident that I could see tipping this sort of business into catastrophic failure.

If anyone has paid recently (as in the last few months), I'd immediately contact your CC company to try to challenge the payment. Sooner rather than later!!! IMHO, it's really totally irredeemably unethical to not pay your staff . . . and to keep encouraging folks to send payments when you know you're in big trouble. We've owned a business for a long time, and when times were tight in the early years and we didn't have a big cash cushion, we've gone months without taking paychecks ourselves . . . we've run up personal debts to float the business . . . we've even run 30 days behind on some vendors . . . Cash flow is tricky and we took some lumps and had plenty of sleepless nights . . . but, we would never, ever, ever mess with staff payroll. EVER. You know what and how much payroll is going to be . . . you hire people . . . you plan accordingly, and you PAY THEM. Period. Our business model isn't one of advance payment by customers, but I guarantee you that if it were, we'd have felt the same way about customer payments. You can float vendor/utility/whatever bills, but you never, ever, ever don't pay your staff or stiff a client. If you have to write a personal cash advance check from your personal credit card into your business account to make payroll, or you have to have your personal bills late, that is what you do. Period, because you take on a moral duty to your staff when you hire them! Period! If your business is in such trouble that you might not be able to make payroll, even after all your personal resources are tapped out, you shut it down before you short your staff. That these teachers are Independent Contractors with no unemployment coverage just amplifies the harm done to them by the company, IMHO, and makes it all the more unforgivable. I knew someone who'd owned a business that failed, and they made the grave error of not sending the IRS the withholding taxes for their staff for several months using that "float" to try to tide the business over the rough patch . . . so they ran up substantial debt to the IRS before going bankrupt. REALLY REALLY bad mistake. That debt was following him for LIFE, period. You don't get out of those sorts of IRS debts. I knew him when I was very young, pre-business ownership, but that made a big impact on me . . . I took that knowledge into business ownership, which made my golden rule, right along with always, always making payroll . . . that you always, always paid the IRS and other tax agencies all their due immediately You just should never, ever mess with the IRS or other tax agencies. SO, based on that insight and the reports here, my guess is that the business owners spent recent months accumulating cash/paying down debt for the IRS and/or other gov't agencies . . . holding back payroll, sucking in customer advance payment . . . all to get as much paid to the unforgiving IRS as possible. That would be a "smart" business move, as most other debts can be forgiven in bankruptcy, so the owners can come out of bankruptcy in much better shape if they have paid the government their due but owe more to vendors/clients/staff . . . but, to me, that is a totally scum ball move -- to short your staff and your clients in order to save your own butt. I can live with stiffing your vendors/utilities/mortgage company via bankruptcy. . . but staff -- NO, clients who trusted you -- NO. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

There are government laws about how employers must treat employees. These are protections for the employees. The (reasonable, IMHO) concept is that employers are the ones with more power, and so employees should get some protections. These are protections like overtime pay, health insurance rules, workers receiving breaks, non discrimination, worker safety, etc, etc. Also, employers are required to pay $$$ towards various government safety nets for their employees. Employers pay about 7% of salary towards SS & Medicare taxes and also pay for worker's comp insurance, unemployment insurance, etc. These safety net programs protect employees in case of on the job injury or not-at-fault unemployment, among other things. If you allow a business/employer to turn their "employees" into "independent contractors", you are allowing that employer to save a lot of $$ and paperwork headaches, while the employee loses out on $$ and also important (sometimes critical) workplace protections/safety net. If you want to advocate for changes to worker protections, feel free. But, it's not reasonable to say, sure, protect some employees, but let an employer classify folks as protected (employee) vs not protected (IC) at their own discretion . . . That leaves all the power in the hands of the employer and makes no sense, IMHO. I own a business. We have a dozen or so employees. We occasionally use an independent contractor for "relief" veterinary services -- the fill in vet who works a few days when dh is on vacation . . . There is a major $$ savings in keeping a vet as an IC vs an employee, so this topic comes up a LOT in management circles, so I've read about it a lot. It is 100% to business owner's responsibility to understand and follow tax law. I guarantee you that any business the size of an online school with many teachers has a CPA to do taxes and provide advice. This is "on them" and I'd have little sympathy for them . . . I'd never expect a teacher to understand the ins and outs of IC vs employee status, considering the majority of employers and long-term IC contractors barely understand it! Also, FWIW, any business offering big discounts for long term packages paid in advance is sketchy IMHO. Especially in homeschooling, it's sketchy to encourage folks to commit to years of classes when we all know family and individual needs can change rapidly. A moderate discount to reward loyal customers is one thing, but deals encouraging folks to prepay for years of classes is crazy. Essentially, it's a pyramid scheme where they were pulling in advance tuition and spending it on current needs . . . So, IMHO, see that as a big fat warning sign to not get lured in to schemes like this!!

If you are certain she is religious. I would ask her mother or some other very close relative/friend. Personally, I am an atheist, and I was very irritated by the inundation of religious messaging when my mom died. My atheism had evolved in recent years, most rapidly while dealign with my mother's decline and the way her church abandoned her . . . and I certainly didn't/don't make it a point to discuss my lack of belief in God and church, since that would be offensive/insulting to many people. So, anyway, I wouldn't assume a belief in God, ESPECIALLY after a great tragedy. I *do* think it is very sweet and good to reach out in some way. What a terrible loss.

Also, you don't have to cancel policies even if you add another one. We have a 20 year term million dollar policy bought when dh was 38, so it "runs out" (well, the premiums go to 5 figures, so you'd drop it unless you were terminally ill) when he's 58. We decided we wanted a "little more" (500k) to cover us for longer than his age 58 -- as we'll still have kids in college/grad school at that point, and we knew not to delay purchasing another policy since if he had a health issue meanwhile, it could become impossible to buy another policy . . . so we bought the 500k policy last year, which will run until he's 70. SO, we had 1,000,000 from his age 38 to his age 49. Now we've got 1,500,000 from his age 49 to his age 58. Then we'll drop down to 500k from ages 58 to 69. These numbers correlate well with our needs over the years . . . A dozen years ago, we had a lower cost-of-living lifestyle but zero net assets, so 1,000,000 could have covered us in the lifestyle we were used to, for life, and the kids were young enough that I could have adjusted their educational expectations to whatever budget I was living with (i.e., if I'd picked up a good career vs was living on the insurance payout) and I was young enough that I probably would have wanted to get some sort of career going to keep my mind/life full if dh were gone. Now, we've got some substantial assets, but also a very complicated financial life that would be expensive to extricate from our reliance on my dh's earnings, and I'm enough years out from my education, and old enough, and spoiled enough that I have no desire/intention to get a "real" career unless I had no other choice . . . and we've got 3 college-and-near-college age kids who are counting on our promised level of educational support . . . so having the huge coverage right now for a few years, while we're building up our retirement savings/assets and covering big educational expenses . . . would make it feasible to fulfill those commitments and also for me to be OK for life, even if the worst happened. 8 years from now, when the biggest policy "expires", most of our educational commitments to our kids will be fulfilled, with maybe one more kid in grad school . . . and we'll have much larger assets, and I'll be much closer to typical retirement age, so the 500k coverage would be just fine at that point, and it may well be unnecessary if everything goes smoothly from here on out . . . The 500k is pretty much insurance against if dh was still working $$$ job, and we'd committed to helping a kid or two through an expensive professional school . . . or a kid got into trouble and we needed to help more than we expect . . . That 500k would make all that financially OK, and it was worth the little extra expense for a few years for that insurance. I *hope and expect* that dh (and I) outlive all our life insurance policies. We use them just for an unexpected disaster . . . not for retirement/support planning. So, anyway, overlapping policies can be a good strategy, IME.

Maybe oddly, I highly recommend using the online service "selectquote" We have a business, three corporations, several real estate holdings and we thus have zillions (literally dozens) of insurance policies -- life, disability, every sort of property/business/umbrella . . . And so we have relationships with multiple agents who help us with these various products each year or as needed . . . Last year, when we wanted to update our estate plans and thus update life and disability coverages, we had our main life/disability/business insurance agent look for a new 500,000k 20 year term policy for my husband to round out things. Our agent came in with a policy that was, I think, around 2000/yr or so. That was rather higher than I'd hoped, so I decided to search for alternatives . . . We used select quote (google it) and came up with a policy HALF that cost. (FTR, we pay 905/yr for a 20 year term 500k policy for dh that we bought Jan 2016. Dh was 49 and 10 months years of age at the time of issue. He was/is in perfect health, but had a diagnosed mitral valve prolapse -- no symptoms -- that was DX/ed 20 years earlier . . . which caused rate issues with SOME companies, but none with others, so we ended up choosing a company that gave him the best/preferred/optimal rates . . . ) The SelectQuote process requires you to input all the major data online (ages, etc), then they call you on the phone and take a detailed health history over the phone. IIRC, it took about 15 minutes, total. Actually very easy. Then in a few days (week or so?), they give you quotes (emailed) for 5-10 policies, all highly rated. You go with the cheapest one, lol. My understanding is that the reason SelectQuote works so nicely is that they have a big database with the various ratings/schedules for all the companies in it . . . So, say your dh has high blood pressure, but otherwise is in perfect health, good weight, etc . . .that info goes in there, and is factored in because Company A puts him in a category that doubles his rates, but Company B puts that in a category that only raises his rates 10% due to his otherwise good health . . . Once you choose a plan/policy, you formally apply for it, and then that company calls you and sets up a visiting nurse who comes and takes BP/weight/urine/blood samples from the insured party at their home or work . . . and then a week or so later, you get formally approved, and you THEN pay. You don't pay (or owe) a cent until it's all over, and then only if you accept the policy/rate you are offered. I was nervous as it seemed like a sketchy thing . . . all online and then having to answer health questions on the phone . . . but actually, it worked great, and so far as I could tell, was not sketchy at all. In dh's case, this allowed us to get the 20 year 500k policy for a rate we were comfortable with. We're old enough and have enough insurance now that I never expect to have to shop for life or disability coverage again, thank goodness! When we had to update his disability coverage, we had to use the standard agent system, without the magic ability to shop a zillion options at once .. . I was bumming that there wasn't a select quote thing available for disability. :) Or cars. Or house. Or . . . SelectQuote really was awesome. The entire process took about 4-6 weeks, but it was over the holidays last year, so that slowed things up a bit with the visiting nurse thing. (And the higher $$ amount policies generally take longer to process, as their medical history research/review is very involved.) Anyway, for simple term life insurance, I highly recommend the selectquote system (or I am sure there are other competing services out there, but I only have experience with select quote.)

I wish I'd kept a tighter rein on the internet-capable electronics for the under 16 crowd. I should have only had internet at desktops in communal areas, and banned internet on the portable devices. I wish I'd never allowed a gaming console in my house, ever. I'm glad I focused on academics. I'm glad I supported music. I'm glad I made the effort to support friendships/social activities in the tween and teen ages. It's easy to think your job is done once they hit 12 or so, but homeschool kids need more help staying involved in peer groups. I wish I'd had firm schooling schedules. Daily wake/sleep/work routines are important.

Woohoo!! Congrats!!! What a great Christmas gift!!

FWIW, providing health insurance is not required for very small employers, like us, who have fewer than 50 employees. Tiny employers are exempt from the ACA and many other labor laws, actually. Even though under-50-employers is a very small employer, MANY people work for tiny businesses like ours and without the ACA, they had nearly no way to buy health insurance . . . So pre-ACA, as employers, we considered it a moral imperative for us to provide it, despite the mammoth headaches involved with it. We were thrilled to drop the group plan once the ACA came out . . . BUT . . . We've added a (ACA SHOP Exchange for small employers) group health plan back to our small business for 2017, after a 3 year hiatus while we and our staff were using the ACA individual exchange, because the ACA plans have deteriorated in both quality (decreased dramatically) and price (increased dramatically) over these 3 years . . . So, we're back to providing a small group plan, even with all the headaches . . . the headaches are smaller than pre-ACA, though, since pricing is now standardized through the ACA SHOP (small business) exchange, and the elimination of pre-existing conditions reduced our paperwork by 90%. So, for us, the ACA SHOP exchange is now very valuable, but it serves just maybe 100k people nation-wide, so it's not being well utilized. . . Anyway, health insurance *is* an important benefit to our little company to offer it, as it is a desirable benefit to our support ($10-$20/hr level) staff, and would be nearly critical to recruiting a full-time veterinarian . . . which we're considering doing this coming year. Our support staff did OK with the individual ACA plans for the first few years (and we had given raises to those whose ACA plan cost would have been higher than our prior group-plan individual cost share, so they weren't out actual $$) . . . but the ACA plans have fallen apart and the pricing has gone nuts. Back before the ACA, we felt that our provision of group health insurance (we paid about 80% of the employee cost, and it was an excellent plan) was an important recruiting and retention tool for our low wage staff, as very few of our competitors offered it. (Actually, none that I knew of.) The dental and vision insurance is really nice for staff, too, as most of our entry level wage staff have neglected their teeth for a long time, especially if they didn't come from well off families who took good care of the kids' teeth . . . The dang thing about health insurance is that it is critical, vital, extremely important, and also extremely complicated to understand and to shop for. It's just way too complicated, IMHO, for us mortals to be left to shop for without serious gov't oversight and regulations. . . I've got 12 years of experience managing it for our little business and our little family, and I've spent at least hundreds of hours researching plans, etc . . . and I guarantee that I can't possibly actually know what each plan covers or does not. You can't know what it really covers until you get the 100k bill from the hospital . . . THAT was the hugest most important benefit of the ACA, IMHO -- providing a floor that defines what is an acceptable level of coverage . . . so you could then shop/compare with some small bit of confidence that when you get sick, you will be covered, and not fall into some loop hole on page. 245 of your policy document . . . Of course, all these small but meaningful improvements will likely disappear in coming months . . . and things will be even worse. . . GREAT. Just GREAT. Things are going to be so GREAT in America . . . UGH. I'm so depressed.

Yes!! It's the health insurance industry that is a huge part of the problem, I think. It's a little ironic, because there would still be a place for health insurance even after universal health coverage is offered. Supplemental health insurance policies will likely always have a place, a big place, at the table, as they do in most places with universal coverage.

FWIW, although I didn't have health problems nor intractable weight issues, I have BTDT -- and I totally understand how miserable it is. I finally just let loose on my beloved family member how ugly their comments were, how unkind it was to criticize other loved family who were fat but not in the room, and how unattractive it was for them to make such commentary, and that I would not listen to it any more, so STFU when I am around, period. The person who made the ugly comments was truly one of the best humans I've ever known, and I loved her dearly, so it was not a situation where I gleefully found a way to criticize someone . . . instead, it was a painful recognition of the truth that this wonderful person had some issues that led her to say ugly things . . . Anyway, once I threw away the blindfold of pretending everything was OK, it got much, much, much better. I might have had to repeat myself once or twice, but that's it. The problem went away . . . You have to be ready for a bit of a rumble, but it is WORTH IT, IME, because if you really love the person whose saying such ugly things, it is really hard on your relationship to hear them. Once the stream of words ends, you can begin letting the hurt go. And, FWIW, IME, these things are NOT about you. It's about the speaker, their insecurities, their fears, their judgements . . . Feel sorry for them, but for goodness sake, shut them up, too, for the good of all of you.

FWIW, I think that businesses would LOVE to decouple insurance from employment. Managing health insurance is a huge PITA, management headache, huge costs beyond the obvious premiums. Insurance can be a lure to get good employees, but it can also be the opposite. The companies who do NOT provide health coverage would likely fight against any health related reform, as it'd likely require some $$ contribution from employers. Also, huge employers who already provide coverage and can use their massive size to negotiate for good rates might also resist . . . But, I would imagine that many employers would celebrate universal health coverage. I know that I would, as an employer of 12-14, 9 of whom are full time and insurance eligible for our group plan.

I personally believe the strategic political ACA opponents actually want to medically neglect / starve out / otherwise kill off poor people. I am sure that many/most voters who vote for those politicians don't actually want those things, but I can't comprehend why they vote for the people who advocate such evil, so I'll leave it at that. I guess my best guess is that the sheeple who follow those who want to repeal the ACA (without any substantial replacement in hand . . . despite voting for many years, dozens of times, for repeal) . . . anyway, my best guess is that they just simply do not understand the complexities of modern health care financing and believe the platitudes offered by anti-ACA politicians . . . and they will be genuinely surprised when, after repeal, things get worse and worse and worse. Once the ACA-repeal folks get their wishes for repeal satisfied, unobstructed by the left, it will be enlightening to see what they do. My guess is they'll repeal the ACA, let a lot of people suffer, return to the employer-based morass that is even worse off than it was 8 years ago . . . blame all the negatives of our long-time-crappy-and-getting-crappier health care system on the short-lived ACA . . . and just let fools and folks suffer, while blaming current issues on past actions of Obama & his allies. Enough fools and folks will believe this . . . blaming everything today on history . . . and so let them get away with undo-ing the gains of the ACA and ignoring the current challenges. There will be no plan. Just suffering for those who can't afford the full costs of the current system. They'll kick the problem down the road, while congratulating themselves on imagined successes.

What on earth are you talking about??? Who is telling you that you'd be fined or put in prison if you don't participate in Medicaid? Please understand that the paperwork and hoops are largely driven by anti-public-assistance politicians (and those who vote for them) who think poor people take advantage and that any public assistance must be very restricted . . . They want poor people to prove their poverty, prove their work-willingness, prove their drug-freeness, etc, etc . . . maybe work a bunch of volunteer hours . . . all to get needed services. I UNDERSTAND that this is cruel and abusive and makes NO SENSE whatsoever. I abhor these practices, and I know they lead to many families who need help not receiving it and/or simply adds steeply to the cost of being poor. You could consult your political representatives about these problems, as *most* of them are state-level controlled. If we went to a universal health system like most modern economies, that would eliminate the hoops for health care . . . But, meanwhile, we have state legislatures advocating for drug-testing for food-stamps, requiring volunteer hours for welfare, etc, etc. More and more hoops, all for those who can least afford the time or money to jump through them. It's awful. It's wrong. Let's ALL FIX THIS. Left, right, middle . . . speak up, speak out, FIX THIS. Bring back compassion and treat others with dignity and respect. . . I'm not even a Christian, but I a big fan of Jesus, and I know for SURE the answer to "WWJD?" about health care . . . and I am quite sure it wouldn't require means testing or a lot of paperwork. I am quite, quite sure what the right thing to do is about health care. Let's hope we can get there in our lifetime.

YES!! FWIW, we administered our small group health insurance plan for nearly a decade pre-ACA. The paperwork each year was MUCH MUCH MUCH worse prior to the ACA. Every employee had to complete a life-time health history form. You actually had to report EVERY TIME YOU'VE SEEN A DOCTOR for your lifetime, or at least a decade or two. It was insane. Date/DR name/what seen for/what procedures/meds. . . really, who remembers that? The ACA drastically reduced health insurance paperwork. :)

So, let me understand this. . . You are happy to have your kids on government funded Medicaid, and you go through the hoops to do this. You'd accept that same coverage, or government subsidies, for your own adult coverage if you qualified. But, you object to government funded health care, i.e., Medicaid and ACA subsidies. Something does not compute. (And, FWIW, the ACA penalty is NOT remotely criminal. It is explicitly not criminal, as a matter of fact. Failing to have insurance is not a criminal act. There is simply a "fee" that you pay if you are not covered and are not exempt. Additionally, the collection mechanisms for this fee are quite restricted. https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/the-individual-shared-responsibility-payment-an-overview ) I have an old friend/acquaintance whose kids were on CHIP medical coverage as well as getting free lunches through most of their schooling, for over a decade, while her husband was doing his decade+ long medical training for neurosurgery (at government subsidized public universities and receiving massive federal benefits via student loans, etc) as a low income family . . . Now that they make 500k+/yr, she's now voting for those who fight funding those sorts of things, and of course, her family is benefiting from being on the receiving end of high profit health care system . . . I can understand how the self-serving nature of high income folks leads many to become more "conservative" (i.e., anti-social-welfare programs) in their voting. It makes me mad, and although my family is on the high end of the income scale, I do NOT vote that way, as I believe there is both a moral and economic imperative to take care of all our citizens, but at least it makes sense in a short-sighted and self-serving way for those at the high end of the income scale to vote that way. What I can not comprehend is why so many advocate against their self interests. If your family makes too little to qualify for the ACA-subsidies, then your family is exactly who needs more critical help accessing health care and likely many other government services (i.e, if you have a special needs child, they may need expensive therapies/special education that should be available to you via public services . . . but often are not available . . . or if you had an adult family member with disabilities, they, too, would have difficulty accessing support and care they desperately need.) I live in WV -- a very poor, -- very, very poor -- struggling state, with many, many people on the "dole" (highest disability rate in the country . . . very high rate of free lunches, Medicaid, subsidized health care, etc. etc) . . . and yet, as a state, we've voted time and again for those who want to abolish or cut those services. I suppose the poor level of education in our state probably explains many of those choices, but I know there are plenty of intelligent people out there who make nonsensical choices, too. Maybe it is some sort of mass delusion that any change is a change for the better? Anyone who thinks that *any* ordinary people (outside of the top 1/10 of 1%) can actually afford to self-fund comprehensive medical care has never seen the real billing statements from any significant medical event or hospitalization -- those bills routinely hit 6 figures for a couple week hospitalization or for a MINOR cancer . . . for a major cancer (say year long treatment with one or two surgeries and a few months of chemo), we're looking at 7 figures more often than not. Here in WV, it is the very few who can even afford a $40/copay for frequently needed (say weekly therapy) services . . . there is no way any meaningful number of people can afford self pay for modern medicine throughout a lifetime. I know that there are many issues that drive voters and drive politicians . . . but I don't understand why ALL parts of the political spectrum cannot come together to fix our health care system. Perhaps now that one party controls all branches of the federal government (and most state governments), those leaders will listen to their "better angels" and implement a humane and sound system that provides universal health care. I can only hope. In any event, I hope your family is healthy, stays healthy, and can access high quality and affordable health care when you need it. Best wishes for all.

NOT normal!!!!! Sounds to me like the crown was done badly and/or you will need a root canal! Go back to the dentist immediately, as the longer you wait, the more likely it is that you'll have irreversible nerve damage that WILL necessitate either a root canal or an extraction +/- post placement. If the dentist who did the crown can't fix it promptly, then I'd advise going to a new dentist to get it fixed ASAP -- and choose that one very carefully. I had 4 crowns done badly (too high, thus inflaming nerves) at a new-to-me dentist in 2005. I had to have them ground down and all but one were salvaged. The fourth one injured to root nerves too much, and I had to have a root canal . . . I actually drove 200 miles to my "old dentist" (I had recently moved) to have the messed up crowns assessed (after several tries over a couple weeks at the dentist who did the crowns) . . . and after his assessment and his small amount of further adjusting on the worst crown . . . I then had to wait 6 months to "see if the inflamed nerves would heal" . . . before accepting that, no, that one tooth was too injured . . . I'm so sorry. PAIN IS NOT NORMAL for a crown that didn't hurt before it was placed!! NOT NORMAL!

No, you're not out of line. Dh needs to get a grip. :) If you can afford it comfortably, then I personally think it's just fine to spend whatever you like. We've always spent what seems to me to be tons, whether we could really afford it or not, lol, because that's how my mom was and so that's how I roll. :) Nowadays, we can afford it, so that's nice, lol. I don't waste tons of money, because I don't like waste, but I buy things that are wanted/needed/appreciated with a little splurge feeling to them. You know, some fun socks instead of boring socks, lol. I actually don't spend much more now that we can afford it than back when we were living on student loans, fwiw. Having lots of presents under the tree is just imperative to my vision of Christmas. (We're not religious, so it's really a holiday about family love/time together and family giving more than a religious holiday in our home.) Maybe 300-500 per kid, but 100-200 of that might be stuff they sorta' need anyway (clothes, jammies), so really only maybe 200-300 on fun stuff. If you have the $$ to splurge, and you enjoy it, I think it's fine. I don't like spending $$$$ on routine presents just because I don't want to set a precedent . . . when a kid needs a $$$$ computer/instrument/fancy thing . . . we do it for once-in-a-lifetime events like graduations or we just give it, period, because we can and want to, but don't associate it with an annually recurring holiday. :) Seems to me like this is an issue that your dh needs some healing around . . . he probably has some heavy baggage from that rough childhood . . . Creating a feeling of abundance and joyful giving for his OWN kids might really help heal those wounds. I like the motto of "You have two chances to have the family you wanted as a kid . . . the one you grew up in (which is gone now) . . . and the one you are creating now as parents . . ." I love that, and I think there's a lot of truth to it. You *can* have a secure family and a feeling of abundance . . . this time you get to do it as the parents, though . . . So, anyway, my vote is for dh to heal . . . try to see if he is open to healing this and embracing abundance . . . If he's not interested in himself feeling better about giving . . . then, my vote would be that you and he need to agree on an annual gift/fun budget . . . that YOU feel good about, and then he needs to STFU about what you buy and just be nice about it and let YOU enjoy the abundance. And, no, it's not cool for y'all to have 400/mo of "blow money" that you spend at the movies/coffee shop/dining out/stupid stuff . . . but then say you can only spend $200 total on xmas gifts. NOPE, that's controlling and messed up. If it's your blow money, you get to spend it however you want. And, that means, IMHO, that if there's 500/mo in blow money, then you can blow it however you want . . . including spending 3000/yr on xmas if you feel like it. As long as you two are in agreement about the major financial priorities/goals/spending habits . . . then, IMHO, each of you is a free agent . . . IMHO.

"Magic" brand stainless steel cleaner is THE BEST. I have tried them all. Try it. (The right cleaner has a bit of wax/oil that leaves an invisible coating that makes it a bit smudge-resistant.)

As people age, our sense of smell is also impaired. I'm so very glad nothing terrible happened!! If I were you, I'd go ahead and invest in some sort of alarm system for the gas. I just googled and found many options, generally under $50. I'd go ahead and invest in some, to give you all peace of mind!! Wow, what a miracle!

:( :( :( I'm so sorry. Honestly, if I were you, I'd be really scared, too. I'm glad you are going to see a high level specialist/facility. I very much hope you get good news and find a treatable cause for your symptoms. When is your appointment? Do not hesitate to advocate for yourself, or to have a friend or family member advocate for you. Some people are more comfortable with a slow diagnostic process, as they can put the worries out of their mind and ease into a diagnosis. Others (self included) are so anxious during that process that they would prefer to expedite the process and hurry over to the top notch specialist with every test available immediately . . . in order to get to an answer ASAP, even if that answer is not one you'd want to hear. Wherever YOU fall on this spectrum, try to advocate for yourself so you can get the care you need at the pace YOU prefer. (((((hugs))))) and best wishes for good news ASAP.

Cinnamon rolls and an egg/sausage casserole and fruit salad.

IME, a root canal shouldn't hurt at all after the procedure. Maybe some soreness from the injections of anesthetic, but the tooth itself should be totally pain free, which is the entire point. The purpose of a root canal is to remove *all* nerves/etc, and essentially kill any sensation from that tooth. I'd check with your endodontist who did it and get seen, in person, and evaluated ASAP. One time, I had some pain a day or two after a root canal, and the endodontist saw me after hours (week end, I think) and fixed it. I don't recall what he had to do, but it was all good after that fix up. (I've had at least 3 root canals. One was done in response to long term -- about 9 months -- severe pain from a poorly done crown. The pain was always 100% gone after the root canal.) Pain is bad. I would NOT give it more time. More time means more inflamed nerves, which can easily become irreversible (as was the case with my poorly done crown that caused nerve damage and resulted in my first, blessed, root canal.) It may well be "referred pain" from other nearby teeth and/or moving teeth due to the other dental work/extractions. But, whatever it is, your teeth shouldn't hurt. Go get it fixed. (((hugs))) Dental pain is THE WORST.