Posterior here too. 21 hours labor - an epidural after 14. Pitocin. Awful back labor until I had the epidural, then relief. The good news? The OB and nurses twisted me in a position that turned DD during labor. It involved twisting my torso, crossing one leg over the other, and lifting my arms up. I don't know why it worked, all I know is that it worked and I was so glad. She was born face down. It was all completely worth it in the end.

Praying!!

Something must be in the water because I'm decluttering too! My living room has been overhauled, bookcase and all. The book all survived, but many were relegated to the back row (yes, we stack 'em two deep here). I'm deep in the bedroom now and those books are shaking. If I can just keep the momentum going into DH's room, which we call the "depo"!

I liked the Ektoro when I saw it in the store. When it comes time to buy it's at the top of my list. Look at buying a second set of slipcovers so you can trade out when it needs to be cleaned.

This. Sit her on a potty and give her plenty of time. She may be irregular with all the changes, and will need some time to get things moving along.

If you're in Texas there's an Ikea in Dallas, not so far to go....

:grouphug: :grouphug:

I haven’t read everyone’s updates, will do that after DD goes to bed. For now I just wanted to post my progress. After last week’s downward blip I managed to pull out a good reading week – finished three books! Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard was fabulous. A lot of good food for thought and some things I’m able to implement immediately. We have lots and lots of change here so I hope I’m able to use the information effectively. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother was a book that I found available from the library for the Kindle and grabbed. I've wanted to read it for a while, ever since it came out and there was all that controversy. I’ll avoid firing it back up and just say that I live in a land where a kinder, gentler, but no less demanding version of the Tiger Mother exists pretty much everywhere. It helps me understand what my kid is up against. The Paris Wife was another book I found available from the library for Kindle – which surprised me - but I grabbed it and devoured the book in two nights (insomnia does that). Loved it. Loved it! I want to read Hemingway now, especially A Moveable Feast. I don’t normally like knowing the private lives of public figures, but I already knew Hemingway was an @$$. I had to remind myself that it was a work of fiction. I also made decent progress in Book Three of The Histories, and am going to concentrate on them this week. My reading buddy is patiently waiting for me to catch up! I need to get back to my regularly scheduled programming of reading the Ancients. Finished: 7. The Paris Wife, Mclain (Library Spree) ***** 6. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua (Library Spree) *** 5. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, Heath (Library Spree) **** 4. Book Was There: Reading in Electronic Times, Piper (Library Spree) *** 3. Alias Grace, Atwood (Library Spree, Canadian) *** 2. The Song of Achilles, Miller (Library Spree) **** 1. The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood (Canadian/Continental, TBR/Dusty) **** In Process: The Iliad, Homer The Histories, Herodotus Aggie Amy's Rating System (which I’ve adopted): ***** - Fantastic, couldn't put it down **** - Very good *** - Enjoyable but nothing special ** - Not recommended * - Horrible

Paperback books to maximize the number while minimizing weight. A variety of levels, a variety of subjects. A few familiar stories that have been translated to Romanian so one can more easily discern what is happening in the story and therefore decode the language (I'm doing this with Peter Pan in Turkish). A dictionary. Not a Romanian -English translation one but a straight Romanian dictionary. Ok, maybe a translation one too. DVDs are helpful too, but with region encoding you may have trouble playing them in the US. We had this problem, it's frustrating.

If someone is pulling you aside in the kitchen, when you return to the living room I would say, in front of everyone, "OK, so if I understood Sally correctly in the kitchen, Her schedule is such that she is unable to commit to any dates or times to provide food for MIL. Therefore, we need to find a way to make up for this. Any ideas?" Then sit there. When she starts backtracking, say "Oh no, I understand it's hard for you, and hard to admit you're so booked, that's why you mentioned it in the kitchen. I'm just trying to find a solution." Then sit there.

So are all the SILs by marriage, that is, are all the children of your MIL sons? I ask, because where are the husbands (sons) in this picture? Are they also refusing to help? What are they saying when their wives are complaining about helping their mother?

ABF has a great "POD" service that is cheaper than actual PODS. I've used them more than once and they are great.

I live overseas from my family and with the time difference and schedules I often HAVE to rely that word will spread without me calling everyone. Even for big things. It's just the way it is. Please don't be offended.

Kindles last a long time, and you can recharge them in airports. DD and I hung out in a corner charging both the iPad and Kindle on our last transit and the charges held the whole trip with that one boost. A vacation without books is a disaster waiting to happen. DH and I take a book or e-reader everywhere. They are our insurance against delays. The gods are always conniving against us mere humans, and we always encounter perfect reading opportunities (read: delays) when we are stupidly without reading material. They are part of our "go to sleep" routine, and sometimes part of the wake up one too.

Awesome.

Drive across country. Look into staying on the cheap near national parks and seeing everything. My family did this when I was 9 almost 10 and it was wonderful. I like to joke that we saw every national park, forest, and scenic view between the Pacific and Atlantic, but boy did we have fun (and killed three months between assignments for my dad).

:iagree:

The Tooth Fairy got caught off guard with the first tooth so DD was blessed with a 20 lira note (about $10). Subsequent teeth will probably get a couple of lira coins each. But we both forgot the last tooth. :blush:

No, they haven't. One of DD's favorite things to do in the States is go to the library. For as long as she can remember, I have literally turned her loose in the children's section and said pick what you want. Her face always lights up. She and I go around the shelves, looking for whatever has piqued her fancy (cats, school, trains). Our library in VA was better than our current one, but to her it's still magical. Every now and then we find a book that calls to her and we end up buying it at the bookstore because she won't let me return the library's copy. Other times we find gems we didn't know existed. Our library isn't amazing, but it isn't awful. And it's invaluable to me. I'm using it now through the e-book lending system, and I'm several thousand miles away. Furthermore, I'm likely to buy a couple of the books I've borrowed through this same system because I want to spend more time with them. That would not have happened otherwise.

Hijacking just to say I truly love Rosie's ways of expressing things. I don't know if this is standard "Australian", but I love it!

I tried a few recipes from Deceptively Delicious and they worked with DD, but after a while she started tasting the difference, and the texture wasn't "right" for her. So I'm back to feeding her what she'll eat and trying other veggies little by little.

Get well soon!!!

Every mastiff I've ever met was convinced he/she was a lapdog. Literally. They are such adorable gentle giants.

Embarrassed to admit it this, but I woke up in the middle of the night wondering about the undead turtle and logged in just to check on him.