Congrats on your new business - it sounds like a great concept! I had a similar experience last year. After telling a friend of mine for months about my plans to become a Life Coach (and which training/certification program I was enrolling in, my business model, etc.), she announced to me one day that she was going to become a Life Coach as well. Like your friend, she was very excited about it, kept saying "we need to get together on a regular basis to compare notes", and she was even planning on enrolling in the same program I was in. Before she told me about her plans, I had shared some specific ideas with her about a group coaching concept I wanted to start up here in town, and exactly how I was planning to do that. After her "announcement", she kept saying how great it would be to partner on that - I'm not looking for a business partner!! We would also have been in competition during our training/certification since new coaches are required to complete a certain number of coaching hours (and most people tap into their circle of friends/acquaintances for that - our circle is shared to some degree). For awhile, she was calling me every other day to talk about it and press me for more info. My initial reaction was EXACTLY like yours and I was uncomfortable with it for weeks. :glare: After talking to a few other friends (who don't know this person), I finally came to peace with it. Everyone agreed it wasn't cool, but they all told me "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Fast forward 6 months later: I'm 2 months away from completing my program and have been working on my business start-up in parallel. My friend has dropped out of hers (she ended up enrolling in a different program). She hasn't mentioned it for the past two months and I haven't brought it up. Our friendship hasn't suffered. ;) I hope things work out in your situation, and I wish you all the best with your business! :001_smile:

:iagree: I've also only heard it as "Preaching to the choir".

LOL!! :lol: These stories are great... I actually really like "Howard in Heaven" - it has a very fatherly, comforting ring to it! :)

hob·by n. pl. hob·bies An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Hobby Reading Hiking Skiing - main reason we moved to Colorado! Trying out new restaurants Wine - enjoy it and like to learn more about it while I'm enjoying it :tongue_smilie: Travel I just replied to the other "hobby" thread and noted that I didn't think I had many hobbies... But with the definition above, I guess I do!

Yup!! My DH is out of town on a business trip for the next three weeks... I really don't feel like cooking tonight, so I was actually just thinking about taking the kids out to eat when I saw this post (LOL!)... :tongue_smilie:

Great post and well stated. Thanks! :)

Interesting way to look at it... I've never really thought about it in this way. I don't really have a hobby - unless you count the voracious consumption and collection of books as such. ;) We do have disposable income and as mentioned, I'm constantly reading and like to buy lots of books (although I'm using the library more now - mainly because we're simply out of room!!). In terms of the impact of disposable income on hobbies, I guess that can be a factor but I would imagine that there are plenty of hobbies that don't cost much. When I was still working full-time, I didn't have time for hobbies although I had plenty of money. I had more hobbies as a child, and I was raised by a single mom who was struggling to get by. So in my case at least, the equation of "more disposable income = more hobbies" has not held true. It's been the opposite.

Just chiming in to offer support (I'm right there with ya!!)... :bored: I think the advice to take a few days off to get things in order is great. Something else that I've been focusing on lately (when I start feeling completely overwhelmed) is to give myself more grace. I've come to realize that most (if not all) of the pressure in my life is coming from me. So the best way for me to relieve pressure is to not be so hard on myself, to be more realistic and accepting of my limitations, and to relax more. That might mean just sitting down in the middle of a mess that is screaming out for me to clean it, and cuddling up with DS and DD to read a book. I've started doing this more and it's amazing how quickly that helps me regain my perspective. It doesn't help me get things done any quicker, but it helps me handle everything in my day in a more positive manner.

I think you've gotten some great advice from the previous posters... I live in Colorado Springs - if you're in this area, I might be able to help you in some way (job connections, etc.). Let me know! Hope things start looking up soon!

I don't have any experience with having my kids in public school (and I myself went through the German school system so don't have a reference point from my own school experience either). However, writing is OUR toughest subject (with DS 6.5). It's the only thing he regularly balks at - it's a daily struggle and his skills in this area are still very basic. I've looked at the grade-level expectations for public school and have had the same questions as the OP (DS is definitely NOT on par with those expectations when it comes to writing - although he's ahead in all other subjects). Somewhere along the way I read some advice that said to just stick with it and make sure you do some writing practice on a daily basis - and EVENTUALLY, they'll get it. So even though DS is not on par with the standard expectations right now, I feel confident that he'll get there. That's the beauty of homeschooling, right? We can tailor our approach to each individual child.

Fun read - thanks for sharing! :)

If you haven't already, I would call the bank and just explain to them that you have a concern and ask what they can do (perhaps they can put temporary monitoring on your account or they can note something on their end that Check #1234 shouldn't be clearing for more than $50 or whatever the amount is). Hope it turns out that your sales guy was one of the "good guys"!

Love, love, love my DVR!! Although we now mainly use the recording option through our satellite TV company (DISH Network - previously we had DirectTV which was also great). I rarely watch live TV anymore - we just record our favorites (American Idol, The Office, Modern Marvels, Curious George, and My Name is Earl re-runs :)) and watch when we have time...

It's always interesting to hear others' perspectives on the "S" issue - so thanks for starting this thread! I actually have somewhat of the opposite problem. I'm very extroverted - but DS (6.5) struggles with social interactions and easily becomes overwhelmed if there are more than 1-2 other kids involved. We learned this over the course of the last year after I started up a homeschool support group just so he could have LOTS of opportunities to be with other kids! :001_huh: In one year, the group has grown to 143 homeschooling families and we have 3-5 get-togethers every week (mainly social - hikes, park days, fun field trips, etc.) - but we end up skipping a lot of them (especially if I know that it's going to be a larger group) because I know DS is going to have a tough time. It's a bit ironic that we don't participate more in the group that I specifically started for DS. But it's about what he needs and what's best for him, so I'm not too concerned about it (and I recently turned over leadership of the group to a friend whose family is much more active in it). When he's ready, we'll get more involved. As for me, I've made a commitment to myself to make time to get together with friends at least 1-2 times per week for a few hours. That time is precious to me and if I miss a week or so, it does impact me. I have no problem with "alone time" but I value my "friend time" just as much. So in response to the OP's question "Is this enough?", I would say "Yes". It's about what is best for you and your kids, and what level of social interaction feels right to you.

My first came one week early - 10 hour labor after my water broke. My second came 3 days early - only 2 hours of labor after my water broke and she was born 22 minutes after we got to the hospital (I thought she was going to be born on the side of the freeway!!)... Wishing you a smooth delivery! :)

Wow!! That would be tough to respond to in a nice way... :confused1: Sorry you got such a frustrating response. Hope your mom will become more supportive of your decision!

That's bizarre! My first guess would have been muscle development as well... Since it's moving from your hips to your waist, maybe it will all eventually consolidate in the bust area?? :tongue_smilie: That's what I'd be hoping for... ;)

That's a great book - I second that recommendation... Sounds like you've got a fantastic opportunity, although I hear that it doesn't feel that way right now... Not sure if you're looking for advice or just needed to vent. If you just needed to vent, stop here. :) If I were in your shoes (and I've BEEN in your shoes - worked full-time in some pretty high-stress positions for 18 years before becoming a SAHM last year), I would sit down with my manager and discuss the following: - How does your manager define "success" for this position? Get him to state clearly what that success looks like for your position and what he expects from you - write it down and email it back to him after your meeting so you both have a permanent record. You may want to have your mom (as the business partner) look this over as well to ensure she's in agreement. - What are the specific job performance objectives (i.e. what needs to get done on a monthly/quarterly/annual basis)? Do you have performance objectives for this role that you and your boss have agreed to? Discussing and documenting them can go a long way in both relieving your stress (you have a written plan and know what's expected - so if you're doing what's in that plan, you don't have to wonder whether your boss is happy with your work) and optimizing your performance for the company (because you're focusing on what everyone agrees is most important). I did this with my employees on a quarterly basis and then we met at least every two weeks to track progress, discuss issues, and tweak objectives as necessary. This will also come in handy if "Shiny New Toys" want to add to your plate - if it's not in the objectives, you simply bring the issue to your manager and ask him whether the latest request is worth reprioritizing other objectives for (basically the premise is that if someone else wants to add something to your plate, then something that is already there may need to be put on hold). A question for you (and perhaps for later discussion with your manager/mom): do you have a Development Plan (i.e. a plan that will help you develop and get ready to take over the company some day)? This is a plan that you would write together with your boss and/or mom, that outlines specifically how you're going to get from "here" to "there" (skills you'll need to acquire, positions you'll need to work, etc.). It will also help make your manager/mom more aware of what you will need from them in order to get there - which may help with some of the issues and stress in the interim. HTH and good luck! :)

Sorry you're having such a tough time finding a good doctor! I know that can be frustrating (we had a similar issue finding a good pediatrician). Have you tried one of the "doctor reviews/ratings" websites? Some you have to pay for, but others provide basic patient ratings for free (e.g. you can see how many "stars" the doctor you're checking out received from patient reviews). I don't know any of those links off hand, but just Google "doctor ratings" and see what comes up. Or you can Google a specific doctor's name and location - I've done that before and it usually pulls up one of the ratings websites on the first page. Good luck!

There are very few movies I've found worthwhile in the past several years... Seems like all of them have something "thrown in" just for the shock factor that ends up turning me off. There's just way too much gratuitous sex, violence and profanity in movies today that adds absolutely NOTHING to the story line. I also didn't care for Titanic (and thought I was the only one - who knew there were so many of us?? :tongue_smilie:) and I decided not to see Bridges of Madison County (because the story line totally turned me off). I have walked out of a movie theater many times - I refuse to sit through something mind-numbing and pointless just because I paid for it (and more often than not, I've been able to get a refund). Another one to add to the list (unless I missed it above): Waterworld with Kevin Costner. There was nothing offensive about it (at least not the portion that I saw) - it was just completely asinine. I walked out of the theater after the first 10 minutes.

Personally, I don't have a problem with moms saying they're homeschooling their toddlers/preschoolers (and I'm meeting more and more of them - we have at least 20 moms in our HS group who fall into this category). However, I do understand your point. I don't think the "mainstream meaning" of homeschooling is changing - but I think more and more moms are learning about homeschooling (which is very positive IMO) and are therefore identifying themselves as homeschoolers. Who knows - many of them may decide to homeschool their child(ren) once they're school age, even though that wasn't their plan starting out. I know some moms who see the early years as a "trial period" during which they're trying to figure out whether they could/want to homeschool. So, as far as I'm concerned, it's all good...

:iagree: I think that's the key - the other person has to bond with the pet(s) if the issue is going to be resolved. DH and I went through something similar with the dogs he brought into our relationship. They were his dogs (had been since they were puppies) and they had been with him for 7 years before we even met. It was clear that they only tolerated me (one of them would always try to squeeze between us on the couch when we first started dating - I was encroaching upon her territory!). I had always considered myself a "dog person" but I really struggled to bond with them (and did my fair share of complaining about how they always tracked mud in the house, etc.). I finally just had to decide that because they were important to DH, they were important to me. They both passed away a few years ago (at age 13 and 14 respectively) and I'm glad that I had resolved my issue well before that. After being pet-free for a year after the dogs passed away, we adopted a cat. Since we adopted her together, it's been completely different - she's our cat. We both love her, she's messy at times, but it's no big deal. Don't know if that helps - but (based on my experience being in your DH's shoes) your DH just needs to realize how important your pets are to you and make the decision to change. Easier said than done, I know... :001_huh: And having said that, there are some people who just aren't "pet people" - don't know what you do in that situation....

That's brilliant!! Planning major projects for "that time of the month"! Something I'll need to seriously consider (I would get SO much more done if I have a plan ready to channel all that energy into)...!! :D

Yep - once a month, I get the "urge" to massively clean my house... Last month, I stayed up until 3 AM cleaning!! I wish that urge would hit more often... ;)

:grouphug: I don't have any personal experience with this either, but just wanted to applaud you for continuing to love and support your mom, despite how difficult this has been for you and your family.