No they aren't. I have been to alot of weddings lately and they all had them, and they are just really bothering me. I helped a friend clean up after her step daughters wedding and most of those little ditty items were all in the trash. What a waste of resources. They are just another reminder to me of mass commericalism gone amuck... Please tell your daughter to save herself the money I really feel all these wedding favors are the McDonalds toys of weddings.:D

That is an excellent link, thanks for sharing!

I feel so bad for you guys. I soooooooooooooooo feel your pain but I can say you are a wonderful owner to have her put to sleep and not let her suffer. It is hard, but it is the right thing. Sorry again.

Pamela, :grouphug: I know it is hard, but you will get through this one day at a time. I wish I could write as eloquently as you do, and then I am sure I would be able to word something better than this small reply. I do know that you are such an intelligent, spiritual and wise person that you and dh will make this situation work for your family. I hope it goes smoothly for all of y'all. You are in my prayers.

I read this book in 8th grade in 1976...and I loved it! I was the most protected, naive child in the world and it didn't ruin me. It did however really surprise me that there were really drugs and bad people out there...I had no idea!:001_smile:

No, but my aunt will be 102 on 9/9/09...

Texmex, I agree with hiring a good CPA or tax lawyer. I do disagree with the comment the article made that beneficiaries must pay taxes on the value of whatever they inherit. The article was unclear making it sound like all pay taxes where they don't. The IRS does not tax inheritance unless the amount exceed gift in excess of 1 million and estates up to $3.5 million, quoting the IRS here "only total taxable estates and lifetime gifts that exceed $1,000,000 will actually have to pay tax. In its current form, the estate tax only affects the wealthiest 2 percent of all Americans. Most relatively simple estates (cash, publicly traded securities, small amounts of other easily valued assets, and no special deductions or elections, or jointly held property) do not require the filing of an estate tax return. A filing is required for estates with combined gross assets and prior taxable gifts exceeding $1,500,000 in 2004 - 2005; $2,000,000 in 2006 - 2008; and $3,500,000 effective for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2009." That info can be found here http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=164871,00.html I know you were quoting an article, and part of what is in the article is correct and part is not. I ran it by my dh (he is a CPA) and he agreed. Now certain states do tax the inheritance, and of course any taxes that were due by the estate would be due payable. Alicia: Hire a good attorney. A good attorney can nip this in the bud and get this going. There is to much money at stake not to hire an attorney. I actually think that once the sister realizes what she is doing is not legal, she very well may realize she needs to follow up on her duties as an executor. She really may be confused, thinking her executorship gives her rights that she is not entitled to (rights that don't exist such as waiting a year or two to even start to sell). It would be wise to get the property appraised, to know what it is really worth. When you do go to sell, the amount of the sale whether their is a profit or loss will depend on the value of the property at his time of death. Keep receipts for any work done, etc. And again, I"m so sorry this is happening. I know some may think I"m not putting family first, but that is not the case. I think his sister has not followed what is best for the family, and she needs prodding to do the right thing. Your husband needs legal counsel to protect his assets. I for one think that a lawyer is going to end up saving him money as his assets could disappear if the sister say does not keep the house insured and their is a fire, disaster, etc... He needs protection and help. Hang in there.

My dd got pertussis when she was 5. She was diagnosed at the Children's Hospital by them taking a swab down her nose, ... it was not comfortable. She was not fully vaccinated because on her first DTaP at 2 months she reacted to the vaccination so they were concerned it was the pertussis portion. She was vaccinated, but not with the pertussis portion. If she had not had an allergic reaction, I would have had her vaccinated for it. (I went on advice of pediatrician) She started Kindergarten and caught it .... it was so hard on her. She literally looked like a rabid dog when she would cough so hard that foam literally was around her mouth. We spent a great deal of time at the emergency room until she was properly diagnosed and confirmed what it was. It took her almost 4 months to finally clear up, but she did have asthma so maybe she was weaker than some children. After watching what she went through, I would not wish pertussis on anyone. I hope you get well soon!

:grouphug: I do wonder why certain schools behave so secretely? I had this happen also. Newbie gave you excellent advice so I'll only concur with everything she said on that. I would definitely postpone the meeting until you have had time to see/read/fully review the report.

I'm going to second getting a second opinion. My daughter takes Trileptal and it has helped her so much. It did take awhile for her to get used to it. If you can, get another opinion...

We have adopted 3 older dogs through either the Humane Society or Rescue and they have all been wonderful. We have adopted from a one year old to an eight year old (all of them Boxers) and they have been each one a wonderful addition to the family. I only had one of them make a mistake one time piddling in hte house (her first day here), and the rest never made any bathroom errors at all. They have all been housedogs (we have two of them now, the oldest made it (the nearly 8 yr old) 4 years before we lost her to cancer). I am a big fan of taking in an older dog.

:iagree: Native Texan who loves Tex-Mex and I also love true Mexican food. I cook lots of vegetarian recipes here, but I ditto everything above (except I use a soy substitute for ground beef). I also love green chiles and cilantro in lots of dishes...

See their website here: http://teachingtextbooks.com/v/vspfiles/tt/FAQs.htm#q27 It says: Can I resell all my Teaching Textbooks? A. Yes, you most definitely can. And there is absolutely no limit to the number of times our products can be resold. Just remember that if a Math 5, 6, or 7 product has already been used on more than two computers, the buyer will need to call our offices so we can quickly give him/her a new installation code.

Is your computer dead or did your hard drive crash? If your hard drive is okay, you can pull the drive out and put it in a hard drive dock and attach via a usb port to another computer and just pull the files over that way. If your drive is still okay, it is not that hard to pull the data off with a dock (it should cost you less than $30 or $40 dollars at Best Buy, etc) HTH

I don't have any advice, but a super big :grouphug: because I know you are dealing with alot of pain. May this be over with quickly for you!

:iagree: Definitely time to be done with this, everyone needs to move forward.

Me too. Bonding requirements depends on the State you live in, whether the executor is out of state, etc and also some write into their wills that bonding is not necessary. I was not required to be bonded either when I was an executor of an estate. The sister in law may or may not have been required to be bonded.

Danestress, I agree about talking first, your advice is very sound. Let me clarify why I am really pushing talking to legal help so that Alicia and her husband know legally where they stand. I know it is always best to try and work things out with legal means, but knowledge is power. If her husband knows legally what his sister should be doing, what his rights are, he can more effectively talk to her and reason with her to comply to his needs. So Alicia, to be clear in what I am saying, talk to the lawyer (or several). Get your facts in a row and find out what you can and can't do. Then have your husband talk to his sister without mentioning the lawyer. There is no reason to have a lawyer take action if your husband can motivate his sister to action otherwise. So get professional advice, assimilate it, and have your husband try and get his sister to do what needs to be done in a family friendly way. If she refuses and sticks with her 12 year plan, he will need legal help but at least he knows he tried to work it out with her first.

Alicia, pick up the phone and call some estate attorneys tomorrow. Many lawyers will offer you some general advice for free over the phone. Your sister in law is stalling, I have been an executor and her actions do not appear to be in the best interest of the estate. They appear to be in her best interest (free living). 18 months have gone by? That is execessive. Your husband can force the sale of the house. You need a lawyer and even if the lawyer cost a chunk of change, you could possibly ask the court to collect your costs from her from the execessive delay or her not acting in good faith. Your husband deserves money for each month they use his portion of the house. I'm not a lawyer, but I've dealt with a similar mess...get professional help and it is not nearly as expensive as you think. It will also help you get on with your lives. Peace be with you.

I would suggest (very strongly) that you make an appointment with a probate or estate attorney, someone who specializes in wills/probate etc. You need legal advice, and an executors job is to follow the wishes of the deceased. If the property was to be evenly split, she is just delaying... First of all, if this property is divided into 1/3, then your husband owns one third of the house they are living in rent free. They should be paying him rent for his portion. Remember, you need a lawyer, don't do this by yourself. If their is enough to pay off a mortgage, all the more so to seek qualified legal representation. The more they delay the worse this mess is going to get: Please read the following: http://www.ca-trusts.com/probatefaq.html

I am missing him too! His posts always force me to think . Missing him:001_smile:

Hi Melissa, I think if your son likes workbooks, then Easy Grammar 5/6 would be a great choice. Easy Grammar redid the style of their books a couple of years ago, so the new ones go by just one grade at a time, the older style combined years. I prefer the combined year style. Your son is very likely telling you the full truth he did not learn any indepth grammar in 5th. I know that in my area, they tend to start teaching grammar at about 6 or 7th grade. If you buy 5/6, try and find a teachers edition as the teachers edition has the unworked workbook page on one side, and on the opposite side, the worked version. My daughter just folds the book over and doesn't look at the answers until she is done. Easy Grammar is a gentle, good choice for an introduction to grammar. Each lesson is one day and will not take more than 15 minutes. Easy Grammar has some of the combined teachers books on clearance for $8.00 plus shipping http://www.easygrammar.com/sale.html You can call them to order. You asked about the earlier books, the earlier books do introduce prepositions, only not as many. He will be just fine with the 5/6... I personally think he will enjoy the book.

nmoira...Thank you for taking the time to write all that out. It is very much appreciated! Dancer those were great questions, I 'm glad you asked them because I was wondering the same thing!:001_smile:

I want to go ahead and buy Latin Prep for my 11 year old. What exactly do I need to purchase for this year? I want to start at the beginning, even though we have done LFC A. When I go to the two websites that I can order it from, I become overwhelmed. Laura or anyone else who knows this, please tell me what to purchase as I always purchase way to much of a new product without advice from an expert. Thanks!

What an interesting question. I had to really sit and think about this, as my honest answer is a definite Yes. First we have been married 23 years, two weeks after we were married dh got very sick and was quickly diagnosed with Multiple Scelerosis. It was a rough few years with his health and then it settled down. Like Pamela brought out, she made her marriage work in spite of some difficult circumstances, and we have done the same. DH and I are very happily married, but it took alot of work to stay that way. I'm a very happy wife, but I work very hard to be a good spouse and so does he. So having said all that, my answer is DEFINITELY YES because the best thing about my dh is that he has worked hard to be a good husband/father/friend and even though we had our personality clashes, this guy tries so hard. I've gotta love em, I do, and I would definitely marry him again.