I have gotten over my "fear", but I still pass out every single time if I am not laying down (lying?). It is frustrating because I love all things medical and would absolutely have a career in medicine if it wasn't for this issue. I even tried to de-sensitize by watching youtube videos of people getting shots and IV's (they are training videos). It did help SOME, and I still do it on occasion. It is just a matter of self-control I have to exercise when it is time to get a vaccination or bloodwork.

The dollar store is a great stop for souvenirs before you go. They have a lot of disney stuff, and glow sticks too, for night time. (buy extra glow sticks though, about 1/3 are usually duds). If you bring your own water bottles, the counter service restaurants will refill them for you if you ask.

:lol:

I have a husband who can't whisper! He drives me crazy and no its not a hearing problem. When he tries to "whisper" he still uses his normal voice but just quieter.

Address the issue in terms of health rather than weight. I have a bad sweet tooth, and when I start to put on some weight, I never say "mom needs to lose some weight". I do say, "mom needs to eat more healthy foods". Or "mom needs to lay off the junk food and take better care of herself." :) Just recently DD11 noticed her tummy is pooching. (She hates fruits and vegis and hates to exercise.) When she commented on it, I mentioned that sometimes your body is telling you that you need to take better care of it. Then we talked more about calories, exercise, etc. Yes, I totally agree our girls especially get poor body messages from the media and alot of other areas. But I don't feel like the answer to that is to just say "your body is fine no matter what", which is the route some parents take. Parents are afraid to address the issue so they don't give their girls bad messages. But you can address it in a way that is healthy, which is better than ignoring it. The truth is that in many cases (not all) your body tells you something about the state of your eating and health.

Wow, very nice! This is something I have felt myself but never heard articulated. Thank you!

Love these. Originally intended to roll like enchilada, I just layer. Black Bean & Spinach Enchilada Casserole 2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed 2 tablespoons lime juice 1 tsp Cajun seasoning 1 tsp chili powder ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp garlic powder ½ tsp onion powder 2 10-oz pkgs frozen chopped spinach ¼ c butter ½ tsp minced garlic 2 tbsp flour 1 c milk 8 oz velveta cheese 1 tsp hot sauce 1 8-oz container sour cream 8 8-in flour tortillas 2 pkgs shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Mix first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Cook spinach according to package, drain and set aside. Melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Whisk in flour until smooth – 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk and cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes until mixture is thick and bubbly. Add cheese, hot sauce, Cajun seasoning, and whisk until cheese is melted. Stir in spinach, until heated through. Stir in sour cream. Spray bottom of a lasagna pan. Layer tortillas, beans, spinach, Monterey Jack cheese. End with tortilla, spinach, and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes covered, then uncovered 5-10 minutes.

Other posters are absolutely correct. It was not the one movement that caused the problem, it was the one movement that pushed the problem over the edge. Stretches, exercises to strengthen core, walking (all these things once you are able) will prevent future problems. But you have to do them consistently for them to work. If you can nip this in the bud at this point before the problems become chronic, you will be much better off. Your body is sending you a message! Take it seriously!

:grouphug: I am fortunate enough that hubby supports in other ways. Both parties have to contribute, even if it is in different areas. It is normal to be frustrated and unhappy if that isn't happening.

This is good advice I will be trying!

So this is probably somewhat normal I guess. You just get tired of "doing it all" sometimes... But thanks for the support, ladies! It just feels better to share sometimes.

You're right, that goes along with "letting him do it his own way" which seems such a big deal to men! It makes me crazy though. BTW, saw your WW signature stats - that is awesome! Congrats!

I am the primary parent for homeschooling. My husband is totally "in favor" of us choosing to homeschool. So this year, DD is 11 and in 6th grade. Hubby is a serious amatuer photo guy, and spends MUCH of his free hobby time in Photoshop playing around with pictures. The man KNOWS photoshop inside and out. I had this great idea that hubby should share this knowledge with DD, who is also very artistic and very tech savvy. I discussed with hubby, who thought that was a "great idea". I found and purchased a disk about "Learning Photoshop Elements with Digital Scrapbooking" which I thought would be a great medium. Hubby agreed to spend about 30 minutes on this with DD, once a week. About 3 weeks before school started, I asked hubby if he had looked it over, had a plan...no, not yet. Two weeks into school, asked again, no, I need to do that. Six weeks into school...."It's not like I haven't been busy doing other things!" Really? To clarify, hubby has a very flexible job that has him out of town much of the spring and summer, but in town and often down time in the fall and winter. He IS NOT working 40 hours a week right now. Myself, in addition to HSing and home caring, work 2 part-time jobs that take about 15-20 hours per week. After much discussion at the six-week mark, hubby had ONE LESSON with her. We are now at 11 weeks. I am about to take this on myself out of anger, but why do I care so much about her learning things, and even something hubby is an expert at he doesn't have time to share for THIRTY FREAKING MINUTES PER WEEK! Ok....calming down. Side note, hubby is very loving and caring hubby and father a majority of the time. Is this normal behavior for men when it comes to schooling? Do any of your hubbies help with school?

Actually, I was not in the punishing camp, but in the camp that as a parent you need to know about it so you can address it. The OPs DD was not being open with her about it. The fact that she found out about it via "an invasion of privacy" is not an issue with me, and not a reason not to discuss it or to be ashamed of. I agreed with the poster that said the issue isn't the sexting or the phone calls, but that the parent needs to address the issues behind her deciding to be sexually active and to address the bc and further implications. But, in disclosure, I am also of the opinion that whether the kid is an "adult" or not, by living at home they do in fact subject themselves to whatever parameters the family decides to maintain.

See, I don't get this. In line with my previous post, is it going to be your business if your daughter comes home with a new baby to raise? And you end up helping to raise it so your daughter can go to college and maybe still have a life? Is it going to be your business if five years from now you are helping your daughter financially to deal with custody issues regarding a psycho dad she slept with when she was 17? Not being critical to you specifically, I know many parents feel that way. I just really don't get it.

Absolutely agree. I also have trouble with any suggestion that an "invasion of privacy" was a bad thing. I have a dear friend whose 17 year old just got pregnant. Boyfriend is totally non-supportive. The 17 will be living at home, parents will be helping with the baby. So, as far as privacy goes....the fact is that YOUR FAMILY will likely be impacted by this "almost adult"s choices. That trumps the privacy issue IMO. My neice was 18 but still living at home, but my sis knew she was sexually active. I asked my sis "is she on BC". Sis replied, "Its none of my business, she is an adult." Well, FIVE YEARS have gone by, with my sis and her husband sharing their home with niece and her baby. Sis and husband looked forward to having nice times together, enjoying their older years. Not happening. So, it turned out to be not so private a matter after all. Please don't stand back because you think it is none of your business. As long as you love her, and especially as long as she is living in your home, it is your business.

I have a kid like this, and it is very frustrating. I have always been somewhat of an "over-achiever". I always look for ways to do things better, and I'm never satisfied with doing the bare minimum. My kid is NOT LIKE THIS. Her favorite phrase is "that's good enough".:rolleyes: She has been this way since toddlerhood, and remains this way at 11. If there is anyway to help her, I sure don't know it. Honestly this is why I signed up for teacher support with the cirriculum I'm using. I paid alot of extra money, not really for the "teaching" help, but more for her to be able to hear some outside judgment. It has helped when the teacher has been the one to say "that work was really sloppy, I know you can do better". Or, "I think you could have put more effort into this." It impacts her more coming from outside sources. She just rolls her eyes at me. That's the only thing I have found that makes any difference. We have talked for years about how your work reflects on who you are, etc. Nothing has helped. Discouraging!

It is prudent to check for bed bugs in ANY hotel where you are staying. Bed bugs can appear at any hotel, regardless of cleanliness, regardless of cost, because they are brought there by guests and can appear at any time. A report at a hotel doesn't mean the whole hotel is infested, and the fact that a hotel does not have a report does not mean there are not bed bugs there. Do the checks recommended by previous posters. We stayed at Disney about 3 weeks ago, and checked the bed. Nothing found. If I had found something, I would have reported it immediately and asked to be moved. But, I would have not been especially angry at the hotel, nor would I expect never to stay there again. The bedbug epidemic is hitting all hotels, at all levels of service, very hard. You should always check for bugs, and you should judge the hotel by the response to your issue.

Thanks for the "encouragement"! :)

I know it seems a little overboard. The family is really great though. They just are very into "everything as a family". Example, when my DD goes over to visit, the mom doesn't like the two girls to go off in her room to play. She likes them to stay out in the main family area. She always said, "she's not just coming to visit S, she is visiting our family." Which I didn't get at first, but it helped my DD to see other points of view, and to be friendly and speaking to everyone in the family. It was a little strange at first, but we had much good discussion about it. We really saw how the way we were raised made our perceptions and styles different. Her family lived rural, and when she had friends visit as a kid they stayed for days and just participated in the regular routine of the family. When I had friends visit, it was always a big deal. My mom always did something special, I got to do special things with "the guest" etc. There's just very different perceptions. I know she didn't mean anything bad, but I'm glad she finally listened to my reasoning.

Ok, talked more and reached an agreement. The mom did want the whole family there, but we agreed that the girls will be given a few minutes alone to discuss, then we two moms would go in and confirm that everything has been worked out and that everyone feels ok. We are both fine with this agreement. Good grief, though, what a drama...

I do get that about different family styles. I'm just trying to weigh that against what the results might be. Thanks for your responses! Sometimes I like to do a self-check to make sure I'm not totally missing something. You guys are awesome for that!

Well, I tried that...but she is insisting they want to handle this "as a family". Normally I would go along since my DD was the one in the wrong, but I feel a little protective of DD in this situation and don't want her to feel like a criminal in front of the whole family. (She already has some self-accusation issues).

My DD11 has been best friends with another girl for about 5 years (I will call her S). We are also very close with the family and spend alot of time together. A couple of weeks ago DD came to me with a confession that has been weighing on her conscience. Apparently about two years ago (?!) so when she was 9, she was at the S's house and put one of her dolls in her backpack. This was a mini Bratz doll which I don't allow her to have. She hid the doll in her room. She kept thinking she would return the doll, but then time went by and she didn't know how she would return it, didn't know what to say, etc. Then eventually the doll disappeared during a cleanout by me! She said she has been miserable about this, and wanted my advice on how to talk to S about it, and she wanted to give S all her allowance to make up for the doll. We talked about stealing, how it hurts people, DD went on about she doesn't know how she could have done that, how she would never think of doing it again. I decided to mention it first to the mom, so she could talk to S about it a little ahead and let the initial feelings out before my DD talked to S about it. The mom said she totally understood, she stole something herself as a kid and was miserable about it, it wasn't that big of deal, she would talk to S. Later she told me she talked to S and it went ok, S was a bit hurt, but didn't want a toy to spoil their friendship. Next thing you know, mom sends me an email saying they think we should come over for dinner and we could have a family meeting where my DD could talk to S about what happened. I didn't understand why she thought the whole family should be present. She said that way they could reassure my DD that they all loved her and forgived her. I felt like even if that was their intention, it would have the opposite effect. Instead of being handled between her and her friend, now she would have to sit in front of everybody. I know she would regret coming to me to confess and asking my advice, which I don't want to happen. Also, my intention in going to the mom first was never to "take over" the situation, because I thought at this age the girls should be able to communicate and deal with it. Other mom feels like everything happens "as a family" and should be dealt with "as a family". Hubby and I are not comfortable putting DD in that situation. Granted DD was in the wrong. But she confessed (even when no one would have known) and we feel like it is an issue that can be handled between the two girls rather than involving the whole family. I'm not trying to discount the issue of stealing, but I also kind of feel like it is being a little blown out of proportion to what happened. Am I seeing this wrong?

Sorry, no advice...but we just got back from Disney with my negative little DD11 (who has always been this way). We bought a little clip-on Eeyore and anyone who complained had to stop and pet him. It worked pretty well!