Yes, individual therapy for reasons precipitated by my FOO. I have had good and bad therapists - the good ones lasted, the bad ones I let go fairly quickly. There is nothing as excellent as a kick butt therapist. :) I've done a few family therapy sessions with DSS, hoping to support him in his healing, though he is not yet committed to therapy, and only going as a way to placate his parents, sadly.

I heard on the local news radio station that there are some delays in getting back refunds due to tax fraud this year. Was that the hoax mentioned above? I don't want to continue to spread false info, so take this with a grain of salt: The story was that the recent internet hacks (Anthem, Target, etc) led to people filing fraudulent returns, which would not be discovered until the actual person files a (second) return, at which point it would be flagged as fraud, and then there would be a delay while it's investigated and resolved. It was on our local news radio station - WTOP - although I don't have a link. Will try to find one.

Who is Mama June?

:lol: We have one of those, too. And an 11 year old fan, too. (Psst, we went to see her last year, and her show was excellent. She was very aware that there were lots of kids.)

 Your kiddo may be different from my now-adult kiddo, so my experience might not apply to your child.  My guy was allowed to play Halo, and many more FPSs while at his other parent's house, but not ours, before he was 10.  I did not make a big deal out of it (couldn't have done anything anyway), just modeled our lifestyle in our home.  It wasn't enough.  But my DSS had more going on than just being allowed to play M games half of each week.   Later, as we struggled (and I mean we *struggled* right alongside my kiddo) while DSS was in college, I read Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax.  The chapter on video games (I think it's chapter 3) hit home, hard.  It's been a while since I've read it, but if you want one view - there's a good resource.  I wish I'd read it earlier.   We are gaming people, so we are not anti-tech at all.  We all have multiple devices here, and use them.  But we don't do very violent games (like lots of FPSs, maybe there are some that are less so than others), and we don't let our children play games rated M.  Other games we handle the way we handle movies, books, etc - we research.  I use commonsensemedia at times, and read reviews, etc.  And I talk to other parents.  But as far as sheltering our kids from tech - no.  We just treat it like everything else, and pay attention to what our kids consume.   Here's a link to the notes from a talk by Dr. Sax, and if you scroll to page 2, you can see his comments about games:  http://www.leonardsax.com/esd1.pdf Obviously, the book goes into much greater detail. Â

 Oh yes, I think sticking to the esrb ratings is a good plan, too.  :)  I hope I wasn't unclear.  I meant that I still have regrets that an 8 - 9 year old in my life played them, at that age.  He's an adult now, and I still regret it.  I do think it had an effect on him. Â

Glad to hear good news!

As the parent of an adult child who was allowed to play FPSs (not in my home, but in another parent's home), I disagree. It's been more than 10 years, and I still think it was a bad choice.

No. And we love video games. But - not that one, not at that age.

I think this is a JAWM type post, but just in case ... We use the profiles. So the kids have their own profiles - one for each of them, and one combined that we just call "kids." I don't think they've ever seen anything like you're describing. That's Netflix. They don't use Amazon unless I'm available. If you are looking for a solution, that might work.

Yep. We mailed valentines to the grandparentals. And the kids make them for one neighbor, to whom they are close, along with a ton of others. We mail some, and hand deliver some. In fact, we are dropping some off at lunch time today!

What a great theme for a party! Dreams are hysterical. And your DH is a trip. :) Ok, if you, by some weird chance, do the party, just because, you know, we do what we dream... :) I have The Perfect party game to send you. Alien Autopsy Operation. Just like Operation, but alien style. It's yours!

Just reading your post made me crampy, and it's been 16 years since my hysterectomy. Cramps, for me, were debilitating. Agonizing. I did have endometriosis and adenomyosis, but didn't know till my twenties. It was severe. I had a hysterectomy very young as a result. I agree with IdahoHomeschooler's post wholeheartedly. And pain meds. Real pain meds, not chamomile tea, just like another PP said. :) Find an excellent gynie. And then explore BC pill options. The one that worked best for me was hard to find in the US, I think it was a very low dose progesterone only. And I skipped the placebo pills. Invest in a cushy, wonderful heating pad. And stay supportive. The pain is demoralizing. And frustrating. Glad she has you for help and support!

Excavation. :lol:

I have a friend with that bday. Not a big deal. In fact, she thinks it's fun.

I did daily shots for a year or so. I know just what you mean, when that needle is poised ... The dread is not fun. It gets easier. And then it gets hard again some days. But for the most part you'll fall into a routine and just do it. If you can teach your DH, on the days when he's available to do it - it will feel easier. I preferred DH giving mine, like Jean. But he traveled a lot, so it mostly fell to me. But it was a nice break when DH did it.

I don't know your parenting style, so not commenting on whether it was right or wrong for your family - I think as long as you are consistent, and she knew to expect this consequence for her actions, you're good. (For me, it would depend on the specifics - what she said, how she said it, and we'd probably discuss those things over donuts and hot cocoa, talking about our feelings, how we got to that place, and how to prevent it next time.) But I did want to say... Thanks. Now craving donuts here. :D Pondering a run to Dunkin Donuts... Want to pass me a donut??

:grouphug: Been there. It's a nightmare. I hope today is a better day for your kiddo, and that things improve quickly!

DH and I exchange love notes - in the shower. :001_tt1: No, really. We have this AquaNotes pad that sticks on the wall - it's water proof paper, along with a pen. We trade little love notes all the time. Short ones, but hey, we have a lot less time now than we used to have.

Oh! I can help here, having fired a cleaning service or two. :) Google cleaning services in your area. Read reviews. Set up a new estimate or two. Seriously. Just call a few new places and see what you find. Do it now, before you find yourself overwhelmed at the prospect of letting anyone into your home.

:(

Yes.

Eat nothing white. :) My mom was diagnosed diabetic, and this is what her doc and nutritionist both told her. She isn't diabetic any longer. So - obviously no sugar. No flour, no potatoes, nothing made from those things. Essentially she stopped sugar and stayed high fiber, low carb, protein was lean meats. It's been a few years (4? 5?) and her numbers are still checked but she is no longer even pre-diabetic. I'm very proud of her. She made huge changes in her lifestyle. For a view of the other side of the coin, my brother went into denial about his diabetes. He is not quite 50, and is losing his eyesight. Forever. It's real. The damage diabetes can cause is real. Take it seriously. He's on board with changes now, but it's too late for his eyes.

My son was veg from birth till 14 or so, at which point he decided he wanted to eat meat. He was very healthy. We ate normally, no special supplementing, and his doc was well aware of our veg lifestyle. I think you'll be fine.

Wow. That's a lot of snow!