Ah, okay. Thanks very much for explaining the whys and hows of what you're doing. I figured there was a backstory, and wanted to hear how you were accomplishing this. Thanks a bunch for taking the time to lay it out for me! (I actually wasn't sure if you were being serious, so I really appreciate the thoughtful response.)

We do the same here. We also keep a trofast bin for unfinished work. The small size is good for paper sized projects, the big deep size for 3D projects. I like being able to sweep the unfinished projects into a hiding place when needed.

Thinking of Joanne today...

Curious about this as well. What do you mean by this? No jobs? No allowance? What about monetary gifts from relatives? I'm not being snarky, promise. Genuinely curious about how you work this. How do you handle teaching them financial responsibility? I'm guessing you have a plan. Thanks for elaborating, if you will...

Happy Birthday!!!! :party: Mini churros for everyone!!!! I turned 29 this year, too ... for the ummmm, umpteenth time. :D

Movie buff here. Really, even got outed for being one in school multiple times, as my prof friend would out me repeatedly. Nothing like auditoriums of essential strangers knowing that. My thesis was on sci fi films. I will even forgo dinner for a trip to the theater and call it popcorn dinner. :D But I don't do schmaltzy romance movies. At all. [Yawn] ...I think this includes the Notebook, etc? So add any of those movies to the list, though (thankfully) I don't even recall the names. Oh, and I have seen It's a Wonderful Life, but will take a pass for future viewings.

:grouphug: Yikes. DH is an adoptee and we are adoptive parents, too. I know just where you're coming from here.

:grouphug: I don't know what you should do about camp. Follow your instincts on this one. I'm sure many will chime in on that part of your post. Mostly I just wanted to say I hope you feel better quickly, and that everyone in your house does not come down with this thing! Sending you virtual chicken noodle soup, and hoping you give yourself a pajama and movie day.

Yes, I have met some anti-adoption people. It made me scratch my head, too. Not people who are anti-adoption because they are concerned about children being mistreated, or taken away from their heritage (their concern was about domestic adoption), but about all adoption in general. Their feeling, I think, was that children should stay in their family of birth, even if there is abuse or neglect. That the blood connection transcends all manner of evil, no matter what the birthfamily does to a child. That adoptive families are never "families." ...You know what? I can't repeat the rest of the garbage these ignorant people spouted. It was sick. Obviously, there are times when adoption is beautiful, and times when it is full of grief. I try to chalk some of the anti-adoption talk from this particular couple up to their grief. Honestly, I never knew there were "anti-adoption" people or groups until meeting these people either.

What a nightmare. I'm so, so sorry.

Jean, are you speaking of the section that asks for occupation on a new patient form, or is this a question asked by the doctor in person? My answer varies, according to the doctor. I've had quite the rounds of docs, too, so I understand the feeling that they are looking for a quick and easy answer (stress). Most of my doctors now know that we homeschool, because we have long-term relationships and they knew me before homeschooling (DS is only in 4th, so we've only got 5 years under the belt here). With new doctors (I'm thinking of a recent new neuro in particular), I was more hesitant about stating what we do, but did tell him. I hope you find answers. Good, solid answers. And soon.

I hope he's feeling better today!

Can I triple like this???? It is one of those days here, and we are only doing 4th.

Yes, I agree. Check local codes. Some of the scenarios described apply to "condos" here vs. townhomes. Condos have a different code here, and some of the scenarios described seem to apply to that type of code. You will want to check out the difference in your area, because here, and in some other areas, the difference is huge. Here, between townhouses, firewalls are mandatory. Punching through a wall into someone else's kitchen would be impossible. There are no shared spaces at all, the firewall separates everything, including attics and basements, and roofs - there are no freely roaming critters, unless it jumps on the roof and goes across that way, or by ground. Roofs are replaced at the owner's expense, not as a group project together. There are no shared expenses at all - although in a condo situation, in which one essentially owns the "air space" not the land (miniscule amount though it is) and the actual building the condo association would cover the roof etc. I live in a townhouse, and have never, not once in twelve years, smelled a cooking smell - other than someone's outdoor grill when I step onto our deck. The only sounds I hear are the squawks of the next door neighbor's parrot when I pull into our driveway - again, I'm outside. There was a brief time when our next door neighbor had a young teen, and we'd occasionally hear him running up and down the stairs - sort of a thumping feeling, more than a sound. But that was all. We moved here with the intention of leaving fairly quickly. But we love it, so we stayed. Our neighbors are all long-term owners, and have raised families and sent the kids off to college while living here. If you are considering a townhome, a good HOA is a must. I know many people hate HOAs, but in a townhouse community, it's a plus. Our HOA dues are minimal, but they cover so, so much. Community landscaping, maintenance of playgrounds, parks and tennis courts, snow and leaf removal. They cut our grass, but we maintain our front landscaping - which I enjoy. They don't touch our backyard, also a plus, because I enjoy it. We have a deck, brick patio, hardscaping, raised garden, and permanent fountain. They make sure our neighbors homes are in good repair, so our home values don't fall drastically. Home values - might depend on your area. In ours, well maintained townhomes are sometimes much more expensive than single family homes. The main complaint I have is parking. An end unit would have given us more natural light, which would be nice, but it's not dark in here either. Several board members have been here over the years... maybe they will see this thread and give their impressions. I don't think it's a bad place. :)

I do mine with the yellow one in the pic. It works well.

Sarcasm works here. I'll take Alice!

I like motivated moms, and even spring for the app. It works well. I like tweaking the lists to assign chores and add/delete chores. I did flylady for years, but the cheerleader type talk turned me off, and the mini-commercials drove me nuts. I did buy some of her products, to support her, so they worked apparently. :) Organized Home is great, too, and I'm going to check out Audrey's other link.

I agree that processing one's pain, resentment or bitterness about a person's actions in life with a grieving person is in poor taste. And probably not productive for either person's healing. OP, I'm sorry this happened to you. It was inappropriate. I do think that after a loss, we need to be able to express and process all of our emotions, but doing so in a safe and accepting space is key. Our family has recently experienced a loss, and we have been careful about expressing our feelings about it for those reasons. The pain this person leaves behind is profound, and it's not because of her passing, but because of her unforgettable actions before her death. Her death does nothing to erase the deep scars she left on our family. We grieved for her long before she died. Now we are grieving again, not for her, but for the possibility of any future healing. It's sad. I won't say ugly things about her to her grieving family members, but I will always be honest and factual about what she did to our family and the wake of pain she left behind, when it is appropriate. I won't whitewash her memory for her. I'm not sure that doing so would be helpful to any of us whom she hurt so deeply. Again, though, sharing these thoughts with her grieving family members and friends ... No. I wouldn't do that. It would not help them process their pain, nor me mine. I am sorry for your loss, OP, and that people were not more conscious of your feelings and grief.

I didn't vote, but I'd start with eliminating the most recent change in his environment - the mouthwashes. Other than that, asthma always impacts DS's behavior, so I can see that being an issue. If he's coming down with something, that might be causing an asthma flare. How is his peak flow? Have you measured? Any other changes in his environment? Leaves falling? Sometimes leaves have mold, if that's an allergy that might exacerbate the asthma. Oh, and if he's normally off gluten and has suddenly added some, that could be it.

:) We were just debating going on Sunday, in the mud. We'll obviously wear boots. I suspect it will be a mud pit though. I would not want to go on Sat, with this weather. I think they will cancel some of the acts, and it won't be as much fun. If you go on Sunday, wave at us! We may be there, too!

:grouphug: So sorry you are dealing with this! I hope you catch the cat. And now you know you were not over-reacting. Mommy instinct rocks.

The Body Shop used to make an amazing strawberry body wash in a tube. It smelled exactly like strawberries. Great consistency, too, with tiny seeds. I loved that stuff. I probably wouldn't use it now, even if they still made it, because I'd not like the ingredients, but man, did it smell good.

Yes. That explains it well. Mine seems to come several times a month, in 4 day waves. So I have some relief, even untreated. DH and I tend to call the episodes "migraines" because people seem to understand those better, plus I get some minor relief from migraine meds. Topamax and gabapentin don't work well for me, but tegretol is doing good things with prevention. I had given up hope, and am pleasantly surprised. The episodes are not coming as often, nor lasting quite as long. So now I'm seeing hope and wondering what else is out there, that I might have missed, that might improve things even more. FWIW, my cousin has this as well, and did the surgery in which they kill the nerve. :( Both hers and mine seem to be related to infectious diseases we had. Ugh.

Thank you, MBM, I will look into that and do some reading this evening. So glad to hear it is helping you! That is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing!

Thermarest makes a nice one.