:grouphug: Weight loss is no fun. At all.

I won't go into it, but I'll just say that I agree with the op. I think it's sad more and more kids are growing up with so many rotating people in their lives. I also think that marriage is so much more than a piece of paper. I've seen enough families live like that. I haven't see any benefit but a lot of negative issues as a result.

I packed up as much as I could and put it in storage including all of our school books that I didn't need for the year. I'd been using our dining room as a school room, so we restaged it as a dining room and I'd cover my stacks of school shelves and such with a pretty, cream colored blanket that matched the wall. It was still there, but it wasn't as noticeable as a wall of books and manipulatives. =) I kept the house 45 minutes away from clean if that makes sense. Usually we had more notice, but sometimes people would call and want to see the house in an hour or two. I had a few laundry baskets that I could throw the toys in. I'd run the vacuum very quickly to at least leave marks that look like I'd vacuumed! I'd wipe down the faucets in the bathrooms and kitchen and the counters. Basically, you don't get a day of letting things go. You have to clean up after every single meal. You have to pick things up throughout the day. Good luck on selling your house! We put ours on the market in September, 2 years ago. We consistently had an average 2 showings a week, and our house almost exactly 6 months after listing.

No waxing! Just...hmmm...general "lawn care?" You know, trim the hedges? Edging the boundaries? I can't think of men as tearooms so I'm going with lawns. It seems more manly that way.

As soon as the littles go to bed (which will be VERY soon the way they've been acting), I'm melting some dark chocolate chips and dipping strawberries and cherries in them until the chocolate is gone.

As everyone else has said, try to stay uninvolved. I was in a somewhat similar situation, and didn't realize how deep the feelings went for one person. I lost my best friend over a lunch invite. Seriously.

:iagree:

:iagree:That's the only time it's noticeably worse for me.

We did the exact same thing! Married over Thanksgiving break, at school on Monday to prep for exams, then honeymoon over Christmas break. :tongue_smilie:

Considering swimming is involved and your dd is 13, a quick call to the parents is perfectly normal and expected. :001_smile:

:grouphug: I get you. You're not the only one that doesn't love homeschooling.

I don't have anything to add really, but I went last year and it was amazing. You can snorkel at a lot of beaches. I had the best time at Kam 3 (Kamehameha I think). We saw an octopus! I also personally loved the lavender farm. You'll need to rent a car. I didn't even make it to the volcano, but I'm saving that for another trip. Have fun! I'm so jealous! I was wrong. Kam 3 had the great tide pools. Ulua beach is where we saw the Octopus. It probably doesn't matter, all the beaches are amazing.

That would send me packing to another church. I understood the italicized part as saying he periodically checks to see who gives and how much they give to make a judgement on a family's spiritual condition based on that information. I'm not okay with that. There's no biblical mandate that says you have to pledge a certain amount every year. I'm Baptist though. Maybe things are very different with Episcopal?

Please leave this alone. She made different choices than you would. If you really want to help, ask if you can watch the baby one afternoon so she can take a nap. My youngest turned 6 weeks old at Disney World.

Our babysitter charges $12/hour for our 3 kids (ages 9, 6, and 2). It used to be $10 until this month. But she's great with the kids, lives next door, and she's the elementary school art teacher so it doesn't get better than that. I'm in SC by the way. For a teenager, I'd go with about $40 for that length of time.

I must be stricter than most because I'd sell the new leotard on ebay or call up my old gym and see if they could sell it. Manipulation is a big deal to me. If it was an "oops, I forgot I had those" then it might be different. It sounds like she knew she didn't need the leotard and manipulated the situation to get what she wants. That is simply NOT okay with me. I also don't have a problem being very clear with the kids that we don't have money to do certain things or buy certain things, and that's okay. We don't have to have all the things we want in life.

I've been called twice and excused both times because my kids will very young. Now I've moved to a different county, and I'm not so sure that will fly if I get called again. I seriously doubt I'd be chosen though since I have friends and family in law enforcement and I have a religious degree. One of those will take me out of the running for sure. :glare: Try to think of it as a learning experience. You get to participate in the process, then you can tell your kids what it's all about.

Maybe Charleston, SC? It's not perfect, but generally it fits those descriptions. There's a lot of art, culture, and an appreciation for education. There's not as much diversity, but the area is conservative (except for the actual downtown area). Greenville, SC is great for three of your preferences, just not diversity.

BTDT. I was about to tell my dh he could work at McDonald's for all I care, but his job wasn't working for him or us. Thankfully, that's right when he changed careers and got a job that he loves. It's hard living with someone that has such a stressful job. :grouphug:

Avengers. Always Avengers. :tongue_smilie:

Unfortunately, the room charge is comparable to what I've seen. The same thing happened to me when we had our son circumcised. They took him out of my room for 15 minutes total, and I got slapped with a room charge for the room they did the procedure in. I was NOT happy about it. :glare:

At least for that particular game, yes. It will post things for the person. It comes up on my feed sometimes saying my son has posted something when I KNOW he hasn't been on the computer for a couple of weeks. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm going to make him delete that one today. Thanks! :001_smile:

I went to Hawaii last year. By myself. :D Dh sent me to visit one of my best friends from college. And I almost got a tattoo, but didn't.

1. I will be 47 when my youngest is 18. 2. I am looking forward to my kids being independent. I'm raising adults, not children. Of course, that's easy to say when my oldest is only 9. :tongue_smilie: 3. I hope dh and I can travel more. I'm sure I'll work, but I don't know if I want to go back to school before then and become a PT assistant or if I something else. I figure I have time.

My friend just started using almond milk instead of creamer and LOVES it. :001_smile: