I'm praying for your sister and her children. And for you too. This takes alot of courage - please, please tell her to make the break FINAL. Honestly, I was a social worker, and things rarely change with abusers. :grouphug: Veronica

Praying for you and Missy Moo! I hope the vet is there as I write this, and things will improve for your sweet kitty!

Yes, Dh's degree is in mechanical engineering, and he's a mechanical design engineer!

We have insurance (though it's separate from the medical) thru DH's job, so we all go usually twice a year. If we had to pay for it, we would go MAYBE once a year, maybe less often than that, depending on what we could afford. I think for most people, once a year is fine. Twice is a bit of a luxury to me!

I think 2 yrs is very young to leave a child for that long, unless it's for a VERY good reason. Personally, a cruise isn't a good reason, but you may feel differently. It's your call.

I was raised by my grandparents too, and they always involved me in conversation. When my aunts and uncles would come over, they expected me to go play with my cousins. The truth is, I really wanted to be in on the adult conversation - I already had opinions on world events and politics and such, as early as 6 or 7 yrs old. They didn't like it, though - but my granny didn't make me leave, unless I wanted to.

United Methodist fits - this is the denomination I chose after being raised as a Pentecostal, then losing all faith in Christianity. I think most of the churches, though, have communion only once a month, unless it's for a special time of year/holiday. What I like about UMC especially is that they are very much community-minded, and a big part of their beliefs center on helping others - and not just to "convert" them. I'd say also Episcopal/Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyeterian USA all fit what you are looking for.

Well, top picks would be England or Scotland. But I'd also like Sweden or Norway. My dream has always been to live in Great Britain/Europe!

Victoria Elise, or Victoria Annelise if you'd like it to be more German! (I love the name Annelise!) Alexander Jeremiah Caleb Anthony or Benjimin Anthony

Well, I have nothing to do with my kids' looks at all (they were adopted), but they are honestly all beautiful. My oldest is a striking beauty, always has been. People are constantly commenting on her and asking why she isn't modeling. My son is handsome, with really nice features. And my little one is a beauty too. She has always had a very mature looking face, and people have always commented on how she looks so much older. Even as a baby, people said she looked like a doll, because of her "older" features and head full of hair! It's extra difficult to say which one is "cuter" or better looking because they are each of a different race, so they each have a different kind of beauty. ODD is Guatemalan, DS is Korean, and YDD is African-American. But even my mother, who is TOTALLY about looks (I'm well-aware that I was a disappointment to her), thinks these 3 kiddos are the cutest kids ever. Each time we waiting to adopt, her comment is "oh, no, what if this one isn't as beautiful as ___? You're pushing your luck, you are sure to get one that's not attractive". Yes, she says this kind of thing :- ( She's relieved to hear that, according to the agency, the expectant mom of our next baby is "stunningly beautiful". I'm not really concerned, but I know SHE is!

Our wedding was in March 2000, and I still think it was the best ever! DH and I paid for almost all of it - ILs paid for rehearsal dinner (very casual), and the alcohol at the reception. Total came to about 8k, and for what we got, I feel like it was a bargain. We married at our beautiful, historic church, then had a late seated lunch reception at a small country club. We had 90 guests, and our bridal party consisted of 4 ladies, 4 gentlemen, 2 flower girls, and 1 ring bearer. I ordered silk flowers which were fantastic (I know some people are really against those, but oh well). We were able to rent the flowers that decorated the church. People couldn't stop talking about how beautiful they were. I made our centerpieces and favors. We splurged on our photographer, and have incredible photos and albums. The DJ was average cost for a professional, but a husband/wife team and they were wonderful. Everyone danced and had a great time, which is sometimes unusual for a daytime wedding. The meal was delicious. We chose to save money by only having one entree (roast beef), but we knew everyone would like that choice. We had 5 appetizers, and we had regular punch and rum punch, along with wine and bear, iced tea, lemonade, and coffee. The cake was truly delicious, and very pretty - 4 tiers, but only cost us about $125, since I had gotten a coupon from a bridal show. Anyway, people still talk about it as one of the nicest weddings they've ever been to. Oh, I forgot - I arrived in a white 1959 Bentley, chauffered by DH's boss, and he took us to the reception in it. That was his gift to us (he sold cars). THAT was quite a highlight of the day! We are still very happily married, and I'm glad that we keep a line on the costs - by shopping wisely, and doing a few things on our own or with friends' help, we were able to have a fantastic, formal wedding for what I consider a reasonable cost. Probably today it might be more like 10-12k, still not bad, though.

The Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family is another good book, available at amazon.com You can "meet" and ask questions to tons of mothers of many if you go to babycenter.com, and join the large family group. And of course, you can scroll thru to see previous questions or conversations. There are people on there who have as many as 16 kids!

Ahh, so many beautiful girls names! Here are some of my favs in no particular order: Miranda Olivia Sophie Lily/Lilyana Charlotte Rebekah Rachel Adelaide Diana Arabella Eva Fiona Analiese Natalie Vanessa Caroline Anabel

Girls, definitely. Teenage boys get into too much trouble (or can, if you don't watch them!). In my extended family of origin, it was the boys who were always making their parents crazy. My sisters and female cousins and I were all pretty easy. Of course, this is very subjective - I realize it's not this way in all families. But I must say that from the beginning, our son has been MUCH more challenging that either of our girls. Also, I agree with other posters that girls will usually remain close to their siblings and parents. And the bond between sisters is wonderful! "A son is a son, until he takes him a wife; a daughter's a daughter for all of her life" - My grandmother used to say this all the time - she had 4 daughters (plus me) and 1 son.

I noticed a HUGE price difference in dairy products when we moved from SC to MI. Here in Lansing, the milk is usually right at $2/gallon or under, and butter is about $2.50 lb. Cheese, eggs, and ice cream are also a lot less expensive. WooHoo!

My oldest DD is now 9.5, and I started training her to do it at age 8. Within a few months, she was cleaning the litter boxes (2, regular) on her own. I still check up every now and then, and remind her of the proper procedure. But it's nice not to have to do this anymore (at least not as often). DS is now in charge of feeding and water bowls. I do have to remind him, but he does it willingly.

Ugh, I'm dealing with this right now, a 5 yr old boy from next door. What a pain in the butt he is! He rings our doorbell CONSTANTLY until we answer (which is really irritating, especially if my little one is napping). My two older kids will play with him (they are 8 and 9.5), but many times don't want to, and he's so hard to get rid of. I have to literally PUSH him out the door! Normally, I say no playing inside, but when they are outside, he's running in for who knows what reason, and leaves our patio door open. We have had a couple of our indoor-only cats get out (luckily my kids were able to grab them quickly and get them back inside). He invites himself for lunch or dinner whenever I say he needs to go home, we are getting ready to eat. My DH tells me that maybe we should let him eat with us - we are being rude if we don't???!!!! WTH? On top of all this, he and my DS don't actually get along very well. Lots of fighting. I don't think it's necessarily either one that is wholely at fault - they just don't get along. So, I'm sick of having to get involved, I have enough of that with my own kids. I'm getting tough now. I told my DH that I'M not being rude - this is a child who doesn't know any boundaries, and I'm not going to let him walk all over me. Oh, and yesterday my DD1 comes to me and tells me that he was looking up her dress and telling my son to do the same! His grandmother was actually here, so she disciplined him. She said he's learning all kinds of stuff in daycare this summer. Hmm....I think this is my favorite good thing about homeschooling - kids are less likely to be influenced by other kids IF YOU DON"T LET THEM COME OVER! Yeah, I've had it - just got to get DH on board! Stick to your guns, and do what you need to do - we're too old to bullied by kids!

Wow, your DH really must - gently - talk to Drew about this situation. He should NOT cut his hair (or dye it!). A close friend should be honest and want the best, even if it means giving up a friendship. I don't think that would happen, but it is a risk DH must take. Otherwise, how could he live with himself when things only go from bad to worse? No, he must say something. As far as costs of weddings, well, these days many weddings cost $25k+. No, they don't have to, but many people DO plan fancy weddings. The issue here is that obviously no one can really afford the wedding that the bride wants. If her parents were rich, she wouldn't be asking the groom's parents for money. It's obvious that they aren't rich (they shouldn't have to drain their savings for this, even if they DO have that much), and the couple themselves don't have it to spare. So, yes, she is being extremely selfish and inconsiderate in demanding an extravagent wedding, not to mention the whole hair thing. Not a good sign of things to come!

We have adopted twice internationally (Guatemala and SKorea), and once domestically. We are now just waiting to be chosen by an expectant mom for our 4th child! We had a failed adoption in Vietnam, before choosing domestic. Our two oldest children were both about 5 months old when we brought them home (very young for international, especially these days). Our littlest one, we brought home from the hospital at 4 days old. We chose newborn domestic adoption again this time. I love having a baby from birth! But there are also so many wonderful children from all around the world. I just find that these days, it's much harder to adopt internationally. Countries are closing or changing their rules, many places are experiencing much longer wait times, or are just not very stable. There ARE great places to adopt from, don't get me wrong - but most of the countries that I am drawn to wouldn't accept DH and me. We are too old, have too many children, don't have the required income, etc, etc.

We've been discussing this same thing. Our basement already is partially finished (meaning it's clean and has a floor, and is not dungeon-like) and does have one completely finished room, a family room that we do use. There's another room behind it that I want to finish off for our son. He will be 8 next week. We are adopting an newborn at some point in time, so I want to separate the girls, putting the youngest in with the new baby, older DD can have her own room, then DS in the basement. My DH isn't crazy about the idea. But I feel like since DS is used to being down there already, he will be fine. The window is not currently an egress window, so I think DH is dreading having to put one there. The other parts of making it livable (adding a closet, drywall, painting and carpet) are pretty easy to do. DH is also afraid that DS might try to sneak out. I told him that we can put on one of those alarms - they are quite loud, and very inexpensive. I'm pretty sure that we would hear it. Anyway, there are a lot of things to consider. I think at 12, your DS would certainly be old enough to be down there on his own, as long as he feel comforable.

Scrappyhappymama, what happened with the trailer? Have you seen it, did you decide to make the move??

Oh, yeah....we got rid of a bunch of stuff before we moved to MI about 1.5 yrs ago, but we still have too much for this small house. There are 5 of us in 1200 sf (we have a partially finished basement too), but hopefully we will be adding one more baby sometime soon. I'm constantly tripping over things the kids have dropped. I really hate that. I've already purged and purged, but it never seems to help very much. I'll just keep at it, but it's hard when I am pretty much the only one in the house who hates the clutter!

If you look at the taped conversations while she's in prison she keeps going on and on about how bad it is for "her." She only discusses finding Caylee as it pertains to her getting out, not simply for the sake of finding Caylee (at least IMO). She's incredibly selfish. Her parents may be enablers to her bad behavior, but that doesn't make them guilty of anything with regards to Caylee's death. The whole "accidental drowning" defense is ridiculous IMO. There is even a jailhouse tape of her dismissing the drowning theory long before she went to trial. I saw the tapes at the beginning of the trial, and as far as I can see, there was no drowning and no remorse for the death of this poor baby by Casey. I do honestly believe that Casey is guilty. I also believe that she is a sociopath - she reminds me very much of my ex-husband. I had disturbing dreams of him for years after our divorce - and he never did anything to me, or threatened me in any way. I think I just realized that he was indeed a sociopath, and as such, could be capable of almost anything. For this woman, everything is about her - she might not have hated her child, but it seems like she saw her as a real inconvenience. And to a sociopath, it might just make sense to get rid of the inconvenience when you've had enough. I really hope that she is found guilty.

Hachi, A Dog's Tale The Waterhorse (can't remember the full title). These are both great - but very sentimental.