Jeans, sneaks and a Canucks jersey!

First. And although I'm the fourth of five siblings, I was the first to earn a degree.

I eat dessert first. I...erm...*clears throat*...read ahead in books. :leaving:

making money - DH paying bills - Me budgeting - Me mortgage/loans - DH home repair/maintenance - Both banking/investments - Both taxes - DH car care - DH health insurance - DH scheduling (making/keeping track of) - Me phone calls or correspondence re: all the above - Both teaching/school work or homework - Both discipline (planning and implementing) - Both spiritual guidance (who actually carries it out, not just the "head") - Both kids mornings - Me kids bedtimes - Both transportation for kids - Me grocery shopping - Me laundry - Me eating at home - Me eating away (pack lunch, etc) - Me daily chores/cleaning (really need sub-categories!) Both lawn care/snow cleanup - DH garden or bed maintenance - Both

My word, Laurel! I don't know whether to laugh or shudder! But I *do* think it's a good thing you and the children weren't there a few minutes earlier!:eek:

Mine is in an heirloom display box in our storage room under the stairs. I do have a little girl and she may want to wear it someday, but it won't hurt my feelings if she doesn't. Daddy and Mama bought it for me and custom altered to fit me. I looked pretty in my photographs and I felt like a princess, and it reminds me of one of the happiest days of my life. Normally I'm not too sentimental, but my wedding dress, the veil that my MIL made for me to wear, my grandmother's diamond solitaire and the princess ring that belonged to my MIL are all precious to me.

No help whatsoever. In fact, I came here for advice! Seriously, our allergist is great at dealing with environmental allergies. But he was so vague about the food allergies that I dismissed them as not serious and continued feeding them allergy foods for four months. At our checkup a few weeks ago, he was a little less vague :glare: and we went back over the list of "avoid" foods.

What a very sweet man, and what a nice thing to happen. That would have made my day, too! :001_wub:

True. My baby brother is nearly four years younger than I and I remember the round, green diaper pail with a screw-on lid and the horrific smell inside. Seriously. It made my eyes water. Pure ammonia. But I never really thought anything about it. Probably because three of my four brothers peed the bed until they were in their early teens so our entire house smelled like pee all the time anyway! :D

My boys are newly 7 and almost 12 and they don't participate in any organized outside activities. They enjoy playing with their church friends and neighborhood friends, and with each other. They dig trenches, have "wars," build cities with blocks, hit the wiffle ball in the front yard, ride bikes, read books, make paper airplanes, have light saber battles and write stories.... Not that it's particularly helpful to the OP, but I just wanted to point out that some boys are happy without participating in too much outside stuff. Or maybe mine are just weird! ;)

Colleen, I pm'd you.

Maybe this will encourage you: One of my brothers took a long, long time to find his way and nothing panned out for him. Navy, college, retail, fast food, retail again, job after job after job and nothing stuck. About three years ago when he was nearly 40, someone finally took a chance on him, without degrees or tons of experience, and hired him for computer tech work. He amazed everyone at the work he did and how fulfilled he became. He aced all his training classes and started advancing, earning raises about every six months. His co-workers thought the world of him -- I think it was because he worked like a dog but also because he finally had found a place where he could fit in. Those of us who loved him kept waiting for the other shoe to fall, but it never did. It NEVER did. I hope the same for you, that you find your place and blossom into what you were born to be. Good luck! :)

Huh?

I don't know what to tell you about the ick factor, but I used cloth primarily for the first 16 months of my youngest's life and this is what I do have to offer: 1. I bought two dozen Gerber diapers, a half-dozen or so plastic pants and two dozen diaper pins at Target, not the four dozen ultra-super-duper bells and whistles kinds or the wraps I "needed." I couldn't afford not to cloth diaper and I couldn't afford the fancy stuff. I also bought a dozen cheap bathcloths and used them wet with warm water for wiping pee-pee bottom and warm water with a drop of baby wash for stinkers. 2. I had a bucket for diapers. Not a pail with a lid, nothing fancy, just an unused car wash bucket we had lying around. I didn't keep water in it and I kept it on top of the washer. I flushed the solids but I never swished the diapers. I never used bleach. My system was one cold rinse, one hot wash (Tide and baking soda) and another cold rinse (vinegar). The only thing I'd do differently now is wash with Charlie's Natural Soap.

We're usually right in the middle of it, but it went north of us last night and today. What a ride, though! :blink:

I understand and agree, even though I don't have twins. But in this instance, it looks like M is the only one being left out, because her sister, the neighbor girl and a third girl are playing all together and excluding her intentionally, lying about it to boot. When she wants to play, would your desire to see her treated as an individual extend to seeing her the only individual singled out to be excluded? Would you not then step in?

Our rule at home and with friends is that everybody plays or nobody plays. There would be no more playing with this child for either of my girls. She sounds mean and manipulative and no way would I let their desire for friends wreck the relationship between my children. I'd have a long, long talk with your DD about hurting her sister as well.

Many folks object to megachurches, but I'm a big fan of corporate worship. I grew up in a small, stale, steepled-and-hymned Methodist church and when I had my own children, I joined a slightly less small, stale, steepled-and-hymned Baptist church. I sat in my seat and listened to some good sermons and some that didn't even have a Scriptural reference. Mostly, I listened to a whole lot of "this is what's wrong with the world -- aren't you glad we're better than that?" DH and I never intend to go back to a church with a steeple. We have grown and learned so incredibly at our "megachurch," with its loud praise and worship time, its skits, its humble and on-fire leadership that we can't imagine being tied down to our previous experiences again. Do what you need to do, what you're led to do and what's best for your walk. But please understand that this type of worship, this type of church has taken some Christians (ME!) further than they've ever thought possible and it's not always the style, the financial needs or the size that's the problem.

Yes, I know there are legal exemptions to vaccinations. That was a half-hearted swat at homeschool stereotypes. My bad.

I'd abide by the law not by becoming credentialed but by enrolling in a virtual academy, provided that's an option under your hypothetical law. But I'm one of those weirdo law-abiding folks anyway. (I have my children vaccinated and mostly drive the speed limit as well. :o)

I've never had any trouble with Neutrogena, which was recommended by our dermatologist. One major rule we follow is this: We try to stay out of the sun unless our shadows are longer than we are tall. We also use hats, sunglasses and lots of clothes, and we are especially careful in overcast weather. (Rebecca, who is auburn-haired, fair-skinned and freckle-bodied.)

Thanks so much, y'all! I made a little progress today in our local market, which carries some things we can immediately substitute. We've not had any significant reactions so we've got a little wiggle room. Emily, thanks for the message board links and the notebook idea! :)

I know there are many of you out there who are battling food allergies and I hoped you could help me out by giving me book titles, websites, blog addresses or any other resources that may help us. Between the three of our children, we have to avoid: Peanuts Rice Shrimp Tomatoes Beef Chicken Fish Tree nuts Oranges Corn Egg Cow's milk Soy Wheat I am in a panic, as you can imagine, so I would truly appreciate any guidance. This is all new to us.

In between now and the doctor visit, take some ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory) and drink lots of water. If you mix a tablespoon of baking soda in with a glass of water (nasty, I know, but effective), it will help neutralize the acid in your urine. Eat bland foods and stay away from coffee, tea, soda, berries and citrus fruits. My urologist told me NOT to drink cranberry juice during an infection, only as a preventive measure, because it also is acidic. Even if you don't have a UTI, this stuff won't hurt. If you do, it will keep the pain and duration down. Feel better soon!

Thanks for posting this!