OP, please forgive any hint of rudeness. It was certainly not my intent to accuse you of putting your own desires over the safety of the babes. I meant to simply encourage you to widen your mindset to include the possibility without it resulting in great disappointment for you. Either way, you will soon meet your two new precious ones face-to-face. My recovery from my twin-delivery section was MUCH faster and MUCH easier than my recovery from a long, complicated labor and v@ginal delivery with a fourth degree episiotomy. If I had to endure damage to two major areas of my body while having and attempting to nurse two newborn babies, I would have had to hire help! ETA - My big twin was larger than his non-twin brother, just for the record. But of course, that's just me. Maybe I'm just a wimp.

Thanks for all the stories and instructions! I would love to make an attempt at this! I do not know whether ours are Black or English walnuts (or are there other varieties?), but I will look that up next week. I'm used to pecan groves, my grandmother had one, but we kids never messed with trying to open the husks. We just threw 'em at each other! When we found brown shells we'd just pick them up, crack and eat them on the spot. The walnuts just don't look the same, and if I'm going to get any of the nuts away from the squirrels and chipmunks, I have to beat those critters to the green ones!

Same challenge here! Add to the "what to do" question, what to do without blowing the budget. My dd and I can have fun together, but wow, I really have to plan for the expense of it. I think she requires a significantly larger cash investment than my teen guys, who are really quite good with an occasional hamburger and new pair of athletic shoes. I love what others have suggested so far, thanks for the question, OP!

I had the same situation. My concern was that I didn't want things to go both ways, that is, the first one be a v@ginal delivery, the second requiring a section. One way or the other would be okay by me, but not both. My kids were really big for twins - the head down baby on the bottom was 6#1oz, the breech baby on top was 7#8oz. I understand that *you* don't want a section, but, I gently suggest that the safety of the babies is a first priority and if the situation requires a section, you shouldn't fight your doctor on it. What I *would* be sure to demand is that he avoid making a vertical incision in your uterus. That was the biggest factor in my subsequent pregnancies. (Just my two cents, given without reading all the other replies since I am on the run today.)

Will this process continue if the nut has fallen from the tree? As in, could we collect loose nuts in a paper sack and let them ripen there? Two big walnut trees on our new property, thanks for the question, OP!

Oh, the days are long, but the years are short! My first baby had his senior picture photo session yesterday... How'd that come around so fast??? Congrats to your new teen, and you, too, Mama! A fun fun Friday to you all!

I am so sorry - that is a difficult situation. Please consider that a miscarriage is not just a physical event. It is an emotional one as well. Unless you have a very solid, close relationship with your inlaws, you may want to plan to stay at home to give yourself room for the feelings that will come. Physically, at least in my experience, a miscarriage isn't really something you get over physically super quickly (as in, miscarry today, travel tomorrow). Others may have a different experience to share with you, since you are earlier in the pregnancy, but when I miscarried at 12 weeks it came on hard and fast. I distinctly felt the "pop" of water breaking and something akin to labor followed shortly thereafter. It was exhausting. I miscarried at home, but was in constant contact with the doctor, in the event she determined I needed to go in to the ER. I guess my point is, I wouldn't want to be too far from home and familiar medical care. As I said, though, others may be able to offer a different scenario. Again, I am sorry. Hopefully this is actually just a scare and baby is fine. You could still plan a special weekend for your son, your husband ormfamily friend could take him out for some special activities. He will recover from the disappointment.

Honestly? I've had the best results just doing a google search with the entry, "identify <enter the name of your state> trees." There's usually a website by the local county extension office or university department. I use the same trick for insects, too. I know it's just not the same as a beautiful field guide, but it helps get your subject named! You can also look for a dichotomous guide. That will take you through a set of questions about characteristics of the subject to narrow the info down for a specific identification. Those are fun to try your hand at, at least once, even if such a guide doesn't become a regular tool for you.

If your insurance company is like mine, they will certainly ask for a lot of info from your doctor to be certain it's medically necessary. Apparently (from what the hospital billing rep told me), it is a popular procedure simply for the convenience aspect of never having another period. So at first, insurance companies were paying for a lot of procedures that were medically unnecessary. Now I guess they ask a lot more questions before agreeing to cover it. Sounds like you are a worthy candidate, though!

Had it done earlier this year. It was easy. I still cycle, but I cycle normally (as opposed to cycles so heavy I couldn't leave the house and suffered from iron deficiency anemia). I have heard many say their cycles stopped altogether. You have to be done with childbearing to be a candidate for the procedure. It's been discussed here many times, you might get some good info by doing a forum search for "ablation." Has your doctor recommended it?

I will pray, Christine, please keep us in the loop!

Love what you've already written. I would add.... Do not try to compress all your children into the same mold. Let them be individual bundles of strengths and weakness, and *listen* to them when they express differing needs. Involve them in planning their own course of studies as they approach and accomplish high school. Know when to ask for outside help. It is not a crime. It is not an admission of weakness. I will never again teach math above the seventh grade level. Be realistic about how far your time can stretch, and the unplanned for need for down time. Seriously consider how certain things will affect your daily schedule, not only with regard to school, but other mom/wife responsibilities. Looking back, my kids would have been better off with a few less co-op classes and a less frazzled mother. Regarding co-ops, our best ones were small, interest driven and parent led. I see a trend towards big expensive co-ops, and I have mixed feelings towards them. I think they meet many needs, but I also see them functioning more like private schools than home school enhancements - and that's what some parents actually want, so I'm not throwing tomatoes. I just sugget using great wisdom when deciding how to participate in one, or you will find much more time, money and authority given over to it than you ever truly intended. Read and reread Jessie Wise's point in the beginning of TWTM: home schooling is a sacrifice on the part of the parents. Go into this adventure knowing and being content with the knowledge that your leisure time is going to look a lot different than that of your nonschooling friends. Often over the years I've had to remind myself that it was a choice made at the outset.

Did you use powdered or granulated sugar? My guess is that you used powdered that wasn't finely sifted. I usually use a whisk on the ingredients before adding them to the pot, and when I stir the mix during the caramelizing process. It's possible that some clumps of sugar stuck to the utensil for a while, then fell off into the pot and remained undercooked. What do the spots look like when you break the praline? Is it chalky white through and through, or just on the surface? Also, humidity has an effect on the outcome. My southern-gourmet aunts always remind my to not even bother to make pralines if it's cloudy or muggy outside! Save that recipe for a clear, crisp, sunny day!

Great link! I make a version of the Cajun white beans. It's basically the same recipe, but skip the andouille and, about 20 minutes before serving, stir in about a pound of shrimp (cleaned & deveined - maybe you'd need a bit more liquid than what's in this bogger's recipe). Thanks for starting this thread! I need to go back to Monday bean day (an old southern tradition) for both budget and time factors. Nice to have a variety of bean recipes to choose from!

My "giant" baby (resulting from gestational diabetes) was 6#10oz. She is a darling pipsqueak. :D I know your situation is complex. Just don't want you to fear having to deliver Little Goliath with all the rest you are thinking about.

If you have rosacea, you've probably been told by your doc that you should never use hydrocortisone to treat it! That eventually thins the skin, which would cause more blood vessels to show through. It may seem to initially calm an outbreak, but the long term effect is not what you want!

Comparing to WalMart? Um, that would be me. :D I did say that it was many years ago (14?) and that I liked it. I found it to be lower on the swank factor, but light, bright and big. And, back then, it had everyone else's pricing beat. But things have changed, I guess. Anyway, I agree with another that said any bookstore is better than a big empty building where a bookstore used to be!

You might want to look at Paula's Archives (google it for the exact web address). She has a heading for films to study with history. If I remember correctly, there weren't too many films for ancient history, and there weren't many for the younger set. But the lost grows as history chronologically progresses. There are other similar sites with movie recommendations, hopefully another poster in the know will come along and share more.

Borders is to BAM as Macy's is to WalMart. That's about how I remember it. Admittedly, it was many years ago that I lived in a town with a BAM, but back then I appreciated the high volume and low prices.

Not beyond the range of my eyeballs.

I am preparing to apply to nursing school. However, my last prerequisite class started this week... without me. :glare: My kids really need me to be fully engaged on the homefront for at least one more semester. They have a tough term ahead, and with one graduating I want to get all the time I can with him before he heads off to college. That last class is Anatomy & Physiology, a real time consumer. So, next semester, I hope, summer at the latest. I want to do this for many reasons. Foremost, I want a service-oriented vocation that will also be valuable on the volunteer front. I am interested in crisis response. And I will have three kids in college at the same time, so it would be nice to be able to earn towards those bills! My primary career was in a very narrow field in which there are limited jobs available. Also, after 15 years out of the work force, my skills and professional contacts are no longer current. I will likely have to take out student loans to cover the costs, but maybe not. Depends on our financial status next year.

:iagree: Eat when you feel like it, the amount you feel like eating, but eat *good* foods - lean protein, fruits and veggies. I think that one thing that you can really be successful with at this time is detoxing from sweets and carbs. Just purge your house of bad choices before your surgery; you aren't going to jump off the sofa and go to the store for a gallon of ice cream, right? Just convince the rest of the family not to do it for you ;) I also agree with elegantlion. I just had minor surgery, and looked forward to maybe dropping a few pounds. But I felt crummy, and the truth is, food is comforting! So don't be too hard on yourself, and concentrate on a healthy recuperation. Best wishes to you - may all go well!

Well, you know that's just plain wrong. Wish I could offer you a good set of statistics, something to share with your mom. HSLDA web site, maybe?

I know hormonal fluctuations play a role in gum sensitivity. Could they also contribute to this type of recession?

Liberties, yes! To think that Wickham might actually be a good guy... To think that you might actually be able to get along with Lady Catherine... And Darcy in the pond, I totally laughed out loud. In my original post I wanted to say (but forgot) that I thought Hugh Bonneville was outstanding. I love him. :001_wub: