I'd tell him that he needs to eat what you cook and it sets a bad example for the kids (to skip the meal in favor of something else). If this is a regular occurrence, I'd sit down and do meal planning with my spouse.

The "gown and mask" reference really concerned me, too. I'm a nurse and have taken care of patients on full isolation in the past. That typically involved shoe covers, mask, gown, and gloves. I'd be curious to know what kind of precautions were being taken in Dallas. I've never worn or seen the bunny suits in a hospital.

I'm happy to hear I'm not the only one dealing with an emotional 12 year old. I fixed dd's hair for her a few weeks back. She was having an ID badge made for her homeschooling program. She seemed happy with her hair. She didn't feel her picture turned out well, though, so I ended up taking the blame for the bad picture. It feels like I'm on a roller coaster ride with her lately.

It sounds like you are doing quite a bit to help him keep his weight within a normal range. I'd be asking for the doctors to investigate.

I'm in Co Springs. College Pathways is through the Classical Academy and that would be a good option for jr high and high school kids. We've participated in a variety of programs- High Country Home Educators, the Cottage School, College Pathways, and Tracks (outdoor education through D20's Homeschool Academy). Go to the TCA website www.tcad20.org to get more info on College Pathways (7th grade and up) and the Cottage School (K-8th). We've liked College Pathways and Tracks the best. I looked into TOG groups last year and didn't see any groups that were on the same unit as our family. I live in NE Colorado Springs. I haven't had any experience with things on the south side of town.

I'd like to know what airline the guy flew on. If I had been on his flight, I'd want to know. I'm seeing that there is another possible Ebola case and it's someone who the first guy knows. One article says they have 16-18 people who came in contact with patient #1 under observation right now. Why aren't they being quarantined?

Yesterday, they called and my number showed up on caller id. I thought it was weird and no one was there. I called my own number immediately (just to see what would happen) and a card services representative answered. It was very weird. I don't know how they did that.

I coupon. I've done it for a few years and have a portable file folder to hold my coupons. My favorite place to shop is Target and I love to use a Target coupon and a manufacturer's coupon for the same item. Their policy is really nice. They'll price match, too. I don't go crazy with things these days, since I think it's getting harder and harder to find the good deals. Some of my best deals were a few years ago- $0.50 Schick Quattro razors and $0.25 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios. I figure even if I save $5-10/trip I am doing pretty well. My tip would be to never buy something just because you have a coupon- unless the item is free. It's easy to get pulled into buying something just because you have a coupon- don't fall into that trap.

Uma Thurman or Joan Cusack

Below Deck and Real Housewives of Orange County are my 2 favorites.

I second the suggestion of mylocker.

Protein and carbs combined will stabilize your blood sugar best.

I did the same thing. Glenn Beck talked about it a lot. I had a stock of coats and shoes. Kids go through those things quickly.

I feel the same way. It's upsetting. I used to feel that we were solidly middle class on the income scale. It feels like we are sliding and in order to give our kids what we want them to have (piano lessons, athletics, and extracurricular activities), we are going without new things. We have started shopping at Goodwill more and more over the past few years. It used to be a fun place to shop and now, I do it out of necessity. I have to think ahead a lot more, but I can't stomach paying full price. My latest mission was snow boots for each kid for this winter. I found boots for each kid for $7 a pair. If I buy new clothes, I only shop the sales. I just bought dh some polo shirts at Dillards. I hit the sale just before Labor day. Shirts were 50% off and were marked an additional 25% off. Most of the shirts were $7.50-10.00. I shop at Old Navy, too, and my boys wear their jeans. We try to get them when they are $10/pair. I buy new socks and underwear, too. At back to school time and Christmas, Target typically has a coupon on their website. Also, for the Thanksgiving shopping, they will usually have a special for the Hanes or Fruit of the Loom underwear.

I use the vitacost brand vitamin D drops that are 2,000 iu/drop. The vitamin is in olive oil. I like these better than pills.

My daughter is around boys more than girls. She even practices with a boys basketball team and seems to enjoy herself more when she's practicing with the boys' team than the girls' team. The boys are pretty direct, but they don't harp on things and hold grudges when things don't go their way. Dd has a history of having been bullied by girls. I think she senses that she can just be herself with the boys and there won't be a whole lot of nonsense involved. Who can blame her? In first grade her best friend was a boy. I don't see a problem with it. She likes being a girl and isn't rejecting that part of herself and has no daddy issues.

I can understand a freak accident (like what happened with you), but there was a period of time when my kids were regularly breaking dishes when unloading the dishwasher. I feel it was due to carelessness. I did talk to them firmly when I saw a pattern with what was happening. I would never hit a child over an accident.

My dh had one when my kids were young. Pregnancies were very hard on me. Dh was 30 at the time. It was a tough decision for me, but dh was good with it. I would have had one more baby, but looking back I don't think that would have been the best decision for our immediate family. Most males in my family end up with vasectomies. Dh recovered within a few days and hasn't had any problems.

That was my first thought. I was 130 pounds when he and I got married. I'm 190 pounds now. I don't feel attractive.

My daughter is 12 and has 2 guinea pigs. Dh and I pay for everything- bedding, pellets, hay, and veggies. She bought the pigs and their cages when they were initially purchased.

Harassed? No. Have I ever felt disapproval? Yes. I don't think we're ever going to get away from having people express disapproval, directly or indirectly, about our choices on anything. It's going to happen. I don't let that get to me...too much. :laugh: I have a cousin who is constantly "hinting" her disapproval for my choice to homeschool. I don't really engage with her about that topic.

I don't like the idea of sending in the troops to deal with this. The focus needs to be on stopping this disease from spreading. Exposing 5000 of our troops to it isn't going to slow it down. With this number of military being sent in, we're bound to have casualties.

I've seen that once and it didn't raise red flags until I got to know the family situation. Basically, the only people happy in the household were Mom and Dad. Each parent had brought 2 kids into the family. The Dad was an a*s and I'm pretty sure the kids sufferered a lot of mental abuse.

I took the difficult classes and squeezed by with average grades. I never studied. None of it inspired me and I felt that HS was a waste of time.

I have insulin resistance and am on metformin. My diagnosis is PCOS. I'm looking at some convenience stuff and wondered if anyone eats the frozen Atkins meals. Are they any good? Are there any South Beach or Atkins products that are especially good?