I would take all of mine down today, but we voted and everyone else wants to keep the decorations up until the day after New Years. Ds has a New Year's Eve birthday and he likes the decorations up on his birthday. All 3 of my kids have December birthdays and they like the decorations up on the birthdays. I'm suspecting they will feel differently as they get older.

They had a castle themed series a couple of years back. I don't know if it was discontinued or not. I looked it up on ebay. Some of the sets can be found under "Kingdoms".

Yeah. It wasn't my thing- at all. The seller of the charm seemed nice and it was well crafted. She doesn't normally accept returns, but is accepting mine due to the "touchy" situation. How are you doing since your surgery? Did you want your hysterectomy? I didn't want mine, but I had a large fibroid that was causing me a lot of problems- it was outside the uterus. I had thought about just having the fibroid removed, but I worried about more growing back and don't think I would have had the nerve to go through surgery again.

They have a brain charm on the site. Maybe I need to get him one of those? Better today than yesterday. I still can't believe he thought the charm was appropriate. It's just baffling. He said my hysterectomy was a "milestone". I said no, it's a surgery and is something I want to heal from and forget about, since it's an awful thing to have to go through. Having his kids, buying our first house, a birthday, or being a homeschool mom- those are things deserving of a charm.

I am sooo sorry! That is awful.

What is scary is that he searched for it. He was looking for a ribbon type charm- like what they have for breast cancer awareness or something like that. He thought he was doing something nice. He is a horrible gift giver and I think he gets it from his Mom. His Mom has sent me some pretty ridiculous things in the past to the point where I don't even open her gifts on Christmas day anymore. Let's just say it's been a pretty rough day in our house today.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/199040809/anatomical-womb-charm?ref=shop_home_active_8 Mentioned this in another thread. In 17 years of being married to dh and owning a lovely James Avery charm bracelet for 25 years, he has purchased exactly one charm for it- until now. You'd think he would have purchased a charm when we bought our first house or for our first Christmas together or for any other wonderful occasion- nope. I had a open hysterectomy 10 days ago. For some very odd reason, dh felt moved to give me this peculiar charm. Yuck. I want it out of my house. This charm made me cry today. I thought it was a joke initially. No, it wasn't a joke. Worst.Christmas.gift.ever.

I know, right? I just asked him if it would have been a nice memorial to have gotten him a key chain of a dead sperm after he had his vasectomy.

I had a open hysterectomy 10 days ago today. I wasn't wanting one and am not thrilled that I've had to go through the surgery. I feel upset, if you want the truth. So, this is what dh got me. I thought it was a joke. We don't really even get each other much. I would have rather received a nice James Avery charm- not something that reminds me that I've just had my innards ripped out. https://www.etsy.com/listing/199040809/anatomical-womb-charm?ref=shop_home_active_8 Maybe someone can convince me that receiving this was sweet and thoughtful? I really am not receiving it that way.

DD just turned 14 this month. She's getting: a calendar socks nail pens and nail polish a lap desk from pottery barn teen (for painting her nails) Once Upon a Time stuff- poster, book, shirt a charm bracelet from James Avery

I seemed to start going downhill with my health at 41. It's been a rough 4 years and I just ended up with a hysterectomy last week (got to keep my ovaries, so we'll see how that goes). I got my first pair of glasses last week, too. Sigh. I don't think aging is for sissies. The women who seem to age best are those who exercise and eat well. I am going to focus on doing those 2 things in the new year. I'm 45- closer to 50 now than I am to 40. I do think we have some control over some of the things that happen to our bodies.

Never in a million years would my husband say anything about my weight. I am overweight. I was about 130 pounds when we married. I am 180 now. I know I am overweight and I'm sure he knows, too. I haven't been in the best of health over the past few years and the weight crept on slowly. I do know dh loves me and I'm sure he'd rather I resembled the person I was when we got married. He still seems to enjoy my company and nothing has slowed down in the s*x department, so I can't be that disgusting to him.

Yes, the phone and all electronics need to go. My ds, 12, is in 7th grade, too. He started an Algebra 1 course in the fall. The first test grade he brought home was a D! I took away all electronics until he could prove that he was managing his schoolwork. I expected an A or B on the next test. He was able to earn back electronics and knows that the next poor grade will result in the electronics being pulled again. He has gotten As on every test since that first D.

Coloring books with some fancy colored pencils, forks, and a knife set are some of my gifts, I think. Dh and I don't buy much for each other for Christmas. It's been like that since we had the kids. I'm getting him some high quality socks for hunting.

I agree with Rainbow Light. It is a good vitamin- not at all harsh and sits well on my stomach.

I have had it and think it's worsened. I am having an open hysterectomy next week due a fibroid. I expect the doctor will find more endo during the surgery. I know I am progesterone deficient. A few years back, the doctor started treating me with a bcp. It was the last straw for my gallbladder and I ended up with horrible attacks and surgery. I never resumed the BCPs. I've had a couple of lap surgeries. It's the best way to know what you are dealing with.

He is who he is and I need to accept that, so I need to leave it alone. It would probably just cause his mom to feel defensive of him if I said something. This post has been therapeutic for me and it's been good to get it out and here about other's experiences. Do I think my nephew is being rude? Yes, to a certain degree. It's probably an immaturity thing. I had really worked to be a good aunt, since my 4 aunts (2 without kids) basically ignored me and my siblings when we were growing up. I am fortunate to have a good relationship with my niece, his sister. We keep up with each other and have transitioned to an adult relationship. She and I text a couple times a month and keep up with each other on facebook, etc.

Op Here...he doesn't have ADHD or depression and he is typically very social. He doesn't have kids. I don't expect him to reply to a text with a lot of chit chat- it's usually just a question that can be answered with a line or two. I don't expect his wife to help me have a relationship with my nephew- that's not her responsibility and I'm sure she's busy, too. Honestly, I don't expect him to pay attention to me or cater to me in any way. I understand what it's like to be busy. I don't complain to his mother about him. I've heard her talk about discussions she's had with his grandparents about his lack of returning calls, emails, etc. I don't give input one way or the other when I talk to her. He's an adult and it's his choice how to behave. Yes, I can love him and that will never go away. My reaching out to him over the past few years has gotten less and less, though. It's hard to feel like one is always talking to themselves and know that a reply may take 3 weeks or may never come. I imagine he treats his friends better than this. I certainly can't imagine how he maintains other relationships (if he doesn't respond to them)- and yes, he does have friends.

I have a nephew who is 27. When he was little, my sister was a single mom and I took care of him and his sister while their mom went to night school. I was very present in his life until he was 9 and I left our home state to go into the military. Still, after I moved I would go back to visit and made a point of sending birthday cards and Christmas gifts. I drove 8 hours (with 3 little kids) for his high school graduation. I drove 12 hours to attend his wedding a few years ago. I've always made an effort to be in his life and I understood this would be one-sided while he was growing up. As he has gotten older, it very much feels like I make an effort still, but he does not. His Mom makes excuses for him with everyone in the family. It's always that he is busy. I've had no falling out with him or his wife- both are very sweet people. It's not like I expect much from him- just respond to my text to give me an address so I can send a Christmas card. It's not unusual for him to take 2-4 weeks to respond to a text. Honestly, my feelings are hurt and I think I have to give up on attempting further communication, since he obviously does not care. That makes me sad. Is this a normal thing for young, adult males to behave this way? I don't have this issue with his sister.

My son and I are sensitive to wheat. I am extremely uncomfortable when going to parties and would never bring up that someone should serve only things we can eat. I may ask about ingredients if I'm trying to figure things out once we get there. I don't want anyone to worry about my dietary issues. I always make something I know we will be okay eating and bring that dish along to share with everyone. Most parties will serve meat, so that's not typically a problem and I know we won't starve. Even when my son does sleep-overs with friends, I bring along a box of frozen gluten free waffles for him to eat in the morning.

I didn't see that thread. Here is our absolute favorite. Toward the end of baking, I add marshmallows to the top pull it out of the oven when those are melted. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/230496/berry-mallow-yam-bake/

I agree that if given the choice most of the employees would prefer to have the day off. I've worked shift work and have been at work on many major holidays, fwiw. Do you think that the retailers are exploiting the customer as much as they are exploiting the worker?

I'm seeing all the posts on facebook from various people saying they are boycotting Thanksgiving shopping. It seems people are upset that retailers are making their employees work. Most of the stores around here aren't opening until 6 p.m. I'm not sure what the hours are in other cities. I know the Target employees I talked to last year said they did not mind working on Thanksgiving and said they were getting overtime and holiday pay. They seemed genuinely happy. Also, a lot of them got hired on to do the seasonal work and purposely signed on to work just for the holiday season. Why is everyone so upset about Thanksgiving shopping and emailing retailers to complain? Will you shop on Thanksgiving? What if you forgot dinner or potatoes rolls? Will you skip going to the grocery store- just out of principle?

All 3 of my kids have December birthdays, so I normally start shopping for birthdays and Christmas in October. I'm even closer to being finished right now due to a hysterectomy being scheduled next month. I have a couple more things to get and I'll be finished. I'm aiming to be finished next week.

I recall some friends of my parents who were child-free when I was a kid. They were very blunt and rude about their choice not to have kids. I think these people have always existed, but now we see them more due to social websites. I really don't see many examples of what you describe on my facebook feed. Most of what I see is people who haven't had kids posting about how lazy/rude/disrespectful kids are these days and how they weren't that way when they were kids.