You know it! :thumbup1: Working on laundry room, linen closet, and school stuff. They're all in the same area known as - The Basement - I dug my way in and I'm working back, clearing as I go.

Never stop buying and wrapping gifts for myself just because DH gets all defensive and huffy Christmas morning, "I didn't have time! All the things I have to do…." Hiding out in the spare room struggling to keep my kids quiet so they didn't disrupt the adult conversation in the living room was easier this year because I packed the iPad! God bless Sonic. I was able to read while they played and we only got shushed a couple times when they scored! Can't forget that one. :))

Get a puppy. It will keep you company, completely adore you, and a bonus will be the exercise! Puppy obedience classes. Fly ball classes….. the list of fun you and your puppy can have is endless! Seriously. My poodle doodle loves me so much I'm never alone when I'm home.

Does her DH know you know? If so, I'd tell him that you're going to "spill the beans" on (give him a deadline), "Just thought you'd want to know so you have the opportunity to tell her yourself before I do." Whatever happens next, you still have your conversation with your friend because he may still not be truthful if he fesses up. I'd want to know THAT too.

Simba Dandelion Sunny Solar

Whatever diet you choose, remember to watch the portion sizes too. :)) I eat mostly low-carb. But even those low carbs can be over done when I eat too much.

Fun! Now you know to get her a little something too. :))

Pepperplate is free so I'm trying that out. I got the app downloaded but I can't log into their .com site to download any recipes. What did I do wrong.

Oh wow, I just saw my friend's on her ipad and I never thought to look for something like this! She can can enter her recipes. No more shuffling around looking for bits of pieces of paper. :) BUT when I got home and started looking at cooking apps I saw that there are also menu planners. Is there an App that will do both the recipe book & menu planner aspects? That would be the perfect app for me. Thanks!

((hugs)) this is very serious. But you got a good ER doc! Thank God for catching it in time. How about some antibiotics for you and your daughter. Strep can be awful.

I'm going to suggest some vision therapy. Was learning to read more challenging? We experienced a similar problem with one of our dd's. She couldn't keep her place looking from the piano book to the keys. She would lose her spot on the music and then struggle to find her fingers on the keyboard. She could read, but she frequently skipped lines. Vision therapy helped her get her eyes working together with her brain. I think there are more affordable options now for doing some vision therapy online. The vision thing -- it's too early for my coffee to have kicked in -- but you have to see a specific one of the eye doctor's. One doesn't check for the tracking. I think it's the opthmologist as opposed to the optometrist. One of them tests for it the other things it's bunk. In our experience it was a very important key to figuring out one of my daughter's learning challenges. Piano is not part of her life right now. But she did finally figure out how to type.

The perfect planner (after all my Franklin planners and daytime's) is iCal. Use it with an ipod touch, iPad or an iphone. The iphone would compliment your business. You can set up never-ending, repeating birthdays. You'll never forget again! Your whole calendar, for years, is right in your pocket! Very portable, never bulky. iCloud makes sure you never lose it. AND you can search for past appointments or dates in a blink. iCloud keeps everything up to date on all your ical locations. The notes feature is fantastically fast, alphabetically organized, date and time stamped. Whohooo, never lose an important note again. It's easy to invite folks to join your meetings. Theres a feature in the appointment for inviting. You can color code the kids, hubby, and work calendars! Forgetful? Never worry, there's an alarm feature to make sure you get warned 1 day, 1 hour, or minutes before. Its Earth friendly because it's paperless....forever! I also share my calendar with my mother & husband via iCloud (view not edit). Now days I'm a doer, I just grab that phone and go! It will even beep at me when I pass by Officemax and remind me I need printer cartridges.

Good Gravy, his mom showed up this morning. :gnorsi: Fortunately DH was home, because confrontation isn't my forte. The apple didn't fall far at all. No apology for the half-starved cat. No apology for putting traps "close to" our property. No admission that it might have indeed. No recognition that there's a reason for his reputation and that none of our personal interactions have done anything to redeem him. In fact, quite the contrary! Um, you want to put up a fence, go right ahead! You'll call DH's cell, rather than the home phone, because you rather not talk to me? And you say this in front of me like I'm totally NOT there--listening to the whole conversation ..... I get it you're thinking poor DH because he has crazy in-laws and a crazy wife. Trashing my folks to my DH, while I'm standing there, isn't a very good idea. I'm not deaf. Um, this trashing my folks has got to stop, every time there's a brouhaha this comes up and frankly it's not helping your situation Dudes. My folks aren't perfect. But when they're wrong they apologize. There's a long history of no apologies from YOu. And how did this problem of your son trapping on our land, not checking his traps to find our half staved cat become something about me and mine? Attempting to bring my blood pressure back to normal levels.

Well, my 75 dad almost got arrested....... :glare: Here's the scoop, if there's a trap on your land with an animal in it call the Sheriff. They'll come out right away to document the placement of the trap. If you remove a trap it's a felony. The only reason he wasn't arrested is because the trap was clearly on our land, even thought he punk 17 year old kid said he didn't know it wasn't their land since they (generously :lol: ) mow the strip next to the road. We were right, he can't trap here. But we got the process wrong....trying to be neighborly and talk to the minor punk kid with his father. The punk kid and his dad told the Sheriff they were afraid my dad was going to beat them up. :laugh: Next time we'll know better and call the Sheriff first so they can go to the HS and and yank his butt out of class and arrest him. Yup, plans to put up NO Trespassing signs is in the works. My only concern is that I hear this kid is going to enlist after HS. If he gets arrested will that slow down that process? I really wan this kid gone.

DH's pretty mad at me. :closedeyes: My dad won't give the trap back to DH. So when the kid shows up here for his trap we're supposed to send him (with his dad) down the road to my Dad who owns our place. My Dad intends to call the sheriff as soon as they arrive so that there can be a discussion. Yup, I'm a bad wife. At least the situation is being handled the way I know DH wouldn't have done it. He's way too nice.

Funny, the sheriff is a neighbor, on the other side. We've asked this punk to stay off our property, so have the previous owners. But he's just a really bad kid. He came by today and asked DH for it. Since I'd taken it down to my folks because I knew DH would have returned it without a reprimand. He's coming back tomorrow to get it, but I like the idea of talking to the sheriff neighbor instead. :)) Just to get some idea on the neighborly way to work with a kid who's not being respectful.

Kids found one of our barn cats in a trap. The cat was very skinny. :(( DH thinks we should leave the empty trap where it was even though it's our land. I think we should bring the trap up to the house to stop the young trapper or at least to be able to give him the message that we know he's doing this on our land. We've asked him to stay off our land before -- via the sheriff. Obviously he's been trespassing. its not realistic that we're going to be able to keep him off, but we have let him know we don't want him around. Leave it or bring it home?

I agree, don't underestimate your pooch. My folks had an extremely timid rescue dog. They invited a hunter friend to use the facilities once and that dog chased him out of the house! Personally I have two big doggie girlies and 1 very loud poodle doodle who sleep in my room. I also bring the portable phone close by. But we live out so it's more the coyote and wolves that are a concern.

As parents It's hard to know if our actions & decisions are right at the time we make them. It's only in looking back that we can see progress. Sometimes its more like peeling an onion, one stinky layer at a time. Unfortunately it doesn't help us when we're in the middle of a child drama. Your son HAS made progress. It may not be in the positive yet, but he has figured some relationships/things that have been holding him back. Letting go, healing, and moving on are all separate steps that HE has to make. Time and experience will give your niece the insight that you have now. Her hurtful words were from her perspective, not from experience. You are one of the bravest, toughest, most loving parents I know. I admire that you're willing to let him make decisions because you know he needs the big mess he's made in order to learn how to be at peace with his past. I hope and pray that when I am in this situation (we have adopted 5 children) that I will be as careful and thoughtful as you have been. Thank you for reminding me that it isn't about how my children make me feel about myself because of their successes or challenges. Time for some personal TLC so you can take a deep breath before jumping back into it. :grouphug:

I vote for family gift! A (educational) DVD, microwave popcorn and licorice "basket" A homemade pizza night basket, pizza sauce, boboli, pepperoni new pizza cutter .... A gift certificate to the theater Cookie mix in a jar Box of groceries--my granny used to do this! I loved it because she sprinkled shelled peanut inside and I got to eat those right away. :)) Gas card

Disagree. PS would "pause" the problem and never get resolved since they'd never have to figure this out. It will get worse before they figure it out. Stop them, make them apologize (repeatedly) and don't get suck into their argument by trying to figure out "who started it." It takes two. And it takes both to keep the peace. Oh, and more work together and they'll "get over this more quickly." Nothing like a long yuck job together, like raking leaves, or moving a pile of rocks, helps them it figure out. "Would you rather do this alone?"

XX large family, wash daily. Because by the end of the day there's 40 (at minimum) clothing items, 7 towels, the inevitable wet bedding from one, and kitchen towels, It adds up fast.

I was 10. My folks packed my suitcase with things I'd need (my siblings too) we drove with the other American kids from the area to the school. They unpacked my suitcase. Showed me how to make my bed with a hospital corner, introduced me to my teachers. They spent the night somewhere else but came back in the morning to eat breakfast with all the "dorm" kids before driving back. I spent my senior year living of high school at home. I gladly left at the end after graduation for college!

My sister's are mirror-image identical twins. They love/hate each other fiercely. But they do crazy twin things even though they lived halfway across the country from each other in different time zones. The last one.... One twin called the other and found out they were watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with their families at the same moment. Personally, I can expect the other twin to call me half hour after the first twin calls. :)) My husband and I say, "Wait for it...!" It never fails.

My laundry machine eats stained, ripped and too small clothing regularly. :driving: It's a beast. Thats what lint is, right?!