That was perfect. The illustrations were spot on. Every January DH and I say that this will be the year when we finally get caught up on our sleep. I can't say I have high hopes for 2012, but it's a nice dream to have.

Nope. I didn't learn it when I was in school, either.

6700 air miles give or take a few....this thread prompted me to look it up. :tongue_smilie: They are currently living overseas and don't anticipate moving back to the states for 4-5 more years.

4 is awful, IMO. My oldest got a lot better at 5, #2 is 4 right now and it's rough.

Yankee Doodle. So sad.

I work 2 nights a week (weekends) and DH is in charge of dinner those nights. When I initially was gone in the evenings (several years ago now) I always had something ready for dinner. Over the past couple of years, as he has gotten better at managing the kids/house/etc when I am at work, he has taken over the cooking on those nights. Usually it's something simple - pasta, chicken on the grill, etc. Occasionally I'll make something for them before I leave, usually in the crockpot, or we have some freezer meals he can pull out and bake.

$62.95....it's our only option where we are, we're waiting for FIOS to come soon. :glare:

I had a kefir culture (is that what it's called?) last year that I used for a while. It's hibernating in my freezer, maybe I should try it again. It made the best smoothies. I think fermented foods are fascinating, thanks for the link.

I cook pretty much what my mom did (and still does, which is the same as her mother cooked.) Most things were from scratch, lots of veggies, etc. Amazing, since my mom worked full-time when I was a kid. We never ate much processed food, never had sugary drinks around, we did have some snack food, but it was usually crackers or something, rarely cookies/chips. My mom had a cereal rule: the first two ingredients could not be sugar or any form of sweetener. That pretty much cut out all the fun kid cereal, we were limited to things like chex and cheerios, which we usually had as a snack, not as breakfast. (Little brother and I would spend a while in the cereal aisle reading labels every shopping trip.)

Weight-based dosing for tylenol or ibuprofen (any med, really) is the safest way to go. While overdosing your kiddo is the most obvious concern, underdosing can be a problem, particularly if treating a fever. I work in the ER, we see this a lot - parents are giving whatever fever reducing med and it isn't working, only to find out their dosing is way off. There are calculators and charts online for finding the correct dose. I have a 7 year old that prefers to swallow pills, we've been using the lower strength tablets for him if he has needed anything (which, thankfully, is a rare occurence.)

Yes, I can and do. I enjoy most home repair/remodel kind of thing, though I do prefer to work with DH rather than without him. I don't like to do much with the car....changing wiper blades, light bulbs, top off the windshield fluid....that's about it.

I don't think so, but I'm only speaking from my own experience. I would like to be a happier person when I wake up. I am NOT a morning person, but I did marry one and I have birthed a couple of them to boot. I have tried and tried to enjoy waking up in the morning, but I just don't. I usually feel tired or sick or achy for the first half hour or so, it is never enjoyable or easy for me. That said, I can get up in the morning, even very early if needs be. I worked an early shift for five or so years, waking up at 5am. My biggest problem now is that I work nights on the weekends but have to stick with the early-riser schedule during the week. That mismatch is really rough for me. So, this was a useless post, I apologize. I have no real advice, other than that I do think that the whole morning/night person thing is hardwired. I'm interested to hear what other people say....

I read an article recently that followed an ER in Texas somewhere. Some ridiculous percentage of the ER visits were made by the same dozen or so people, some of them coming in daily. I work in a ER and see things like this constantly. People coming for non-emergent complaints. I was in triage on Christmas Eve and we saw maybe 20% of the normal volume....most everyone was indeed ill that came that night, just made me think that maybe the other 80% should stay home more often. Good article. Healthcare is a huge tangled mess of a problem. I don't know how to fix it, but the current plan is unsustainable.

The goal is to do a little laundry every day so it doesn't build up into a big chore. The reality is I marathon it and usually do it all in one day. I have a 2nd floor laundry "closet", I fold the clothes as I take them out of the dryer and stack them. If I put them in a basket they never get folded. They get put away when I am finished. DH puts ours away, I put the youngest kid's away, and DSs age 4 and 7y put their own away.

My DH has an "old school" razor that he just loves. Best shave ever, no razor burn, and yes, they are cheap, cheap, cheap to refill. I, however, have never been brave enough to try it. I use a men's mach whatever cartridge. Maybe I should switch?

:grouphug:

Poor buddy, hope he's feeling better. Does working in the ER count? I've spent the past 8 New Year's Eves at work, it's a great tradition. ;)

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

I am a nurse and wear danskos to work (on my feet 12+hours at a time.) They are comfortable, in spite of having a rather hard insole. When wearing them, they angle your back and pelvis in a magical way that prevents (me, at least) low back pain while standing for looooong periods of time. I've had several pair over the past 12 years or so and I wouldn't trade them. Plus, they come in all kinds of crazy fun colors.

I read that as saliva tisanes. Oops. Woud a lysine supplement also help? I've had good results taking lysine for things like canker sores, etc. Just a thought. Hope you find some relief!

Met and married during college, we were living on the same block. I was 20, DH 22. Our 12th anniversary is in a few months.

Love it!

How lovely! She did a beautiful job!

Christmas Eve is typically when we have our big family event. The menu has not varied once in over 20 yrs....steak, baked potatoes, green beans, salad, rolls. An ice cream/cake/crumble/toffee kind of dessert that is simply known as "dessert." Appetizers always (ALWAYS) include shrimp cocktail and artichoke dip.

Ditto this.