I that situation, I would not have offered a refund. Buyer's remorse does not entitle you to a refund as long as the item was as described. I definitely would not have issued a refund before receiving the item back.

How scary! Praying for minimal ill effects for both your girls.

People get colds. Often. A cold is usually not something that would cause people to call in sick (apparently, your DD is happy to go infect the rest of her coworkers this afternoon as well). If you choose to venture out into the world, you are probably going to catch a cold now and then. It's really not that big a deal. It is just as likely that she got it from the handle of her shopping cart as from the coworker. On the other hand...having a bad cold really sucks and often feels way worse than "just a cold." I'm sorry your DD feels lousy, and I hope she is better soon and that you don't catch it!

I do believe that most TG people have what I would call a "disorder." The problem is that their identity, who they feel themselves to be, does not match their genitalia. What I don't understand is why some people insist that in this situation it must be the inner identity that is "wrong" and these people should somehow force their minds to conform to the gender reflected in their genitalia. To me, it makes so much more sense in most cases to fix the part that is actually fixable by transforming the genitalia and hormones to match the identity. I do think there are some exceptions. My cousin, for example, is transgender female to male. I think she is transgendered not because she was truly a boy born in a girl's body, but because her parents royally screwed her up psychologically. In her case, and maybe others like her, I think counseling would have been much more beneficial to her than surgery/hormone therapy and eventually resulted in a much healthier, happier person. But I think he is in the minority. And even though I think he made an unfortunate choice, I honor the fact that he now chooses to be a man, I call him by his preferred name, etc.

Me too!

I chose mind reading, but as I think about it more I have realized...mind reading is what I would want as ME. As a dragon, I'd go for invisibility.

I am wondering where the outrage was when he got the deferred adjudication originally? I have never heard of this case before today, and at first he didnt get any jail time at all! It is absolutely disgusting.

I would offer that if she is wanting to keep them for sentimental reasons, she could instead refund you enough money to buy those pieces new.

I agree the pool pole breaking was an honest mistake, but I heartily disagree with PPs who say this means he shouldn't have to pay for it. Everyone in this family, from my 4 year old all the way up to my husband, has to pay for things they break! That is not a punishment; it is just a part of life. We do, of course, subsidize if a child breaks something he or she has no way to pay for, but they will do some chores or give up some spending money or something. In the real world our actions have consequences, even if they are accidents.

I agree with PP that you probably should have turned it off once you realized it was not working They probably will not agree to pay for it, but you should definitely ask for a discount due to not having AC for that time.

It sounds like a good deal to me IF the "serves 6" entrees actually serve 6 real people and not 6 toddlers.

Eat it with a spoon?

A lot of Nichole Nordeman songs annoy me because she often uses the wrong word for what she is trying to say. I know there are several, but the one I can think of right now is Do you cry, do you hope for all things made new? Try and try to invoke us to live in you Invoke? Seriously? She means provoke. It fits, it rhymes...why didn't an editor catch this?

Yes, spanking anyone else's child is out of line unless they have given you explicit permission to do so (and even then it's iffy).

I have no suggestions right now but I want to say that I think it is wonderful that you and your family are willing to make such huge sacrifices in order to allow your kids to build a relationship with their dad.

I bought several things and I paid nothing and I am not ashamed to say it. The samples are lousy, do not show much of anything, and I do not have the resources to pay for something that is not going to work for me. If I try these and like them, I may go back and purchase more things from those publishers at the regular price. I think that is the point of the sale. If there were things I already knew I wanted, I would have paid something for them. However, I did not load up my cart with hundreds of free items "just because." I chose several items that looked like they might be useful, and after downloading I see that really only 2-3 of them will get used. If there were a very simple way to go back in and pay a dollar or two for only those items, I might do it. Or maybe not. I might just consider that I will buy more things from that publisher next year and recommend them to others and they will get their money's worth in that way.

I would probably ask for his brother's phone number and call and ask him to pay for the damage. It doesn't hurt to try.

The smart one.

In Texas home schools are legally private schools, so it is perfectly fine for you to just make up your own report card.

When we thought we were going to be be in the US permanently and DD was very interested in learning Mandarin, she took lessons from an 11-year-old missionary kid who was in the states on furlough for a year. We ended up dropping Mandarin in favor of Thai when we found out we were going to be moving here, but I felt she was making really good progress in a short amount of time, and she was really enjoying it. Her teacher used the Better Chinese books and created her own games and practice activities to go with it. She also added in a mini culture lesson each time they got together (how to use chopsticks, respect for elders, etc.). She really did an amazing job with the teaching, and being only 11 she didn't charge much (if I remember correctly we paid around $20/month for one hour each week). If you could find a missionary family near you with middle school or high school kids, that might be a good option.

My DD7 was diagnosed on her second birthday. She has been on methotrexate since then and is currently in medicated remission.

Haha! My kids love escalators, but oldest DD insists that while you are actually riding one it should be called an "esca-now."

Will be praying! As long as you aren't prone to airsickness, the little planes can be really fun. Are you taking a 206 or a Kodiak?

Spaghetti Heat a jar of spaghetti sauce. In the meantime, use another microwave or an electric kettle if you have one to boil water. Pour it over ramen noodles (don't add the seasoning packets). Let stand for 5 minutes or so and then drain the noodles and pour sauce over the top.