Wow, I am so glad I am not the only one who does this. Since yesterday, I have called C by the dog's name when telling him to climb into his carseat, had to have dh ping my phone twice because I couldn't find it (darn those black countertops with my black phone), had to have my sister or best friend finish my sentence for me and had to have dh refill the toilet paper roll because I couldn't figure things out. I would blame on pregnancy brain (that was my go to excuse for the past 3 years) but as M is now 18 months, it's not working out so well. Ugh! At least I'm in good company. Sigh, I swear I wouldn't turn into my mother. :001_huh:

You must live near me. At my freshman orientation, the principal told us to look around. 50% of us wouldn't be there for graduation. It was actually worse than that, We started out with 450 freshman and graduted about 175.

You all are a lot nicer than I am. The main thing I learned from my education was language that would make a rap star blush. Ironically, I was brought back to that time in my life after reading this article. I have more than a few choices phrases for this woman. I am still befuddled by the fact that Eminem is considered poetry. Perhaps I missed something in his lyrics, but I saw nothing poetic about his raps. And forgive me, but am I supposed to be comforted by the fact that this woman, who earned a master's degree, cannot teach 6th grade math and has no idea how she should teach her pre-k daughter? It is because of teachers like her - and fortunately, most teachers are not like her - that my children will be staying at home. you know, the ones who push their beliefs upon their students and name call anyone who doesn't have the same set of standards as she. Perhaps it's me being an arrogant sow, but maybe Miss Thing should sit down, shut up and go back to talking about how to be a hot mom while the rest of us raise our children as we see fit. As a throw back - she can put that in her pipe and smoke it.

I am so sorry for your loss. Hugs and prayers for all of you during this time. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Mine are still small but K is just starting to get out of the nap stage. I make him go up to his bedroom after lunch for nap/rest time. I plan on continuing it throughout school as well. For me it's essential because I need the time to get my homework done (10 classes left!) or just some downtime. Sometimes I let the boys sleep on the couch in a living room and watch Shrek or something equally silly. Either way, the baby is asleep, the boys are quiet and I have an hour of sanity before we play in the afternoon and I start dinner. :tongue_smilie:

OP, I know that the courts used to be more biased towards mothers but that is not so much the case anymore. I believe it used to be called the tender years doctrine that gave mothers more leeway in the court system but that is being phased out. At least that is my understanding. If your BIL can prove that his wife was physically abusive, then there should be no question of her losing custody. And if I remember correctly (its been a few years since my family law class), if the mother is abusive, she would lose her rights even with the tender years doctrine. HTH and :grouphug: for your family.

I vote for the LG. We bought our right after we were married so it's coming up on 5 years. I love them. The clothes are very clean and it has stood up to have 3 babies back to back to back plus the 2 adults and now 2 boys going through potty training. So far so good. Knock on Wood!

This contraption is called an incentive spirometer (spelling may not be correct). We used to use these on my patients after they had their joint replacement surgeries. People hated it but it helped prevent pneumonia.

Thank you! We really need another government funded study to prove this? Seriously? You'd have to live under a rock if you didn't know that plopping your kids in front of the TV is bad for them. Its the same even if they watch "learning shows" all day long. ugh! No wonder we have budget issues.

I've watched the show before and there is just something about it that grinds me the wrong way. I really can't pinpoint what it is but I just don't really like the show so the kids aren't allowed to watch it. Its not on the same level as the simpsons or family guy but it's up there.

Now my kids are littles so I have no basis for comparison per the older ages but we were in Orlando in February for a week and took the kids to epcot for a day. M was only about 7 months so she doesn't have any recollection of the trip but K and C had a blast and cannot wait to go back. You should have seen those boy's eyes when they saw Mickey Mouse. They were over the moon about it. They may not remember it but I will for as long as I live. Every day, the boys ask me when we are going back to see Mickey Mouse. We are planning a trip in 2013 for K's 5th birthday. I am so excited. LOL, DH just called me about our DVC points for this year and banking them for the trip. I cannot wait!

I'd never seen this before either. Wow, that is all I can say. Heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

I was a junior in high school and knew nothing of the first plane until I walked into my second block class as the second plane hit the tower. I remember thinking, before the second plane hit, that it was really odd for my teacher to have the tv on. Then I saw the flames and the second plane hit the tower and I knew something was wrong. My class was current events. Snce the attacks fit the bill for the class, we watched the entire class period. The next few days were so surreal. Everything was cancelled. Swim practice, swim meets, band practice and the friday night football game. It gave you the sense that everything in the world had just changed. In another sad irony, my dad remarked that night "it's sad that a national tragedy has to happen so that we can have dinner together as a family on a Tuesday night."

I know almost all states have the manner of death listed (ie, natural causes, suicide, homicide) and some will have the cause of death. My MILs death certificate has natural causes listed as manner and metastatic ovarian cancer (or something along those lines) listed. Most certs (and i have seen quite a few because we need them at work to stop collections on accounts where people have died) I have seen are like this. As for requesting the cert, you probably have to show cause as to why you need it if you are not a relative. Like a PP said, it probably also depends on how recent the death is. If it is more historical in nature, it probably will be easier to obtain than a death that is more recent.

I'll agree with you on this one. I love me some VS! I am finally losing enough weight to fit into the darn things again. I actually just went to be fitted there last weekend. And speaking of the weekend, ugh, I'll never shop on the weekends again. Anyway, DH and I are leaving for a cruise in 19 days and I needed some new things. Nursing bras just don't say s-xy at all. :glare: I love their stuff and the quality is so much better than anything I've experienced. I can't wait to get back into their bras again!

I'm so sorry that their birth was so traumatic but congratulations on their arrival! I will keep your family in my prayers. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: please keep us updated on their progress. Lots more hugs and prayers coming your way. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

I will never forget that day. I walked into my 2nd block class and as I walked into the classroom, the second plane hit the towers. Fittingly enough, the class was "Current Events". My teacher looked at all of us and said "you don't get more current than this." I can't watch the coverage without bawling my eyes out.

Jealous! I can't wait to have mine tummy tuck done. A few more years and about 45 more lbs to lose...sigh.

I am really glad that you wrote the letter and that the principal responded and apologized. WTG to your daughter for standing up for herself! That is awesome. I am also really glad that you have a meeting set up and that the principal usually attends. I am in total agreement that he violated your daughter's right to privacy and that is a huge no no. I agree with Faith that he should be aware of just how much trouble he could be in for such an incident and that should that happen again, he could be in heaps of trouble. It is not okay to bully a 17 year old in front of his/her friends about a condition which s/he has no control over. What a jerk.

Surprisingly, for someone who considers herself a conservative and a christian (but not conservative christian), I don't believe it is my position to judge anyone for their lifestyle choices. Yep, homosexuality is a sin and it says so in the bible. But so is pre-marital s_x. I have committed many sins in my time. I am not their judge. I have grown up being taught that my job in life as a Christian is to answer questions if I am asked, to pray for those who need it, to be the best Christian that I can be and leave the rest to God. Some of my favorite people in this word are homosexual and some of my favorte people in this world are not Christians. I pray for them and hope that they can reconcile with God but I fel that they will have to deal with their sins on judgment day. I guess I am far too selfish to care how someone else is sinning when I, too, am a flawed individual.

Hugs and prayers for you and your family. This economy sucks. :grouphug:

Snce the Lions put the sisters of st. Joesph in for every football game, we are Pack fans here. Go pack! Go #85! (gotta throw some love out to my hometown hero! We do the same for jeter!)

For the love of mike, what in the heck was that? I feel like half of the words were spelled incorrectly and I am, by no means, a spelling/grammar snob. I know I am particularly uncool/unhip and that I am in a snit today but still...I feel justified in saying WTBlank?

I am a meatloaf snob and will only eat 2 versions of meatloaf - my dad's and DH's. Great story about my dad's meatloaf. My brother was deployed overseas twice to Iraq. When he would come home for leave or in between deployments, my dad told him that brother got to choose the coming home meal. My dad is a fantastic cook - the best in the world - and he literally makes gourmet meals. My brother choose dad's meatloaf every single time he came home. It's not that he is a meatloaf freak, dad's meatloaf is just that good. Just a funny little story that warms my heart. I love my family.

My princess has 2 older brothers and I had resigned myself to her being a tom boy. Granted, the child loves tools as much as her brothers but she hates to be outside and get dirty and she loves to play dress up with the 7 year old girl across the street. She loves on her dolly already. She is only 15 months old so who knows what she'll be like next month or next year but right now, she is pretty girly!