I cried (for no good reason) when I turned 40; I turned 50 two weeks ago and am laughing. I love being older, I dont care what others think so much, I dont feel pressured by fashion, even though I had kids later in life, I can see that light at the end of the tunnel - our oldest is moving out this summer (which I can tell you, will be a giant atmosphere change for the rest of us). I dont like the baggy eyes I have, nor the belly....I also have had some health issues, but nothing that wasn't taken care of either by surgery or pills. Hey, we are growing older daily, lets enjoy it along the way, embrace whatever life brings us and have a ball - we will all suffer much of the same things, cause our bodies are going to start giving us trouble - but we can battle that with the food we eat (although, life is for the living, so eat some fun stuff too) and exercise. Stress can be a killer - watch that. :grouphug:

All the sports bras I have tried on, that looked like they had potential, end up giving me a uni-boob. Can anyone recommend one that still allows you to appear as though you have two breasts, yet they are not flapping in the wind when you run? ;)

I agree with Heronfisher - stress is a bad thing! If you dont drain it off, you will store those chemicals somewhere in your body and eventually, your body will let you know where - with a giant headache, or backache, or your jaw might blow out like mine just did in December. You need exercise and get your heart rate up to drain off stress, take one day at a time. Sit down and without too much thought, make a huge list of EVERYTHING that stresses you - your childs medical condition, the long line at the grocery store, squeaky pencils....whatever, list it out. When you think you are dont and cant think of one other thing, divide that list into 3 parts - the first part are things that are eliminatable, the second part is made of things that are modifiable and the last part are things that cant change now. Once you see what kind of stressors are bothering you, start working on getting rid of them, letting them go, accept what cant change with a good attitude...you get the gist. You are not alone, God bless you, sister!

Your kids are pretty young. I am trying to remember what it was like for me when my 4 were younger. I think we went for a lot of walks and beach time. And of course, after bedtime, I did whatever I wanted. A large part of my life has been alone, in terms of parenting - my husband travels a lot. Sometimes I don't fix dinner, its either every man for himself, or cereal....you know. Nowadays, if I don't get left alone (for reading, for walking around my yard looking/fixing/planning garden stuff) I start to feel very stressed. Built up stress is bad for the body. I do walk the dogs alone too, thats about 30 minutes. Take your time wherever you can find it and some days, just let the day go where it will, eat whatever and save the worry for later!!

That somehow your removing your children from the public school is an afront to them, because they are still leaving their children in that same school (or system) and therefore your choice means they're doing "less" for their child than you are.....no amount of explaining that it's a choice that is right for YOUR family and not a judgment about others choices seems to make a difference. I "lost" an old friend last year in part, I think, because of the above. She won't tell me directly what the deal is, but I know she has issues about it. She also felt I did not have the right to an opinion about public school (even though our oldest dd went to and graduated from a ps). I do think some take it a bit personally, and assume that WE assume we are better parents somehow. I miss her-

Eat at any of the taco stands called Robertos, Alibertos, Roybertos.....you get the gist, great food for a great price! I would stay away from Mission Beach - its just not as nice a family place as other beaches. We loved going to Coronado Beach on the Strand or near the Hotel Del - its beside a military base and the planes come in quite low overhead - kinda exciting. I have seen people say they loved Paradise Point - I used to work there, when it was the San Diego Princess Resort. Glad the opinion has changed about it - it was not a good place (for employees anyway!) I lived there 20 years and we will be returning this summer for a few weeks, so its the beaches, Miguels Mexican Food on Shelter Island, Mandarin House in La Jolla, seeing friends in Julian - visiting all the parks and places we miss. Presidio Park is nice too, a lot of history to be learned there - that was where one of the original missions was, but it moved down into Mission Valley and they turned the area into a military base in San Diegos early history. If you go to the beach in La Jolla, your kids can get surfing lessons - Tijuana? No. Its dirty and most likely, you will be taken advantage of. IMO. And you can get your hotel in SD and go to all the places mentioned above. No sweat.

Please enlighten me, Laura. What icky posters are you thinking of? I guess I dont get around much...:glare:

I have an older WC and my daughter in college has the newer version. Hers is THE book used in her class. I teach a co-op history class, and I use mine as part of my research into people and events that we discuss in class. I have a lot of other resources and it makes it more interesting to look at different views, etc. SO....you can do it either way!

I wanted to respond to you post above about your observations. I once daycared a 2yob, who obviously had some issue, but his parents were clueless. He would not speak, he would lick his hands, he would not touch himself or interact with anyone - his mom still fed him babyfood and a bottle. OK (after growing up with an autistic brother), I said things need to change - I taped a spoon into his hand (he refused to hold it) and taught him to feed himself. I taught him to drink from a sippy cup, then a regular cup. I did not pick him up, I made him do all the other things the other 2 year olds were doing (like WALKING! They carried him everywhere!) I told his folks to get him evaluated and sure enough, he was immediately accepted into a occupational therapy/speech program. He was an only child and honestly, they just did not know better! About 3 years later, my dd was seeing the same ladies at this speech program and I was talking about this boy. One of the therepists said he was one of her students. I asked if they ever determined if he was autistic and she said "we dont give out labels anymore". Which, IMO, is a dis-service to his parents - how could they best know how to help him if they didnt have a "label" to investigate, KWIM?? Anyway, saw him a few years ago, hes doing well, still not talking much, but happy.

The play with Marc Singer in it is Taming of the Shrew. That is the first Shakespeare play I ever saw (in high school) and I am telling you, Marc as Petrucio (spelling) is STUNNING. Made me sit up and clap. He has a fine bod....and the play was done as a choral, sort of in the round - wonderfully funny....

Our second dd had only a handful of one syllable works at 2 - "they" say, kids should be able to say about 200 words. I sat down and began writing everything she said, whether it made sense or not, it was her words. She had about 50 really, but that was not good - she had speech help for years, she still kinda speaks a bit strange....intervention - definitely!! Now my brother is autistic - he is now in his early 40's - lived way beyond what my folks were told. He does not speak, he makes noises, like "uh uh", and has learned some sign language. Autisim has both ends of the spectrum - high functioning and low. No matter how you slice it, you being the mom, who knows your child the best, if you think you should look into it, do it!!

THanks ladies - I really didn't want to go back to General Science......:bigear:

Well, we did anatomy last year :) and he will be doing algebra next year, and I have been through Biology 2 times already....so maybe Biology then- I also ask because we went through this with writing. Been doing creative writing for years, and I put him in our co-op IEW class for Essay writing and it stressed him way out. Should have let him start structured writing a bit slower... So that got me wondering if I am setting him up for more stress in Science. THough he is a natural at it...

I really dont know what I was thinking, but recently I realized that I gave my 7th grader Apologia Physical Science. I meant to give him General Science. He is doing fine though. Should I just continue from here, or go over stuff from Gen Science next year, to make sure?

Oh Ladies!! I dont grind, but I clench a lot. Due to that and a misaligned jaw (Boerings Degenerative Jaw Disease), my jaw "blew out" a few weeks ago. I have 3 different people managing my pain and I am spending $1400 on a guard to wear at night so my teeth dont touch and my muscles can get a break. I am responding because clenching and grinding are REALLY bad for your muscles and one day you may experience what I have. Stress is the underlying factor, gotta weed out your stressors and learn to manage them. I am also seeing a Physical Therapist 2x's weekly. Our budget is blown! Dont grind, friends!!! :grouphug:

We also have BCBS of NC, and are looking for something else! Our rate is $760 a month for 6 ppl, 3500. deductable and 70/30 co-insurance. Dr. visits are $25 and "specialists - physical therapy, counseling", whatever specialists they can think of is $50. Last year had my gallbladder removed and we owe $6500 for it. Yikes. Even the people who take my co-pay cant believe I have to pay that $50 for a specialist. There has got to be a better way. How does one get into a GROUP, for group rates, when one is self employed? Anyone know?? I suddenly got hit with uncontrollable facial pain, now I am having to pay for an out of network specialist, orthotics (1400 - who knows how much or if they will remiburse), and $150 a week for the next 7 weeks for physical therapy and biofeedback. Really, really dont like BCBS........

I have not read any of the posts, but here, if our kids live with us, they go to church. Its just that important. They can do as their conscience leads when they move out, and hopefully, that will be to continue in a relationship with the Lord. But you live at home, you go to church.

Such wisdom you have received on this board! I always tell my kids that God never promised us a rose garden - that we will go through difficulties, because we live in this world. It is good to remember all the saints that have gone before us, the hardships they dealt with in their lives...why do we want to accept only good at His hands, and not bad? (just a rhetorical question, mind you :)) It is hard for us to see what God sees, His mind is not ours - so we must be like little children and trust Daddy, that He will see us through no matter what the situation is. Dear sister in Christ, you are not alone, there is a great crowd of witnesses around us urging us forward in this race, no matter its difficulty! I would love to hear from you in 6 months, in a year...and see how you feel, what you think - there will be something of value gained during this time of stress. God bless you and give you peace and comfort.

Along the lines of finding out Richard III did not kill his nephews.

Ok, we will try everything suggested! She does eat a balanced diet, plenty of fruits and vegetables, do I dont know what to change with the diet. Thank you, to the hive! :)

Chris - does Mitchum have "man" smell?? We will try anything!

My 15 yo dd has a challenge in the pit area. None of the usual deodorants/antiperspirants seem to work for her. Can anyone recommend something else?

Is she ok otherwise? Giving her grown son a sticker book does seem funny. But if it's an isolated thing, I agree with just letting it go. She is not really "ok", terrible relationship, talks a big talk but the only person that is important to her besides her husband is herself. I just hurt for dh....

Oh Wordgirl, I feel your pain!

For my birthday, my then boyfriend (now dh) got real protective when I went out to his car to get something. He confessed he had something special in the back for my birthday and, oh well, he will give it to me now since I might have caught a glimpse. I was intrigued!! How thoughtful!!! I became the owner of a t-shirt with his friends body surfing competition logo on it. Thank you so much.:confused1: