I'm solely comparing my female morkie to my male morkie, so apples to apples. My female was my best friend in a doggie body. We loved each other with devotion. When she died I thought I would never stop crying. My male morkie is an independent, mischievous little cuss. He's not terribly cuddly, not needy. Takes a few pets and wanders off to knock over the waste baskets, squeeze through my fence and chase geese, trample my bedding with muddy footprints, pee on the mat when he thinks I'm not looking, grabbing my leg and humping it every time I get out of bed in the morning,.....the list goes on and on. He's a character and I like him well enough, but when he's gone, I won't miss him with that whole body ache and sense of loss that I felt for my female. We have three other female dogs right now, and I must admit to preferring each of them in her own way to the male, even the despicable chihuahua ranks slightly higher in my affections. I never thought I'd admit that one.

Whatever you do, buy through a reputable breeder. We made the mistake of buying pet store rats a few months ago and two of the three died within weeks due to an infection they were born with. The last one is hanging in there, but has gotten moody because he is lonely for a cage mate. We also brought home two silver marten males that were being rehomed on Craigslist. They were bought from a proper rattery and are hale and hearty. One is a dumbo, and the other is a standard. The standard is a Rex and the dumbo has a smooth coat. We keep them well away from the sickly little guy so they won't get infected. I was honestly not prepared for the odor that rats have. I don't usually have an issue with animal smells, but rats have a stinky, musty odor that will not go away. They are bathed at least once a week and their cages are cleaned from top to bottom with a steamer at least three times a week. They are still stinky and I would like them to go away, but they are also incredibly friendly and playful, I reign in that impulse, and breathe through my mouth when I am in sniffing distance.

We have four bathrooms and I wish we only had a 1.5 bath home. The kids end up in our master bathroom all the time. They have a girls' bath and a boys' bath and they still shower and brush in our bath. They use the guest bathroom in a pinch when one really has to go and the master bath is occupied. I clean four bathroom when only 1.5 actually are needed. I would get rid of the surplus baths if I could have that space where I really need/want it.

At least now you know what it is. I hope you feel better very soon. :grouphug:

They go on sale very frequently (or at least they used to.) My kids don't care for lap booking, so I stopped lurking their sales. Which one are you looking at?

Sigh. I'm having handy hubby envy right about now...

Never. For whatever gross reason known only to my dogs, my underwear is their favorite chew toy. I refuse to pay for nice undies when my dogs all vie for the opportunity to chew them to shreds.

Faith wanted to start up a business as an ARBA affiliated Holland Lop breeder for a 4-H project. Since she is underage, I have been sucked into the bunny breeding vortex. We all have, actually. Just getting started, so no profit yet but our first litters are available for reservation right now. Lots of debt (for us) pertaining to buying cages, buying breeding/show quality bunnies, high quality feed and hay, bunny toys, etc. A fair amount of time is involved in daily cage cleaning and playing with bunnies, taking photos for the website, and corresponding with potential clients. We really enjoy it! If she does as well as she has been, we should hopefully break even in three more months (after subtracting food and hay costs), then we can hopefully see a bit of profit. Our main customer base is 4-H families looking to do pet rabbit projects.

You buy 15 pair of reading glasses at one time from the Dollar Tree because you keep forgetting where you put the other ones. ETA: Yes, I really just did this.

I had five children age four and under. Deep breath. You will survive. It's hard now, but believe me when I say that I actually miss those years. :grouphug:. My kids were bathed once per week unless something messy happened. They were bathed on Saturdays immediately after dinner and put into their jammies for bed time. My eldest and youngest went first because Joy could be trusted to keep an eye on Faith while I finished up with the boys as the tub could fit only three at a time safely. Yes, they shared the tub and survived. I did as much once a month cooking as possible and made double or triple batches of everything to freeze ahead of time. We did not have a dishwasher, so I spent lots of time doing dishes. My washer and dryer were constantly in use so the laundry didn't pile up. Everybody napped or rested for at least two hours after lunch. That was my sanity time. Audiobooks were always available for the kids to listen to during that time but they had to stay on their beds. The only regular outing we took every week was church on Sunday. Doctor appointments, dentist visits, etc were scheduled for all the kids on the same day so dh could take the day off and accompany us. Then we had a treat of takeout food for lunch/dinner following the appointments. Bedtimes were my one on one times with the children, since dh was home by then to watch the baby while I put the others to bed. Everyone was in bed by seven, each with one story he/she wanted me to read. I would rotate who went first. I would pray with each child, read his/her story, sing his/her special song that we made up when they were each infants, we could talk for a few minutes about the day, give kisses and hugs, put on an audio book, and say goodnight. I did that with each child and it really helped me to view them as loveable individuals rather than a pack of demanding little beings, sucking the life out of me. I only spent about 15 minutes doing this with each child, but it meant so much. ETA: if dh wasn't home to watch the baby, she would sit play quietly or listen to each story as we rotated through the rooms together. Fortunately, she loved stories, so it worked out well. When they got older and wanted longer stories, we switched to a family prayer and read aloud time. I still tuck them in and talk with them before they go to sleep though.

You ladies are giving me hope. Theodore is 11 and is only 4'6". He is adopted, so no clue on potential height based on relatives. Simon, his full bio brother, has hit 5'2" and is 12. Theodore wants to grow so much, but I'm concerned that his need for steroids to treat asthma has stunted his growth.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Pregnancy hormones combined with losing a beloved family member make a difficult situation so much harder. :grouphug:

My heart aches for you and your family. :grouphug: I have always been told to never make any big decisions for a year following the death of a spouse. You need to learn to breathe again and how to put one foot in front of the other. Take time to grieve and take time to learn to smile again. You will need to make time to rediscover yourself as a single person, a single parent, and so much more without your husband by your side. Give yourself a lot of grace this year because you will need it. :grouphug:

Two of our dogs literally wait until for our holland lop bunnies to poop so they can snarf up the poo balls. We call the bunnies "Pez dispensers" because the dogs stick their noses under the bunnies's bottoms and lift them high enough to get the "treats" they are still sitting on.

I don't because I usually get dizzy and weak when I try to add in even low impact exercise.

Yep. Mine love that "crunchy coating with the soft chewy center".

:grouphug: I am so very sorry. He sounds like someone I would have enjoyed meeting. It's wonderful that you got to know him and love him so much as an adult.

No sorting. Just shovel it into the washer, add homemade detergent, wash on warm, and toss it into the dryer. Laundry is not a hill upon which I will die. I might suffocate under a mountain of it when I get behind, though.

I'm so very sorry for your losses. Matilda was beautiful. My heart has been ripped to shreds by sheep losses, too. I sold all of our ewes last year and had our three remaining Rams castrated. They keep us company, but I miss my girls and the lambs so much. I guess I need to come up with a new name again, since we no longer have any ewes. Hugs to you all as you grieve.

OP, add me to the list of parents with similar-sounding children. Faith struggles constantly with spelling, yet she reads above grade level and has wonderful comprehension. She can narrate very well and is an all-around great student except when spelling is on the table. "With" can become whiht, whiht, whith, wihth, and some other combinations. We went through level 1 of AAS twice in two different years, but Level 2 was dismal after the first couple lessons. We tried A&P, but she did not care for that one at all. We did some dictation programs, but once we got beyond the CVC level words, she couldn't see or hear the different letters making their individual sounds. If I ask her to spell "dress" she can't figure out how to combine the letters to make the d and r sounds together. I can see her searching her mind frantically for the one letter that says "dr" by itself. When I gently remind her that she needs to use two letters to make that sound and draw out the "dr" so she should be able to hear both of the sounds in the correct order, she shuts down. No matter the script or program, she is not currently able to get past that block and I don't know what to do. She doesn't like to write stories or to participate in any programs (like Sunday school) that might involve writing activities because she is so self-conscious of her spelling. She will be 9.5 next month and I don't know how to help her.

Very cool!

We acquired a Ciera station wagon last year from Joy's godmother. It is a 1997 and only had 33,000 miles, but I'm not sure what the mileage is now. Perhaps around 45,000.

Praying for all to be well with your son's health.

Praying for good health for you and your entire family (including your little one on board.) Feel better!

We had an open invitation for our church wedding,(I was the church secretary, so knew everyone), which was printed in the church bulletin. Our off-site reception was by invitation only. I have never heard of any confusion or hurt feelings from anyone not being included for the reception. It's been 18 years and we still have the same church family. If I could do it over again, I would love to have the wedding as part of the Sunday service and have a brunch buffet in the church hall for everyone.