[What is the weather like now where you live?]

About 50 degrees and extremely windy. My wind chimes are very audible.

[Is there a scent that evokes pleasant memories of your past?]

The scent of root beer takes me right back to my great-grandparents' kitchen where I would drink it out of a shiny, pink aluminum tumbler.

 

My great-grandpa also used to give me fat, round, pepto bismol pink colored peppermint flavored candy. I can't remember what kind they were, but that color and scent remind me of him.

 

White Linen reminds me of my grandmother. I never cared for the scent itself, but she loves it and I still give her a bottle of the lotion every Christmas.

[If you have a dog, where did you get it?]

We have four dogs. The only one I was involved in bringing home is our lab who came from the shelter. Awesome, loving dog.

 

Ram Man brought home a chihuahua from a backyard breeder, a four month old discounted morkie from a small pet shop, and later on a 10 month old Papilion languishing in the same shop, also reduced in price due to age. I have repeatedly given him the, " you're not supposed to buy dogs from pet shops or backyard breeders" talk, but, in his defense, they were older dogs who still needed a good home. They were past the cute puppy stage and no one else wanted them, so he brought them home.

[Keritosis pilaris]

Alvin has had it since he was a wee little man. The only thing that improves his is stopping dairy.

[Define several]

A couple = 2

 

A few = 3-4

 

Several = 5-7

[UPDATE post 118 Help me make hospital and NICU as good as possible]

:grouphug:

 

My entire family has been praying for you. Thank you for giving us all the opportunity to love you and your precious Nathaniel. We are so very, very sorry for the ache in your hearts at this time.

 

:grouphug:

[Snake People...If you were a Ball Python, where would you hide? UPDATE]

UPDATE: Jack has been found, alive and well!

 

At 4:30 am, Alvin had an allergy attack involving a monumental sneezing fit. I shuffled into the master bath to get him some allergy meds. My bare, naked little foot bumped into something odd feeling as I reached into the cabinet. As I bent down to peer at it (I can't see bupkis without my glasses or contacts) I realized I was looking at our long, lost ball python. Once Alvin stopped sneezing, he was beyond overjoyed.

 

Other than being very thirsty and hungry enough to eat a rat (finally!), he looks good. I have to come up with a new habitat for him, as we still have chicks living in his old one. I have no clue where he was or how he ended up in our bathroom, but we are so happy to have him back that we will try to figure out that mystery later.

 

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and inquiries about our little guy who was missing for so long.

[Thanks for your discussion! (DELETED)]

No one knows what life is going to throw at them be it pregnancy, infertility, sickness, unemployment, financial issues, etc.

 

If I allowed statistics to dictate my life, none of my children woild be alive/in my family. If I allowed statistics to dictate my life, my husband would probably be dead by now and I would be alone. I defy statistics every chance I get. I'm ornery like that. :)

 

If your child and her fiancé are mature enough to make this decision after thinking it all through, support them. If they are constantly faced with naysayers, they will probably be turned off from asking for support and guidance from anyone. If they have watched their parents' marriages and paid attention at all, they already know that it will be tough and require self-sacrifice and compromise.

 

If you are worried about college and degrees, talk about how important that is to you, but allow her to say it isn't that important to her. When I look back, college was a huge waste of money in my life. I wanted to be married and have a family. I wanted to be a mom more than anything. I have never really used that degree for anything. I had a heap of debt, some good friends, and I travelled when I studied abroad which landed me with even more debt.

 

She has the opportunity to travel as a military wife. She has the opportunity to avoid some of that debt. She has the opportunity to make friends with other military wives on base. She would probably be taken under the wing of some older, more experienced military wives and get valuable insight from them. Learning how to live within her means, be responsible, and allowing herself to be with the man she loves is just as important a life lesson as getting a college degree. I would argue that it is even more important.

 

I vote for supporting them whole-heartedly unless you can see something glaringly wrong with the character of one of them that you know will be an issue. (The potential for controlling or abusive behavior would make me do everything in my power to stop them, but your OP doesn't indicate any alarm bells going off.)

[is there really a point to 4-H record keeping?]

Faith and Joy have both learned a lot about caring for their animals by filling out their record books. Joy weighs her turkeys every third day. Faith takes the time to write down how much time she spends training her pet rabbit and cleaning out her pen. This is our first year in 4-H and we have loved it. Yes, the animal projects take time, energy, and planning, but the children do grow. Joy has needed very little help from me, but I have had to be on hand to help Faith record some of the information or to answer her questions and give her a better understanding of what is being asked/required.

 

The boys all did non-animal projects, so they had various activities to complete, rather than record books. Each child had two projects, so we had a crazy summer of trying to get it all done. It was worth it, though. Joy and Faith both qualified for the state fair for their cooking projects and had a fabulous time, not to mention the incredible memories they have.

 

My kids are learning how to handle responsibility and I like that they are accountable to themselves, their parents, their advisors, and their club. They get a lot of help and encouragement, but they also get a kick in their pants if they start slacking off.

[I'm so tired of making dinner]

I cook so rarely these days that my children flock around me and ask what the special occasion is when they see me standing in front of the stove.

 

The last time it happened I was making laundry detergent.

[Math: Stick with Beast or move on?]

Onestep also makes another good point. 3A is the hardest esp the first chapter . we started with the last chapter area and perimeter .

 

The game on the first CH. Is much harder than the others too. The one in area and perimeter is easier to " get" how they do those game/critical thinking problem s.

 

Funny the very first CH. Out if the gate is the hardest lol. Skipt to 3B or the back of A. The area and perimeter is alot of fun

r

 

I am so glad I found this thread and your advice about what part of the book to start with. I just ordered BA and my sons were horrified at the problems at the beginning of the book. I will gladly skip ahead now!

[What activities were you in as a child?]

Church choir, ballet lessons, brownies/Girl Scouts (although I loathed both), two different drama clubs, church youth group, SADD, AFS, journalism club, Jr. Red Cross, are the ones that come to mind. These span from second grade through 12th grade.

[Are you close to your siblings?]

I have one brother who is four years older than I. I haven't seen him in about 4 years and I think we've spoken once for about two minutes in that same length of time.

 

It makes me sad, but we are very different people and have nothing in common, apparently.

[Advice on my budget -Update #52, new question #53!]

Are there children involved? Are you in a high COL state? I'm just looking at some of your numbers and scratching my head. As a family of 7, we are living on $4,000 per month and saving the rest. Are you planning to clothe your children on $75/month or is that just for yourself?

[Advice on my budget -Update #52, new question #53!]

How is the alimony actually going to arrive? If it's supposed to come directly from your ex, you should not count on it for your budget.

[Science for non-sciency child?]

Might Lyrical Life Science work with some chronological history or biographies thrown in?

[Sad - updated, we made it!]

Hooray! Enjoy your vacation!

[FIL is in the hospital]

I'm so sorry for your loss. :grouphug:

 

You have been a wonderful daughter-in-law to him. Remember that you respected his wishes to stay in his home as long as possible, even though you wanted him there with you and all of your family. You handled it all with such love and grace. There is no doubt that he loved you. :grouphug:

[My Dad Died]

I am so sorry. :grouphug:

[Talk to me about natural burial]

Listening in, as I want to be able to give some other options to my dad when he is at the point of needing/wanting to talk more specifically about his final wishes...

[Friday Eye Candy....Meet Mr. World (Mr. India)]

Ok, I have to admit that Mr. Scotland in his kilt was a bit disappointing. I had greater expectations.

[Scheduling Lively Latin BB1]

Listening in...

[How much is this house near you?]

Ours is 4 bed, 4 bath, on 3.5 acres with septic and city water, 2800 sq ft in an excellent school district. 200k when we purchased almost 8 years ago. Now it would be at least 250k. Houses with your parameters would easily be 350k, even on the smaller lot.

[SQ washer help, pretty please]

I feel like throwing up.

 

I. Can. Not. Take. One. More. Bad. Thing. Happening. In. My. Life. Right. Now.

[SQ washer help, pretty please]

I just came home from taking one of the kids for an appointment, and decided to start a load of laundry. My cycle selection dial doesn't work. It doesn't "catch and grip" when trying to turn it to the proper cyclle selection. It just spins freely.

 

Please help. I have about five loads of laundry waiting and I'm not even behind. We have only been using it since November, but I have had it since the previous January, waiting for my other machine to give out.

 

Jack the Ball Python, are you in there?!?