Ds lifeguards at our town pool. He has been swimming on the summer swim team for years. Once he got his certification he handed in an application. the fact that he was already known to the senior people gave him a leg up. Once you have been hired if you did your job well you are automatically given first dibs for the next season.

Nothing particularly strange. A silver fish one climbed out of the laundry I was folding. I screamed. I have found candy wrappers, my daughters vitamins that she swore she took, bottle caps, money, dh's debit card, and once I washed his wallet.

Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

Heartbreaking all around.

I feel like I am always shouting "Lyme! Get tested for Lyme! Find a Lyme literate doctor! Make sure you get the blood test done at Igenx. Oh, and the test is somewhat unreliable so even if it is negative it can still be lyme. Get tested for the common coinfections of bartonella and babesia." Going through all of dh's incorrect diagnosis I see lyme everywhere but I think a lot of the time it is lyme.

White bean and escarole. I usually add more garlic and serve with a nice crusty bread. So good. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/White-Bean-and-Escarole-Soup-with-Garlic-1537

Usually when a store is closing they bring in an outside company that sets all the pricing. In those cases-rarely a deal.

Things I have left on: Crockpot Dryer (even though I know I shouldn't) Master bedroom light and ceiling fan (so it looks occupied) Small light in the kitchen because we enter house from the garage in the kitchen. I turn up the ac thermostat. The house does not need to be arctic cold when no one is home but I do leave it cool enough to keep out humidity and the dog comfortable.

One bathroom has a frosted glass window. The other bathroom has blinds.

You 100% did the right thing advocating for your son. When my kids were younger ds and the girl down the block were like oil and water. She was usually okay 1 on 1 or even a group of 3 but once all the block kids were outside she was one major manipulator. And her parents thought she walked on water. My son was not always innocent but she went out of her way to make him look bad. Another neighbor even went and spoke to her dad after she witnessed an incident. Long story short-she was always right and my son was always wrong. Eventually, I just stopped letting my kids hang out with the kids on the block because my kids were always wrong and all the other kids were always right. I tried to make sure we were busy doing something else most of the time. I still remember her dad emailing once about something that happened between the two kids (passive aggressive much) and would I talk to ds. I emailed him back telling him I absolutely would discuss the incident with him and that his behavior was not acceptable. Then I tacked on-I would appreciate it if he would ask his dd would stop telling my dd (who is 2 years younger then this girl) jokes full of the f-word. Yeah, I can be passive aggressive, too. Point of my story-keep an eye on the situation and step in when necessary.

Personally, I loved when JC Penny's did that. I actually started shopping there again during that phase. I always check unit price/price per ounce to make sure I am getting the best deal. Very often buying 2 of the smaller size is a better deal then the one big size. I love Costco but you do have to know your prices. Sometimes I am just paying for the convenience of bulk packaging.

I love my old house. I was sad when we had to replace the beautiful slate roof shortly after we moved. It had not been maintained properly and was leaking like a sieve. We did replace all of our drafty, beautiful windows over the past couple of years. But when we bought the house some of them still had the ropes inside vs. chains. When we had central air installed the ac guy shouted down from the attic asking if the exposed tube and wire electric was still live. I told him I did not know. He said it looked disconnected but he would stay away from it. 20 minutes later my living went dead when his ladder touched the wire. Still live. Friends of ours -when they redid their kitchen they discovered a fireplace with bread oven behind the built in butlers pantry. They ended up closing it off again because it was in such a weird spot it was not practical.

Smoothies, sauteed with garlic and olove oil, kale chips, throw it in some soup, use instead of spinach in dip.

Interesting but I found it to be a bit of poppycock. I have been battling insurance companies over these same issues for years. It is nothing new. In this case the bureaucracy is medicaid instead of the insurance company.

I am older then that. The cringe never goes away but I am able to laugh about it, a little bit, now.

My daughter got it the day before a swim meet. "Welcome to womanhood, lets get some ice cream, and here is how you use a tampon. Not exactly the way I pictured it. I do know some women who make it a family affair-grandma, aunts, and mom going out and having a ceremony of sorts. Not my cup of tea. I also thought it was strange when my MIL asked me if dd had gotten it yet (Before she had). My gut response was "none of your business". Dh's family talk about these things. I can still remember sil announcing my niece entering womanhood. My husband was under strict instructions to never ever mention it to dd. I can still remember coming downstairs and my father saying to me "My Baby. you are now a woman." I just about died. I turned tail screaming up the stairs in mortification "Mom! you told dad!"

I like a nice black bean and edamame salad: http://tastefullyjulie.com/black-bean-corn-and-edamame-salad-with-cilantro-and-lime-dressing/

Be happy she is secure in herself. I know I would have felt kind of sad if that happened to me. I had let my daughter know that ice cream would be involved in the big event. She was thrilled to tell me.

I think I would have a sit down chat with said relative and set firm non-negotiable boundries. Along the lines of knock it off or we will not be spending much time with you.

Once you go MAC you never go back. I <3 my Macbook. Easy to use, fewer virus issues, easy to upgrade. Great support. However, my dh and the kids all have PCs. For what the kids need their laptops for the pc is fine. If they were making movies and heavy into graphic arts I would have them switch to a mac.

Let it go. She is figuring out who she wants to be. The more you tell her it does not look good the more she will do it. Ignore it.

I wouldn't do it, but that is me. Their wedding, their choice. No skin off my nose either way. I would just hope it is a fancier evite then normal since the invitation sets the tone for the affair.

The flyers don't really bother me. But they do tend to sit on my front door for a few days because we go in and out through the garage the majority of the time. They usually go right in the recycling. Solicitors-that is another story. I usually don't open the door. If I do I make sure I am holding onto my scary looking dog when I do. I have called the police department to make sure they are allowed to be knocking door to door. We often get kids selling stuff for organizations. Sometimes legit and sometimes not. The police like to be notified. If they are not legit they will send a car to the area and tell them they need a permit and to leave.

Summer = chair at the pool. Our town pool is sand bottom pool. Totally awesome beach like without the jellyfish. I arrive when the pool opens with cooler of food, book, and chairs. Park myself under the shady tree and there I sit until around 2:30. When the kids were little we would come home, shower/baths, put on jammies and watch a movie until dinner. After dinner was read a loud time. Now that mine are teens they will return to the pool after we come home to meet up with friends (so glad we are walking distance) or simply stay after I am done for the day. My oldest also lifeguards at the pool. My friends who do not homeschool are always trying to get me to go on fun trips with them all summer long. No matter how much I explain that I do all that during the school year (no crowds) and this is my sit and do nothing time they keep trying.

My soon to be 14 year old dd still sleeps with her blanky. My 16 year old ds still has his favorite stuffed animal (although he is on a shelf for he fears for the animals safety when he is sleeping.