AMEN! Back to the Basics... it holds SO much MERIT!!!

Thank you for posting this!!!! I just ordered one!

:grouphug:

Adelaide Amelia Katelyn Margaret/Meg Mary

Dh doesn't like hard liquor although occasionally he will drink a Long Island Iced Tea. He's into microbrews, but he's not a fan of the darker ales (think Guiness). I'm a sweet/fruity martini or mojito type of girl. Magaritas are yummy as well! I also like white wines with Reisling and Moscato being my favorites. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth? :D

We love it here too!!!!

We give ds Attentive Child by Source Naturals, and he openly talks about how it helps him with his ability to focus. We also give him the Omega 3-6-9 Junior chewables by Nordic Naturals. These two supplements along with a more natural (no HFCS, artificial dyes, flavorings, etc) diet have helped tremendously.

I am sorry for your loss and will be praying for your family. I am so glad you feel peace with this - that is an incredible blessing. :grouphug:

Give yourself some grace as you allow yourself to heal. Praying for you to find peace.

Kind of creepy. I have paranoia issues with ice cream trucks and pedophiles, and they are always in our neighborhood - usually at dinner time which is another issue - so I do not let my kids go to the truck without an adult whom I know with them. We very rarely get anything from the trucks because of my fears of the drivers.

I feel ill over this. Praying for this poor baby. Thank you for the updates, thus far. :grouphug:

Did I miss anything exciting? :D I'm actually surprised that I did not suffer any withdrawal symptoms... :tongue_smilie:

My dh is a bit of a loner. He prefers to be alone or with just his immediate family over all else. He has friends, socializes well in groups, but he just prefers less over more when it comes to being with others. My eldest son exhibits many of his father's tendencies, and I just accept him for who he is. He also has many friends, does well with others, etc, but when all is said and done, he cherishes his alone time. We try very hard to honor that for him because his quiet, alone time refuels him. Ds#2 and I are more extroverted, so sometimes it can be hard for us to understand, but over the years, I have come to see that Dh balances me so well because of the fact he is an introvert. It sounds like your son is doing well. God always creates us as He wishes, and it sounds like you are embracing this with your child. The problems come when parents choose to try to change their child. It doesn't sound as if you are attempting to do that.

Ellen, your sadness and feeling of loss here is not silly at.all. It's so hard when friendships change, and it does hurt terribly. Grieve this loss, and don't feel a bit guilty or silly about it. I'm so sorry you are going through this. I had a similar experience of "growing apart" a year ago, and I cried often. Dh didn't understand (he's an accountant, so a similar brain to an engineer). I prayed God would put new friends in my life, and He has answered my prayers. I have met 2 wonderful ladies in the past few months, and the connection we have was there immediately. I know God gave them to me. I will pray that he will bring a new, dear friend into your life. :grouphug:

:iagree: Nip it in the bud now, imho. That way it won't fester and linger "silently" in the back of your minds. Sorry she's causing trouble again. Family stuff is NOT easy - I fully understand!

Sigh... thank you, OP!

Lunch today was capellini primavera from Nothing But Noodles for me, and fettucine alfredo for the boys... YUM! I'm at peace about a decision I made to visit my estranged grandmother while we are visiting family in NH soon. It has been 6 years since I have seen her, and I am ready to make amends. I thank God for this because I would not have been able to get here on my own. I spoke with my grandmother earlier today, and it was an emotional but wonderful conversation. I will see her on Sunday... I tried a new granola bar today that I really enjoyed! It was a Nature's Path Organic Berry Strawberry Flax Plus bar. It was just the right amount of chewy, sweet, and wholesome. I will buy these again. :001_smile: That's all at my house!

Lifting you up in prayer... hope you are doing okay! :grouphug:

:iagree: It sounds like some boundaries need to be made for the protection of your heart, OP. Your sister has done a great job of creating her own regardless of how she treats others. It is perfectly okay for you to erect some of your own in order to not have to go through all this pain again. At some point, we have to say, "this is not healthy, so I cannot allow myself to be a part of it anymore". It does not mean you don't love your BIL or the kids (or even your sister), but that you need to handle the situation in your own time especially when the hurt has been so intense, and you are still grieving the loss of your mom and all the pain your sister caused her. I would change hotels because there is no way I would allow my sister to ruin my vacation that I so deserve and desire. The tension is going to affect your children and BIL's kids even if you all try to avoid it. Kids are not stupid, and they pick up far more than we think they do. I'm trying to understand how your BIL did not warn you of this prior to right before you were leaving... I can't imagine it was a sudden decision? Fwiw, I have a sister who is entitled and selfish like this, so I know how difficult this is for you. I am so sorry! :grouphug:

I'm so happy to hear that Service Master helped and hoping you are able to get the existing smells out of the fruit cellar. It's even better to hear you say you are not regretting the move afterall! May things continue to improve and you love your home soon! :grouphug:

I wonder how we could add this to our "Smilies" choices! :D

Productive day here, although we didn't do anything school related! We ran lots of errands, and I scored big at Goodwill since everything was 50% - lots of Anne Taylor and J.Jill for me! :) Unfortunately, I only found one pair of pants for ds1 which is why we went there in the first place. He's so skinny that I struggle to find pants for him wherever we go. No cookouts today, but we went to 2 over the weekend. It's been rainy/stormy here, so they would have been cancelled anyway. Dinner tonight was Trader Joe's mandarin orange chicken with homemade veggie fried rice.

My boys take the Nordic Naturals Omega 3-6-9 chews daily, and they really like them. We've never tried another kind because these came so highly recommended by my pediatrician and a couple of other moms whose kids also take them.

:iagree: Along with the doula, I'd take one of the newer doctors as well.

You got it! :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: