My youngest son didn't train until he was almost 4. I didn't push him...and when he finally decided to do it, he did it ALL THE WAY. Night and day...never another accident. Ever. Not once. Isn't that crazy? I think kids will do it when they are ready...

We watched this movie tonight and I really appreciated it. First of all, it comes at the end of what were some of the hardest years of our marriage. Only recently have things changed for us (before the movie, obviously) and this movie really hit close to home. I actually purchased the book for us to read and think on together. No matter how strong our marriage has become, I think the book will be a great reminder of some of the "little things" that it takes to make a marriage happy and healthy. The acting was not great. For the first half of the movie, dh and I would glance at each other with "what are we watching?" type looks...and the accents. Oh.my.goodness. I am from Tennessee and those were even a bit too southern for me. Eek! But, in the end, when he got down on his knees and truly apologized to her, I cried. What he said was so true of even how I had been in my own marriage just a few short years ago. Several times, my husband turned to me and honestly asked, "why did she do that?" For instance, when he got her the measley, crappy flowers and she looked at them and just kept walking...or when he made her dinner and she came downstairs and said, "let me make this really clear...I DON'T LOVE YOU." My dh didn't understand at all - and I was able to tell him why and talk to him about the sincerity and what it seemed like to her. I remember when my ex-husband got the divorce papers and he suddenly became a new man. He all of a sudden couldn't understand why I didn't love him and he cried more than I had ever seen him cry. But, by then, things were so bad, I had blocked out the love and feelings I had once had for him. There was just nothing left...and his empty tears did not change my heart. Anyway, a lot of blah blah blah to say that I definitely think there is something to be said for the movie - and for marriage in general. Maybe it is easier watching it from the "other side" - I am not sure how I would have felt about it if I was in the middle of the storm right now. I do thank God for opening my eyes to see what a kind, gentle, and loving man I am married to. Just allowing yourself to see the person you married - beyond the things that bother you about them - means so much. Oh...and when he smashed his computer and left her the flowers that said, "Because I love you more"...okay...I would have been MUSH. LOL

In the summer, we will finish up any curricula that we have not finished during the school year. We will have quite a bit to finish since we started with Calvert for 8 weeks and then dumped it. That leaves us "behind" in a lot of subjects for my 4th grader. This summer, he will be working on English, writing, math, a bit of Science, and handwriting. My younger son is working in his 1st grade studies and he really just transitioned in December...so he will keep doing reading/phonics, math reviews and drills (addition practice), and maybe handwriting.

Twilight is a tough act to follow as far as being "sucked in" like you become in that series (at least, I became sucked in in that series). Do you ever read Alice Hoffman? I would recommend Ice Queen. That is a good sucker-inner book. LOL A lot of her books tend to do that actually.

Other than feeling sad for their kids if they happen to have any. Knowing how it feels to be a child of divorced parents...and having a child from whose father I am divorced really makes my heart go out to the kids. It is never easy for kids - even when the divorce is "easy" for the parents. :( I can't imagine immediately thinking one party is at fault when I don't even know the situation. There are two sides to every story...even my own. ;)

Girls' bathroom/Boys' bathroom (unless it belongs to just one girl/boy).

Prayers going out to her and her family (as well as your dd. I had two best friends growing up who are still dear friends to this day. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to have one of them go through something like that!).

How far would you be willing to drive for a breeder you feel most comfortable with? My breeder is from Ohio and I am in TN. With Rosco, I had him flown to me. With Sadie, my breeder was coming into this area for a Nascar race and I met her in Gatlinburg. :) How many times did you meet in person with the breeder before taking your pet home? None, but we spoke over the phone and e-mailed daily. Did you rely soley on that breeder or where you also on another breeder's waiting list? I relied on her only. I had contacted other breeders before her, but once I chose to go with her, that was it. How long was it between first getting the process rolling and bringing your pet home? It took 3 weeks with Rosco (my male choc and tan cocker), but he was ready to go when I contacted her. Sadie came along as a "waiting for her to be born" kind of gal so it took almost 3 months from the time I wanted her until I brought her home. Did you and your breeder keep in touch after bringing your pet home? I did for almost a year...then communication kind of fizzled out. But she really helped me a lot in that first year. Anything you wish you would have known before about this process? I probably would have done a bit more research before choosing a cocker spaniel! Much less two! LOL

I think it varies by preference. We have 3130 sq ft (4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2 story), but the layout is very unique. I won't go into the specifics, it would take DAYS to explain. LOL Suffice it to say that in the living/kitchen/dining area, it is all open....like a loft area. The bathroom and office are not open to the rest of the area, but the flow is good and the rooms are large. However, in the bedroom area, there is a lot of division. I have actually had people get "turned around" in my house and start walking through the wrong doors. It is very closed off and private in the sleeping areas and actually, there are two little "suites" as well as large walk-in closets. Dh and I each have one and we have one under the stairs and one in the hallway. Because of the way the architect designed the bedrooms (to our desires), there is a long hallway that probably seems like wasted space. However, I enjoy the privacy there, so to us, it is perfect "wated space." :) The we have the stairwell and the man cave. Those are both open even though the manroom has a door that locks and closes off the "man stuff." :) (MY preference)

4th grade....that is a bit young to pull out the curse word books, IMO. :( Sometimes I wonder if the schools even bother to review these books they assign. :(

Oh.my.goodness. I can not imagine living with one hour of electricity. And your neighbor? What the heck??? He is probably just jealous that HE doesn't have a loud generator. Out of curiousity, what is the temperature there? I just don't see how they can make people turn off the electricity in the middle of winter. I realize that in some places, it is actually warm this time of year, but still. UGH. I am soooo sorry!

I think you could be right. I was 11 (6th grade) in 1990-1991.

When I was in Middle School, I was wrongly accused by a substitute of hiding her keys and was sent to the principal for detention. Being the little sprite I was at the time, I told her, as I was being led away to detention (for the crime I didn't commit!) ...and I quote here... "I will track you down...don't let me catch you out somewhere..." So yes, I am sure I would have had no problem saying "oh, hell no!" if that is how I felt. I was a total trouble maker. My best friend in middle school, however, would have said not one word. I think that is how we became best friends, I was the big mouth...she was the quiet one. ;) Of course, there was also the time I threw my best friend's ex boyfriend's class ring in the lunch room trash can, the time I cursed at my teacher about 3 inches from her face, the time I skipped detention and left the school premesis with a boy...gosh, I could go on here, but I will stop now. Don't even get me started on highschool. Man, I was NOT a good kid...at....all. My poor mother! Hehe...reading through some of the other threads, I just have to share this. My junior year, my Principal (private school) was also my English teacher. Well, I was the top student in English, hands down and most everyone knew it. My boyfriend, at the time, was good at EVERYTHING. He never made a *B* in his life. So, my teacher assigns some paper, we all hand it in, and the next day she hands all of the papers back, except mine. Even my straight A boyfriend got his paper back. We all sit there and wait for her to explain. She explains that she wanted something something done and that I was the ONLY one who did it correctly and everyone in the class other than me has to re-do the entire paper. There was mass chos and groaning. But what do I do? Do I keep my mouth shut and thank God I didn't have to re-do the paper? Oh heck no! I start ranting and raving on behalf of the class and my little boyfriend and I get myself some time in the office. The principal (whom I still talk to even now) knew what a total trouble maker I was, but as we sat in her office she said, "Becky...I am sorry, but this latest tirade even has ME confused! You were the only one who did NOT have to re-do your paper! Why the protest?" I looked up at her with a little grin and said, "and you think I am going to sit there and be the goody-two-shoes perfect one while the whole class gets mad at me? Ha! Think again. I would much rather they stay mad at YOU." Her response? And to this day, I just love her level-headedness. "Detention, tomorrow." I get up to leave, she says, "oh, and Becky...good point." LOL

I thought it was complicated too on first glance...then I read the student book. That was a big "ohhhhh" light bulb moment for me. LOL I thought Singapore was hard too, at first, then I got my groove down and now I LOVE the way I schedule it. Honestly, it is a day by day thing and it is working for us perfectly!

No real advice...just Wow! When I divorced my ex, we didn't have to do anything like that. We had a really easy divorce, agreed on what each would take, and moved on. We sold the house and split the assets minus the 5K his dad had loaned us as a down payment when we got the house. The hoops you are having to jump through with those forms are just nuts! I am just so thankful that our divorce was easy and relatively painless. I hope that maybe your STBXH will come around to agreement and you all can make these decisions without further strife. :( *hugs*

I am assuming you mean during co-op classes? I have never read a discipline policy as in what the PARENT is allowed to do. That just seems a bit intrusive to me. If I wanted to spank my child, I would...BUT I would do it privately anyway. However, I have also NEVER had any need to spank my child in co-op and can't see the need arising. I don't think that spanking in public teaches anything but humiliation anyway... I am absolutely 100% AGAINST anyone other than a parent spanking a child and I would never send my kids somewhere I thought they might be spanked by someone else. UGH!

How fun! The entire 3 years I lived in GA (just south of Chattanooga, TN), we saw ONE snowfall...and it wasn't much more than a dusting. So, I know how totally rare it is to see snow in Atlanta! If I could I would send you some of this white stuff we seem to get once a week up here in the mountains. LOL ENJOY!

I got the flu when I was 17 and it took 2 MONTHS for me to get 100% better. Unfortunately, my flu turned into walking pneumonia and honestly, it is by the grace of God that I wasn't one of those 17 year old kids that died of the flu! I totally neglected my health and walked around so sick I could hardly move with a fever of 104 at times. Stupid, stupid kid. LOL I think a trip to the dr is warranted at this point. While it could be other viruses just coming in on her since her immune system is in a weakened state, it is still better to be on the safe side and have her checked. Hope she feels better soon.

I am using the Singapore Child's Play Science with my youngest. It is not terribly in depth, but it is a good core for us in that he learns a lot of basic science across the board and if we find something he is interested in, we get books from the library and go more in depth. It is the perfect amount for him right now. My oldest is doing NOEO Physics I and I love it too if you are looking for something more in depth and more "ready to go."

We made our mistakes early in our marriage. I was working full time and dh was working full time. Then, I stopped working after my ds5 was born...however, we didn't stop LIVING as if I was STILL WORKING. :( That amounted to about a year's worth of my salary on the credit card. Then we lumped that, along with student loans, a car, and some other stuff into a second mortgage. Now, while I pay down my mortgage for the next 15 years at $2200 a month, I realize what a terrible mistake we made. :( Hindsight is 20/20. The difference between your situation and my own is that we own a lot of land (which is why we were able to get a loan of the magnitude that we did with a payment as low as it is) and dh makes great money now (double what he made when we got into the debt). That helps a lot. The other part of our debt paydown has been sacrifice. We just can't buy what we want anymore. We think about it a lot before we buy. We just received his yearly bonus, plus our tax return, and ALL of it went to pay off debt. I was sick about it too...do you know what else I could have done with 10K? :( But, this is what we have to do for right now. I think you are 100% right in your mindset about not paying higher prices for things at places like the gas station, etc. It is definitely a MINDSET issue and that is a great start to saving. I would be sure to get at least 1K in savings before you start to pay down debt and defer your student loans as much as you can. We did for 3 years EACH before we rolled it into what we now lovingly refer to as the "we are stupid loan." Our goal is to get out of debt and NEVER, ever find ourselves there again. I think the other important thing is not to live above your means. If you make 50K a year, learn to live within that range. If you make 500K a year, live within that range. The problem is when you make 50K and spend 500K! KWIM? Doesn't really matter how much money you make if you spend more than you have. I have friends who, together, make less than my dh...but they spend in their means and can afford a lot more than we can because they have little to no debt. I also second the "fun money" idea brought up by a pp. My dh and I did this as a MUST. We also include in that fun money, the gas for our cars for the 2 weeks. Dh gets $275 every two weeks and I get $150 every two weeks. It really helps to have money to spend that doesn't involve any kind of budgeting. I spend my money however I want (once gas is taken care of...it is usually $35-45/2 weeks) and when it is gone, it is gone and I have to wait until the next two weeks to replenish my supply. This last paycheck, I bought some nice pants on sale at Belks, did lunch at McD's with the kids, did lunch with a friend after church (weekly occurance there), bought books at a used book sale, rented a movie, and I still have $40 to spend. Cash is SOOOO important to making our budget work.

I have TMJ and some of the symptoms you list do sound like it...but it sounds a lot more like sinus issues than TMJ to me. My TMJ causes constant popping, sore to the touch jaw joints and FORGET rubbing deeper than just a touch. OUCH! It causes pain in my ears and sometimes headaches that feel like I am wearing a headband (pain is up at the top of my head). It does also cause pain in my neck and sholders. TMJ does NOT cause cheeks, eyes, above eyes, nose and area around lips to hurt. Very sensitive to light and can hardly keep my eyes open. Vision will be blurry. Feels like there is a lot of pressure in my eyes. The bold sentence is not TMJ at all...definitely sounds a lot like sinuses. However, the blurry vision would worry me a bit. When I talk for a long time, my JAW hurts...not my throat. Again, this sounds a lot like sinuses or maybe a combo of the two. I would see an ENT and have your sinuses checked first. If those are clear (and remember, they may feel clear but not be. Mine will not drain if I get an infection so I get all sorts of craziness going on before I realize it is a sinus infection because it doesn't present the same way that most do in other people), then go see a dentist that specializes in TMJ. You will have to really look, but they are all over the place. Consult your insurance company if you can't find one. Good luck!

We grow and freeze corn and broccoli over the summer. We also can tomatoes which keeps us from ever having to buy tomato juice, tomato sauce, or diced tomatoes and they taste 10K times better! As far as budget cuts...like "where do we cut when we need to?"...usually from the miscellaneous fund, the medical/car repair fund (since these tend to accumulate when we have a period where we don't use them at all). Last to cut from is groceries. We try not to do that. We also buy in bulk from Sam's club once a month. It has made a BIG difference in our grocery bill and our pantry stores. :)

That is great! Thanks for sharing!! Did either of your dc win in the contest...or did just the boring, sad, depressing stuff win?

Also look at online reviews. Just do a google search. I am sorry to say that I think you will find it to be terrible. We tried it in 4th grade and just hated it. Singapore is sooo much better for all involved around here! :)

Sounds like some yucky flu. I think your dr was right to have you WAIT on the antibiotics. If it is the flu, they will start getting better by Sunday. My only child who ever had the flu was my now 9 year old. He was 4 at the time and his fever was 104.9 for about 4 days and NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING really brought it down. He was miserable. The did the swab test and it WAS the flu - both A and B at the same time - and it was the very scary strand of one of them (the same year that kids were in the news all over the country dying from the flu). He was the sickest I have ever seen him and now we get our flu shots (well, the kids do) religiously because it scared me so much! I hope your guys feel better soon and the others don't follow suite!