Oh pooh! That stinks. Is Nashville a long haul for you? My dh went there just recently on business and it took him about 4 hours. I told him the man driving must have sprouted wings and flown them there!

Ha! Love it! Particularly the "Manic Mode." ;)

It is absurd that they didn't take the tip more seriously the other, what FOUR times they were pointed in that direction. And I sure hope they know what they are doing convicting the mother. Can you imagine *if* she wasn't the one who did it? Can you imagine losing your child and then being falsely convicted for his/her murder. OMG! I just hope they have the right person. What kind of monster could kill a 3 year old child???

Ha! I got the same line when I tried to cancel my card recently. This one man spent FOREVER on the phone with me telling me if it were him, he would leave it alone because we don't know what the economy will do...blah blah blah! If my cc company raises my rate, I will cancel it without a second thought!

I have homeschooled my youngest since Pre-K. The hardest thing for me, at first, was getting into a routine with teaching him. He was VERY receptive, but I didn't have my head together on what I wanted to do and I wasn't using a "curriculum" yet, so it was tougher for me. We did get quite a bit done, though. He knew his letters, their sounds, and his numbers to 10 (at least) by the time he was 4. We took a break and he went to a church preschool last year. I homeschooled here and there, but didn't do a lot. In that one year, he learned literally nothing new. We went back to homeschooling in May and it has been smooth sailing ever since. I did start a curriculum with him and obviously we have a schedule now since I homeschool his older brother too. That helped a LOT.

Unfortunately, no one is buying for mom and dad this year. We are also not buying for each other (as in my dh and I). Boring, huh?

I have never really thought about it. If it harms your body (which it does, to some extent depending on the drug), then it goes against the Bible where it says that your body is a temple. However, I am not sure I agree with "morally wrong" - depends on your morals and where they come from, I guess. At Thanksgiving, my mom and I were out shopping and she skipped a line of about 30 people and paid for her item without waiting in line. I found that to be morally wrong.

Holy smokes! WOW is right!! Oh...and 18 kids. Wow to that too. She is much braver that I ever would be. EEK! I thought 2 was tough. LOL

Haha....owned one. Ex husband bought it for me. New husband NOT happy regarding purchaser and requested it be disposed of properly. I did as he asked and have not missed it one bit. I could have fallen into the "own one and find it useless" category except that I no longer own one. ;) Mine had an extra errr...ummmm...part that did something with another part in the close vicinity. I found it to be too fast and not all that great at all.

I am 29 and I do too. I can see it on the computer, but I really have to have most things on paper before they become concrete. I think it may be more the lifestyle than anything else. Are you a SAHM that has been at it for some time? My dh works and is at a computer a lot of the day. His meetings are planned through there, his schedule pops up every 10 minutes through the day and reminds him of stuff. Me, I am not on the computer all day. I am out schooling the kids, enjoying not sitting at a desk all day and I prefer to have a paper calendar. Totally a lifestyle thing for me. :)

Been there, tried most, have the T-shirt. It shrunk in the wash and I don't wear it anymore. ;) No, really, I never was "into" drugs, though I did try most of them at one time or another. I never cared much for the way it made me feel...and since I got pregnant at 19, I didn't have a ton of time to continue experimenting. I would NEVER touch a drug of any sort knowing I had children. When it was just me I had to look after, that was one thing. Bring kids into my life...and this is just me personally...and it all changed. I often say that my oldest son saved my life. He did. In more ways than one. I got my act together big time when I had him and I never looked back.

Gosh, too young to tell, I guess. I was 11. I had a sip of my step-dad's beer. I spit it back out. When I was 14, I drank wine and wine coolers. When I was 17, I had a drinking "issue" and was drinking mostly vodka and oj. Cleaned that up before I went to college and have honestly had a handful of drinks since I was 19. I would say the last drink I had was 3 years ago and it was a glass of Asti Spumante with dinner.

OMG That site is a riot! It reminds me of www.uglydress.com. :) This is my all time fav from that site. http://uglydress.stores.yahoo.net/pregpromdres.html

My grandmother smoked until she died when I was 15. Until I was around 10, I spent most everyday with her. From that, I have developed asthma as an adult. When I was 16-19, I smoked intermittently to "look cool." When I found out I was pg with my oldest son, I stopped cold turkey. I have not smoked even once in over 10 years. :) And I never will, ever again. My dh lived with his parents until he was 21. They smoked all of his life. He also has developed asthma as an adult. His mother was in total denial that it ever had anything to do with her...even though my dh never smoked in his life! Unfortunately, his dad died when he (dh) was 21 (dad was 49) of a massive heart attack. He had a mild heart attack the year before he died and the doctor told him he would have to quit smoking. He tried, but eventually went back to it. He lost his life for it and my husband lost his best friend in the world. :(

Unfortunately, this is true. :( My best friend just found out that her step-grandfather (the only one she has ever known) was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer. He never put a cigarette to his lips in his life, but he lived with his wife (bf's grandma) for over 20 years. She is now living with the knowledge that her choice is killing her husband. It is SO heartbreaking. :(

Gosh, that brings back memories. My grandmother smoked - would blow it near my face and tell me "smoke follows beauty." :( We knew no better. Now, I have asthma. Thanks grandma! She also got very sick in her later years as a result of smoking. She never had lung cancer, but she died at the age of 71 from a blood clot after being in the hospital for pneumonia. She smoked until the day she died. She had emphysema and could not walk from the couch to the chair (3 feet) without struggling for breath. (((HUGS))) to you. I am sorry about your dad. I agree 100%. I smoked as a teenager (obviously didn't learn from my grandmother). When I had a feeling a was pregnant with oldest ds, I quit and never started back. Thank God! Knowing what we do today about smoking and what it can do to both the smoker and THOSE AROUND him/her, I would NEVER do that to my kids.

LOL - my dh was a 760. I had to call and brag. ;) Unfortunately, I agree with the pp that it is kind of a joke because I don't make a PENNY ...I pay all my bills on time though...with my husband's paycheck. I guess it is just all about paying on time and how long you have had credit. I had had some credit cards on there for 10-12 years. They are at a 0 balance and I suppose I forgot to close them. Now, I am glad i forgot because apparently it brought up my score.

Woo Hoo...my credit score is a 790! :) Pretty good for a housewife who doesn't work. :)

I didn't read other responses so as not to cloud my train of thought... I love that we live our lives the way we want to and that we are not subject to the "system." I like that my kids work hard to please us and that they do not worry so much about being accepted by their peers. They are becoming individuals. I like that we can travel when we want or we can stay home when we want. I like that they are not subject to the whims of the school system. They don't have to miss a day if it snows and then, in turn, go to school into their vacation time. We live life for US and not anyone else. :) I also love that I can teach my kids about God and the Bible each day and they can learn in a safe environment where they are not influenced by others who do not share our beliefs.

How many cats do you have and where is your litter box? We "hide" our litter box in a hollow wooden "box" type thing that my dh made to lift our front loading washer and dryer off the ground (and save my back). We have two cats and we use Tidy Cat odor protection (in the red and yellow bag, not the blue and yellow). It has worked well and I only change the litter about once a week...usually when I start to get a whiff of it here and there. It stays in our laundry room and the door is usually partially shut as well. I guess what I am saying is that keeping litter out in the open, you will probably always smell it. Try to put it somewhere out of the way and make sure to have a litter box with a top cover. It has worked for us, anyway. I may have to try Tidy Cat small spaces after reading here. That sounds great!

I have them...and unfortunately, mine didn't ever go away. You can still see them on my teeth and I got my braces off ...errr 15 years ago.

All good to know! I have had this card for 4 years and, unfortunately, it has been paid down from a high balance more than I would like to admit. However, I have never been late for a payment. As a matter of fact, they just KEEP raising my available credit. Between it and the other credit card I had (I did cancel it as it was very new and didn't hurt me at all), I had almost enough credit to buy a house! My ex-FIL had a cc with UNLIMITED available credit. Now *that* is nice. LOL I couldn't control myself one little bit...but still...

We have rabbit ears and we get one channel...and it is fuzzy at best. I guess that means my answer is, "I dunno."

We do not have cable here (by choice) nor do we have satellite. All of our TVs are older and "box style" and are not digital. We will most likely purchase 1 digital converter box as we were told you will get around 8 stations once the transition is made even without cable. However, I will only buy the 1 box and if I don't get the 8 or so channels, it will go back to the store where it can stay.

My son is 9 and his dad is getting him a computer for Christmas. We are really excited that he is getting on, but we have also decided no internet access of his own. The computer will be in the school room and he may use my internet (supervised) if/when he needs something. Otherwise, he will not have it. Am I being a miser? I just don't want to worry about what he is doing online, nor do I want to fork over the $$$ to get him hooked up on a computer that is 3 feet from my desk/computer. WWYD?