I too have a clotting issue and can't take BCPs. However, my hematologist said it was really just Estrogen that I can't take. I have had a Mirena IUD for a year now and it has been great!

In my life, I have used condoms (obviously not on ME), the pill, a copper IUD, Mirena IUD, and Nuva Ring.

:iagree: Yeah, that. Kind of like when a woman tells her husband "I am so fat." Don't we usually want him to tell us, "No, you aren't...you are beautiful and I love you just the way you are." Do we ever expect him to say, "Lord, honey, I know! Why don't you lose some of that junk in your trunk?" Of course not. (Well, unless he is my EX-husband...emphasis on the "EX")

History: Written Narrations Map Work Projects Timeline Science Written Narrations Lab Sheets Notebooking Pages (highlighting people, events, etc) We use Heart of Dakota so we also have the "Student Pages" that we complete for those two subjects.

Not a lot of advice to offer, but my two boys are 12 and 8 and they hate each other two. However, they are HALF brothers (I am mom...different dads) and the 8yo has dad at home whereas ds12 has no idea what it is like to live with his dad because we divorced when he was 3. I am sure that has some bearing on the feelings between them. Counseling has helped. So has maturity.

You could also try "soft paws" as an alternative to declawing. They save your skin and the cat gets to keep his toes. :) P.S. FWIW, I have owned two cats who were declawed front AND back...both were very sweet kitties and lived happy lives. Sissy died at age 13. Blue is still going at age 15.

Our dog's name is Rosco. We have also had dogs named Butch, Red, Dusty, Niko (pronounced NEE-co), and Sam. My cats' names are not perticularly "catty" (other than Mr. Meowgie) and the boys are Blue, Rex, and Percy. We also had two roosters with names - Hootie and Charlie.

I felt much like that when I was a stay at home mom. When I pulled my then 4th grader out of ps and began to homeschool him and my younger ds, the intellectual stimulation really ramped up for me. As my kids get older...and I now have a 7th grader and a 3rd grader, I find that I sometimes need to slow down the intellectual stimulation because I am having to think WAY too much! lol And, I get to use that English/Writing degree way more than I ever imagined having a 7th grader who is learning to write. He tells me, "okay mom...here is my paper...and remember, I AM NOT IN COLLEGE!" haha

He will probably do well. My ds8 is in the middle of Singapore 2B and it is lining up pretty well with TT3. He placed in TT4, but I thought he needed more practice in multiplication before moving on. At a pace of 10 lessons a day (LOL), we will be in TT4 before we can blink. :D

We finished Singapore through 6B and decided on Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra for a number of reasons. My son needed a break, he is good in math, he loves the program, I am not the best math teacher, and he LOVES the program. Did I mention, he LOVES it?? :)

I ordered Pre-algebra for my 12 year old and ds8 liked the looks so much that he begged for his own. I ordered 3rd grade because there were a few things in it that Singapore 2A/2B had not covered (line segments and fractions). We got the program yesterday and he has completed 10 lessons thus far. He thinks it is a game and begs me to let him keep "playing." :) We are still going to finish up Singapore this year...and I haven't decided whether or not to use TT as the main curriculum for him or as a supplement. I have heard bad reviews and good reviews. At this point, though, TT is making my kid who hates math...LOVE math. That means more to me than any rigor could!

I have a friend who keeps trees up in her house year round...and she decorates them for the different seasons. It is actually pretty cool, and a whole lot of work for her! But she loves it. What people do INSIDE their houses never bothers me. Outside stuff is there for everyone else to see, inside stuff is for the family. :001_smile:

Well, I will be a pretty lonely dissenter here and agree with the OP. I take my tree down the day after Christmas. When it is over, it is over and it drives me NUTS to see colored Christmas lights up after, say, the first week in Jan. Now, white lights are not an issue. I see them in places after Christmas and they don't scream "CHRISTMAS" to me, but colored lights or Christmas decor - ugh!

Oh how I long for that day..... :tongue_smilie:

My dh actually DOES understand that part of it. What he doesn't understand is that, when math (or something) doesn't work for the kids, one must make a change in the game and try something new. That is part of the joy of homeschooling your kids. Of course, dh went to ps, so he thinks you should pick a curriculum and then stick with it for LIFE. :(

If this were my child: I would have a long talk with her about what you told her you would do (i.e. not let her go with friend if...), and tell her that you have thought about it more and changed your mind. Make sure you praise her for any efforts she has taken to make things better. It is hard to pull up an "F" in a short period of time. As long as she has worked diligently and done a little extra (maybe even tell her that she has to specifically do X and X lessons before she can go), then I would let her go. It may be good for her to see those girls putting on deodorant, going to take a shower, all brushing their teeth that night, etc. Kids tend to learn socially acceptable behaviors from their peers. I remember a sleepover when I was 12 - all the girls sharing beauty tips, putting on pimple cream, sharing lotions that smelled good. It really changed how I looked at hygine and I still remember it! My ds is 12 (13 in Aug) and hygine is an issue for us too. He doesn't like to brush his teeth as often as he should (3 times a day...he may do it once) and he will shower and put on deodorant and cologne but only when I remind him to do so. He has acne to a moderate degree and we are working on that too. I think each child is different and it just takes time for it to "click" with them as to WHY they need to be clean and smell nice. It will come.

You need to take the cat to a vet of your choosing and let them do a medical eval. They will be able to give you information based on what they SEE and not just on a random number in a database. It is likely the 10 year old cat died and they used the same tag! Generally shelters and adoption centers keep lots of records...and they do not take their animals to the vet for routine things like deworming, shots (other than rabies), etc. They give all of those themselves. I really think this is a case of mistaken identity. If the rescue/shelter is a reputable one, I'd trust what they are telling you. As for age, no one can know for sure, but a vet is your best option for a "guess." Enjoy your kitty. My Blue kitty will be 15 in April, has thyroid issues and has had cancers removed, but is still going strong with just a little help from me (meds and vet visits). He is THE BEST cat I have ever owned (and I currently have 7, with one kitty at the rainbow bridge).

Diets don't work. Well, they do for the moment...but people tend to gain the weight back for many reasons. You have to make a lifestyle change you know you can live with. You have to change the way you look at food and thus change what you do and do not put into your body. Excercise is a good part of it too. Did you know that you can walk 8 miles and then eat like a horse and not gain a pound? LOL I found that out this weekend! But really, just change the way you look at food and the pounds will come off. It will take TIME and patience, but it will happen. :)

We start 8th grade in April. Heart of Dakota - Revival to Revolution Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra R&S English 6 (finish) The Exciting World of Creative Writing Wordly Wise 8 Drawn into the Heart of Reading 6/7/8

It is definitely misery to have an animal that you are really tired of dealing with. I would go ahead and consider rehoming in that case. Some cats really are just tougher than others and need a more experienced hand to train. I have two outdoor cats that truly NEED to be outdoors. They couldn't live in my house if I wanted them to...they are feral. Momma cat is a hunter and she is vicious. I love her and she is great with US...but I sure would hate to be another cat that came into her territory. She will tear them up in a heartbeat. She rules the roost outside! Does your kitty have lots of toys and scratching pads?

Living in the country, I have dealt with my share of folks with that mentality. Generally, when I know about it, I try to intervene and trap the cat so I can find a home for it, or get it spayed/neutered and let it go near my own home. You could try calling the humane society and see if they will take the cat if you are able to trap it or catch it. If it is feral and will not come to people, they likely won't. :( But, if it is friendly and will come to you, it has a good chance of getting adopted from a shelter.

Sounds good to me. Of course, when I was a teenager, I always slept 12 hours...I often went to bed at 3AM and got up at 3PM.

Where do you live? I will take the cat. (like I need another one! LOL) Here is my take and I do not mean this to offend you, but here it is: From your posts in the past and this one, I am really thinking you don't much like having a cat. A good for instance...I have 5 indoor cats (2 outdoor cats, but we won't discuss them here because there is no relevance). They do chew cords when they get to them. They have had accidents on furniture when sick, they have put a scratch or two on my leather furniture, unintentionally. I love them to pieces and so does my family and to be completely honest, it is part of owning a pet. About 20 minutes ago, my husband discovered that the cat had chewed through a wire that goes to our Wii. He sat down and fixed it in about 5 minutes and it is fine now. When you have young cats, it is just something you have to watch. We make sure that all of our important cords are up and out of the way and if we see one of the cats chewing on a cord, we scold them. Most of the time I can say their name and "NO" while walking toward them clapping my hands. A few times of that and then all I have to do is clap my hands when they are messing with something and they know to stop. Cats are very smart, and believe it or not, very trainable. For the leather furniture, I trim all 5 cats' nails about once a week. Sometimes they don't need it that often, but I still check their nails at least that much so I can catch anything that is getting sharp. I also pay attention when I am holding them and they jump down. If something scratches me, even a little bit, I get the clippers and take care of it immediately. They can't scratch the furniture if they don't have claws. And, again, if I see them trying to scratch, I immediately scold them. Does your cat have toys? I know people tend to think that cats aren't like dogs and they don't need toys, but that is so wrong! My cats have two cat trees, around 10 scratching posts, a scratching block, and a basket full of various toys. My cats will go to the basket and get the toys they want when they want them. Most of the time, they choose the balls - especially the celophane ones. They also like the little mice that rattle and have cat nip in the middle. :) If I can "re-direct" the cats when they are doing something inappropriate, I have better luck than if I just scold them. Peeing: Oh my. First of all, if a cat pees, you know it. It smells like straight amonia. There is NOTHING in the world like the smell of cat pee. A dog's urine is really dilute and usually doesn't have much of a smell....but a cat's does. If the pee on the couch doesn't absolutely knock your backwards, you may want to check with that 3 year old! If the urine does belong to the cat, then he/she is likely either dealing with a UTI, a bladder stone/crystals (VERY common in male cats), or the little box is horribly full. Marking is generally done on a vertical surface, so I would not think of something hormonal for this at all. The cat needs to go to the vet. The bottom line is that pets cost money. Sometimes, lots of money. My cocker spaniel was a really cute puppy. I paid over $750 to get him in the first place and then at least $500 more on shots and neuter, food and toys. However, I have spent countless THOUSANDS on him since then because at a year of age, he developed horrible allergies. He itches constantly, has to eat special food ($40 a month), take allergy shots (which have now stopped working and he has moved on to allergy pills that cost upwards of $50 a month). This doesn't include the vet visits several times a year or the antibiotics to clear the staph infection he gets occasionally. I also have an elderly cat who, while very inexpensive when he was younger, has gotten very expensive in his old age. He has thyroid disease and takes 4 pills a day, has to eat special canned food because of his teeth (or lack thereof), and has had to have cancers removed from his skin. However, I would sell my car before I let him go without medical care. I have had him for 14 years! My point is that, if you are worried about these small things and are this frustrated over spending the money and time it takes to own a cat, then rehoming him probably is best...for you AND the cat. If he is suffering from a UTI, he is in pain! Spending money on him should not be the biggest issue here. Good luck with whatever you decide! ETA: No, it is not true that once a cat pees on furniture it always will. If the cat is SICK, it does the inappropriate peeing to let you know it needs help! My 2 year old tortie, Chloe, peed on my son's bed once (just through the comforter, not the mattress) but it was because she was locked in his room. She was crying for us to let her out, but ds8 went to the wrong room and then announced she wasn't in there. By the time we found her, the deed was done. That was about 3 months ago and she has never done it again. She goes to the litter box just like before. She just felt she had no choice. I also had a 13 year old cat pee on my kitchen counter once. I was upset, understandably, but I had had her for 12 of those 13 years and she had never done that before. I took her to the vet and she had a horrible UTI (no blood in the urine or anything). She recovered and never again had an accident outside the litter box as long as she lived.

If someone was turning down ROLLS because they were going gluten free, then I would be more likely to assume that they eat NO bread at all...even if I didn't know exactly what was in white bread (which we don't eat anyway). Surely this woman has some kind of common sense. Or not.

I voted 65-67...but really my answer needed to be "other." One one level, we have a wood stove and completely turn off the heat pump...but it stays at 77-80 degrees most of the time. On the level where we sleep, we do leave on the heat pump and set it at 67 degrees.