Mom's hideaway.... I'm thinking a stash of chocolate, a small bookshelf with a lamp on it...cozy chair......a few small pieces of artwork on the walls....and a lock. Definitely a lock LOL :)

I have three girls and we were pretty set in their names by the time they were born. However, we also had boy names chosen too. 1st dd would have been Ephram Gabriel 2nd dd would have been Tucker Blaise 3rd dd would have been Truett Finn or Finnegan Truett

I'm with you! Have DH take the kids and you stay home to relax!

That is awesome!!

Rigidity in thinking....that describes her to a tee! I've never heard that term before. So a developmental pediatrician would be different than her regular pediatrician, right? I guess we'd probably have to go through her regular ped first though. We actually had her seeing a child psychologist when she was about 6 years old. But I didn't like the doctor's approach. She seemed to focus in on one particular behavior and overlooked the whole scenario. We kept attempting to explain the whole scenario to her, but for some reason she was honing in on one behavior. So we stopped going after only a few visits. That was when she was in the midst of her worst "OCD tendencies". I'll definitely order The Explosive Child....I'd love some coping strategies on how to handle her behaviors! I never know whether to back off, remove her from the situation, discipline, etc. I've looked into Asperger's but she doesn't fit really any of the guidelines. But as far as how she acts.....no one would believe us if we told them. She's a perfect angel for her teachers at church, soccer coach, scout leaders, etc. She's very quiet.....won't say a word most of the time. But she smiles, participates, and enjoys all of it. Her teachers would be shocked to see how she acts when she's with us! So this rigidity in thinking is only at home. How can that be possible? I can say something to her and it will set her off and she will need something "just so"....however, I KNOW that if she was with an outside teacher or coach and that exact same scenario occurred, she would handle it with ease and have no reaction.

My 9 year old DD is my oldest child....so I'm not sure if I'm dealing with a quirky child and stubbornness, some OCD type behaviors, or if I'm dealing with issues that just need better discipline. I'm just going to list out some instances/things that stand out with her. I don't know if this is normal kid stuff that she'll grow out of, or if we need to look into seeing a professional. 1. Ever since she was a toddler, she's exhibited what I call "OCD like" behaviors. It's not the full blown freaking out, constant hand washing, fear of germs type stuff that you hear about. Some examples: As a toddler, she'd meticulously check her pacifier for hairs every time she put it into her mouth. At four years old, she went through a period of hoarding trash. She would pick up trash from on the ground and cry when we wouldn't let her keep it. She would stuff food wrappers into her toddler desk to save. This went on for a few months. She did go through a "germ period" when she was five or six. She wanted to wash her hands often even though we wouldn't let her do it all the time. Now, at 9 years old (and for the past few years) she has to have things just so. But it's not consistently the same things. My parents took her to Lowe's for one of their kids building clinics. They were building a car and my dad accidentally hit the nail in at a VERY SLIGHT angle. It was barely noticeable. She freaked out crying and sobbing for the next hour. Another example....we were at Cracker Barrel with my extended family. My aunt's fiance saw my two DD's looking at Webkinz and he secretly purchased the ones they wanted. A few minutes later, outside, he gave them their Webkinz stuffed animals. When he was out of earshot, DD broke down crying because the animal's ear was "bent downwards". She had been wanting a different one....it was the identical Webkinz but a duplicate of it because it's ear was not bent. So he chose the "wrong one" to give to her. We talked and talked and talked to her. She just kept saying "it's bent! It's bent!" We couldn't make her see her selfishness or ungratefulness in the matter. My mom ended up going back and exchanging it for the "right" one. These are just a few examples of the quirks (OCD tendencies?) that she has. And it's like her "quirks" rotate. She went through a period when she was about 7 where we had to answer certain questions in certain ways. And if we were leaving, she would tell me goodbye literally about ten times. Those types of things have faded away though. Now, its more things like if we went somewhere fun that day and my 6 year old ran in and told her daddy what we did, my 9 year old would freak out crying because she wanted to be the one to tell it. She feels that she's entitled to all things good and my 6 year old isn't'. Ever. So many things have to be "just so" or she breaks down crying. Like major 2 year old fits. 2. She cannot be reasoned with. If she gets in one of her moods, we can't say anything to her because she turns everything around. We sort of walk on egg shells, not knowing what will set her off. She's convinced that NOTHING is her fault. If she gets in trouble, even if it was totally her fault, she blames someone else for the situation. Every time. She can't ever see that she has any blame in it even if it is completely obvious. 3. She is EXTREMELY selfish. Selfishness is not a part of our family. She does not see us being selfish, and she's been taught the complete opposite, but she is alarmingly selfish. She doesn't want anyone to touch her toys or things. If someone else gets something (namely her sister), she collapses into a fit if she didn't get it too. She freaks out if she thinks that her sister got the "bigger half" of something, even if they look exactly the same. Everything is a competition. When we split muffins, she always says that her sister has the side with more chocolate chips. This selfishness is a HUGE disruption in our family. It's a constant source of strife. It's like she's always looking to see the negative and everyone is out to slight her. 4. She complains ALL THE TIME. About everything. Definitely a glass is half empty type of person. Heck, it's more like the glass has fallen over, shattered, and the water is all over the floor type of person. My DH is a negative person too, but DD is ten times worse. It may just be because she is young, I'm not sure. But her gloomy attitude casts a shadow over our the family. 5. She's angry a lot. Yet she has nothing to be angry about. Her life is great. She is well loved. She's involved in activities. She has things that she enjoys. Yet she still seems to be angry so much. And she's only nine! There's no telling what's going to make her angry. Like I said, it's like walking on egg shells. Even my 6 year old says things like "just don't tell Sissy, I know she'll get mad." I'm just confused about whether this is normal, quirky kid stuff that will phase out as she matures....or whether there's something more going on. The level of selfishness and jealousy is just startling. And most of the jealousy is directed at her 6 year old sister. And I never know what's a discipline issue and what's not. The Webkinz issue had me stumped. On one hand, I feel like she was being selfish and ungrateful when my aunt's fiance was being very generous to her. On the other hand, I'd feel really bad it it's something inside that's "compelling" her to need to ear the "right" way." Any advice? Comments?

We usually only eat at Chick Fil A....DD9 usually gets a 12 piece nuggets, small fruit cup, and a water. DD6 gets the same, but a 6 piece instead of 12. And DD1 gets the same but a 4 piece.

I hate all the cards!!! I don't even do them. I just want a price, pay it, and be done with it.

Pretty sure I didn't miss the point. In a perfect world that would be great.... But most companies are out for the almighty dollar and if Dubai is a lucrative place, then unfortunately they probably will not cut ties with a company that's located there. It's horrible, but there is evil in this world and it will just get worse. Evil happens to all groups....blacks, whites, men, women, Christian, Muslim.... In some places some groups are targeted more than others. When the law refuses to help you then you must take your safety into your own hands until the laws can be changed. You can't just waltz into a "danger zone" and declare the laws to be unfair while you are harmed. Protect yourself first, even if that means avoiding that particular area, and fight for change while you are safe.

I didn't feel that cafelatte was blaming the victim. Obviously, the legal system in they country needs to change regarding these laws. That's apparent. And what happened to this girl is obviously appalling. But until those changes are made, women should probably steer clear of the area. I know I would. Just like I wouldn't just saunter into all areas of the city that I live in.... It has dangerous parts. It's not saying that women's jobs should be infringed upon and they can't travel...it's that they need to be informed and safe about where they travel to.

When our first DD was 4, we signed her up for a several week course at the YMCA. At the end, she had learned nothing. The next year I found out about Infant Swim Resource lessons and signed both if my DD's up (then they were 5 and 2). Within 5 weeks, they were swimming and could save themselves if needed. My third DD just finished up her ISR lessons a few weeks ago. She's 20 months old. I can't recommend group swim lessons after seeing what ISR can do.

Never knew that was the rule! We do the free parking money rule though. We usually play either Dogopoly or Star Wars. :)

No issues with it here.

I like it!! And I'd know it was pronounced like Julie.

So hashtags just allow me to see the tweets of others who are talking about the same thing? I don't really see a use for them because if I mention that "I'm watching #onceuponatime right now....I don't care to see others chatting about the fact that they are watching it too. Seems pointless to me....and I'm definitely not behind technologically.

Not a funny one, but a strange one. I had a drs appointment with my family practice dr when dd#1 was about 14 months old. I ended up seeing the nurse practitioner that day. While she was prescribing me a medication, I mentioned that we'll need to check and see if it is safe to take while breastfeeding. She said "Congrats, how old is your baby?" (Baby was in the waiting room with my mom). I told her 14 months. She gave me a blank look and said "You are still nursing? I thought the milk dried up when the baby turned a year old." I was COMPLETELY speechless....this was a medical professional!!!

Oooh, some great ideas here!! I'm going to have to go through them with DD! :hurray:

DD9 is at a week-long day camp this week. One class she is taking is Fast Food (food that doesn't take long to prepare). They are having a little competition on Friday, which is Family Day. So the family can help her out. We need a dessert that requires no stove or oven (they have a few microwaves, a mixer, and a toaster). The ingredients need to be portable because I'll need to bring them from home. So I could bring a cooler if something needs to be kept cold. And it needs to take 10 minutes or less from start to finish. And it needs to taste good. :laugh: It can be any type of food....snack, meal, dessert, anything. Any ideas???

I could not imagine not having A/C down here in FL....I don't know anyone who doesn't have it.

You know what else I hate? The name of our sporting goods store in town. Dick's Sporting Goods. I can't even say it with a straight face. I can just imagine the owner snickering when he named the place. And if his name is Richard, then I vote that it should be Richard's Sporting Goods lol.

I despise preggers lol. And crotch.

These words bring back memories! I used to laugh when my nana would call my shorts either britches or dungarees. She would also use pocketbook. My mom called capris clam diggers. I never understood that one. My dad uses spigot and hence. I've never heard of davenport or divan! Ever! My grandmother would also say "down yonder." And if she meant that something was occurring next Tuesdsy, she'd say "Tuesday week."

Humor me LOL. So, what do you do with the plunger after you've plunged the toilet? We have to plunge constantly....it's so annoying. So our plunger is used frequently. There's a differing opinion of what should be done with it in this house LOL. Do you plunge and then just stick it back in its holder? Do you plunge and wash it off in the tub? If you do this, do you feel the need to sanitize the tub afterwards? Do you wash it elsewhere? Do something else with it? Weird question of the day LOL. :laugh:

I just realized that I get Discovery Education Streaming for free! If you haven't looked into it, it has thousands upon thousands of educational videos on any topic you could imagine. Sometimes homeschool buyers co-op has a deal, but bought outright its like $375 a year. I could never do that. I just realized that because my nephew, who lives with us, does Florida Virtual School, we have free access! I'm just kicking myself because he also did FLVS last year so we could have used it all last year as well....ugh!!

I'd be chatting with the leader. Youth group isn't supposed to be school.