Really? That is interesting!! I hate talking on the phone....but when I must do it, I have to go into a room alone and shut the door. Weird LOL!!

That is totally me. I hate hate hate talking on the phone. When I list stuff for sale on a message board, I write "No phone calls please, contact through email only." Seriously, that's what I write. Its much easier through email, especailly when having to talk to a "stranger." I've never been a phone talker. I'm a shy person by nature and I guess that's just a part of it for me. The only person I talk to for longer than a few minutes is either my mom or my DH.

I'm sorry, I didnt realize this was an old thread that you were updating LOL! I'm glad that your DD is feeling much better!

I havent read all the replies......but we have used Miralax regularly since my oldest DD was 18 months old. She's now 4.5 years old. We used to have to use it daily (but only half of the recommended dose). Then we moved to only a few times a week. Now she's been off of it for a few months. If I see that she begins having problems again, we'll go back to a few doses a week. The doctor told us that it was fine to be on long-term (and believe me, I asked several different times). I used to feel so bad for DD. My little girl literally screaming out in pain and grunting because she could not go. It was horrible. There was nothing I could do. We used suppositories often. And I could not get her to eat a fiber filled diet for anything. She's still not a big eater but I guess her body is changing and adjusting so her bowels are better now. But yeah, Miralax really helped us out. We started using it when it was prescription but now it is over the counter.

My kids will answer to pretty much anything LOL! I have soooo many nicknames for them. The most common ones are QTip and Cottonball. Snickers and Skittles. Peanut butter. Chicken. Turtle. None of them have any relation to anything....just things I think up on the spur of the moment. I call them anything I can think of.....bunny rabbit, tweedle-dee, toodles, candy corn, etc. One day I told my husband that they would answer to anything. He didnt believe me so I told him to give me anything he could think of. He said "hotdog." I said "Okay, watch this." I yelled out "Hotdog!" My oldest DD (then 3 at the time) said "Hold on Mommy!" DH just laughed! I dont know why I call them so many things. I do use their real names about half the time. Has anyone watched Everybody Loves Raymond and he used to call his wife a new, off the wall name every time he walked in from work. He would greet her with a new name and a kiss.

We just got a puppy on Saturday. A toy poodle. I cannot imagine having two of them at once LOL! We havent had a puppy in 9 years....our Jack Russell is 9 years old. So we're starting all over in the puppy department LOL. By the way, we originally wanted a shih-poo....they seem like they are wonderful dogs and so cute!! But we found a toy poodle that we just fell in love with for a great price. So we took him home the other day.

I actually heard that the anti-God theme in the movie was very subtle and nearly non-existent. But that by watching the movie, they were attempting to draw people to the book series where the anti-God theme and the killing of God was much more pronounced. That's just what I heard....I have never read the books nor seen the movie.

I agree with a trip. What better way to remember you sweet 16th? Take lots of pics and make a scrapbook with them. She'll remember that for a lifetime!

Funny....I was reading this thread and the phone rang. DH's aunt and uncle were about 15 minutes away and wanted to drop by. I went into overdrive mode LOL! Thankfully, earlier today I had washed the dishes (there was a pretty big pile), put away the Christmas stuff into the attic, had the kids put all the toys into the playroom, and tidied up the kitchen counters (they seem to be a catch-all on the weekends). So when the phone rang I quickly ran the vacuum in the living room and hall to clean up some bits of trash that had fallen out of the Christmas boxes....I wiped down the kitchen counters with a Lysol wipe, cleared some trash off my computer desk, and I wiped down the bathroom counter. I made it with a few minutes to spare! I just thought it was funny that it happened while I was reading this thread! On a good week, I could be ready for company to drop by within about 30 minutes. I would just put some toys away, run the vacuum across the living room and wipe down the kitchen counters.

I dont think people should get knocked for sending their kids to public/private school. Everyone has to do what they see fit for their families. But this is a homeschooling board. Of course the members are going to lean towards homeschooling as the best option. I would not go to an Obama board and start a thread expecting them to get on board with McCain. And I wouldnt go to Vegetarian board and expect them to get on board with meat recipes that I post. That's the beauty of the internet....you get to pick the people you "hang out" with. But of course I dont think that people should get flamed for deciding on public/private school. But I dont expect a homeschooling forum to get on board with it either.

Wow, this Floridian cannot even wrap her mind around temperatures that are below zero. Much less jumping into the water LOL! Your daughter is VERY brave!

I would take him in. If it had happened once, I would have waited. But twice I would take him in.

If Judas was "saved" then he will go to Heaven. I believe that you cannot lose your salvation. Once saved, always saved. Suicide is a sin, just like any other sin....but I dont believe that it would make him "un-saved."

I totally agree with the above poster. Some rules are definitely easier to obey. Like my 4 year old knows that we eat food in the kitchen. That's a rule....simple, easy....you just dont walk out of the kitchen with food. However, if I say something like "share with your sister." Well, that's much harder to obey and I have to constantly reinforce that with her. But I try to think of myself in the same terms. Some rules are harder for me to obey myself. Dont steal, dont hit someone, etc....those are easy. Now when it comes to things like "dont say anything you'll later regret when you are mad"....or....going exactly the speed limit. Things like that are harder for me to obey. So I have to understand that some rules are going to be harder for my kids to obey too.

I only have two girls so it doesnt get too violent over here LOL. But I'VE been the one whose gotten hurt. I was wresting with DD (then three years old) and her teeth got me in the nose.....HARD. I heard the crunch of the skin as the teeth broke the skin. EWWWW!!!!! I seriously thought it was broken or something like that. It was sore....with two perfectly carved teeth marks on the top.

Well, our oldest is four.....so it is still kinda difficult to play games the require too much skill LOL. But as a family we play a lot of the usual Candy Land. My DD got Disney Yahtzee Jr for Christmas, as well as Rhino Rampage and Phase Ten Jr. I like Disney Yahtzee, but the others are just okay. When we get together with other people, we really really really LOVE Catch Phrase. Your 12 year old should be able to handle it....but definitely not the little ones. I think we'll have a lot of fun playing family games as the kids get older.....right now its still in the "babyish" category though LOL.

That's a hard question. A best friend can be defined by so many things. I dont have any girlfriends. Sadly, I'm very much a shy and quiet person. I dont do well interacting with people unless I know them really well. I dont have any girlfriends that I can call on the phone or go off and do things with or have children near my kids ages. I do, however, have a DH, a mother, and a sister. They all mean different things to me though. DH is the one I do the most stuff with, of course. We live together, share the same life.....we like the same sorts of movies, etc. So we do have fun together. But when I'm looking for someone to go shopping with or something like that, my sister is the one I turn to. I actually have two sisters, but one is only 15 years old....so she's not as much like a friend to me since she's so young. My other sister is four years younger than me. While she is not married and does not have kids, we still have a good time together. But I cannot talk to her about family stuff because she hasnt reached that stage in her life yet. But she loves my two girls to death and has a lot of fun with them and helps with them when we go off together. My mom and I are very close. I talk to her daily.....usually about three times a day. She lives right around the corner (with my dad, of course), I can talk to her about anything even though we sometimes may not have the same views on things. She helps me with everything....and vice versa. So they are all three best friends in different ways.

Thanks to everyone who has answered my questions! While I do not fully believe the way of a Calvinist, it is interesting to understand the aspects of it.

I'm curious about another aspect as well. God created man to have fellowship with God. So as God was creating people he was creating certain ones just to send to hell? And certain ones to send to heaven? So why even create the ones to send to hell? I believe that we all have free will. And I also believe that God DOES know who will be going to heaven and who will be going to hell.....because he is all knowing. However, I also believe that we have free will to choose that path for ourselves.

Does he remember if he is dreaming when it happens? I've never wet the bed since I was a small child....so imagine the shock I got a few months ago when I awoke right when I was beginning to pee!! At first I thought it was AF before I made it to the bathroom.....but that really scared me since it was a huge gush. Finally, I figured out that it was urine. I was a bit worried since I had never done that before. However, later that day I remembered that I was dreaming that I was sitting on the toilet. Hence the fact that I began to pee. Then, about a month later it happened again....and again I remember that I was dreaming I was sitting on the toilet. Weird, I know! It has not happened since. And no, I'm not pregnant or anything either LOL. So I was just wondering if he remembers if he's dreaming when he begins to wet the bed.

Thanks for the clarification! So in Calvinism, if you are predestined to go to Heaven....then you still need someone to witness to you so that you can respond to the call? Correct? So what if a predestined person is never witnessed to.....say they live in a tribe deep in the jungles of Africa. I know that is far fetched, but I just wanted to use that so that you would know what I meant. Thanks for the answers!

I'm a bit confused. So if people are alredy predestined to go to Heaven......then what's the point of witnessing? What's the point of drawing new people into the church and telling them about God if they are already chosen? Could someone explain that to me?

Good questions, Lisa....they were exactly what I was going to ask. I was raised Baptist and still am one now...and I dont understand the "select few" in Calvinism. I hope that someone can explain it.

Oh my gosh!!! That is appaling that they would keep that information from you. I worked in the YMCA before/after school program for 6 years. I was an assistant site director for the last two years. Information like that is vital. We're with those kids for nearly as long as the teachers are each day. And actually, we get to know them on a more personal basis since we are not spending our hours teaching and instructing....we actually spend personal time with the kids getting to know them. They are going to talk about a lockdown in a school. The older ones WILL know whats going on, they will hear rumors about it, they will read the flyer, and they will have many many questions in the 3 or more hours before their parents arrive. They may even be frightened. I cannot believe they were witholding that information from you. I know what you mean about the pricipal/staff seeming to act superior to the "lowly YMCA staff." They may hold the teaching degree but it doesnt take a rocket scientist to interact and guide children.

Good call on taking her to urgent care before the infection got worse. My dd had her first ear infection right after she turned four. She ran a fever for about four days before I took her in. I was surprised when they said ear infection!