For those of you in Moore and with friends there, if anyone needs laundry done, or a shower, or a meal or even a place to sleep PM me.

The M.E. has now confirmed 91 deaths. :crying:

I am now reading that the school did in fact have a basement, and some of the children drowned, I do not know if broken water pipes caused it, or what exactly happened, but it is just tragic.

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/20/18382215-curse-or-coincidence-scientists-study-tornado-alleys-past-and-future?lite Mountain air, gulf moisture, jet stream. It isn't just Moore, areas all over the state are hit often.

There have been other large F3 and F4 tornadoes in nearly the same area since the one in 1999, they have take slightly less horrific paths, but the fact is, they rip through here time and time again. There are maps and information on this page from a meteorologist. http://www.okctalk.com/current-events-open-topic/33846-oklahoma-severe-weather-discussion-may-2013-a-26.html

Yes, I should have been more clear, reinforced safe rooms are also a good option.

They didn't have underground shelters which is ridiculous IMO, They had about 30 minutes warning, which was the entire life of the storm, and got them to the safest place possible, but there should have been an underground area. The problem is that no matter how well they understand the atmosphere and know where it might fire up, the storms wibble wobble and go wherever the hell they want. The speed and intensity of these storms are just unbelievable.

We absolutely have warning, they have been telling us for days to be aware, and people do pay attention, the minute these storms begin to build they break in, take over the air and give us non stop information, There are people in what are basically tanks on the ground, helicopters in the air, and the best most advanced radar technology in the world. These storms do come on hard and fast, but we really truly do have the best weather people in the world, and as much warning as possible.

I didn't know she was from that Newcastle. I know we have some other posters from the area too. We are in Edmond, and had a scare yesterday. My heart is broken and I wish I could do something to help. It feels so weird to be so close and be unable to do anything.

Dr. Dennis Gross makes some Alpha Beta two part peel pad things, they are expensive, especially if you use them every day, but I use them once or twice a week, so a pack of 30 lasts quite a while....they are worth every single penny! Nothing makes my skin look softer, smoother, and clears up zits better. Amazon often has good deals on them. I also love Avalon organics Lavender serum from whole foods, amazing gently hydrating serum without leaving that lotion slime like so many I have tried.

You might ask around then, will you use heartguard or something if you switch away from the Trifexis? Frontline stopped working totally for us, and Advantage was hit or miss, the cost both financially and time spent having a flea infestation is outrageous!

I find Trifexis to be really affordable because it covers both fleas and heartworm. Regular Comfortis is somewhat cheaper, but you still have to add heartworm protection. I have split comfortis between my two dogs without a problem, but would not try that with Trifexis. It seriously works so much better than anything else, that it is so worth it. My vet also sells it by the month, which makes it much easier, I generally have 18 dollars laying around at a time more easily than 100 or more for the multi month packages. the biggest help inside has been spraying carpets and couches with Precor, it is an insect growth regulator, and about as non toxic to humans as pets as you can get with something that. I buy the concentrate on amazon and mix it up in gallon garden sprayer thing.

Having an open kitchen, dining, and living room area has made a huge difference for us. We do still have a small den off the side which can be separate for quiet time or reading or whatever, and the bedrooms are upstairs, so it isn't totally open concept, but the big family room set up with the kitchen is soooo nice. The front porch is also right off that room, and in nice weather it all blends into one.

We also bought a skimmer attachment from Big lots, I think it was 20 bucks. It really helped get the leaves and bugs and stuff off the top before they sank to the bottom and made it get yucky. The only chemicals we used were stabilizer at first, and after big water changes, and liquid bleach. There is a pool calculator online that is really helpful for figuring out what and how much to add.

We upgraded the filter, it was well worth the money! You also want a good test kit with drops, not the strips, they don't test anything well. I also learned that the easiest way to get the pool ready for vacuuming was to walk around the edges, like laps, and make a whirlpool, once everything starts swirling towards the middle, climb out and let it settle. Most of the debris will be in a tidy pile near the middle. The laps were a good little workout too. Take the time to make sure you are putting it somewhere totally level. It took us a week of work to level the area, but only a couple hours to set up the pool. We still ended up having to mostly drain it and resettle it to keep it level. We are about to have our driveway paved, and I am going to have them pave an area for the pool as well, then we will use that pink insulation foam underneath so it will be soft on our feet and protect the pool vinyl.

My male does not mark inside ever, and he wasn't fixed until the age of 2. He does pee on every post and fence on walks. My female also marks outside and does that obnoxious leg kick thing to spread it around. She is more likely to pee inside somewhere than he ever was.

I don't allow grape drinks in the house! I don't want to be the person freaking out over beverages so we just don't drink it. No Hawaiin punch or red koolaid either...but DS reacts to that much red coloring, so I have a good excuse!

Once when my son was about 5 there was the biggest horsefly ever in my parents lakehouse. It was really stressing him out. He left the room for a minute a returned with a water gun and safety glasses ready to do battle. My dad got up to help and was had pulled a barstool into the kitchen to reach the fly. So imagination grandpa standing on the barstool, flyswatter extended, small blonde cherub in safety gear, and underwear dutifully pointing a water pistol on the floor below him, and much lip biting on the part.of mom and grandma.since.this was serious business. My dad whacked that fly hard! And DS loudly proclaimed SH*T!! He got it! We all about fell over laughing, it was properly timed, a true expression of emotion, and he was never one to use bad language. We still giggle about that sometimes.

I would not consider a lab to be a low maintenance dog, especially not a puppy. Any puppy is a ton of work. After adding a 1 year old lab Wheeler mix a year ago I will probably never do a tiny pup again. She is still busy and active, but integrating her was just so easy. She is very attached and a joy. I would get in touch with rescue groups and "interview them". Find one that Will work with to find a fostered dog that will meet your needs temperament wise, and consider breed a distant second. Then enroll in the best training class you can find, that uses operant conditioning, or clicker training to establish a bond with your new dog and get the ball rolling on setting you all up for success. Tethering the dog to you is also IMO the best thing you can do with a new dog. It helps with bonding, and leaves little to no room for accidents or destructive behavior which even adult dogs can partake in when stressed and unsure.

I have been worried about the same thing. We have cancelled our plans to attend the anniversary memorial in downtown OKC tomorrow. I was still waffling a bit, but we are for sure not going now. It is all just a bit much for me.

Thank you guys for confirming my concerns, I think we might go to the land run festivities in our nearby little town, or to the science museum or something instead.

I had been planning on taking DS (almost 12) to the 18th Anniversary of the OKC bombing on Friday. We are trying to connect with our new city, and get out and about more and I think he is needing to experience more connections between daily life, and the sometimes scary things he hears and sees on the news. I am seriously re-thinking it now, I just don't know how comfortable I am in light of recent events, and I feel like everyone else will be on edge too. They evacuated a bunch of buildings this morning downtown because of an empty Uhaul that had broken down. I know that the chance of anything happening is slim, but any sort of scare will be extra scary for a kid. I am conflicted, I feel like if we skip out on important events, the people are achieving their goals, but on the other hand, why risk it KWIM. Any thoughts?

I have lived here my whole life, Ds has slept in the closet with his baseball helmet on a few nights of his life, and I know my parents carried me down to their basement several times as a child. As far as earthquakes......those are new. :glare: :svengo:

If you have an interior bathroom, stairway, or closet I would probably consider that as safe enough while you saved up for a shelter or safe room, a neighbor with a basement would be a good choice too! Living in Tulsa I wasn't nearly as concerned about the tornadoes as I am now that we are in the wide open north of OKC. We do have an under the stairs area as well, but I am so glad to have the storm shelter here too. Every single house around here does, which is a good thing IMO.

We have been working on teaching them to get in the storm shelter. So far no luck! Hopefully I don't have to drag their 75 and 50 pound butts down into it tomorrow!!