A drink? As in one? Wouldn't think twice about it.

:grouphug: I saw you over on the Dog on the Couch thread and thought I'd come over here to see if you updated. Glad you are back :)

For the most part, I agree with your mom. But, there are times when kids want to buy something, and there is definitely something to be said for earning the money, especially if they are too young for a real job. So... What I would pay would depend on two things; the condition of the bathrooms to begin with, and the final product. If they need everything done (shower, toilet, sinks, floors, etc), then I would have no prob offering $10 for both (maybe more if they are big bathrooms because there would be more time involved), provided the finished job is as done as well as I would have done. For the clothes, since she's not used to doing other peoples' laundry, I would probably add a few more dollars, depending on the quantity (if it's everything in your wardrobe, I'd offer a little more). And even that completely depends on the weight of my wallet at the time and whether or not I could afford to pay someone to do the work.

Can't keep them off! The couch, the chair (giant dog in the lap sort of thing), the bed...they are where we are, and if we say no, they look so sad. But they are cozy and I like to sit by them. I run the vacuum over the furniture a few times a week, or when I know someone will be coming over - no biggie. (The little guy on the right is as big as the black dog now :D)

Wow - very bad form on the part of the random guest! So bad, in fact, that I laughed right out loud when I read it. I believe (not positive, but pretty sure) that leftovers should be offered to the hostess, and if she declines, they are yours to do with as you choose. So, you could have offered them to someone else, or taken them yourself, but I've never heard of a random guest claiming someone else's food.

I don't necessarily agree with the blog poster - I'm still unclear as to what her point may be. Is it simply that because the child is black she get's no press? Or is it that a middle class (white) woman with a substantial amount of mystery surrounding the disappearance of a baby under her own nose which will draw more views and judgement and higher ratings than the missing 5 year old (black) child whose mother has a criminal history and has already served time in prison for injury to a child? It comes down to what will garner the most views from the public. If I were the blogger, I wouldn't be so quick to wish the other child recieved the same coverage. Yes, of course, I would like the child to be found and the case solved, but the "news" isn't about the children, really - it's about the story, and the story has to do with everyone except the child(ren), and Lisa's mother makes for a "mystery". Her blog post would be better written about the general public and the general predisposition of trying to solve a mystery than about the missing children or their race (or their religion or their sex or their hair color or their...).

Do we know if she knows the two people who claimed to a see a mystery man carrying the baby in the early morning hours?

I'm not sure there is enough money in the world to make me live in an area like that (I've driven through areas like that and know what your are talking about though - I've had the clean windshield to prove it :tongue_smilie:). At first when you made the comment about hoodies being necessary, I thought "well, of course they are!" :lol: but now I know what you mean. Yikes!

I do at home. I know it is stupid, but I'm so used to it, I never think to take it out until I get back in the car to go somewhere. I also leave the keys in the ignition. But the car is also in my (unlocked) garage. Out and about - I usually take my purse and keys with me, anyway. Except possibly if I'm someplace where it would be cumbersome (like the gym or something), and then if I remember to take it out before I leave, it stays home, but otherwise I cover it up well with any amount of junk already in my car. Not good ideas, I know.

I voted "online home and no need to discuss..." because I have learned it is not only smart, but also safer, not to discuss politics outside of my immediate family. A lot of my friends have different political views than I do, and I think it makes good sense to simply avoid the subject. How does the saying go? Never discuss politics with anyone you like...or something like that. Dh is a good one for me to discuss politics with because he is educated about them (at least as much as I am) and even when we disagree, there is always something to think about, not necessarily to argue about. With regard to marital issues, I don't think I could discuss them in a public arena, regardless.

Dh and a whole bunch of strangers (doctors and nurses and anesthesiologists and...). I asked my mom, but she preferred to wait out in the hallway so she didn't get in the way. She was there, somewhere, though.

Another vote for the hand made gifts at baby showers! It's such a thoughtful, generous gesture - I just can't imagine why anyone would be aghast at it. Goodness, both of my kids still sleep with the baby blankets my aunt made for them and gave to me at our baby shower.

Wool socks and two sweaters didn't cut it today - bought a new, clean furnace filter and fired that stinker up today. Good to see you, Tibbie!

Good idea. You're a good Mom, Q. Know that. :grouphug:

:grouphug:

:) My grandmother (on my mom's side) and my grandfather (on my dad's side) always sent me two $1 bills and two pieces of Wrigley's gum taped to the inside of a card. Sometimes, instead of the two dollar bills, there would be a $2 bill taped to the inside of the card. The last one I received was the year before my grandfather died when I was 34. It made me stupidly happy to receive them ever single year. Interestingly enough, one of our resident's guardians is as old as my grandparents would be, and has taken to sending my kids $2 bills in a card each year for their birthday for the past 10 years. It's almost as if she knows no one else will be able to do that for them to make them smile, too. Thanks for the reminder. :)

Never tried it, but I would think they would be slimy or soggy when thawed. You sure can dehydrate them, though.

Ah, then nope, it wasn't them.

Possibly it should be called the Ick-Factor. :tongue_smilie:

Darn! I can't get the video to play. Dd told me one of her friend's family was going to be on GMA - possibly she was mistaken and it is this show.

Did the segment with the 14 year old girl singing for Simon creep anyone else out? Even dd commented that she wished the other judge had been there because the whole setting was just creepy. I agree. Maybe he could have buttoned a few more buttons on his shirt? (Goodness, I can't even believe I'm saying this. But it was weird to even watch.) I haven't watched it at all - last night was the first time we have seen it. And I don't think we'll make a habit of tuning in, either. Here's the clip (it's the girl on the bottom right in the "latest video" section).

Mine is about food - recipes and such.

:grouphug: The only thing I know about (and gave/give my dogs) is this glucosamine supplement.

Good question. I guess it's a question about both; my family was pretty dysfunctional, yet functional at the same time. And I know others' families are the same, yet different. What I'm wondering is how the way family of the 50's is different from the family of the 70's and the family of the 90's and the present families in terms of the "family" itself. Big fat question. I know. So, I guess it would be about our own individual family experiences, because at the end of the day, that's really all any of us "know". I shared mine, but they are not quite the same as what is going on in my own family presently - at least I don't recognize them as the same.

This evening I find myself wondering this within my own family. When I was growing up, my parents, who made numerous mistakes of their own admission, were the top of the immediate family hierarchy. The children were naturally below them on the totem pole. We didn't have a ton of money; my parents struggled to support a smallish family of 4, and had the potential marital conflict that comes with a child with a disability. They made certain we had what we all needed in terms of material things. They made mistakes of their own along the way, for which they were accountable, and absorbed the guilt of any wrong doing, used it to prove a lesson to the children, bettered themselves as individuals, and brought that knowledge and wisdom into their older ages. All of those things proved they were real people with real feelings dealing with real struggles who loved every single member of their family no matter what. Even with the mistakes, in our household we had respect for authority, responsibility for our children, and love for each person was evident, regardless of how flawed the delivery, which resulted in responsibility and accountability (and the knowledge to know which comes first and weighs more). Do you feel your family has these qualities? Do you remember having these qualities within your own family? Why, if you feel your own family does not possess these qualities, do you think it is? Money? Lifestyle? Parenting? Something else?