:iagree: With the above and the endo. Maybe if your ds absolutely wanted you there, he would allow it, but if it's the parent asking to be there he won't? I have encountered a doc like that~~ he wanted it to sincerely come from the patient and not while the parent was still in the room. I have learned never to say "what else?" :grouphug::grouphug: to you.

I have two of those and love them! My dog is a Sheltie and weighs 20lbs.... long fur with an undercoat. My two FURminators are "medium" sized. I would suggest getting the large, at least. While my dog despises being groomed, these things work wonders. I love the way I can brush and brush and push a button and have the fur dump itself on the ground. Our other 'rake brush' would get a lot of fur out and it would be filled with static so it would cover my hand, my clothes, float in the air, etc. I hated it. I have one 'regular' FURminator and one for long fur. The only difference I can see is that the one for longer fur has *slightly* longer bristles. I honestly can't see that it would make a difference in brushing, they are that similar. I just grab whichever one is nearest and get to work. I also use them on my cat. It is incredible how much fur comes out from the animals... I can't believe they still have fur when I stop! These are also very good at getting the little mats that hide in the super soft fur behind my Sheltie's ears. I highly suggest getting one (or two!).

Thanks for the info. Just hearing that he is a good teacher helped, really. :001_smile: I guess it's not a popular class. Huh. Ds is at the point where he has fulfilled his history requirements, so I thought this would be a neat elective for him since he is a med. hist. fan. I guess I'll keep poking around to see if there is anything else on 'the internets' that would work for us in case we decide not to go this direction Sorry... just musing out loud here. Thanks again! :D

I sure hope we don't see "reax" going mainstream. It made my head hurt to see that. :iagree: I miss Peter Jennings. :crying:

:svengo:Oh my! That's a lot of spiders!! I keep killing them in my garage.... the same place, year after year. It's very strange. Just the one spider, but I always know where to look for it....and I look all the time as I don't want babies! One year I found what used to be her 'guy'. Blech!

:grouphug:

:svengo: I am just horrified at what is happening to all the kittens!! It's like half the country was missing from school over the last 20 years each time possessives were taught. Geez.

Has anyone's dc taken the Potter's School Medieval, Reformation, and Renaissance History class with Bill Crosby? I'm looking for any and all info. :D TIA!

Google "tonsil stones pictures", but not while you are eating. :D I've had them for years. If that is what you have, they are gross, but nothing to worry about.

I have a Hoover upright and have had it for about 11 or 12 years. I LOVE it. I was going to add a link, but the ones on Amazon have something called "surge" and mine doesn't have that. It has an upholstery/stairs hose/brush that I have used and I like it. I'm not sure how to answer the 'what kind of carpet'.... it's wall to wall, medium pile. My mother has Berber carpet and uses the exact same machine on hers (her carpet is now eight years old and still looks brand new). I have not had a problem with soap residue. I do vacuum to help make it feel 'normal' as it feels a bit stiff from being wet, but no problems with soap. I just use the Hoover shampoo--- I bought a bottle in August or September at Target. I have no idea what a protector is so I can't help there. If you mean a Scotchguard protector, we don't have one. I would rather not get into the things I have used my carpet cleaner on as some of it is embarrassing, but my carpet is a light tan and there are no stains at all on it. One of the worst ones ((GROSS OUT ALERT HERE so stop reading if you are squeamish or are eating something >>>>>>>>>>)) involves my tan carpets and my couch late at night and young kids with upset tummies from eating Taco Bell with Code Red Mountain Dew. :ack2: I was *SO* thankful I had my own machine to do an instant clean up!! What I love the most about my carpet cleaner is that if I feel like cleaning the carpets (or if some major mishap occurs a.k.a. sick kid/animal/ drop a huge plate of food) then I just pull it out and get going. There is no running to the store to rent one and no hauling it back. I don't even remember what it cost to rent one, but way back when, I figured it out and I paid for the machine in one year. Did I mention that I love my Hoover carpet cleaner? :D :D

:iagree: I am so with you there! I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that Amazon sends reminder e-mails to review a product and the person just doesn't realize they are leaving *seller feedback* and NOT a *product* review? :iagree: Very unhelpful to lump them all together like that. Re the bolded..... *snort* I totally agree with you. I hate when I find a recipe that has four or five stars and about 300 reviews and I get all excited only to see that most people had completely tweaked the recipe, so then I have to poke around and find the tweaks that sound the best for us! Sorry for that rambling run on! :D

I, too, am thinking of Cooper and hoping he is doing better today! :grouphug:

:grouphug: Yes, you can do this! I agree with others that it may be the caffeine you are feeling, in addition to the withdrawal from the aspartame. When I took myself off Diet Coke, I figured I would allow myself 'real sugar' and worry about that later. So, I drank lemonade instead of my D.C. that worked. It took me about a week or so to get to where I didn't crave my D.C. Don't dink any more diet drinks... drink the 'real' stuff (yeah, HFCS) if you're going to have one. I think (nothing to back this up, just my experience) that the aspartame tries to stay in our system and if you have even one drink, you won't purge the rest and your body will keep craving it (not very scientific, I know, but I'm going for simplicity here). I found it much easier to stop sodas all together by doing it that way. I'll have one when we go out, but I prefer water, Country Time lemonade, and black coffee (whereas I used to like a little coffee with my morning sugar!) over sodas now. Keep on keeping on---- you will fell so much better after you get the fake sugars out of your system!

:D I'm jealous of both of you! For as long as I have been here (lurked for about six months before registering) I am only nearing 1,000 posts. :glare: The problem is that I'm on here so much if I did post as much as I wanted to, I would do nothing else at all and probably be near 20,000 posts! :lol:

:iagree: Yep. :iagree: Or we could be used to grow some pretty roses. :D That's how I feel. I'm a "if someone needs any part of me when I die, take it, then cremate me and spread my ashes somewhere" person. No coffin (burial) for me, thanks. :lol:

Disney fan here. Note I said "fan" and not "fanatic". ;) Just so you know I'm not a "Disney or bust" person. :D I would say your choice would depend on the length of your trip (your stay and travel time) and the ages of your kids. Five days in Gatlinburg would, to me, be way too much, but it really depends on your family and the things you want to do. We went to Dollywood a few years ago and were very underwhelmed. The lines were short, so we did everything we wanted to do in the one day. We were with friends and we had kids aged 13ish down to I think 6 or 7. No one was particularly eager to return (and our friends aren't Disney people at all, so that wasn't their reasoning). I guess it just wasn't our "thing". Speaking for my family, we aren't 'show people' so we weren't interested in the shows and found the rides 'lacking'. There was not one ride that any of us wanted to ride again, with the exception of a few kids who rode twice with those who waited to hear a 'rider report' for the youngers. While we haven't been to Disney for a few years, we went A LOT while the kids were younger (sometimes twice in a year).... no two trips were the same, especially because each time the kids saw something different, remembered a favorite thing, were ready to experience something new, etc. And the Not So Scary Halloween Party? Totally worth it! It's similar to the Christmas one, but with Hallowe'en music (NOT scary at all) and the characters are dressed in not scary costumes. The kids, while not young when we went, enjoyed a bit of trick or treating, too, and even dh and I took a few pieces of candy. It was a lot of fun! That said, however, if you plan to do other things on your trip, then you have it right in looking at visiting Cades Cove, and the aquarium is to die for. We aren't 'shoppers', though, so found ourselves a bit bored after we did those things. Something else to consider is the time you are planning to go--- I'm not positive on the dates, but the pretty leaves in Gatlinburg attract a LOT of people and you may be there during an "on season"..... we made that mistake once when we visited for the first time, and it took us 45 minutes to drive ONE mile. The restaurants were all full all the time, too. Just something to think about. Also, we find that when we go to Gatlinburg and total the receipts, we often find that a trip to Disney would have been somewhat close to the same cost, if you figure in all that Disney/Orlando has to offer. You really get a lot for your dollar there as opposed to Gatlinburg--- again, depending on your family & interests. We have not done Disney's dining plan, though, so I'm not sure how that compares. I have a feeling you will get about 50/50 on the replies here, so you will have a lot of info to comb through! :D I hope you have a great trip no matter where you go.... they are both great places that have vastly different 'feels' to them!

I have had lap. sur. and don't remember gas pain. My surgery was on a Friday, so I only had to miss one day of work, as I went back on Monday. I wish I had been able to take off the next several days, as I was hardly able to walk & bend, etc. I was a bank teller, and every time I had to move, I cringed. I wanted nothing more than to just curl up. All that to say, if your dh could get more time off to help you with your littles, that would be great. I think it will be more than a few days before you're able to keep up with them. Everyone is different, but getting others' stories is a good idea. And, yes, keep as much as possible within reach.... phone, TV remote, water bottle, etc. You won't be feeling like moving at all for a day or so. :grouphug: I hope this will mark the end of your pain. And do ask if it is possible for you to have a video recording. My surgery was over 20 years ago and I still have mine.

I'm glad this is being taken seriously. What a tough time you have had there!! :grouphug: I hope you and your kids will be left alone now.

Aww, bummer. I had to channel my inner Nancy Drew last week and it was so successful, I was ready to do it again. :D

I'm so sorry. My thoughts are with you and your family.

I'm happy to hear they made it safe and sound. I can't believe all eight bags were detoured, though! :001_huh: The videos sound like something to keep and burn to a DVD for later on; what a sweet keepsake that would be! I'm glad you're feeling better today. :grouphug:

Ugh, I feel your pain. I finally closed the last few windows that I was brave enough to leave open due to shade and a breeze. However, I am now wiping a think layer of yellow (thank you to the pollen for this) off of everything because of those open windows. No more fresh air smell in the house until fall, I fear. :glare: Why, oh why is it so hot already? I feel like we skipped spring and went right into summer. Heck, we skipped WINTER for crying out loud! What the heck is going on!?

Absolutely adorable!!

Geez, how could I have forgotten about shoulder pads?!? :ack2: I really hope those don't make a comeback. Remember the "shoulder pad buildup?" one would get when wearing several items that had shoulder pads in them? :scared: Yeah, I could do without shoulder pads coming back!

I'm with many of the others on their replies (didn't see it, meant to come back and post once I did see it, you asked specifically for prayers, etc.). And, while I usually don't bother replying if what I wanted to say has already been said, I wanted to give you another post on your thread. :D I'm sorry you had such a tough day. :grouphug: