LOL!! I felt this way with my first. He was 7 days overdue. Ugh. With my second, I had been dialated to 3 cm since 37 weeks. Midwives kept telling me that he'd be early. He was born 3 days early. That was a REALLY long 2 1/2 weeks. My third was born on his due date. Fourth was 7 days EARLY! So, while I do hope you go early, I think it's mean, mean, mean of the midwives to say they think you'll go early. Then, you expect it, so that even if you go until your due date, you feel overdue!! I know I did with my second! ((((hugs)))) Yup - been there, done that. Don't think I'm doin' it again!!!:lol:

Oh my. What a terrible situation. I'll pray for both of them. I had this with my first born. My liver and kidneys had started to fail too. I wasn't admitted to ICU as my numbers started coming back up after ds was born. I pray that your friend's numbers start to turn around soon and that her dh can find the support he needs during this time.

What about another option - moving closer to your family, but a couple hours away? Find an area you like that is closer, so you can see them when you want (but they wouldn't be "stop by without calling" distance), but you'd be in an area you like. I've lived 12 hours drive, 6 hours drive, and now 2 1/2 hours drive from my family (well, my mom and dad - brothers and sisters are scattered around the country right now). I absolutely LOVE the 2 1/2 hour distance. Mom and dad can visit for the kids' sporting events, piano recitals and all. When the entire family is together at mom's and dad's, we can join them without much trouble. I got to choose the city where we live (my hometown I would've found WAY too stifling!) and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Just thought I'd throw another option out there for ya'!!

We do this! I'm always surprised at how much there is! We use it for our family vacation in January. Have fun with your Amazon gift certificate!!!

LOL Funny poll!! Yea - if I want candy, I just buy it for myself. Now, Halloween candy - that's fair game!!! But, in my defense, they get SOOOO much of that, I feel justified in stealing a few pieces!

$190 seems expensive. I think mine was $30. Anyway, I did choose to go to my 15th. (My 20th is next year.) I had a blast!! But, I really enjoyed high school and had a lot of friends. I still keep in touch with about 15 people from my class and I see them about once a year anyway. So, I knew I wouldn't be standing there without anyone to talk to!! It was particularly interesting because I sat next to a girl who I never talked with in high school. Come to find out we have SO much in common now! She homebirths, homeschools, stays at home, etc. She's one of my best friends now! Now, I'm trying to find a way to make it to my 15th college reunion.

Hello! My 4th grader sounds a lot like yours. My guy will read about 50 pages/day, depending on the book. So, he could probably read a 200 - 250 page book in 4 - 5 days. That's if it's assigned reading. If it's a book he's reading for fun, he'll finish it in a day!!

Ummm . . . it's mad at you for slamming the door. It doesn't matter that it hit you on the head. You need to apologize immediately!!! If that doesn't work, call a repairman. Or, replace the darn machine. Cold coffee is bad news . . .

I hope they have fun!!!! What a nice "date" night for you dh and dd!!

So, blue, yellow and pink are triplets? Wow!! I'm in awe of you!! Nice looking blog!

Oh man!! I'm just glad I'm not you tonight!!! LOL Please, post an update!!!

Is it in her basement? I ask because I worry that my allergic son would have issues should any carpet be in the house, let alone in a basement that we are new to. I just worry about mold and my ds! It would be SOOOO nice to have a nice soft flooring down there! (The rest of the house is hard wood.)

Do you remember the name of it? I'll look it up on line. My kids saw a commercial where two guys had rubber flooring and they bounced things back and forth. They asked me for this!! I thought they were kidding!! LOL

LOL! We do the same thing! Darn smart kids!! For the snack, I'd take chips, salsa and sour cream (and guacamole if you have any to spare!). I bet it'd be gone VERY fast!!!

Oh man. I'm so sorry your car is out of service! What a blessing that you have your parents nearby who can help you!! How is your sunburn tonight? And, where are you that you can get a sunburn? We're supposed to get 2 inches of snow tonight!!! I long for sunburn weather (but, I'd leave the broken-down car behind, thank-you-very-much!! LOL).

That's what we did in our previous home. I'm leaning toward doing it again. It was soft and comfy for the kids to play on and very durable! Thanks!!

My parents have cork in their basement. I'll have to ask them why they chose it. Have you seen it? What do you think? I'm just a bit worried because they say not to use cork on floors that may get wet. Our basement has been dry so far, but I'm just nervous it may not stay that way!!

All my boys hated drawing!! They never really did get into it. Now, my dd (2), seems to love it so far. She just turned 2 and all I have to do is hand her a pencil and she's happy!! "Look mommy, a circle!! A triangle!" So, yeah - I'm in the "some kids love it and some don't" camp.

Dh, the kids, and I just spend the day painting our basement. We move a few months ago and the basement was "finished." Um. . . well . . . not comfortably! It had panelling and a drop ceiling and a tile floor. We're getting glass block windows and an egress window put in later this week. So, we painted it an off-white today (ceiling and walls). It looks so much bigger already!!! Anyway, I need help picking a flooring. We use that area of the basement for the kids. Their toys are down there (in a closet), as is a tv/game system and two comfy couches. We want something that is warm and comfy and durable. We've considered a commercial grade carpet and that's about it. Is there something else out there that I just don't know about? Thanks!!

Wow. I'm really sorry that so many of you have to be so careful with your kids and colds. I am one of those who will take my kids if they have colds (not awful coughs or anything, but the sniffles, yes). But, I've seen it from both sides. My ds 7 had a really rough few years where anytime he came down with a cold, it would turn into pneumonia easily. I always saw it as my responsibility to keep him home and away from sickness. I mean, people are most contagious the day before they come down with the sickness anyway. So, even if I did take my kids to church when it seemed everyone was healthy, there could be someone there about to come down with something the next day. There were times when we didn't go to church, or even out of the house because of this. I just couldn't challenge his immune system in that way. I'm really not meaning to be snarky here. When I was staying home with him though, I never thought it anyone else's responsibility to keep their kids away from mine. Hence my thoughts on taking a child with a cold out of the house.

Up here in MI, I usually use Mother's Day as a cutoff. But, this year, who knows!!?? We're expecting another two inches of snow tonight. Ugh. But, I usually only plant flowers, so what do I know? LOL I'm hoping to put in some veggies this year though.

LOL Your life sounds like mine!!! My ds10 has been practicing for 6 weeks now. His tournaments don't start until late April (there's still snow on the ground here!). Everyone else starts practicing next week!! We also adjust our homeschooling schedule around baseball season! Finally, someone else who understands how important baseball is!! LOL So, which professional team do you root for? Go Tigers!!!

Awwww!!! Congratulations!!! Sounds like a big boy.

Okay - so does someone have a letter they've written in an instance like this that I could adapt for this situation? I feel the need to get involved in this, but don't want to spend the time reinventing the wheel if it's already been done! Thanks!!

ds11 - aerospace engineer ds10 - professional baseball player or a policeman ds7 - dog trainer dd2 - she says, "I'm going to be three." :lol: