Oh Heather. Gulping back tears, both of grief and of joy. May she rest in His arms and may He wrap Jason in peace and comfort.

What if your "family" doesn't eat "plants" or anything remotely "resembling" "plants"? :glare:

:lurk5:

Leave the door of the washer open whenever it is not in use. The seal on the front-loaders is so watertight that the machine will remain damp inside with the door closed --> STINK! Pull the rubber gasket around the door hole back and wipe inside there with a Clorox wipe every so often. And finally - use powdered detergent. When I used Tide He liquid, our towels, and only the towels, had a funky smell. Switched back to powder and no smell whatsoever. Just fresh n clean.

My husband had a wake-up call just over a year ago. He was having heart palpitations and his cholesterol was high. He also has high cholesterol and an aggressive form of prostate cancer running in his genes. He is a ticking time bomb. His diet was (and still is) worse than your dh, and my husband never exercises! I feel like I'm just waiting for widowhood. The dr said something similar - you look fine on the outside, but on the inside you are in awful shape. DH has stopped the heart palpitations by cutting way back on caffeine. He takes Crestor for his cholesterol, and has finally found prescription relief for serious reflux issues. But his diet remains what I'd expect of a 19 year old college dorm resident. He eats lunch out every day and considers it noteworthy that he chose Subway over Wendy's. He eats meat and fried crap; no vegetable other than french fries passes his lips, and fruit is out of the question. A salad means iceberg lettuce, a heap of croutons, and creamy blue cheese dressing. What I've learned is that I have to take this one tidbit at a time. It was a BIG deal to switch to diet soda. Then a big deal to cut down on the amount. He lets me put some small pieces of chopped tomato in his salad. He has very gradually decreased the fast-food intake. But nagging him achieves nothing; he becomes defensive. Go slowly. Talk to him (with tears if necessary) about your concern for his very life. Then see if you can help him tackle one thing. One small thing at a time. It goes better (for us) if I say "what change do you want to make and what could I do that would help?"

Rubbing alcohol will probably clean out your dryer. It removes ballpoint ink well. Try it on the clothing, too - I don't know if the heat set the stain but fresh ballpoint ink comes out of clothing with rubbing alcohol (or hairspray that contains alcohol).

We did TOG Year 1 as written (Egypt, then go back in time for Creation/Patriarchs) and intend to follow that structure next time through. It took a brief explanation (this week we'll go back in time and you'll learn why the Egyptian culture we just studied was so foreign to the children of Israel...) to my then-6 and 9 year old, and there were no problems. I think the Somervilles' purpose in doing Egypt first really highlights the "homelessness" of the Israelites and God's purposes in doing so - and in leading them home.

Carli, we do TOG with SOTW as our history spine. I rely heavily on SOTW and supplement with reading recommendations from TOG LG, some UG, and from SOTW Activity Guide. I have a 7y/o and a 10y/o. 7 y/o reads LG. 10 y/o reads some LG, some UG. Time spent: I read SOTW aloud to the kids and use the discussion questions in the Activity Guide. We do SOTW weekly - might take us 2-3 separate occasions of maybe 20 mins each to do the reading and discussion. Other reading is chosen at a level the kids can read independently or nearly so; a de-briefing after they read makes it pretty clear if they got it or not. Your 9y/o is your oldest, right? Why are you doing UG? You're exhausting yourself and them by doing the reading that is intended for ages 10 and up! I would strongly suggest pulling your reading materials from LG only for a couple weeks and see how that goes. :001_smile:

If Tom Brokaw had actually moderated the debate, he would have shut them up for the bickering and repeating and reminded them to answer the question! I had to stop watching for a while (it's on the dvr) because I was so sick of them both saying "well he voted 637 times to screw America" then the other one comes back saying "well he voted 638 times to screw America so I'm obviously the better choice."

Camy - I am right there with ya. Obama has the gift of speaking, and little else. McCain has character and heroic experience and little else. I'm a far-right conservative and I am really, really disappointed in my party's nominee. His plan to buy out mortgages left me absolutely gobsmacked. I'll vote McCain as a vote against Obama, and about the only thing remaining in the "pro" column for McCain is that I want someone more conservative than Obama appointing judges.

Obviously we can't know the gory details of his work as a community organizer, but the fruits of his labors are much less than impressive: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/ http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/obama_and_south_chicago_slum_d.html

What kind of pen/ink?

I didn't like it either, which is why I asked y'all to talk me off the ledge! :001_smile: Tara, you are absolutely right. I do care more about Kalli being there than about my own planning. Far more. I've known her for 5 years now. I love this sweet little girl. I want her to enjoy the whole ceremony and I want to shower her with the attention and praise she deserves for her hard work so far. The ceremony is all about the girls. I am admittedly biased against her mother, and you can't possibly know all the backstory. All I can say is, there's a distinct pattern that is evident, and it's not beneficial to the girl OR the troop. As a parent in this particular situation, I would have told my daughter, there are two important events Thursday, and we need to decide which one we will attend. I don't have kids in soccer so I don't know the nuances, but I can't imagine that bolting out of a tournament and not being with your team and coach after the game earns a player the respect of her teammates. I also think coming to a ceremony 20-30 minutes late is rude and disrespectful to all those attending, and to the meaning/intent of the ceremony itself. That is just my opinion, nobody has to agree with me, and I do appreciate the opinions everyone has shared!

That is a sad situation. :( It can indeed be helped. A troop that builds a close-knit group of friends that lasts over several years is the result of leaders and parents who are working hard to keep it that way.

That is so cool. I'm a bit starstruck!

We drive through there yearly on our way to visit family down in the LA area, with a mandatory stop at Schat's for bread and sandwiches. And cookies. And sweets. :) Ever see Jill Kinmont? Her story was an enormous inspiration to me, and every time we go through Bishop I look for her.

Ooops - sorry - that's not my blog! :) I linked you to her because she (BooMama) has done posts on finding your voice, but I'm not her. I blogged for a while and never did really find a good groove, because I didn't answer those questions before I started. Looking back, blogging without an audience/voice/subject in mind is kinda like sitting down saying "I'm going to write a book!" without a storyline in mind. Take your time, THEN start.

http://boomama.net/2008/06/24/finding-your-bloggy-identity/

Japanese restaurants carry Wii's? Who knew?! :D Sorry. Those chicks are darling! No clue what a guinea or a keet or a frizzle is, but if that's what they look like, I'm sold!

You go, Mom. I'll see your 3 buckets (wait, how big is 88 quarts?) and raise you a trashbag full. Well, almost. I just told the darlings that if they didn't clean up the Legos, I would, and my cleanup would involve a trash bag and a toss into the big green bin at the side of the house. WHere do you live, Robin? I see the majestic east Sierra Nevada's daily, too. (We're in Sparks, NV.)

RM, I agree, and honestly I'm not sweating this particular thing. I'm off the ledge. This mom did sign up for soccer and Brownies not knowing that these two events would overlap - but fully aware that regular soccer practices and regular Brownie meetings overlapped. That's where the hair on fire part comes in. :001_smile:

My turn. Although I confess I am not good enough with details to remember which details go with which one of you. Please excuse my feeble brain. That said, I'll try a round: Joanne is writing a book based on her years of parenting advice, is a strong advocate of positive parenting, and when I "knew" her back on the AOL boards I always pictured her as a petite brunette. Snickelfritz's screen name always makes me smile because my darling grandfather called me "snickelbritches" which is vaguely close. Melissa in CA taught her kids the Pledge of Allegiance just so's they'd not look bad in front of other kids, and I'm not sure but I think she only has one ear. Oh, wait. She's not Van Gogh. LisaNY's jumping sheep avatar always cracks me up. And I want to be like Kathleen in VA when I grow up.

Hey. Keep your consumption to yourself. ;) Yes, I'm Jill, married to Jeff (NOT Jack), and I do like coffee but it has to be my blend of Folger's decaf and Folger's Black Silk, topped off with a hearty slog of Coffee Mate French Vanilla.

Less uptight, you mean? Less restrictive? lower expectations? I'm having a hard time not feeling like Jedi's whole comment was a slam.