I have no idea about this. There was a blackout? On the east coast? :confused: I think maybe we were camping in Maine for two weeks. I wonder if our power was out. Huh. Who knew?

I have... Gee, I don't even know... 2 super compression jog ones 5 regular sport ones 3 t-shirt ones (so regular jersey, underwire) 3 or 4 lined "convertible" ones 2 strapless. So, 15? And then there are the ones that are pretty, but not very functional (like if you lean over, your b00k falls out the top). I don't wear those, they just lurk in the bottom of my dainties basket.

Yup. 12 years for us, together for 15... Crazy. It's like when I hear myself saying I "only have 4" children.

The kennel where we're boarding our dog this weekend asks that owners do this as well. Why on earth would I want my dog to spend a weekend in a strange place, no couch or bed to sleep on, AND an icky tummy? And when she stayed with my in-laws in the past? Yup, we brought her food then, too. Because that's what you do when your dog stays with someone while you're away. And our dog eats kibble, not labor-intensive home cooking (which I am not slamming, but I wouldn't expect someone else to cook for my dog).

I can't think of any cons, either. My husband and I have access to each other's calendars, but keep separate ones so we're not reminded of eah other's stuff -i.e. I do not need a text reminder an hour before he's due at work, and vice versa. It syncs with iCal on my phone just fine, though my phone takes things I have a text reminder for and converts the reminder to its default: 15 minutes. That works for me because I get a text message an hour before I need to get to work, and a 15 minute warning, which prompts me to leave if I haven't already. I use the GooCal app to view other calendars and my native calendar to look at just mine, just to streamline. I can't say I find the "other accounts" thing troubling at all. Picasa, blogger and the like are all Google widgets. It's not like they're sharing my information with another company and creating an account; they are all just tools I can use under my Google account if I want to. There are NO ads in my gmail or calendar screens.

Me, too. I have regular "subscribe and save" shipments of GF Mama's Almond Blend, Pamela's (4# bags), Garden of Eatin' tortilla chips, stevia drops, face wash, and dishwasher detergent. We've gotten past the eating things faster problem. Now, I find myself delaying shipments occasionally.

You are so amazing. I think of you often, and pray for peace and healing for your family. :grouphug:

I don't use mine, except to see team pictures from our lacrosse games (posted to the team FB page by the coach's wife). It's absurd, really, because we take thousands of pictures (literally) every time they play. I really should just delete. I don't use it for the same reasons mentioned: I don't care to know what you've eaten for breakfast and/or the gps location of your bowl. I don't care to be invited, along with 800 other friends, to every in-person and virtual sale party you and everyone else you've ever met have. I really don't have space in my life for passive-aggressive, whether it is: -- barely veiled complaints about "some people", -- how awesome your husband/child/friend/whoever is (and, by implied comparison, the rest of the world is not), -- how you don't complain (except please express sympathy for this train wreck du jour), or -- any other thing you're saying but not saying Nor do I have space for your 16,000 computer game performance updates, the article that 3,000,000 other people have also shared, or your religious/political rants and forwards (even if I actually agree) In a nutshell, I have grown weary of the cultural narcissism. I think my husband and kids (and friends) are pretty awesome. I tell them. To their faces. Often. Sometimes, I even just randomly text my husband while he's at work, to tell him I love him. Because I do. Sometimes, I text him at work to point out that he left an inconvenient mess or forgot something or whatever. Because he did. I don't think anyone else needs to be a part of any of those exchanges. It's creepy that such earth-shattering things like "where the he!! did you hide the can opener?" or "love you, honey! " , along with its response, could be "liked" by hundreds of people. I talk politics/religion/life with my friends. Sometimes it's quite passionate, but it's always civil, and nobody drops a convenient blurb that supports/justifies their position and then disappears without bothering to engage commentary. If I read something I think will be interesting to friends, I may share it in Google Reader or just email the link. My friends do the same. No need to share with hundreds when two friends share a similar interest, kwim? And there you have it. Way too many words to express my for Facebook.

My 7 y.o.s unload the dishwasher, sweep, vacuum, clean toilets and sinks, tidy, do yard work, gather and sort laundry*, put their laundry away, make their own snacks and sometimes lunch, feed/water the dog, unload the dishwasher... Unless it takes a power tool, is physically not feasible due to size (e.g. taking out the trash, reaching the clothesline), or extremely complex, they can do it. If you get two of them, you can give them a yard waste bag and a snow shovel to bag up the raking, then sit on the porch and have a beer while the neighbors come over and compliment you on their work ethic. :D *I am one of the picky laundry people KrissiK mentioned. I like to see everything as it goes in so I can address any stains, and I iron pretty much everything, which is why they don't do the laundry or fold it. I am getting over my clothesline obsessiveness and letting my 11 yo hang stuff... ok, really, I just keep from going out back so it doesn't make me crazy. Baby steps. ;)

Per the late Jeff Smith (aka The Frugal Gourmet): "hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick" Stainless gets heated before you put the oil in. It does work better that way, though it doesn't release as well as non-stick (which is why non-stick is so popular, right?). A good, well seasoned, cast iron skillet works better for the items you mentioned, too. Those are the difficult ones.

Adding mine as well. I simply cannot even begin to imagine how devastating this is for you. My heart is just breaking for you. :grouphug: Much love to all of you.

Yup. It's easy. You sign up to sell on Marketplace, add your books in by ISBN, make a description, and you're off. They add the $3.99 shipping, which has always worked out to a profit or break-even with packing materials, even with shipping first class. I can't remember if they send you a check or make a credit to your card or keep it in your Amazon account, though. It's been a while.

I was thinking the same. I remember catching my oldest doing something in my mother's kitchen as I walked up the stairs on the other side of the wall from her. I could see her reflected in the French doors. :lol: I'm fairly certain she has come to the conclusion the I cannot see all things by now (she's 23), but she certainly thought I could for a while. In my view, that's "external conscience" before they grow an internal one. I'm not so sure about the camera thing, though. I didn't disabuse her of an assumption she made about my motherly abilities... Sort of along the same lines as telling them mothers always know when they're lying, but not tipping them off about their "tell". I'm not sure that's the same as telling the kids we have cameras all over the house, though.

Gorgeous! Now, will you be filling in color, or staying black and white? I think the B&W is beautiful, just curious.

I agree. I don't care for sports or games in general (though I played lacrosse and golf in high school). I don't watch sporting events and very rarely play games. All three of my youngers play lacrosse. They have learned and benefitted from all the things Joanne listed, plus my gifted-but-easily-frustrated 11 yo has learned to push past her comfort zone to do better than she thinks she can do, for the good of the group. They are also learning resource management: they need to know, in fast real time, where their resources are on the field, where the obstacles are, and how to remove those obstacles and maximize the resources to move the ball to the goal. They also play chess with friends weekly throughout the school year, which helps with visualizing strategy, but at a much slower pace. Because they are interested and engaged, they are constantly reading and watching videos about the game - how to improve stick skills, defense, etc - and then practicing what they've discovered. That easily translates to a general mindset of looking for ways to improve and practicing habits. There is the pride in personal accomplishment/improvement, and joy in just getting out there and doing something challenging, too.

I think the current concept of "me time" is dumb. It used to drive me crazy to be told I needed to schedule activities "just for me" so I could have "me time" when I had four children, including twins who still nursed round the clock. Putting something on my schedule I had to leave the house for, let alone be "on for, like socializing, made me want to weep. This kind of "me time" is what I found in the early mornings when the boys were young (and it continues to the present). I have quiet coffee, move laundry along, maybe read a bit, and just generally prepare for the day, uninterrupted. By the time I get to bed, I'm in long-stare mode. During the day, there are so many things that need to be done that I'm mostly racing the clock. We do have quiet time after lunch, the relax and reset a bit, but I can't imagine going for recreation time on my own and being able to relax, knowing all the stuff that screams at me all day - the clutter, the to-do list - will be there, still screaming, when I return with fewer hours and less energy to throw into them. Yuck.

We're full steam ahead here, though we do light schedule some weeks due to other activities (lax tournaments, week-long clinics, etc). We do that year-round, though, as things come up.

Go, MamaT, go!

Do not feed the crazy, Jennifer!

That's because, as mentioned, it is already Christmas in retail. :ack2: Phooey, I say! We have not even broken out the AC yet (though it's been like living on the face of the sun here, lately). I'm certainly not ready to go to the mental place of long nights, toasty fires, and warm goodies. No way!

I ponder the same thing. American History is part of world history. I don't really want to take a year out to do that. I wouldn't mind supplementing and extending our history year to include more detail... Not sure how to go about that, though. So, while not being helpful at all, I can relate. Eta: oh good. Mom in High Heels nailed my leanings while I was posting. Excellent. I was starting to think no one did that. Whew.

I'm no expert, but no, you want to replace the whole thing. If you hang a new door in the old frame, it would be a nightmare to get it aligned and sealed properly. New doors are made specifically to seal into their own frames. Meanwhile, maybe a curtain would help? I know how you feel, though. The upper third of our door (not prehung and very drafty, but probably 150 years old) is glass. I really should - after 13 years - put a curtain up there.

I'd say that, too, but my eldest daughter, when she was 15, made the brilliant mistake of vacuuming down the stairs... The boys now sweep the stairs. It's safer for everyone involved if my beloved Dyson doesn't come tumbling down the stairs toward my beloved children again. They do vacuum downstairs, though. It only crimped the hose, by the way, and a few years later we just ordered a new hose and snapped it in place. The teenager dodged it completely and then pointed out that it wouldn't have happened if I didn't make her vacuum. At her dad's house, she helped all the time, but they told her how unfair it was that she was expected to help out here... :glare:

Not in my experience. I can't tell you how many parents (moms and dads) express shock when the boys carry their own gear (sticks, pads, helmets) off the practice field, while I'm carrying my bag, chair, etc. I get the incredulous "they DO that??" fairly often. Sometimes from a parent carrying all the gear, plus two kids' backpacks, a chair and a diaper bag while the two olders circles around him (literally) and the younger keeps stopping dead because she wants to be picked up. And I'm like :001_huh: because, dude, your kid just ran up and down a field for two hours, wearing/carrying some of that very stuff, and is STILL running. I'm sure he could probably carry it to the car. And I know these are the same parents who ask nothing of their children in the house because they complain about being up til all hours, cleaning up the debris.

1. Yes, of course I do. I will go even farther and tell you I will send one of the boys to fetch the vacuum while the other one finishes up picking stuff up off the floor (which they would both be working on until that point), and then he vacuums. And my 11 yo takes laundry off the line. They all sweep, vacuum, empty the dishwasher, feed/water the dog, stack/bring in firewood, help wash the cars, weed, rake, make/change beds, gather and sort laundry, clean the toilets (they fight over who "gets" to do that)... The only reason they don't load the dishwasher, or put in laundry, hang it or fold it is because I'm somethig of a control freak in these areas. I've never considered asking them to do tasks around the house cruel or unusual. I don't think they think it is, either, though they may gripe about any of the above if they have something else to do in mind.