Uck. I've had that happen. My favorite was when I started receiving collection notices and calls for a returned payment (not returned, rejected because my checkbook was stolen, along with its register, so I marked the block of checks stolen, but mis-blocked because the books were out of order in my box...) that I paid FIVE years prior. I had a zero balance AFTER the daycare wrote me a check because I withdrew my daughter while having a credit with them. But, apparently, that memo died somewhere at KinderCare Corporate (from whence the refund sprung) and they sent it to collections. If we hadn't moved away prior, I would have absolutely found another place. I'm not interested in paying a business AND doing their accounting for them. :glare:

:iagree: I also agree with the view expressed by many others that it does the kids a disservice to allow them to think all the grunt work of daily life completes us. If nothing else, they may have a rude awakening when they don't find personal fulfillment in cleaning the toilet. Yes, I find fulfillment in supporting the workings of our family. The actual act of scrubbing the toilet? Not so much. I would prefer they grow up finding satisfaction in contributing, not only doing things that bring them personal joy/entertainment/what-have-you.

I've always found it interesting here that threads on a given topic will either be swept off with the tide or have 42 pages in a day. I think the difference is whether the first replies answer a specific question in the OP or start a brawl. It could very well be that those who reply in ways that start brawls aren't so much "in-crowders" as skilled in un/intentionally p!ssing people off. I mean, really, some of the most epic battles here have not been on controversial or political topics, but on shoes, shopping carts and crock pots.

We don't wear shoes in the house, and we take them off when entering friends' houses. I don't care if you wear your shoes over to visit, though. I think my guests can be in charge of their own clothing. I, too, am thankful that there's TP at all, but "under"? You are dead to me.

Not a cami source, but I love haramaki for bridging that gap (literally), especially in winter. For something lightweight to add under a T-shirt, you could probably make some really easily. They're just tubes of material with some stretch.

:001_wub: aw, shucks.

I don't consider myself to be with the "in crowd" (I'm more the IT crowd sort of girl irl, too), but I don't find it chilly here. Yes, I've killed my share of threads. Yes, I've had people express the same thoughts I had earlier in a thread, and be replied to... (wow. There's some awkward grammar for the day) I guess I don't take it terribly personally? Maybe I'm actually here for the purpose of fluffy time wasting, so I don't feel as if unacknowledged posts are a waste of effort? I'm certainly guilty of not posting my thoughts or support on every thread I read. I can't tell you how often I think of many of you, and the ups and downs you've each shared in your lives, in the course of my day. This is my "larger tribe" and I care about the happiness and struggles of everyone here, even the people I wouldn't be friends with irl. ;)

WHO IS HOLDING OUT ON US?!?!?! Somebody actually has their very own man-in-a-kilt? shaaaaaaaaaaame on you for holding out on the Hive.

oh, ack! Weekly commitments! I have come to resent anything on my calendar, but the standing weekly things? Ugh. I'm fine doing things on our own, but weekly things almost always involve some kind of parental social interaction.

Also gorgeous! Seriously, that is one cute baby boy!

This is me, too. I think the drawback specific to homeschooling is that I need to recharge in quiet after being "on" for several hours, engaged with anyone. That makes it difficult to finish schoolwork on days when the kids want to drag their feet, feign ignorance or just plain fool around. I think my tending toward extroversion (on the same scale as I tend toward introversion) friends would probably say they're on the go to social activities so much that they have trouble sitting down to do schoolwork.

We're done having babies, and I've never had a questionable PAP, so I just have my regular doc (internal medicine or family practice) do it. I don't go to any doctor all that much (annually would be shocking for me), so it's unlikely I would make two separate well appointments.

SQUEEE!!! Gorgeous!!

We had the same with my 11yo when she was six and completely into those horribly insipid fairy books - no objectionable content, just crap. We let it go for a while, then told her she would be done with that and move on after the next book (or series, I can't remember) was done. It was fairly easy to redirect her to more challenging, fuller reading material. She mowed through Spiderwick, A Series of Unfortunate Events and into Harry Potter that summer, while we were still reading meatier things aloud.

No kidding! Imp, the cord is NOT on your finger! Stop looking there long enough to find the cord!! I love when these things fall into place.

I just use the heavy weight line from Lowe's. I think it's rated for 60lbs. Rather than fiddle with permanent lines that all sag, I think, with use, I use boat cleats. One is affixed to the back fence, the other to the back of the garage. I tie off the rope at either end and, of it needs to be adjusted, I just unwind it from one of the cleats and re-wind it on, tighter.

:rofl:

They pile up in a hamper, then I wash them all, usually every fourth day. I have at least a week's worth, since that's what I wear to work, but my husband is a runner and comes home with running clothes that have been lurking in his bag since he ran before work 24+ hours before. :ack2: So, those, and any that he, the 11yo or I have worn in the past few days go directly into the washer when that stinky mess comes home. (the bag of clothes, not the husband) Oddly, I did Pilates, Zumba and lifted this morning, and my clothes don't smell like anything at all. They were plenty soggy, too. Weird.

Ugh! I HATE when people drag their feet and cause others to miss out on things like that! it.drives.me.nuts! Go get 'em, cowgirl!

We do a mixed greens salad with candied pecans, fresh or dried fruit (fresh berries, dried cranberries, etc), crumbled blue cheese or feta, and a raspberry vinaigrette. My kids (who eat salad all the time) and visiting kids (who often don't) love it. It would be very easy to toss the indredients together from your cooler and camping pantry.

Yup. It has more to do with your personal skin resilience than how much weight you lose. I don't have super-elastic skin that clings over my muscles. The odds of me having a visible six-pack are slim under ideal circumstances and, after 4 children, including a set of full term, full weight twins incubated on a 5' frame, more unlikely due to the "extra yardage" of skin on my abdomen. I can say, though, that it's better now (they're 7 1/2) than it was when they were infants. Then, I looked an awful lot like the mod-way pictures between extreme weight loss and plastic surgery: lots of crepey, drapy skin on my arms, legs and trunk. It's doubtful it will ever completely reset to regular skin proportions, though. I honestly can't decide if plastic surgery is in my future or not. That's a whole other mind-war thread, though.

We've replaced some, where we've opened walls/ceilings. I'm not worried about replacing it in its entirety, though. Our electrician replaced his over about 15 years, one room at a time. He removed the plaster and put in drywall. I didn't get the impression he did it specifically to replace the wiring, just because he was rehabbing the walls/insulating/adding new outlets, etc.

Yup. Quinn is often called Quinten. Really? Five letters, one syllable. Quinn. Not difficult. I'm almost always "Andrea" and wear a name tag with Angela in bold print at work. Sometimes, I'm "Michelle". :confused: Funny, my 11yo has an Alexa on her team who is always called Alexis. I call the children and the dog by the wrong name all the time. We've had to go to the "I'm looking at you, so I'm talking to you, whatever your name is!" place more than once.

:iagree: Or, you could get a new loop strip at Joann and just stitch it on adjecent to the original loops (ie, now you will have 6 sets of loops instead of 3).

No such thing as too early to love books! And, I'm sorry... Crawling?!?! Wasn't he born, like, yesterday? :D