I usually wear skirts in public, but not always. I have one pair of dress slacks and one pair of jeans that I would wear out of the house right now. I'm still on a long term weight loss journey, so I don't intend to buy any more pants at my current size. But even when I finally get to my goal size, I'll probably only bother to have one pair of jeans. I wear sweats/yoga pants/pj pants at home, but I *try* never to leave the house in them. :D I generally prefer the added modesty of wearing my skirts in public, but again, it's no hard and fast rule or anything. Dh prefers that I wear skirts out of the house, but he does like how I look in jeans. :blush: Which is why he prefers I wear skirts out of the house. :D

Well no, my nine year old wouldn't be reading any of them. But that's *my* family. Do the books get scarier as the series progresses? My advice is, you know your child best. Pre-read the books if you haven't already. You know your child, and you'll know if the material will bother him or not. If you decide 'no', be honest with him about why, and perhaps tell him that he'll be able to read them some time in the future, but not now. My $0.02.

One car we own outright, one we have a loan on. However, the loan is at 0% interest.

A dear friend's daughter was just diagnosed as allergic to wheat, eggs, and peanuts. They're coming over tomorrow and bringing Lebanese food. I'd like to make dessert. So, ideas?

Zee was diagnosed with Transient Tic Disorder when he was, oh, about 4. he seems to be outgrowing it now, and he's almost 10; he hasn't had a tic in a year or so. In all my reading, I've never found anything that is really supposed to help besides ignoring it/not drawing attention to it. Zee's had some super irritating tics. And he went through phases where he had multiple tics at the same time. There were days I was honestly doubting the pediatrician's assurances that he'd likely grow out of it. But even then, it was extremely rare for anyone who didn't live in our house to ever even notice one of his tics.

Well, after a few hours of phone calls, I've discovered that our insurance does cover the testing and therapy. A very helpful lady at the insurance company also told me that since I couldn't find a developmental optometrist in our area that's in network, that I could get a special expemption for them to reimburse us at the in-network rate. God is good. All this means that the dollar amount is significantly lower now than it was yesterday.

You're right, Elizabeth. If I can get dh to come to the exam, I think it will make a difference. I'll do my best to make that happen.

Moose was just diagnosed with convergence insufficiency. Basically, his eye muscles don't work like they should, and he needs vision therapy. (So glad to finally know what's going on, BTW.) The doctor explained that it is exhausting for him to focus on things "close up", like a book. I just realized that doing lessons between breakfast and lunch, instead of between lunch and dinner, will mean that his eyes are less tired, therefore it will all be easier for him. Earlier in the day equals less tired eyes. We've pretty much been doing lessons in the afternoon. Just how our day flowed. Simply switching lessons to the morning when his eyes are 'fresher' makes things easier. Well, duh. LOL. This will help a little bit at least until we can get him into VT. So what's you're "Well duh" moment lately?

Thanks for all the input so far. Dh and I haven't talked too much about it yet. He asked about the diagnosis and what the doctor recommended for treatment, but that's it so far. First I'm gonna fight like crazy to get insurance to cover it. We'll see. I have a link to the blind study that was done that proves in-office therapy combined with homework is the most effective way to treat this. I just need to get dh to actually read it and get on board. It's really the money and a difference in priorities regarding money between dh and I right now. It's a matter for prayer, for sure. Dh has expressed that his major concern is what if we pay all this money for this treatment and then ds is no better off. I get it. But I truly believe if dh educated himself on this topic that he'd feel more comfortable.

I've considered getting something for Moose to wear while he does lessons. He has SID/SPD, and he is sensory avoiding in regards to sounds. Loud sounds really frighten him, and he frequently plugs his ears when he's frustrated during a lesson. I thought maybe I'd start with one of those headband things that you wear to keep your ears warm. Couldn't hurt to try, right? ETA: I'm so with you on never sending him to school, LOL. I'm pretty sure Zee would be fine in regards to being able to get his work done. But Moose? No WAY. They'd already have him labeled ADD or ADHD and he'd have an IEP. All because he has a convergence insufficiency and SPD. I'm so glad we're able to bless him with homeschooling. He'd be such a miserable boy at a b&m school.

I firmly believe that being a healthy weight has much more bearing on your overall health than what you eat. Yes, seriously. (That being said, I am still working on getting down to a healthy weight, so less junk food for me. Sigh.)

The safest way is in the fridge. But that's not quick, LOL. The next safest way is in a cold water bath. The quickest way to do this is put the chicken in the sink, fill the sink with cold water to cover the chicken, then change the water every 1/2 hour. The only other way I thaw meat is in the microwave. I set the power to 20 percent, then run the microwave for however long it takes to thaw. This is the fastest method I will use, but I ONLY do it if I'm cooking the meat as soon as I pull it out of the microwave. I don't thaw meat on the counter. Regardless of stories you'll hear here, this is NOT safe.

Oh Faith. I'm so sorry about your dad. I don't know how I'm getting through it, honestly. I wish I had something more profound to say, but I'm not that deep, LOL. Some days I'm fine, other days I'm a freakin' mess. You just do it. Because you have to. Because you have no alternative. Just like all the hard things you've done in the past, and all the other hard things you'll do in the future. It's ok to be who you are. I'm emotional. My sister is not. And neither of those are right or wrong, they just *are*. Give yourself permission to feel what you feel. It is OK to think the worst. Really, I promise, it is. Because you're going to anyway, so don't beat yourself up. Cry when you need to. Plan when you need to. Fall apart when you need to. That's how you CAN move on, pick yourself up, and keep doing it. I totally get the guilt that comes with feeling sorry for *yourself* when "It's not you going through it". But truth is, it *is* you going through it. Life doesn't happen in a vacuum. This is your experience. It's no less valid than what your dad's experiencing. Call on your support system. Give others the blessing of helping you in whatever way you need help. Cry out to the Lord. He is here. Even when you feel so alone in this, He is with you. I find sometimes I feel very alone while coping with this. Like no one else could ever understand the pain that this is causing me. And you know what? No one does. No one has my mind, my experiences, my bond with my father that I do. But the Lord is my comfort always. Even when he takes my dad home with him someday, He will be my comfort. THIS is what I know. Most of all, love on your dad, however it is you do that. Use this time to say what needs to be said, do what needs to be done. Faith, I'm so sorry. Posting here on the Hive has been a tremendous support for me, perhaps you'll find it's one for you, too. So many ladies here have walked this path before. I have a new dear friend from the boards who lost her dad around the same time my dad had his heart attack. She's been a Godsend, truly. I'm always just a pm away. I will hold you up in prayer.

Thank you, Karen. I hadn't thought yet about how much strain this is going to put on him. I will definitely plan for "school lite" while we do the therapy. As it is, just the basics right now are all he can handle because of how exhausting it is for him. Did you do 12 sessions at one session a week, or did you spread the sessions out more? The 'perception exam' is apparently the 'second phase' exam that tells the therapist precisely where his strengths and weaknesses are so his therapy can be specifically tailored/targeted. The exam he had today was just a comprehensive eye exam (you know, the one with dilation) that helped pinpoint the 'area' he has issues with.

We just returned from the developmental optometrist. She diagnosed Moose with convergence insufficiency. I understand what this is/means, and it totally fits all his symptoms to a 'T'. My major concern is the price of the perceptual exam and the vision therapy. They want $350 for the perception exam, and then $105 per session of VT. She suspects he'd need about 32 sessions of therapy. The exam today was $140. Which means when all's said and done, we're looking at $3850 total over the next 9 months. This is going to be hard to convince my dh of. I'm not bashing, and I don't want to get into it. I'm just stating fact. *I* am totally on board with it, and think it will do a world of good. Doing school lessons with this child is EXHAUSTING; for both of us. I firmly believe that treating his convergence insufficiency will improve his quality of life. So, tell me what you know about vision therapy. I've read the studies, and know that convergence insufficiency has been PROVEN in blind studies to be clinically effective at treating it, and that in office therapy combined with at home follow up is the most effective way. Does anyone just do exercises at home and not do the office therapy? If so, where did you find the exercises to do? Does anyone go to therapy every other week instead of every week? I realize this would mean it would take ds a longer time to improve, but it might be a compromise dh could agree to. Would going every other week make the therapy less effective, or just take longer? So many questions.

It wouldn't be so much about *what* I ate as *how much* I ate. I'd eat more. Like, I'd stuff myself constantly. Yep, I'm a pig. LOL But losing weight for me is about not over eating, and I still miss that "I'm so full I"m gonna bust" feeling sometimes.

Oh! Congratulations! Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,The fruit of the womb is a reward.- Psalm 127:3

Moose told dh and I the other day that he believes the Lord is telling him to get baptized! Praise Jesus! He's our first child to ask to be baptized. (I realize there are varied feelings about baptizing children. I'm not trying to argue any of that. Really.) Rejoice with me, will you? God is so good and merciful.

So sad.

Kay, I am grateful to have had you in my life. Your words while my dad fought for his life in ICU will ever be in my heart. Know that you've touched many here. I don't know your spiritual situation, but I will be praying for you. Please let us know if there's anything we can do for you or your family.

I have a dear homeschool mom friend who shared this with our circle of friends at Mom's Night Out last night. None of us ladies had ever even heard of it before. I thought I'd share here in case it is of use to someone else. My friend just discovered the other day that her dd, middle elementary age, has Rectal Prolapse. I didn't hear the part of the story of *how* her daughter came to tell her about it. But the important part here is that her dd didn't think to mention it for a long time because she thought it was NORMAL. She thought *everyone's* body did that. And then my friends teenage son said he had it, too. My poor friend. She is obviously very concerned about her two kids. And yes, she is getting them medical attention. The reason this really struck me is because this particular friend is VERY open with her children. They talk about e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. She really is phenomenal when it comes to her communication with her children. So it wasn't that they were embarrassed to come to her, or thought she wouldn't care, or anything else. They didn't think it was worth mentioning because they thought it was normal. Well one of my boys has had on again off again issues with moderate constipation. So you better believe I asked him about it this morning. Should've seen the look on his face when I asked him about it. Nevermind him: my dh was all "WHY in the WORLD are you asking him that?!" But honestly, I was concerned. Thankfully he has no issues. Anyway, something to consider talking to your kids about.

I'm so sorry, Rhonda. :grouphug:

Gotcha. :D Don't worry about me, ladies. I'm not all "OH! My long lost Mommy, at last now in my life!" LOL I'm more, meh. (And if she thinks she can hit my dad up for money, she's got another thing comin', lol.)

Ah, we shall see. I'm just kinda stunned right now.

I friended her. Then made her prove it was really her. Then I told her she had already started off on the wrong foot with me because she made some comment like "your dad took you away from me". Now is not the time for anyone to talk bad to me about my dad. Especially her.