Dad has an obstruction in his small bowel. They are saying he will need surgery if it does not resolve on its own. Poor dad. They were saying he might go home from the nursing home at the end of the week, but now he's back at the danged hospital.

His heart is ok (PRAISE GOD) but the are doing an xray on his stomach right now. That's all I know.

Mom just called, he is being transported from the nursing home to the hospital. All I know is he is not feeling well and the hospital is going to do a cardiac work up on him. Waiting for mom to call again to see if I should head up or not (they are an hour away). Please pray.

I realize this is off topic, but Jennifer, if your best friend lives in Southern michigan and is a homechurching ex-baptist, I likely know her, lol. You should pm me.

I'd just get on 75 there in Royal Oak, either the 12 Mile or 14 Mile entrances. That'd be easiest. (We're in Rochester Hills, dh works in Troy, and the stepkids live in Royal Oak. :seeya: )

Wow, that *is* a pricey diaper bag. I mean, it's gonna carry diapers; yanno, those things that babies poo in? :p Kristin, I think you and i need to figure out a way to set up a 'virtual' baby shower for you. :) Someone pm me if they can help me figure it out, ok?

Well, we're not as sick as you, but Moose and I both have nasty sinus colds. Blarg.

We don't do Christmas. Ah, and yet, we get our kids gifts in December. :confused1: I dunno. Ask dh. So, "officially", we don't celebrate Christmas. We don't have a tree, lights, or even stockings. But we do get our children gifts in December. However I was recently informed that we will NOT be giving them to the children on December 25th. :p Yeah. We're weird, LOL. Look, we don't want to celebrate Christmas. That's our personal conviction. We don't want to do Santa OR the "Happy Birthday Jesus" aspect of it. But we like to give our kids gifts, and this is the traditional time of the year to do that. So we do. It's been a process. Nine years ago when Zee was born, we did the whole shebang. Santa, loads of presents, etc. In the years since then, we've changed it bit by bit. Eventually, we'll quit altogether. But for this year, we are getting them 'December gifts'. HA! Yes, our family is different. :biggrinjester:

Add this to the looooooong list of reasons I don't have a pet. :D

I woke up yesterday with a bad sinus thing. But this morning at 5:45, Moose came to me with a stomach ache. He's vomited three times so far, and has a head ache and fever. Ahh, winter. Thou art cruel. I HATE IT when my little boys are sick. That is all.

I'm sorry, that must be a mess. But for some reason, I find it HILARIOUS. So thanks for the chuckle. :)

Found this one at JC Penney. This one from Sears is cute. There's actually a TON to pick from at Sears. Macy's has this cute one, among others as well.

These candy cane hearts are cute, original, and look fun and pretty easy to make.

Thing is, there ARE more people like that. I'm about to sound reeeeal grinchy, so be forewarned... Look, what the officer did was great. I mean it. But I dislike when something like this comes out and the person is practically sainted for it. I personally know 'everyday' people who have given the coat off their back to a homeless person. People who regularly spend their OWN grocery budget on food to pass out to the homeless, or go without new clothing so that they can buy blankets; things like that. I know lots of people who sacrifice on a regular basis in order to give to homeless, orphans, widows, etc. Again, what the guy did is great. I guess what I think is that it shouldn't be so remarkable, because that's what "we" should all be doing anyway, you know? I dunno. I'm really sick today. :p So maybe just ignore me...

Spot Shot is incredible. Really. Usually I clean up carpet stains with water, no biggie. About a year ago, Moose vomited on the carpet, and NOTHING could get it out. Bought a can of Spot Shot. Sprayed it on. That stuff's like magic. Really.

The only thing that makes me think of is a UTI, but you said two urinalysis tests were negative. Sounds frustrating. Hope you get some better advice. :grouphug:

Perhaps since both you and he know he has this issue, you could agree that for a time, after finishing a task you give him, he is to report back to you EXACTLY what he just did. For example, after coming back in from taking out the bag of trash, he should come to you and said 'Mom, I took out the bag of trash like you asked'. That gives you the opportunity to say 'Ok son; think back to what I told you. Did you do ALL of it?' Hopefully he will remember on his own what he missed; but if not, it gives you a chance to repeat the instructions so he can get it all right. Alternatively, after giving instructions, you could have your ds repeat back to you what he is going to do. Sometimes that helps. For now, the natural consequence for not doing the garbage correctly would be that he has to clean up any messes made with the garbage by critters, since it's going to be sitting outside for an extra week.

How funny, we use this recipe, too! I also add vanilla, and my boys love them with chocolate chips. I use the same base recipe for dh, but I add blueberries. The recipe also works for waffles. For toppings, dh loves when I make a simple blueberry syrup by boiling blueberries, water, and a bit of sugar for a while.

Greek yogurt has twice as much protein as regular yogurt. Could you add that to your smoothies?

COL is very low here in Michigan. But crime and unemployment are HIGH, so... yeah. I dunno. LOL.

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. - 1 John 3:20 Well AMEN FOR THAT is all I can say. My heart has been condemning me lately. I'm not 'enough'. Not a good enough child of God. Not a patient enough wife. Not a devoted enough mother. Not a good enough housekeeper. You get the idea. I'm a failure, a loser. Really, how could the Lord love me anyway? I'm a filthy wretch of failures. And yet. God is GREATER than my heart, and HE knoweth all things. Just thought maybe someone else needed to remember that, too. :)

I'm telling you, my family pretty much only wants to eat chicken. :p I'm so sick of cooking is what it is. I'm just out of inspiration.

I'm so stuck in a rut lately. Sigh. Dh doesn't care for beef much, and I don't know how to cook fish. I sometimes make bbq pork in the slow cooker, but (besides bacon, of course :p) that's the only pork we eat. So we eat chicken. A LOT. I end up just sticking it on a broiler pan, covered in EVOO, italian spices, salt and pepper, and then broiling it in the oven a lot of the time. I do sometimes make chicken parm, chicken and dumplings, chicken noodle soup, or homemade nuggets. I'm so sick of chicken. :thumbdown: So what do YOU make a lot? I've got sensory issues going on with dh and Moose, so I have to be careful with change. But good grief, I can't live off of the same four chicken dishes forever!

Well, my opinion might not be popular, but since you asked... I think people should fellowship regularly with other Christians in their area. The whole point of a Church body is to be involved in one another's lives. Being the Church isn't about just attending a service for an hour once a week. It's about living out the love of Christ daily with our brothers and sisters (among other things, of course). I'd encourage you to find other believers to fellowship with closer to your home if you can.

Me and and my dad.