In our family we all share. If ds-14 asks to go across the street to the 7-11 and buy some chips, etc., he always picks up a treat for his brother and sister, too. It would not even occur to him to buy something just for himself and bring it home. If he is at the mall with his friends and gets himself a coffee at Starbucks then he doesn't get things for his siblings but that is because the coffee will be gone before he even gets home. But to buy food, store it somewhere in the home, and refuse to share with others? That just wouldn't happen here. It wasn't that way when I was growing up either and I have honestly never heard of that before.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor Quiet by Susan Cain Insurgent by Veronica Roth Gods and Kings series by Lynn Austin (all 5 books, by far my favorites of the year) The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain

What are they requiring?

Thanks ladies!!!

Well, I went non-traditional and my bridesmaids walked down the aisle to "One in a Million You" by Larry Graham. My dh had a horrific failed first marriage and my fiance had struggled with bi-polar disorder his whole life and ended up committing suicide leaving me bereft. So to say we were both pretty broken people when we met is an understatement. To this day we both feel like meeting each other was a one in a million chance to be happy again after all we had been through. 17 years, 3 children, and 2 countries later... I still can't believe how fortunate we are. One in a million. Before the bridesmaids, our parents walked down the aisle to "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof. At the hall our first dance was to "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge.

but you know who it is...should you thank them? One of my staff members left flowers for me in my office today just to encourage me (my staff is awesome like that). The card was not signed but I know the handwriting (it is very distinct). Should I thank her? Or does that ruin the whole thing? It feels weird NOT to thank someone for a gift but if they sent it anonymously then is it poor etiquette to thank them?

Thank you! Interestingly, when we moved here just four years ago, you couldn't find a Christmas tree here to buy at all. Now just four years later there are stores that sell Christmas trees and ornaments (but no white lights... only red!). Penang is becoming quite commercialized.

Yeah, you're weird. Just kidding... Yes it's like a soap opera if by soap opera you mean "beautiful scenery, stunning costumes, British accents, lovely theme music, and one hilarious old lady"!! Can I change your mind? No one delivers lines like this better than the Dowager Countess! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVMtffzbAwk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

My THREE nieces were born at 27 weeks. They are now happy, healthy 8yo girls. Modern medicine is miraculous!

Amen. I had such bad HG with my first child that I purposely never got pregnant again... Hence the adoptions of #2 and #3. The HG traumatized me. Truly.

Four years ago we shipped our brand new, pre-lit Christmas tree to Malaysia when we moved here. It didn't work with the electrical system here so we had to have a a special transformer made to accommodate it. This year we put it up and half the lights stopped working! The entire mid-section of the tree is dark. So I went to 5 different places looking for white lights to fill the mid-section and I could not find ANY. AT.ALL. I was so upset and frustrated. But a local guy that works in our maintenance department knew of this obscure place downtown that sold them so I finally got some and finally got our tree decorated yesterday. All that to say, this tree was hard-earned!

This week... Started Reading: Stuff Christians Like Still reading: Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose Completed: 42. Gone Girl 41. Matched 40. Days of Blood and Starlight 39. Daughter of Smoke and Bone 38. The Hole in our Holiness 37. Romeo and Juliet 36. The Night Circus 35. Alone With God 34. What Angel's Fear: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery 33. The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 32. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy 31. Frankenstein 30. The Lotus and the Cross 29. Desiring God 28. Blood Feud: The Hatfields and the McCoys 27. Among the Gods 26. The Deadliest Monster 25. Faith of My Fathers 24. A Good American 23. They Say/I Say:The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing 22. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking 21. Insurgent 20. Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints 19. The Strength of His Hands 18. The Meaning of Marriage 17. Funny in Farsi 16. The Constantine Codex 15. What the Dog Saw 14. What is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission 13. Gods and Kings 12. A Skeleton in God's Closet 11. My Hands Came Away Red 10. The Omnivore's Dilemma 9. Dead Heat 8. Redeeming Love 7. Family Driven Faith: What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God 6. Organized Simplicity 5. Year of Wonders 4. The Holiness of God 3. The Paris Wife 2. The Peach Keeper 1. Relic

Heck no. I can barely handle our new peanut-free existence.

This explains me too. I was raised Christian and I am still a Christian. But as far as church, I have attended many different churches and I am of a different denomination now, too. I was raised pentecostal but I am now reformed baptist.

I've never done an Elf thing and never heard of it until I read a funny blogpost last year about the elf on "People I Want to Punch in the Throat" and I laughed so hard I nearly choked. I'm not a good enough mom to keep up with such a high-maintenance tradition but I don't have a problem with those that do.

Can we change our name but keep our post count? I lived in NC for exactly one year of my whole life but it happened to be the year they switched the board to the old new format and I had to stick with a name. So stupid me picked Heather in NC. Then I moved 6 months later. Ugh. But I won't change it because I don't want to be a newbie again. Silly, I know. But I will change it if I can keep my post count.

We are a 12 hour time zone difference so jet lag is really tough. Either direction, it takes us all about 3-4 days to recover. No matter what tricks we try it takes 3-4 days.

We did a 27 hour plane ride with a 2.5 yo this last summer... Twice. What saved us: -her car seat -snacks -an iPad loaded with fun apps and episodes of Blues Clues -Benadryl

Well, let's see. I get up at 6:30am, off to work at 7:45am. Home from work by 5:30pm. Dinner, homework with the kiddos, spend time with the princess, do misc. other things that need to be done, get everyone off to bed... usually I am in my bed with a book by about 9:30pm and I go to sleep around 11pm. So I guess only 1.5 hours right before bed.

My favorites that I read in 2012: Days of Blood and Starlight Daughter of Smoke and Bone The Hole in our Holiness The Night Circus Among the Gods Faith of My Fathers A Good American Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Insurgent The Strength of His Hands Gods and Kings The Omnivore's Dilemma Redeeming Love Family Driven Faith: What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God The Paris Wife The Peach Keeper

This week... Started Reading: Gone Girl Still reading: Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose Completed: 41. Matched 40. Days of Blood and Starlight 39. Daughter of Smoke and Bone 38. The Hole in our Holiness 37. Romeo and Juliet 36. The Night Circus 35. Alone With God 34. What Angel's Fear: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery 33. The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 32. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy 31. Frankenstein 30. The Lotus and the Cross 29. Desiring God 28. Blood Feud: The Hatfields and the McCoys 27. Among the Gods 26. The Deadliest Monster 25. Faith of My Fathers 24. A Good American 23. They Say/I Say:The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing 22. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking 21. Insurgent 20. Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints 19. The Strength of His Hands 18. The Meaning of Marriage 17. Funny in Farsi 16. The Constantine Codex 15. What the Dog Saw 14. What is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission 13. Gods and Kings 12. A Skeleton in God's Closet 11. My Hands Came Away Red 10. The Omnivore's Dilemma 9. Dead Heat 8. Redeeming Love 7. Family Driven Faith: What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God 6. Organized Simplicity 5. Year of Wonders 4. The Holiness of God 3. The Paris Wife 2. The Peach Keeper 1. Relic

That's quite a leap. I never said I don't like all dogs. In fact, growing up we had a few dogs which I loved and they were part of our family until they died. And it was hardly a matter of if "anything" goes wrong.... I put up with TEN YEARS of my dogs destroying my home before one of them actually bit my ds when he was a baby. Even then, I didn't have the dog put down but found a family willing to take them both (they had always been together and I didn't want to separate them). I had PLENTY of reason to get rid of them sooner but I didn't because I knew I had an obligation to them even though every single one of my friends and family members said we should get rid of them for how awful they were. So it has nothing to do with not liking all dogs or getting rid of them at the drop of a hat. The fact that I even posted this question shows that I am taking this decision seriously and not running out and buying a puppy on a whim.

Double post

Thank you so much for responding. It is giving me a lot to think on. It is major commitment. I understand that which is why I am so hesitant to do this. It is my 8yo that wants one. My 14yo has zero interest. My 8yo has a soft heart and a love for animals so it is so hard to hear his "mommy can we please????" cries and not be moved. Then there's all these stories about boys and their dogs, etc. Ugh. Cats are so easy. Dogs are so much work. Maybe I can talk him into a hamster?

My ds wants a puppy for Christmas so bad he can taste it. To say dh and I are hesitant would be an understatement. When we first married we got two dogs from the pound.. Beagle-lab mixes. We had them for 10 years and it was awful. They were the worst dogs ever. I can't believe how much stuff they destroyed in those years. I am talking major, expensive damage. When we were finally able to get rid of them, I danced a jig. We also had two cats for a long time. They were awesome cats. But we had to leave them with my brother when we moved here. So no pets for us for the last 3 years. But ds is BEGGING and I feel like a crotchety old lady saying no. So here are my questions: Is it possible to litter train a small dog? I can't stand the idea of my tiny yard having piles of dog poop all over. That's one thing I remember about my dogs... Thinking you had found all the piles and then bam... Step in one. Are there any smaller dog breeds that are known for being mild-mannered, not barking excessively, etc.? Or is this not a breed issue but an individual dog personality issue? Are there dog breeds that are known for not chewing or digging as much? Our dogs never stopped even after 10 years. They once dug up all our utility lines and chewed our telephone line in half which cost us hundreds of dollars to fix. They chewed and destroyed my entire Dept. 56 christmas village. It was worth thousands. Can you tell I am traumatized? The fact I am even considering this is a testament to my love for my son. :) I'd appreciate any advice... Maybe I just want to be talked out of it? But I can't bear disappointing my little guy. Or maybe you can talk me into it? Convince me it won't be so bad this time?