What Tibbie said.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: A few years ago we had a car stolen while DH was at work -- and he was working 60 miles from where we live. He spent 3 weeks staying with the in-laws (near his job), which ended up being a good thing because when the cops did find the car they only gave a half hour between notifying us and having DH pick up the car -- otherwise we would have been in the same boat you are in, paying to get it back from the tow company. It turned out the car had only gone half a mile -- it had an ancient radio that basically only got NPR.... I guess the joyriders weren't NPR fans! So sorry you are having to go through this!

We have been very happy with the life insurance offered through AAA.

The absolute best thing I have found is Cerave moisturizer. I use the PM face lotion twice a day, and not only does it help the regular rosacea symptoms, it instantly soothes the awful itchy, dry feeling I used to have all winter. My skin looks better using just the Cerave than it ever did when I was on a mix of topical and oral prescription meds.

The kids got new bikes, Dh went back to sleep after everything was opened, and I let the kids go out on their new bikes.... I knew the tires were flattish, but I figured they were just going around the block to check things out (our regular bike pump is broken, and I couldn't find the other one when I looked quickly). I figured it couldn't do any harm, they would just come home quickly..... DH woke up before they got home and was furious -- I guess they could have seriously damaged the bikes. I didn't know, he called them home, I apologized profusely to him/them. The bikes look ok, but Dh isn't speaking to me and I spent most of today miserable and trying to keep the kids from seeing that I was crying. We went from a great Christmas to a cruddy one in just a matter of minutes. Ugh, I need a do-over on today.

Our ideal was always a bed routine rather than a bedtime. After I read stories, the dc could look at books before falling asleep. What we did not count on was having early, voracious readers. That means they fall asleep late, but are in bed reading once baths and family read-aloud are over. Their reading can last for minutes or hours. This works for me because they aren't underfoot at night, and they sleep late in the morning. I am a morning person, so I feel like I get some downtime before they are up.

I am fine with them, but that's mostly because they don't seem to be a big issue for us as a family. Both kids have DSes and DD has some games on her ipod, we have some PC games, and 2 different game systems.... I would estimate that each child spends about 2 hours total per week playing on all of those options (probably closer to one hour for dd). DS will definitely go through phases where he plays more, but even then he will walk away to ride a bike, read, or play with Legos. I know that some kids get hooked, but have never quite understood since my kids have very free access to tv, games, etc., but seem to control their own intake of these things really well.

My in-laws visit on Christmas Eve. They usually bring my stepson (they live much closer to his mother than we do), but he is 16 now and actually working today, so we saw him yesterday..... In-laws will still come in the evening, kids will open their gifts, we'll have a massive buffet dinner, the kids will open new jammies, and there are sure to be some family phone calls and a holiday movie.

Julie, :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: . I left a husband many years ago, but there were no kids involved...... Breathe, eat something, take care of yourself. If you feel up to doing something for the holiday today or tomorrow, go for it -- if not, don't let that add any stress to your life right now.

Just got Red for my daughter using my mp3 credit -- she will be so excited!

If I don't get those started tomorrow, I will be in serious trouble with the whole family!

The last time I had influenza I was 6 months pregnant, most of those months involving horrible nausea and dizziness, and I had an active toddler. It was miserable, I was in pain and terribly weak. Since then I have been seriously annoyed when I hear anyone with a bad cold or a tummy bug claim they have the flu. I also think it confuses people who think that flu shots are ineffective every time they get gastroenteritis.

I changed mine this morning. :D

I still have one thing to pick up, and it's actually important -- I got the kids a bunch of dvds, but haven't gotten around to replacing the broken dvd player. I just kept postponing a decision to read more reviews, but I will need to grab one when I grocery shop in a couple of days, or DH and I will end up with kids watching on our computers. Aside from that, we are done, just waiting on the UPS truck to bring the last couple of things.

Maybe a dvd and some popcorn and assorted movie theater type candy?

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I haven't seen any pop-ups, and I'm using Opera.

I won't buy them, but DD has received some as gifts and does play with them at times.

That looks amazing.

:scared: Not at my Giant Eagle!

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and patterned duct tape (camouflage and leopard print) are the not-so-common things going in stockings here... there will also be an assortment of other candies (plus big chocolate oranges), hand sanitizers/nail polish, character toothbrushes, and slipper socks.

Lately I've been liking Yellow Tail Sauvignon Blanc.

We painted a bunch of them with white paint that had some cinnamon sprinkled in it.... not enough to coat completely, but to make them look snow covered. I put them in a big basket and can't believe how pretty they look for such a simple craft. And they smell nice, too!

I usually mail them the day after Thanksgiving -- this is a habit from when I was a classroom teacher and had a break at Thanksgiving then no spare time again until right before Christmas. This year Thanksgiving felt way too early, so I mailed them a week later than usual.

We are on day 105 and will take a winter break when we hit 115. We usually go 215 - 220 days.