We had a good Friday so far.. We got to hang out with some friends we've not seen in a while (they had the nerve to go to CA for TWO MONTHS :glare:) and some we've seen a lot lately. Lunch: Arby's. Although my curly fries were too hot to eat..lol. Dinner: Going to be eggs and bacon. The twins are going off with friends for dinner and lazer tag. The rest of us are just hanging out here and being lazy. Tomorrow...probably shoe shopping for my sasquatch children. (Finding cute shoes for women's size 10...not fun)

I'm always having weird dreams. They get MUCH more vivid/worse when I've had ice cream close to bedtime. Odd. In fact last night I was dreaming about holding this baby that was really an alien with razor sharp teeth. I kept watching it to make sure it wouldn't morph into alien mode and bite me. :confused:

I have this daughter.........:lol:

Yes. There are some lines of work that I'd just prefer them not to be in. There are some that are morally wrong (although they may be legal), there are some that are just too hard on people (music/acting industries), and some that I just don't think would be a good fit for them. That said, I realize I have pretty much ZERO control over that once they are grown ;)

Update on his appointment. The neuro is getting the paperwork rolling. They said surguries are running 2-3 weeks out, if the insurance approves it.

My 14 year old still does. In fact, she's been hitting me up to make her a hat with fox ears. (felt, not real)

From what I've gathered, dh would have to be OUT of work due to it for a period of time before he could apply. Thankfully, he works from home, and while it has been difficult, he hasn't missed much work because of it. He HAS been unable to go to school since the spring semester. We've talked about it, and I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. It's sad...we've always had our bases covered if he were to die, or if he got injured AT work...but never really gave much thought to him becoming disabled due to other circumstances.

With the bone spur where it is, we (and the docs) are really afraid to do any manipulation. He did have a little of that done in the beginning and it made things worse. As far as muscle tone, it has deteriorated some since it has gotten really bad, but he was pretty strong before he started having problems. He has/had great muscles. We do know that part of his issue has been made worse by going from a very physical job to a very sedentary one. (hindsight is 20/20)

ETA: should have read the PP first...lol Try this method for brown rice if you haven't already..it's awesome: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html We do black beans and rice, with onion and peppers chopped in. We also make bean and rice casserole (beans, rice, corn, onions, chilies, and diced tomatoes, add whatever favorite mexican style seasons you like. topped with cheese. )

One would think. If it is denied again, we will be joining the LONG line of folks trying to get our particular ins. co. to approve this surgery. Apparently it has become their policy to do blanket denials of spinal fusions, except in tumor cases. Crazy. We didn't fight it the first time because we had two docs saying different things, and we were hopeful the recommended treatment would work. :glare: Thanks for the prayers!

A little background: He has been suffering from severe back and neck pain for over 4 years. He has seen several doctors (in two states!) and undergone various treatments. What started out as a small problem thought to be caused by a bulging disc, has turned into a long painful ordeal. A neuro recommended spinal fusion a year ago, but it was completely denied by our insurance. So he has spent the last year undergoing pain management therapy. The therapy has been extremely painful, and has done nothing to ease his pain for more than a day or so. (These were treatments that deadened nerves and were supposed to last for months) Anyway, he has now progressed to constant pain in his neck and arms, migraines, and loss of feeling/function in his hands. He's no longer to do ANY manual labor without being in severe pain for days afterward. It has taken a huge toll on him, physically and mentally. He's been so good at keeping it together for our family. Thankfully (or not) his latest MRI showed a big progression in the bulge of the disk, and a bone spur that is protruding into his spinal cord. The doctor has said that he is one impact away from permanent loss of bladder and bowl function. On to the prayer request...he has an appointment today with the neurosurgeon. Please pray that our insurance company will cave and allow this surgery to be done BEFORE permanent damage occurs. We now have letters of medical necessity coming from several doctors. Thanks so much!

We have bi-fold doors that separate our living room from my office/school room. We never open them, so I have our map hangning on the school side of the doors.

I love my Corelle. My set is a collection (gathered over years) of 1970's Crazy Daisy. They have held up SO well to 3 kids and a clumsy mom. The only thing that has broken them is being dropped on a tile floor. (then they shatter into a gazillion pieces) All other floors haven't made a scratch on them.

I have one that tried to be that way. Silence just isn't at all practical in our home. We have 3 kids, a dog, and a work at home dad. Nor is it practical in the working world. So, I made her learn to deal. It sounds harsh, but I knew that by encouraging her sensitivity to it, it would become a big THING. (at least for her) Now, she has the right to request reasonable quiet. But breathing, typing, rustling of paper, low talking and all noises beyond my control...she just has to deal with. I don't allow it as an excuse.

Baking soda and vinegar work fine in a pinch. You can also toss in a packet of kool-aid, or some tang/lemonade mix. I'd steer WAY clear of dish liquid. My step-dad made that mistake TWICE. What a mess!

It would drive me crazy, but I have a strong cat pee bias, and can detect it a mile away :lol:

Just not worth it to me. There are virtually NO coupons for the things we actually eat and use. If they would start coming out with coupons for fresh produce and non-processed meat, then I'd jump back in. Every time I have tried couponing, the amount of junk coming into the house jumped exponentially.

For us, it is to prepare our girls to be able to attend college, should they choose to go. Those goals include: Being grounded in their faith. Making a decent SAT/ACT score. Knowing how to write well. Knowing how to manage on their own when they choose to move out.

I have a Marin and love it. It is lightweight and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Our BJU Biology kit has a rat AND a large fish in it. Along with a HUGE grasshopper, a worm and a crayfish. Out of all of them, the grasshopper is the one that is freaking me out. We had to dissect one in high school and it was horrid. Frog..eh. Fish..eh. Grasshopper...hurl. Weird, I know.

I cut my hand in a similar place (only on the pointer finger) doing the same thing! Mine probably needed stitches as well (took forever to get it to quit bleeding) but it healed up fine. 20+ years later, I still have a nice scar.

:iagree: That is what I usually think as well...

I would tell him how you feel, not in a confrontational way. Men are dense sometimes, as my dh would tell you. They need to be told when they are messing up, because sometimes they JUST DON'T KNOW. I could see my dh doing something like that, completely clueless that I would be upset about it.

I love dogs. We've had every kind of pet under the sun. But based on your post, I wouldn't do it. At all. In my experience, no matter how good and responsible your kid is, they are still kids, and you WILL end up doing some part of the pet caretaking. I LOVE my dog, but I still hate some aspects of having a dog. My kids constantly beg for another pet...and I've put my foot down because I don't want another one to take care of.

We do pretty well. I think it's a combination of luck, a steady job for dh (20 years next year at the same place) and careful living. We don't spend what we don't have. We've never run up credit card debt. When we do have extra money come in, for whatever reason, we take care of bills first, fun stuff later. We were fortunate enough to inherit enough money to pay off our mortgage. We currently have no debt, and have plans to stay that way if possible. Even before the payoff of the mortgage we were careful.