Oh YEAH!!!!! It'll be 20 years next April and I would do it again for sure!

same here!

your replies to my post have helped me more than you will ever know! Thank you everyone!!! :grouphug:

we have a Boston Terrier puppy(will turn 1 next month)and 2 cats(they are both almost 3 yrs old). Our puppy is named Daisy and she is the cutest thing and so funny! she keeps us on our toes around here! Our cats are Tinker and Belle, we got them from the local shelter after returning from our vacation in 2006 from Disney. Belle is solid white and has one blue eye and one green eye and is very plump! Tinker is black and white and is very petite and thin. We have had rats as pets...they didn't live long. My youngest dd is begging for a rabbit and another rat(not gonna happen!). My father is currently looking for a horse for my oldest dd(he has a small farm to keep it on, 10 mins from our home)so we may soon be horse owners too!

this is not pms or pmdd(I take meds for pmdd and I am currently on my period so it's not that)...I'm just having one of those days....well, a few days. I feel all I do is clean, fix food, fuss at kids, pick up stuff, go to the grocery store, clean, fix food, fuss at kids, pick up stuff, etc...I'm sure you get my drift. I've been married for almost 20 years and we have a great marriage, never fight, laugh every day, he's a hard working man and is happy to do so to keep me home with our kids....I just feel like I'm his room mate sometimes...he's not a very affectionate person and never complimentary, never "I love you" first....that kind of thing. Lately, it's really been bothering me! just once I'd love for him to come up to me and hug me or kiss me or hold my hand when we're out together somewhere. My kids....God knows I love them with all my heart but lately, I haven't really liked one of my children. She's become very sassy, very disprespectful and it's mainly geared toward me. She talks to me sometimes with such an attitude, I'm starting to think we will never get along the way I would like us to. We just got back from vacation - which was very relaxing and fun...still during vacation, still felt a disconnect with hubby. I know he must work a lot to keep me home and I should be happy that he's busy and making money...but my gosh, I didn't get married to be alone! we were supposed to go to the movies this afternoon...I'm feeling so low, so burnt out, I told them to go without me - my husband was furious!!!!!!!!!!! he walked out without saying a word to me...the kids kept asking why I wouldn't go and saying "but you are dying to see this movie" and it was making me cry...I just couldn't bring myself to go the movie and act like everything is hunky dory when that's not how I feel. Not to mention, dh NEVER takes the kids anywhere by himself, it always has to be all of us....I mean geez! take the kids and do something with them by yourself sometimes! I do it all the time!!! I am venting and I appreciate your reading this saga...not sure what I'm looking for...advice? hugs? I don't know. I just know that I'm not happy right now, feeling very much like I'm in a rut that I can't get out of, feeling like a live in maid and cook and not a wife and mom lately. I feel like I unload on these boards too often:confused:

we had a great day today - she was very polite, kind and respectful, what a difference a day can make!! thank you everyone, I will refer back to this thread more often than you'll ever know! your advice is wonderful!!! here's to hoping and praying that tomorrow will be another wonderful day- I'm taking it one day at a time!

thank you everyone!!! your words of wisdom and encouragement have been taken to heart and I did read every reply. My dd ended up going to her room(her choice)after lunch and asked to be left alone...needless to say, she fell asleep(she NEVER naps!)and slept for almost 2 hours! she woke up, apologized to me and we hugged for a long time... I plan on sticking to my new program and not letting "little things" slip, I know it will take time and lots of patience on my part. Thanks for being here, this board is a life saver!

I agree about the fact that I need to get a hold of this now!! I can NOT imagine her as a teenager!!!!!:willy_nilly:

backtalking and acting up for far too long....and yesterday, I decided ENOUGH!! it's now or never...this can not go on any longer...she can be the funniest, sweetest child and yet, she totally does not get that she is 8 yrs old and that she is a child, not an adult. She can not stand to be told no!! she will argue something to death!! I'm hoping like crazy that her persistance will one day benefit her but for now, it's no longer tolerated! She just got out of a 15 minute time out - for backtalking - it started out as 8 minutes but she wouldn't let it lie...just kept telling me, "I am NOT going to time out, you can't make me" and "I will only have time out in MY room, NOT on the stairs"....so every time she said something, I added another minute until she got up to 15 mins! Now, she just poked her head in here and informed that she is not talking to me anymore today because I am a very mean mommy and that I have upset her feelings and that she has done nothing wrong. It kills me! I honestly believe that she truly doesn't see what she's doing is disrespectful...she always asks why she's in trouble, what did she do wrong? and when I tell her(you sassed me, you were rude, you would not follow direction, you weren't listening, etc..)she says "BUT I AM LISTENING!!" or "I WAS NOT BEING RUDE!!!!" Please, tell me that just a few days of me putting the hammer down will help this situation, it's only been a day and a half and I'm exhausted! and gosh knows, my poor 12 yr old...she keeps plugging her ears and going outside due to younger dd screaming her head off while in time out! I mean blood curdling(sp)screaming at the top of her lungs for over 7 minutes - I know her throat has got to be killing her! thanks for listening!:bigear:

gosh! everyone is doing fantastic!!! I am very intrigued!

can I hear everyones weight loss so far? how many days and how many pounds? also, any coffee on this diet? Thank you so much!

my girls are almost 13 and 8 yrs old. I have never spanked and will never spank, don't believe in it!!

do you mind me asking....how much are you paying for riding lessons? around here, it is very expensive - $50.00 per one hour lesson!

NO!!!! and I agree with the poster who talked about the fussing babies and young children walking around while the workshop speakers were talking...it was so frustrating and disruptive...AND the workshops were being recorded, I bet those recordings are interesting :confused:

there are tons of restaurants here in Williamsburg...what are you looking for exactly? what types of foods?

I wear swim shorts(Lands End)and a tankini top(I have 4 I think)and they look just like a tank top - it's perfect for me.

New Kent is a great area! very rural but close to Richmond and Williamsburg(where I live). I've lived here all my life, I know nothing else...homeschooling is huge here and very well respected. We have Busch Gardens, Water Country, Jamestown, Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg....where specifically are you looking in New Kent? we had a contract on a house there 2 years ago but could not sell ours so we had to back out of the contract...it's still a place we would love to live.

:iagree:

continued prayers!!!! I see every year at the HEAV convention here in Va. - she has inspired me so much, I feel like she's a friend...my heart goes out to her family and I will continue to pray for more good news!

I can't explain it but I'm not a fan of makeup on young girls...I agree about foundation if they have acne or some type of skin problem that bothers them...but if you're talking eye makeup, my answer would be no, it makes them look older or like they are trying too hard to grow up and/or look older than they are. I think I was around 15 when I started wearing eye makeup(mascara and eyeliner)but before 15 I would wear lipgloss(never any color just the shiny stuff)...never had a need for foundation and I hated the way it felt on my skin as a teenager. I think my questions to my daughter would be...why do you want to wear it? what statement do you want to make with it? do you think it's going to make you prettier? when do you want to wear it? do you have friends who wear it and you want to be like them? Best of luck with this one - it's a tough one.

that is awesome!!!! we went in '06 and did the free dining - it was fabulous!!! be prepared to eat a lot of good food!!! oh, and we also went in September, the weather was fantastic! still warm enough to go to the water parks but not so hot that you were miserable.

thank you for your reply Sophia!

I am trying to decide if I want to sell my books/used curriculum at the upcoming HEAV convention...just wondering if anyone has had any success selling at conventions? is it worth the time and effort? HEAV has a barcode system so it will take quite a bit of time on my part to type everything it, print out labels, attach, etc... not to mention, lugging all the books to the convention and then possibly lugging then back home if they don't sell. What's your experience? Thanks so much!

I sold quite a bit this weekend at my yard sale.

my kids are horse/pony crazy! we are about 3 hours from Chincoteague Island and the pony run is in July(as a matter of fact it's right on my dd's birthday)and she is begging to go there for that weekend! any experience with this? where to stay? etc...? Thanks so much!