It suddenly feels like winter here and I want carby comfort food. We’re having lasagna, garlic bread, and salad tonight. Tomorrow I’m planning French onion soup and bread, Monday leftovers, and Tuesday will be mummy hot dogs for Halloween. I’m not sure about the rest of the week.

We have three, with a seven year gap between number two and three. I’m 36. We’d accept any babies God decides to give us, but currently practice NFP (fairly loosely) because I can’t assertively say I want another one now. I’m not ready to say we’re completely finished either. Does that make sense? My third pregnancy was hard and recovering from pregnancy and birth in my mid-30s was more challenging than in my 20s. If we have any more I’d like to be done by 40. That’s getting a lot closer.

I’m very particular about my coffee, and Starbucks Cafe Verona via is the only instant that tastes like real coffee.

Culver’s. It’s a fundraiser night for one of the kids’ activities. I really want the Trader Joe’s Gorgonzola gnocchi I have in the freezer though. I add sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, baby spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes to make it a full meal.

If you have Amazon Prime, the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice is a great way to waste six hours. :-)

The summer between high school and freshman year of college, I had a temp job as a receptionist in an office equipment company. It was right after one of the partners had split off into his own company, and half the office was empty. The atmosphere was very weird, and there were occasional calls for the new company that I was supposed to direct to a different number, but no one wanted to explain to the temp why everyone was so on edge. I eventually figured out that there was a lot of animosity over the breakup of the partnership. I was only supposed to do very clearly defined receptionist tasks per the temp company contract, so there wasn’t much to actually do. Bringing a book was discouraged. I played a ridiculous amount of computer solitaire. At least I looked busy.

Please tell me there is video of this somewhere. I'd love to see that!

Praying.

We're a family of five. We started with twelve place settings of our everyday dishes and 15 of our China due to an error on our registry. We use the salad plates for most meals, so we're down to eight of those, and most are chipped. They are white with a raised dot border, so I'm debating between buying more of the same since Crate and Barrel still has them, or buying other sturdier (cheaper) white salad plates. I like having a pretty table, even if it is just for our family.

It's been over 100 years since that age difference was considered acceptable between Laura and Almonzo. (We just listened to These Happy Golden Years.) Things are different now. I wouldn't allow or encourage that relationship at all.

I went into labor less than 24 hours after dh gave me a very thorough ankle and foot massage, really working the pressure point that's supposed to cause contractions, with my second. My other two were induced thanks to preeclampsia. Edited because my first version sounded like it could have been premature labor when I meant early stages of labor.

I'm so sorry. It's terrible that there aren't better treatment options by now. One of the very energetic ladies at church who is spending her retirement volunteering in different church ministries and as courtwatch escort for DV victims is going through chemo and she's a shadow of her usual self. I pray that it is effective. She's a tough lady, but it's been so hard in her.

I'm sorry for all those who are disappointed today. We had over a hundred years of "waiting until next year," so it would be really nice to get back to back wins.

Woo-hoo!!! Cubs win! Now to settle down to actually sleep!

Seriously, I promised myself I would get to bed early so I can work out before dh has to leave extra early for a breakfast meeting, and this game has me so on edge. Six more outs to go...

The first time dh came to meet my parents, he saw my mom at the door as we pulled up to the house and said, "hey, it's you in thirty years." I look a lot like my mother, and I sound more like her as I age too. I try to keep my hair a different length, but then I won't see her for a while and we end up with very similar haircuts.

Costco rotisserie chicken and a bag of salad can be very cheap and easy. For a regular restaurant takeout, we have a Mediterranean kebab place that we can get enough for all 4.5 (the .5 being the toddler) of us for just over $20.

I'd be mad at myself for not getting back into shape sooner after my almost two-year-old surprise. I make progress, and then I regress and eat tons of carbs and take way too many days off from working out. We're talking about just seeing what happens without charting sometime next year, but I really want to get healthier and make sure my bp is nice and low first. I'd prefer to be done before I'm forty (three more years), but we'll take whoever God thinks belongs in our family.

But even with cultural differences, these aren't necessary baths. This isn't grandma trying to get herself and little girl ready during an extended overnight stay. The parents would be bathing her a few hours later as part of her usual bedtime routine after the visit was over. That the grandma did this just because, without telling the parents, and then continued to do it after they found out and objected, raises all sorts of red flags. Not necessarily as se*ual abuse, but as an untrustworthy caregiver for the granddaughter overall.

The only thing that matters here is that the actual parent of the child is uncomfortable with it. The grandmother's reaction to the boundary set by the parent shows that she shouldn't have any alone time with the kids.

Mr. Nelson was the reason I majored in history in college. He taught my freshman year world history class and junior year AP European history. His love for history was evident every day of class. I remember him saying how my high school was the first place he taught that cared more about his masters in history than his coaching credentials. I think everyone who took his class passed the AP exam.

So many things! It's open and light, but not completely open. My kitchen is so much bigger and brighter than the tiny cave-like kitchen in our old house that only got natural light first thing in the morning and was dark the rest of the day. We have space to host large family gatherings. And I have a bathroom that I don't have to share with kids who have poor aim.

Yeah!

I did. Dh was also my only serious boyfriend. I'm not the first woman he proposed to though. He was engaged to his high school girlfriend for a while before realizing they weren't as compatible at 22 as they were at 16.

Thanks for all the hugs. It just helps to get it out somewhere. I've had Tim McGraw's "Live Like You are Dying" stuck pretty much on a constant loop in my head since we heard about the family member's diagnosis. It's early, and treatable, but not curable as of right now. Being short-tempered with my kids because I'm anxious certainly isn't how I want to be acting now. Or ever, for that matter. Life just feels more delicate now.