Hi Everyone, Excema runs in my family. My poor sister practically has a Ph.D. in it. I control mine really, really well and haven't had much of a problem for 25 yrs. Last month plumbers had to jackhammer into our slab and created tons of dust and I had an allergic reaction: excema (itching, red) all around my eyes. To compound matters, my son has a pediatric opthamology surgeon who flipped out when I mentioned I wanted to treat my son's teeny-tiny bit of excema on his eye w/ 1% hydrocortisone. So, guess what? The dermo is telling me to use 1% hydrocortison around my eyes. I can't get the image of the eye surgeon out of my head. He said, "NEVER, NEVER use that around your eye. It can cause glaucoma." My pediatrician had told me to use it on my son. The dermo told me to use it on myself. Even my obgyn said it was fine. Keep in mind, the eye surgeon is a total BRAIN. I'm using cold compresses on my eyes, histamine drops, Benadryl at night, Aquafor around my eyes and tiny, tiny smears of 1% hydrocortisone -- simply because I don't know what else to do. And, it's not getting better. The dermo basically said that without using the 1% hydrocortisone, it probably wasn't going to improve. I've had this since early December and am going nuts. If anyone has any suggestions that work, I will be stunned and impressed and massively grateful for life! Thank you! Alley

Yikes. I would definitely bring her in. Even though others leave domestic animals out in cold weather -- weather that they're not bred to endure -- it doesn't make it the right thing to do. On top of it, the domestic animals have been bred to be part of family life and then we leave them in the cold. I don't think it's right. If they're wild animals that are scared of humans, that's different, but domestic animals deserve our protection. Alley

I don't think the "envious" thing is about you. I think consciously or unconsciously, your sil is projecting the "I'm better because I have stuff" thing and you're picking up the vibe and assuming it's all you. I bet lots of people get that vibe from her. Why? Because she's putting it out there. It's no accident that you're feeling it when you're around her. Alley

With such cold weather, what do you guys do w/ your days? Do you stay in and play a lot? Or is the park bearable? Or. . .? I'm having terrible guilt all of a sudden taking my boys out of CA weather. Alley

Hi Everyone, Dh is driving cross country starting Jan. 11 arriving in Richmond on Jan. 16. I'm flying w/ the kids from No. Cal. through Atlanta to Richmond on Jan. 16. The weather predictions look so scary from here -- No. Cal -- what exactly is Virginia looking at weather-wise? Is there any way dh should prepare for a car ride? He'll have chains. Our dog -- a black lab -- will be w/ him. How should we prep? I'm nervous. TIA! alley

Whew. This thread is making me feel so much better about leaving Sac. CA reall is three or four states even in one. So. Cal is so different from No. Cal and Sac is different then Redding or Eureka. And the Bay Area -- as wonderful as it can be, I grew up there -- is major SPRAWL. Maybe that's it: I don't like sprawl. And So. Cal is major sprawl too. But mostly, I'd like to experience something new. Alley

You all are wonderful -- and so funny. I wish I had time to respond to every post because every one is great. Thanks for validating my experience. I went to a party last night and got it all over again: "why?!" (I'm sorry, we don't live in the Ritz on Maui, people.) Thanks again. And I didn't mean to offend any Californians. So. Cal and No. Cal. are totally different from each other. Monterey and Mendocino are awesome. Hwy. 1 is gorgeous, but I don't live on Hwy. 1 and besides I've seen it a million times! :lol: On an interesting note, these are the same people who can't believe I'm homeschooling. So there you have it. Just ready for the new. Thanks again!! Alley

As we're getting ready for our move to Richmond, VA I'm getting a lot of friends saying, "why?! Why would you want to leave here??" "Here" is Sacramento -- a fairly blah town if you ask me. I've been here for years and I'd love to see a new part of the country. If someone wants to stay in Sac and loves it -- that's great. But what I don't understand is how confounded these people seem to be that we're ready to leave. A) they seem to have no clue about the economic downturn that the state of CA is taking :glare: Don't they read the paper ever?? Dh works for the state and will literally get 20,000 more a yr. in VA B)the homes and lifestyle cost a lot of money here even in the best economy and C) there are other parts of the country, folks. People who live in Sac are all about Tahoe is 2 hrs. away, San Fran is 2 hrs. away. But the summers are roasting from May -- Oct. often at 100 and over degrees. Really -- if a family loves Sac -- that's just fine. I can't understand why they're so perplexed that we'd love to try the east coast. VA in particular. Thanks, I needed to vent for a moment. I'm getting this attitude over and over these days. Alley

We are in the midst of moving and cleaning out in No. Cal and I'm wondering if the Good Will drop off sites will be open on New Year's Day. What do you think? (I sure hope so.) Alley

I'm sending this info. on for anyone who is interested. Alley Hi, We are graduate students from Sacramento State University, we are conducting our thesis research on families in California that home school their children with Autism. We are looking for participants to share their story and be part of our research. Below is the link to the survey, please pass it along to any families you know. Also, you can enter into a drawing to win a gift card for participating in the survey. Thank you so much. _https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T2ZYDWJ_ (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T2ZYDWJ) Jessica and Sarah

GREAT suggestions, everyon, thank you!! I've already ordered Girl Meets God and Eat, Pray, Love. I've read Eat/Pray -- it was good! Open House was awesome too. I should read that again! 6Pack -- Oprah's suggestions scare me too. They're usually so preachy about some subject. But if you say so, I'll do it. Thanks again, Alley

We're getting ready to move and dh will be going to the East a week ahead of me. The boys and I will be in a hotel room and I'm trying to keep life normal for them that week: Spanish, karate, park time w/ friends etc. However, there'll be plenty of time for me to read in the hotel. Can you recommend a book that's a real upper? Nothing Polly Anni-ish, but I'm wanting something to lift my spirits because that last week will be sad and hard. And, if it isn't, that's great too, but I'm afraid it'll be pretty tough. One book I plan on re-reading is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn -- it's an upper for me in the sense of overcoming hardship. That's inspiring to me. I also love non-fiction if you have any suggestions. I just need to "feed" myself some positives so I can keep it together for the boys. Anything positive -- a great motto or something is appreciated! Thanks, Alley

ALL great ideas -- thank you so much! I'll do the cookie and the atlas. The prepaid phone is just great! Thank you! Alley

Hi Alison, I'm also concerned that one of my boys is tending towards plump -- while the other is a twig. I'm veering away from anything that smacks of "you have a problem" and incorporating a lot more fruit/veggies/outdoor play into their days. I noticed that he wasn't eating much fruit, but likes applesauce so he gets plenty of applesauce. I insist he drink the smoothies I make that are very healthy too. (They aren't his favorite, but I don't know why, my picky kid loves them.) I've stopped being so rigid about it because we're moving and I have to pack, but I used to goal myself at getting them a solid hour of "run around/active play" every day. I also water down his milk. 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cold water. But I don't let him know about it. I don't want him thinking, "there's something wrong w/ me." We often tell him -- which is true -- you're going to be a tall man. We have a lot of height in our family. I also tell both kids straight out, "one treat a day. You can have it after lunch or after dinner, but one treat is all we do." If you ever want to pm about this, let's! I'm always open to good/new ideas. Alley

We're moving from CA to VA in a month and I'm having a bounce party/good bye party for my boys. All their friends from their last 6 years will be there and, as they leave, I'd like to give a small token gift to each child or family. At first I thought of getting a VA cookie cutter, but I just don't think people from CA will necessarily "get" what the shape is all about unless I spell it out etc. It just won't have much impact. I'm thinking of giving each family a "kid atlas" that has maps of every state in the U.S. It's only $4 and pretty nice. Any other ideas? I'm asking each family to do one scrapbook page of their family saying good bye to my boys so that I can create a scrapbook specifically of their friends. :crying: I'm sad, it's tough leaving people who have been so key to my boys for the first six years of the lives. If it were just me and dh, it would be the coolest adventure ever. But w/ my kids in the mix, it's hard. Alley

We had such a lovely Christmas morning -- we said appreciations for our blessings and each other, poured good coffee and watched the kids rip open presents. . . Ba-ha-ha! Nope, that would be in my dreams!! I think my kids had a great Christmas but my mom and dad took one pot shot after another. Actually my dad was on pretty good behavior for him, so my mom held court by making snitty comments and being rude to me. I broke out in excema that's usually under control, walked the dog and tried really hard not to over eat. At the end of it all, we left and visited an old friend for lunch. That made it much better. But I'm still a little stressed. Alley

I have several pictures of my boys reading together. They're so cute. One photo shows one son in a bucket reading, with the other son reading over his shoulder. I've put all of the photos of them reading onto one page and would love to put a quote to it, but can't find one. Any great ideas? Thanks!!!!!!! Alley

By the way, I'm no Martha. This is a great project for moms who are not that crafty, but want something wonderful to give. They're very cute, take a look: http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1006 http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/birdseed-biscuit-675113/ (I made these last Valentine's and they're easy and very sweet to look at!) Alley

My dh just popped in Secret Garden. He has a way of selecting inappropriate movies for our kids. Is Secret Garden ok? Or. . .? Thanks, everyone! Alley

I was hoping that the moms living in snow would post photos on here for those who are in non-snow country. Alley

I hate to offer this idea because I'm not a fan of video games, but my kids beg for my cell phone which is OLD but has games on it. Bowling and stuff. They'd sit and play for hours. It's a treat. Like they get to do it maybe once a year. One caution, at least on my phone, it can run the battery down. They also like to play old fashioned, written tic tac toe. Alley

I wish more people would post pictures -- this is cool!!

Hi Everyone, We're just 30 days away from moving to Richmond, VA. Huge for me because I've lived in CA all my life. Anyway, I've hunted around on the Yahoo groups and am not coming up w/ much in terms of homeschool groups. I'm trying to find an active group or two to take my kids on field trips, play dates etc. Dh's new job is in Glen Allen, but we'll be in Short Pump while we house hunt. Knowing it's probably not that realistic, I'd love to have something for my kids to do in the first month besides watch me run errands (dmv, new doctors, dentists etc.). I'm hoping I can find something to get them started in, but I'm not looking for "perfect." The boys particularly love karate. If you have a referral to a great karate class or teacher, I'm all ears. (If you have any referrals for anything that you LOVE, I'm all ears!! Dermo, yard guys, plumber, anybody you love). Also: any co ops? neat parks and rec close to Short Pump? libraries that are fun to check out? Any suggestions for homeschool groups that would shed more lives on the homeschool world in the Richmond area are really appreciated! Alley

Sadly, I know more about this topic then I wish I knew. Bricks would come off of both of your shoulders if you learned as much as possible about Narcissistic Personality Disorder. We all have narcissistic tendencies, but having a full blow personality disorder is much more. It's not good to be a child of an N. You never do anything right, the N's never acknowledge anything positve, on and on and on. Once I got a true handle on my N parents, I learned to maintain light, rather superficial contact -- and my life felt SO MUCH better for it. Confronting them is not the answer -- it makes N's so much worse. They will not get better basically no matter what happens or who "confronts" them. For your dh to realize that he was always going to an empty well is a start. The next best thing is to congratulate him for choosing such an amazing wife. Many children of N's choose N partners -- which is just more drama and heart ache. He did good by 1) moving far, far away and 2) choosing you. Read everything on line you can. Then re-read every chance you get. It's easy to forget and slip into old patterns w/ N's. Good luck! Great lives can come from N households. Alley

Personally, I don't think of PBS, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon to be "educational" in nature. PBS is entertaining w/ Clifford and Arthur, but educational? "Educational," in my mind, for kids would be National Geographic shows, Liberty Kids (okay, I guess this was on PBS,we watch on dvd), schoolhouse rock etc. I've never thought of anything Disney does as being "educational." Alley