4th of July Pinwheels. A cheap book. A bottle of bubbles. A bracelet or necklace.

Deaths can bring out the worst in people. I'm so sorry you lost your mom. :(

I clean whole rooms before moving on to the next, usually including vacuuming.

I'm so very sorry, Emily. I'm glad Joey had the life and death you wanted for him to have. Peace be with you in the coming days.

Not really, no. Not nearly the Strip. If you'd like to window shop, I recommend the Venetian or The Forum shops at Caesar's. The Fashion Show is on the Strip. It's a traditional mall. The outlet mall I go to most is probably too far for you to travel. It's probably 20 minutes away. But, again, online prices are still better. Bellagio has an Andy Warhol exhibit right now. That' was really neat. If you like Cirque du Soleil shows, there's plenty to choose from and seats are pretty reasonable. We saw LOVE (The Beatles show) in November and it was amazing! There's a Michael Jackson one right now I hear is really good. Zumanity is not a Cirque show you want to see. If you are only here for 2.5 days, don't bother with day trips of any kind. Even the Valley of Fire is almost 2 hours away from the Strip and you wouldn't be able to get out of the car. Zion is 4 hours. Not day trip material. Hoover Dam is fine, but again. Hot. Hot. Hot. The food on the Strip can be pricey, but most hotels have regular diners that are less expensive. Room service is absolutely ridiculous. Don't ever order. Up thread someone mentioned a very expensive buffet. It was probably The Feast and yes, they are that expensive. I haven't been in years, but the food is really top notch and usually has some very good sea food. Stay away from any food at Circus Circus. You will get food poisoning. Promise. Here's something that might be fun. Where the Imperial Palace used to be, they've created a mall with a few fun shops and a new concert venue/bowling alley called The Brooklyn Bowl. Behind that is a huge, and I mean huge, Ferris wheel. You will get to see the entire valley. Many of my friends have even gone down to try it out. They say it's amazing. It's a little more expensive, but you would get to see all the lights (if you go at night) and would be a great Vegas experience. Here's a link for you. We just went to a concert at the Bowl and had a fun time looking at all the shops.

August is our warmest month in Las Vegas. Many of the hotel-casinos have shops Venetian, Caesar's. Mandalay Bay has a wonderful aquarium. I wouldn't recommend any types of tours of Red Rock. It can get up to 120* in August. The outlet malls are technically "on the Strip (Las Vegas Blvd.)" but are far south. And they aren't good. And you don't save any money. Pass. Any walking around should be done before 11 or after 6. Drink lots and lots of water. I live in Vegas. Any specific questions you can PM me. Oh, and I live here by choice and love it. ;)

Cute! I've been rocking a pixie for a little over a year now. Love it!

I would go with vinyl. We love our vinyl kitchen (400 sq. ft.). I personally wouldn't go with laminate in living spaces with lots of kids. We chose a glue down bamboo for our living room and hall because laminate echos and is very loud. With 2 young (at the time) boys, the noise would have driven me nuts. We did use laminate in the boys' bedrooms and are very happy with them. We use Lumber Liquidators for our laminate/bamboo. We've used Lowe's for our vinyl squares. We've installed all floors ourselves. Not a horrible DIY project. The glue down was a little challenging, but as always, the measuring was the hardest part. :)

I haven't read any responses. We have had a rabbit. I'm too obsessive about cleanliness to have another. She was very messy, smelly and destructive. We live in a hot climate and cannot keep a hutch out doors. We had to have her put to sleep because of genetic issues. I was not overly sad, although I was devastated for my son. My dh has nixed guinea pigs because they are noisy and need to have companions. We have always chosen hamsters or mice as pets. We have really enjoyed them and currently have several sweet mice friends.

I'd like to pursue this idea a little further. (I did edit down the quote to the part I wanted to discuss...) Do you think not going to church as a family, one hour a week, had this destructive of an effect on your family? I stated up thread that I was forced to go to church every week. 2 Church services, 1 Sunday School, 2 Youth group meetings a week (I did enjoy the youth group, though). We also ate dinner, played games, watched movies, went shopping, all sorts of things together. Church was not our only family activity and it was truly the only one I wanted to be exempt from. In my own family, we do all those things and attend most of the kids' activities as a family (no church for us). When my children don't feel like doing a specific activity, they get a slide unless circumstances make it too difficult (supervision, time frames, car sharing, etc.) because I know that we are involved in many other ways. It sounds to me like there is a heck of a lot more going on in your family dynamic than just skipping church on Sunday morning. Feel free not to answer. I realize I am delving into a personal area here. I would like to point out though, that I don't think that skipping one family outing to church per week caused the heartache and hurt you are experiencing with your son. (Meant gently and not at all finger pointing or blaming.) Church does not have to, and I argue shouldn't be, the only family activity. And I hope you don't blame yourself for not forcing him to go to church with you as the cause of his current outlook. You could have forced him to come with you and been faced with the exact same result.

I work from noon to 4 on weekdays and we have evening activities most days, too. I'm up at 5:30. Workout takes about 45 minutes. Kids are up by 7am on school days and ready to go by 7:45 (showered, breakfast, bedrooms straightened, etc.) During that time, I get the house straightened, dishes done, laundry started and school prepared. By 9, we have been working on school for an hour. We finish up the main part of schooling by 11:30 and the boys get their lunch. I leave for work and leave them to chores and working on their independent school work. I'm in bed by 10 or so. I tend to be more productive in the morning, slowly losing ambition and energy as the day goes on. :) And I have a physically exhausting job, so I'm tired by the end of the day.

No. I was raised in a religious household. Church attendance was mandatory until the day I turned 18. I have never attended since, with the exception of important events in my parents' lives. It was my first giant step away from religion. If you are looking for cultural literacy, study at home. We study all major religious beliefs/stories as unit studies, most often during the ancients cycle.

I would go with someone else. If you'd like to know what I charge, feel free to PM me. But, I live in a large urban area and costs vary greatly with this kind of service.

He will be deeply missed. I hate cancer. :( Much love to his family.

For anyone interested, here's the show I was talking about. The videos run 44 minutes. The sound track includes: Sade, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, etc. The commercials have been edited out. http://www.dailymotion.com/user/inhaleyoga/1

I love yoga. And I have for a really long time. I think, for me, yoga makes me happy. If you aren't happy, you aren't in the right place or with the right instructor. Please check out Inhale with Steve Ross on youtube. There are several full length episodes available. They were originally run on Oxygen. JMHO, but Steve Ross makes yoga fun. It's not about getting the pose perfect. It's not about hitting the posture exactly. It's about how it makes you feel. Maybe you need to take a look at what you're looking to get out of yoga. I want flexibility, strength, centering and calm. I get all of that because it is what I'm seeking and I'm not overly concerned about whether I fall out of balance pose 40 times. I just keep trying. FWIW, when I first started Inhale with Steve Ross I was 50 pounds overweight. I was nursing and didn't restrict my diet. The weight came off and I was a better mom for it. I continue doing yoga with Steve because I love the way it makes me feel, even if I've put some weight on. It's upbeat and he has great sound tracks. I highly recommend his book, Happy Yoga, as well.

We live in a small house made of wood and stucco on a concrete slab. BUT, my youngest saw a show on dug-in houses in Australia and wishes we had one of those. We live in the Mojave Desert. There is a family up the street a ways that built a dug-in home. The soil here is awful with lots of clay. It must have taken them dynamite! Our little house is light tan with darker trim. We have desert brush and rock in the front yard. Right now it has pretty purple and yellow flowers in bloom. Big hugs, Rosie. You haven't left my mind in days.

Rosie, you have my love and my thoughts. I'm so, so sad for you.

I have four. I got my first one at 25. My most recent was last winter (at 42). I've never chosen a tattoo on a whim. I adore them all. My only wish is that I could change the placement of one I put on my back. I never get to see it. They all have meaning: my heritage, my children, my marriage, and my parents. I have one more planned for my brother. They range in size from palm size to my newest which is a calf piece from knee to ankle.

You rock that cut! Congrats on taking the plunge. :)

Go for it! It's only hair. It grows back. :) You'll be proud of yourself for taking the risk. At least I was! (I did have several days of panic and freak out though. Just be prepared. It's a big change and it's normal to freak out a bit. I was fine within a week.)

I've had my pixie for almost a year. I love it! I get it cut every 4 weeks. I'm ready after 3 though. I hate the tickly feeling on my neck. Some people don't like having to go to the hairdresser so often. I think it's worth it. It takes me 3 minutes to blow dry it in the morning. I put a little wax in my palm and run it through my hair and I'm done. I usually do wear eye make-up. I have many ear piercings. I wear hoops in them all. People either love pixies or hate them. I got a lot of "Wow! You rock that cut!" or "chirp.....chirp..." Which is fine. Oh, the other comment I get a lot is "Was your dh ok with you cutting off your hair?" It was his suggestion. He loves it. ;)

I got a 3rd hole re-pierced at Claire's with no problem last year. OP, I really don't know if you or your family would feel comfortable going to a tattoo/piercing shop. So, IMHO, it's perfectly fine to head to the mall and hit up Claire's or the like. It will really be just fine. Follow the instructions on the paper they give you. Your daughter is plenty old enough to handle the after care.

I'm so glad I called off work the day my dad died. I woke with an overwhelming feeling that I needed to be with him. I had to. So, I did. I whispered in his ear that I loved him and that it was ok for him to go. I'm so glad I did. He was gone 4 hours after I spoke those words and 3 hours after we signed the DNR. He was 64. It was just of a year ago. I have no regrets. Last Friday I finished a memorial tattoo for my dad. It includes his actual handwriting. "Love Always Dad." I have felt a huge sense of relief and peace having it there.

We had success going through Canada when this happened to my dad. It was far more expensive, but worth every penny.