Okay, Michelle, you bring the wine, I'll bring the chocolate chip cookies. I have been yelling too much lately too. Mostly about cleaning, about them not cleaning up after themselves, or dropping things in their path, or making messes wherever they are and simply walking away from them. And I often feel like screaming at dd "You are acting like you don't have a brain!!!" You are NOT the worst mom. I do agree that if I dole out consequences without getting angry, or explain things with little emotion, everything goes much more smoothly. Good luck!!:grouphug:

My cycle was due 6/24. Nothing. I am not pregnant (for sure). I have had no undue stressors that I can think of. No increase in exercise. No illness. No changes that come to mind at all. About 14 days after I was due, I think I was ovulating again. :confused: Typical symtoms of that. I have NEVER missed a period. Always been like clockwork 28-30 days. I can maybe think of one time when I was a little late after having the flu. It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, it's not like we are trying to conceive or anything. But should I be concerned about anything? Do I need to see my doctor? I don't want to pay a $40 co-pay to be told it's nothing, or lose some weight and come back later. The only thing I can think of is that I'm about to be 42. :glare::001_huh: Could this be the start of something like perimenopause? I've tried looking at some medical sites but it's all too overwhelming. Thoughts?

Yep. And so many times I get caught up in reading a whole thread that I wind up way later than I thought! Today is an example of that! This computer is a huge source of information for me, but also a huge time sink!:tongue_smilie:

I love our local library. :001_wub:It's suburban and not connected to the close larger city one. We can join that one, and probably will, but our local one is so good, and has SO many of the books we want for quality reading it has not been an issue yet. I actually find the childrens section much better stocked than the adult. The computers are out in the COMPLETE open and you pass by them all on the way to the kids section. I don't know the policy on viewing certain material on them (a la that previous thread) but I simply cannot imagine it. Most people look like they are updating their resumes. Both kids and teens have their own sections with closed doors so noise is not an issue, and every time I pass by the teen area there are teens in there *gasp* reading!:tongue_smilie: My kids and I love "library day" and I hope I am instilling in them a healthy respect for it, and that it is to be used and enjoyed.

Well, obviously all I get are pages and pages of fan sites for the I Love Lucy show. But, hey, I found a bible study based on the show for the low, low price of only $89!!!:confused::D

So is stuttering kind of related to a tic? I ask because I had posted once about my dd stuttering/stammering. She didn't start this until at least 1st grade, but mostly in 2nd. One of those things that you finally notice is a problem but you can't put your finger on exactly when it started. This past fall when she started 3rd I thought it was getting pretty bad. ETA: after reading Denise's post above, I do know that it didn't start until after dd had a traumatic experience in a "show off" for theater arts class. She froze and then panicked. It was really, really bad - like a panic attack. Now that we pulled her from ps it seems to be improving but she also is now doing this weird hard blinking thing sometimes - but not when she's speaking. Her eyes are fine. It's like a tic I suppose but I didn't put the two together. We can't afford private speech therapy and insurance won't cover anything. All we've done to help is encourage her to slow down, think through what she's saying, and don't point out the stutter, and don't say the word for her. She got caught up in school with "reading fast" like it's some kind of contest, and so we are retraining in our homeschool to slow down. I think it's helping. The eye-rolling thing is concerning to me. I would certainly see your pediatrician to make sure it's all okay. I believe you can also get a referral for a speech evaluation if your ped recommends it. Good luck!

Well, how clueless am I! I have never seen these before! I can think of many good uses, but specifically for us to create a small space where all our current books are kept, and then use bookshelves for the ones we're not using for now. I also love the idea of putting some above my dd's bed to hold all those many, many webkinz! Thanks for sharing and be sure to post pics when you're done!:D

Oh my goodness! I bet you just wanted to throw up! And at a campground no less. Those are sometime creepy for me. She was gone for 6 hours?! Or you were just freaking out for 6 hours after finding her?

I will not let my dd see this post since her name is Lucy and she hates it when she hears of dogs named that!;) (which we do hear of all the time!) Our girl was 2 when we rescued her and the shelter had named her "Star" for a white patch on her head. But we changed it to Penny and she picked it up right away. Can't wait to hear your adoption story today!

:grouphug:

:lol::lol::lol::001_huh:

Oh, I completely agree. I could certainly help with our financial goals if I threw the kids in school and/or daycare and went back to work. Or if DH got a second job and we never saw him. We're not willing to sacrifice the "now" with the kids for the "later" that is not even promised to us. Not to say we are irresponsible, but I still (even in this economy) see so many families who have no time together because both parents are working to pay for the big house and toys like huge expensive SUVs and boats. I want so badly to downsize my house (and we are close to getting it ready for the market) and start over with a fresh and less expensive slate!

I'm a HODie and love it!

Seriously? She said that? That's just mean. :glare: I know so many people who have had success with that book and others like it. Is that an anti-homeschooling sentiment? Does she just not think it'w worthwhile for us to teach our own children something?:confused:

It might be fun to try some of the things I have seen on Food TV that are fried at the State Fair - fried pb&j, anyone? My favorite thing that I would absolutely fry at home is FRIED PICKLES!!!!:tongue_smilie: DH would have me perfect the art of the beer battered onion ring.

My son will salute and do the "sir sandwich" in front of people. SIR, YES SIR! :lol:

Do you happen to have, or have the opportunity to get, a picture of the two of you and even your two families together? Not a professional one, just something good from a get-together. I'd have that framed nicely with a card sharing just what you shared with us.

My dd does this too. It's frustrating. I hear her say the exact same words each time she prays. I think modeling praying, and how to talk and what to say is good. I have even encouraged my dd to make a prayer journal (which she hasn't done yet) to give her ideas that she'd like to pray about. I just got her a girls devotional that has some days of study about prayer and I am hoping it will help her. To me the only way to pray is to really really know God is listening. Until God is real to you, you might as well be talking to the pillow. Helping kids feel God's presence is important, so we do a lot of talking about God's wondrous creation all around us, how we can "hear" God speaking to us through others or our conscience, things like that. Ultimately it could just be an age thing that they will mature out of. :confused:

Well, I'd suggest you PM me too, but I am still waiting so I don't have anything to share yet. Every time I call the wait is forever, really like an hour and a half on hold (not kidding), so I haven't tried to call lately to check on my status. Last I was told our file is in review and they will call us. They will either restructure our loan low enough that we can stay, or if not they will hopefully agree to let us do a short sale. To be honest I don't have too much hope about them being able to reduce our mortgage, so we are preparing to get it up for sale. I am overwhelmed at the thought. Fill out the paperwork and then just :chillpill:.

I'll second or third the pasta salad recommendation. I make a kind of Italian anti-pasto kind w/ bow-tie pasta, salami, peppers, tomatoes, black olives, onion and Italian dressing or Creamy Caesar as the dressing. Always gobbled up and my family can eat it as a main dish - sometimes I will add diced chicken if we are planning it as a main dish. Chicken salad (made with grapes and slivered almonds) with the croissants is one of my ALL TIME favs. Quiche is good too because it can be served cooler, or with fruit on the side as a main dish. With ham and spinach and swiss it's so good! And eggs are economical enough that you could make 2 to be sure to have enough.

Wasn't there a show on recently, 6 for the Road, or something like that, about a family hitting the road and homeschooling? I think they lived in an RV and would stop and sell fireworks as their main income. Interesting. I remember seeing the mom trying desperately to clean her kids by washing them in a ditch.:001_huh: I guess they were out of water. It sounds like so much fun, but we'd have to have income so we couldn't do it. I don't think my dh could think outside the box (house on foundation) enough!

Thanks for letting us know. I might need a new one. BTW, according to my son when he was three, it's a "world bulb".:D

For those of us still researching this topic, I just found tons of youtube videos the different brands and how to insert and remove, etc. Women are so helpful sometimes!:D

Rebecca, we were posting at the same time. Hopefully we'll get some answers about the comfort issue. :lol: One could potentially see a lot in the WalMarts bathroom!:lol:

This is interesting to me. May I say that I am so glad to have this board where we can discuss these things because I don't really have anyone I could ask about these IRL - although I might be surprised if I brought it up! I am a person who finds normal tampons very uncomfortable, irritating, etc, would you think I could handle this? I never even used tampons for many years because I started around the time of TSS scare - or at least my mom was scared - so I only used pads for many many years. Blech! Messy! Now I use tampons but have yet to find any that I find comfortable. I can't see how this cup would be any messier, but comfort might be a problem. I am not on any birth control, we use condoms and have for many years, so I've never tried a diaphram or sponge or anything like that. If you were new to all this, WWYD? Order several of the brands to try? Are they expensive? BTW, I skipped my period this month - I'm 18 days late, and no, not pg. I am about to turn 42 though. :confused: Maybe this is a moot point...:glare: