:iagree: I also think it would be nice if your dh could have a talk with them and ask that they try harder to include you and your sons in "family" events. I'm in a blended family too, although I was grown when my mom got remarried, and it would just seem really odd to me to have family gatherings where 1/2 the family was excluded. Does this young man expect your husband to come to the party and leave his wife at home? It doesn't make sense and they need to see that. :grouphug:

My dd would have to be 14 probably but to be honest, it would depend on the friends. If I really knew and trusted the friends then 14 would be okay. I'd have some strong ground rules set tho.

I've been married 21 years. We spent a lot of time together our first years building our friendship and companionship so that by the time we had kids we were ready to give some of that up to focus on our kids and a new season. I think we understand that we are committed to each other for the rest of our lives, so we had better work at making it happy. For us, the commitment came first, the happiness follows because what other choice is there: to be miserable for the rest of your life? All that to say, I have never suffered abuse, neglect, indifference, or adultery from my husband, so I can not say that I wouldn't feel differently in those circumstances. But it seems that's not really what we're talking about here. I also find that the unhappier I am with myself, the unhappier I am with my husband and marriage. When I focus on making me a little happier (not meaning in a selfish way) then I am a better wife and mother. I am dieting and that makes me feel better about myself. I am trying to get more sleep. I am reading and learning more. I am focusing on a few good friendships that feed my soul. All of this makes me a better person to be around, and consequently a more interesting person to my husband. I does take work.

My dd is 9 and still loves to find any American Girl books she can. They are below her reading level, but she loves them so we go for it. She's read all the regular ones, and now is into the mysteries. We just checked out the most beautiful holiday story collection from the library. It's this one. It has a cd of Christmas music included. She also likes Kate DiCamillo and absolutely adored The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I am sure you could find a pretty boxed set of that with Because of Winn Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux. Such great books!!! I'll also second the Marguerite Henry horse books. I've seen them packaged in sets and my dd loves them. Also the Edith Nesbit books.

:iagree:Oh yeah, baby. That's a great one! I wish that any kind of "gourmet" cooking was not so lost on my in-laws or I would have such an awesome time! But I try and they still just want regular ol' cornbread dressing and sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. *sigh*

Oh we LOVE Top Gear here too! Unfortunately Richard is too short for me.:tongue_smilie: Did you see the episode where they bought a camper (they call it a "caravan" I think) and hilarity ensued? OMG I was rolling!:lol: I also love it when they play soccer or hockey with cars. Absolutely classic!

I trust Plugged In Online and they have this review. I've made the decision that we are not going to see it this year. My little guy, 5yo, gets scared pretty easily and the review suggests some quite dark moments. I think we'll try to rent the Captain Picard version instead!:D

The Annotated Anne of Green Gables The ABC's and All Their Tricks Young, Restless and Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists The Jesus You Can't Ignore - John MacArthur Handbook of Nature Study (I just have this one there to remind me to look for an older used version sometimes)

We have "raggies". They were originally cloth diapers that were trimmed in satin blanket edging and I used them for each child as a burp cloth that eventually became a lovey. They each started with 12 that were identical so we never had the worry of losing them. (I still make them for friends as my favorite baby gift) My dd is 9 and still sleeps with hers - she still has 6 or 7 of them - and her favorite stuffed purple frog. It's just stayed in her bed since she was about 5. My 5yo son is down to 2 and still likes to carry his around sometimes. I tuck it in my purse if we are going to the doctor, and times when he might be tired or stressed or if I want him to sleep in the car. I would ask her to keep it tucked in her bed so that it's "safe" all day and encourage her that she can go check on it when she wants to, but it's time to keep it in her bed. Most kids I know will transition to this pretty well if they know they can go check on it during the day if they need to. Then they will need to less and less.

I know you have the kidneys already soaked, so I'd try the above recipe. But have you thought about using pintos? Or black beans? My family doesn't like kidney beans and I thought that meant "all" beans until I tried pintos. I don't think they are as "gassy" either.:D I soak 'em. Then rinse in the morning, throw them in a crock pot with a "box" of broth (you know, the large box type container), a can of RoTel tomatoes, and one smoked sausage (I use lite) chopped up. Then I season a little more with a hefty sprinkle of garlic powder and cumin. Let it go all day and serve either as a soup with a side of cornbread, or over rice. My family digs it! It makes a lot, so we usually have it once, then freeze for later. Super cheap and easy.

Nevermind! That answers my questions!

Just wondering if the ones you put on like "stickers" would work? Milovany, do they come off? We are soon to be renters and I'd love to have this but it wouldn't be allowed unless it would come off or be easily painted over.

:w00t::smilielol5:

:iagree:I trust Carrie's book recommendations explicitly and keep the book list that came with DITHOR in my library bag in the car so I am never really out and about without it. And the story time books DO match what you are studying if you chose the History Interest set vs boy or girl interest. So many great books, so little time!:D

Will be praying for you guys Rose. :grouphug:

When my husband was a beginning Graphic Artist he worked at a packaging company. He spelled "aluminum" as ALUMINUMINUM and not one person caught it all the way through production. :001_huh:

Amen sister! I'm a spelling snob too. As a matter of fact I am really bucking down on my dd about spelling because nothing makes you look more ignorant than spelling mistakes. And I do agree that some people are just not natural spellers, so they have to work harder at it. For Pete's Sake, write out "appetizers"!!:lol:

Ain't that the truth! I need to really watch myself with this. I do much better if I can see something in person, so I try to limit my spending until I can do that. It's so hard!!

I instituted the portion control thing myself. What I put on your plate is all you can have. I also have a snack jar where I control what goes in it (3 snacks per day). One is something yummy, like a chocolate granola bar, one is fruit, and one is a dairy (like a cheese stick, or small yogurt). If you eat all those in one sitting, that's fine, but no more will be doled out. I see the "sneaking" as a discipline issue as bad as blatant disobedience and lying. I'd work on that. She needs consequences for disobeying you, and for lying (sneaking). I don't think she needs to see the kitchen as her domain where she can help herself. Sneaking food is a big problem of self-control, and now is the time to get a handle on it - as you know since you are asking. Ask me how I know (42 year old sneaky eater). It's a problem that will plague her the rest of her life. Also, I wonder if the "chubbiness" is kind of a newer thing, like turning 8. My dd is getting pudgy too, as I also notice more girls getting ready to go into those tween years. If it's a newer thing, it may not be something you have to actively work on (the weight loss part). I hope you get some good ideas.:grouphug:

Same here. My dd started with the current ped we use at about age 4 and has never been examined in certain areas. And she is so painfully shy and modest that I can't even imagine them asking this. For dd's ell visits we typically see the ped's wife who is his NP and we love her. But she knows us and knows how it would make my dd wither up and die if she were asked to check that area. DD is way more comfortable with a woman. We discussed upcoming changes since she turned 9 and that was about it. So I will keep on taking her for well visits. I think it's nice to have that relationship and comfort. I never have to feel strange about calling for small things, and their nurse is practically a personal friend and I like that they know who we are when we walk in. DS is a different story. He's being seen by some specialists about his growth since he was a preemie (he started his life at this practice) and the doc has taken a keen interest in him. He calls my son his "poster child" for healthy preemie development. Puffs me up a little. If "those" exams were routine in our ped's office, I would ask why, ask them to stop (although my ds doesn't care - he's a 5 yo boy:tongue_smilie:) and if it was something they wouldn't stop, find a new practice.

This is what I've had to do. I believe that my body's response to refined carbs is really, really bad, and the reason I can't lose weight unless I very strictly restrict carbs. I do also, unfortunatley, have to watch the calories though too. I can't lose weight sitting around eating bacon and ranch dressing. I also can't lose weight on WW because it's too easy to include things like pasta and bread and deserts - but that was me. I'm now on Medifast and feeling better than I ever have (aside from H1N1 right now:glare:). I've been on it a month and have lost 16.5 lbs. I have tons more energy. It's basically a 1:1 carb/protein ratio and I have found this to be what my body needs for weight loss and feeling good. If only refined carbs were easier to resist. I wish they smelled like fish, then I'd have no problem. ;)

I went to a neat party one time early in Fall where we put all the symbols for the Jesse Tree on slips of paper and each of us drew a paper. I can't remember, are there 12? Anyways, there was just enough of us. Then we had 3 or 4 weeks to each make 12 of whatever we drew out. I had Joseph's coat. So I went to the craft store and got little tiny hangers (they were in the doll clothes area) and some fabric that looked like colorful patchwork and made little coats. Then we all got together again and each got to share what we picked (it was a secret up to that point), what the story/verse is to go with it, and give each person one of what we made. It was SO special to see how each person creatively interpreted what they should make, and what materials they used. It'd be great for a mom's group, or Bunco group or something like that. I had also never even heard of a Jesse Tree before that, so it was really fun and inspiring to hear ideas of how those moms used this Tree during the season to make the stories come alive for their family. Of course, now I want my kids to take part in making the ornaments, but they were too little to participate at the time. Wouldn't this be a neat project for a Keeper's group or something?

Thanks for the kind words and hugs. It really does help! He's still sleeping, so I don't know if he has other symptoms yet. I just called the doctor and they said they might have to increase his dose depending on his symptoms. Very good point that because we have tried so hard to keep them well, they are not as sick as they could have been. That's possibly the case with my dd. Oh, and thanks for the natural remedies to implement. DS is already on 800iu of D (given in the form of poly-vi-sol) because he was tested as low a while ago. He's also on a med to increase his appetite so he will eat more (which is working wonders!) Thanks again for the prayers and hugs!

DD was diagnosed on Friday with H1N1 and got a script for Tamiflu. Said med needed to be compounded by the pharm and so cost an arm and a leg = $88. DS was not sick at the time but was given Tamiflu as a preventative for $57. This is in addition to my $40 co-pay. :glare: DD was not actually tested for flu because it would have cost significantly more with my insurance, but we did test for strep (she has a predisposal to it and gets it quite often). DD is actually doing quite well. She had the fevers, and still has stuffy/drainy head, but no cough. She's tired, but overall seems to be mending well. Last night at 2am DS woke up with 102 fever. He's the one I've been worried about all this time because he was a preemie, is still quite small, and has asthma. He's been on Tamiflu since last Friday!:001_huh: So what is the point of the expensive Tamiflu? Isn't it an anti-viral that is supposed to be providing him with some protection? Grrrrrrrrrrr. Actually, I'm not really posting that as a question, because I know the answer is that it's not fool proof, or there are reasons we probably never should have even gotten it in the first place, etc. I'm just now a tired and scared mommy for my little guy. Will you pray for him? He's 5 and only 36lbs. DD, DH and I will all be fine, but I am now really, really worried about him and how this will play out.

:lurk5: