I'm not sure how you some of you argue with people in real life, but wow! Using words like idiotic, ludicrous and saying someone has their head buried in the sand if they happen to have a different opinion... That's not the way to persuade people of anything. I just disagreed with a study, you would think someone on here wrote the study and that my disagreeing was offensive. As I said earlier, I don't really have a position on spanking. The study says that spanking is as damaging as physical abuse. I have firsthand experience with both and I disagree. I didn't personally attack anyone by saying that, unless you are the person who ran the study and then I might take issue with you. I thank everyone on these boards, I have learned some great things from some great people (including how NOT to argue with people). I've seen how other posts have devolved like this (actually, many have been much worse than this), it's rather interesting to me that people do this. Anyway, this forum was here long before me and will exist for a long time after I leave today. Thanks again!

I'm not burying my head in the sand, I'm going from my extensive experience of both spanking and abuse. There are also studies saying that spanking is not bad. I wouldn't accuse someone of having their head in the sand if they didn't listen to those studies, I would accept they have a differing opinion.

Unless your purpose is to prove that hypothesis without considering the evidence. Wouldn't it be nice if all studies were pure? Then we wouldn't have contradicting studies. If someone known to be against vaccines published a study saying that vaccines are bad... Would you not question the results of the study?

And this... https://www.healthcare.gov/using-marketplace-coverage/getting-emergency-care/ From reading this and that other link I posted, it doesn't sound like they are legally allowed to do this under ACA. Your daughter's condition was an emergency, as evidenced by the fact that she was in the ICU! On one of those pages, it says you may have to appeal to get the coverage (which is completely ridiculous).

http://obamacarefacts.com/questions/is-out-of-network-emergcy-care-covered/ I found this. I wonder if it applies to your daughter's situation...

We've gotten the DKA hospital bill before (though not quite that much). We're still paying it off from our daughter's diagnosis almost 2 years ago. I'm sorry you are having to deal with it, but I'm very glad your daughter is okay. In an emergency situation like that... Can you appeal and get them to pay more? If she had waited to go to another hospital, bad things could have happened.

I disagree with the article as a whole, but particularly with this part. Spanking and physical abuse are not the same thing. I was spanked as a child, that part is barely a blip on my radar. One of the abuses I suffered was being yanked down the stairs by my hair (for years). To this day, I can't walk up the stairs at home without looking behind me. I don't think about watching my brother be spanked, but I think about him being kicked into a wall and finding out years later that it broke one of his vertabrae. There is a major difference between a swat on a diapered butt and abuse. I also think anyone can go into a "study" with a preconceived idea, and say the study proves their point. I'm not pro or anti spanking. I think comparing the physical abuse kids experience to spanking isn't even like comparing apples to oranges because at least they are both fruit.

That didn't occur to me. Might be worth every penny... As a fellow mother of a diabetic, I am impressed to see her so willing to protect her insulin pump (though not with the outcome of broken arms). Those things are so expensive, they should have gold inside. I hope she heals up quickly! As someone else mentioned, binge watching her favorite shows may be a good idea. It won't keep her down for long - as a teenager, I would mow the yard with a cast on my leg.

They have them at Babies R Us, not just the Safety 1st brand. They were similar to these that they sell at Home Depot, just not intended for earthquakes http://www.homedepot.com/p/QuakeHOLD-White-Furniture-Safety-Strap-4164/100205434 .

:iagree: When I first started reading your post, I was thinking maybe you don't appear to be the outdoorsy type of person. Maybe they weren't implying anything about your weight, they just don't see you camping for an entire week with your kids. I don't see me being able to do that, so it might surprise me that other people can do it. I need regular warm showers, more power to those that can do without!

My daughter won't eat spaghetti, cheeseburgers, or macaroni and cheese. She won't eat ketchup, the only thing that got me through most meals as a child. Weird kid. Okay, I had to look up sea slugs, never heard of them. You know those videos of parents gagging as they change a dirty diaper... That was me just now, looking at sea slugs and thinking about eating one. Do people really eat those? :ack2:

One night, my mom made my favorite dinner of Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. That same night, an avocado disappeared out of the fridge. She wouldn't answer me when I asked where it went, she let me believe she had put it in the waffles. She made me sit at the table for hours that night because I refused to eat dinner. I laugh about it now, but it was pretty mean spirited on her part. My kids have never been forced to eat something they don't want, or forced to sit at the table if they don't eat. I just can't do it. I wonder what she would have done if she had a diabetic child like we do...

I like that idea. For #1, I would invite them to lunch or dinner, see if they are judgmental. If they are, they will probably decline the invitation anyway. We would never send our kids over to someone's house without meeting the parents. We are probably weird for that, but I have trust issues.

I can't do this! I have the worst gag reflex and I can't stop it. I gagged when I was writing the other post because I thought about black-eyed peas and lima beans. So I just look rude when I decline almost everything at someone's house. It took my MIL a few years to figure it out.

All of those, and ricotta, cottage cheese (seriously, ew), yogurt, sour cream, seafood, a lot of veggies (I like the basics - corn, green beans, peas, carrots, that's it), mustard. The list goes on. It's not just stuff I don't like, it's that I like things certain ways. Brownies, cookies, and cake have to be just right, or I won't eat them. My husband always makes fun of me if we eat out, I special order or pick things apart. Two of my kids are picky, but nothing like I was at their age. The other two will try anything, like their dad. Yuck.

I understand what you are saying. If I could afford to buy the things I needed/wanted, I would have people bring things to donate to a good cause (toys for a children's charity, food for a food bank, clothes for a homeless shelter). Some people at DH's work threw us a baby shower for our second son, when we already had a lot of stuff from our first son. They went all out and spent way too much money. I still feel guilty about that, it just didn't feel right to me. I personally wouldn't go if I don't know someone very well. I definitely would not spend that much on them!

If you are staying 45 minutes south of Denver, then you'll be near Colorado Springs :) Garden of the Gods is beautiful, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is great. Pikes Peak has some awesome views. Peterson AFB has an Air and Space Museum that we'll be doing this week. There is also a WWII Aviation Museum that gets really good reviews. Painted Mines is east of the city and really pretty. Cheyenne Canon has some good trails and waterfalls. The Firefighter's Memorial is here. I hear the Olympic Training Center does tours, we've never done it. So many things to do here :)

I'm sorry that your pup is not doing well :( My heart is with you, it's a very difficult but loving decision to ease his suffering. I had an Irish Setter growing up - he was the same age I was. He had epilepsy his whole life, we were used to short seizures that would stop on their own. At 13 1/2, he went into grand mal seizures and we had to rush him to the vet. I wish there had been the option to have someone come to the house, it would have been so much easier to say goodbye at home.

Rent and food. We have one almost teenage boy and one 11-year-old boy the size of a teenager, so food could very well be above rent soon.

25, 26, 28, and 29.

We don't drink at all, but I hated beer even when I did drink. I think it's because my dad used to drink beer while he was mowing his property and he would sweat it out, totally turned me off of beer. He wasn't an alcoholic, but he was awfully close to that line. I haven't talked to him in two years because he called me drunk a few times telling me he doesn't think I'm his daughter. Maybe I should rethink that comment about him not being an alcoholic.

Colorado Springs Sports when I was 16. I loved that job.

I'm glad to see that other people have this problem. My two oldest are 12 and 11. I used to buy them lots of khaki cargo shorts and my oldest loved to wear polo shirts to school. Now, they wear athletic shorts all day, may or may not have a shirt that comes close to matching, and they often wear the same clothes to bed. Then, when I ask them change clothes the next day, I hear, "But I just changed clothes yesterday!" They don't understand why they have to change underwear everyday. DD and DS3 will have an appropriate amount of underwear in the hamper, DS1 and DS2 will have 2 or 3 pairs they wore over 7-10 days. Who takes a shower and puts dirty underwear on afterwards? It scares me. I feel like I failed them.

I am totally shocked at what some of you are paying for insurance with a high deductible. I hear about it briefly on the news, but the cost of health insurance is not something I talk to people IRL about very often. I can now understand why many people would like to have universal coverage. I can also understand why some people decide to pay the penalty vs getting insurance. The whole system sucks...

That's our reality here. The hospital here is considered a top children's hospital. They built a new hospital quite a while ago, and they outgrew it almost immediately. We've seen it go from a half empty parking garage to hardly being able to find a parking space in a span of 6 years.