Yes, and currently preventative care is usually covered at 100%.

Have you checked to see if your children qualify for the CHIP program in the state (Medicaid for kids). I would do that before I would forego insurance for kids. Children break limbs, come down with appendicitis, need tonsils taken out, develop life threatening allergies, etc and that can all happen at the drop of a hat. That's why CHIP programs were developed.

Except I have never heard of an insurance that didn't have an Out of Pocket Maximum that they would pay. For most policies I have seen now, the OOP is 2x the deductible. So $17,200 + $12,800, so right at $30,000 instead of $107,200.

Mesenteric Adenitis? Have you had a cold virus recently? DD presented with the same kind of pain, very sharp for a few days then was a dull ache for a few weeks. Often is misdiagnosed as appendicitis. She was checked for gallbladder, appendicitis, and ovarian torsion. It popped up 3 days after she was diagnosed with the flu. It can be a recurring thing too with any virus. ETA: Your description is almost dead on for the pain and area I think.

Groupon has lots of great deals for Branson for things to do!

My 17 year old doesn't have a regular job but babysits fairly frequently. We give her a clothing allowance, extracurricular activities, provide her cell phone, food, and shelter. Pretty much anything else, she is responsible for (haircuts, makeup, food outside of the house, etc). When she starts driving (in the fall), she will be responsible for putting gas in our vehicle that she drives and paying 1/2 of the insurance increase for adding her on. Throughout her senior year, we will slowly start to transition her with removing her clothing allowance, etc since she plans on getting a job to work her Senior year. We will still provide the basics for her but any luxuries are on her.

Yes this! I thought my Mom's cat was peeing out front of her house and figured out it is her Boxwoods that smell like urine to me. Apparently other people think so too. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/boxwood/boxwood-has-bad-odor.htm

Definitely a Dollar Tree if you have one close. If you don't and can't find any comparable pricing locally, you could order online from their website.

Another vote for the Happy Planner. They are so customizable with free printables, add ons, etc that you can pretty much make it do anything you need it to!

Definitely! We do use them in the winter! It's hard in the summer because I love natural light (much to my vampire teens' chagrin). I have noticed a HUGE difference since we switched entirely to LED bulbs for our lighting too! It cut down on the heat a lot.

I would freeze to death! LOL!

If you live in a warmer, humid climate, when do you turn on the a/c? It was 85 here today and I flipped the air on at 81 degrees in the house but I'm thinking for summer temps of only running the a/c to bring the temp down to about 78. We live in an older house. We've done new insulation both in the walls and attic, but haven't replaced the windows yet so it seems to heat up quickly.

Basically what she said. If the hormone production isn't there, night wetting still is going to happy (my Anatomy professor JUST talked about this very thing last week). The biggest factor for my night wetter was also making sure he wasn't constipated. He would start night wetting again as soon as he was backed up. As long as we keep him cleared out, he does fine.

I am 5'0. Stopped growing at 12 years old. We are personally against ANY kind of medication that messes with hormones (including birth control). My DD has a friend who is 4'9 at 16 years old. It really isn't that big of a deal except for being able to find pants that fit.

I would do antique rose for the flowers on the corsage for sure. DD's date actually did a black vest and colored tie with his black tux. It looked very sharp.

My Esthetician always does a mild peel on me when I get my facials done. You really can't tell anything until a few days after the facial. Often, my face will break out the next day with everything that got brought to the surface. I'm actually headed for one next week and I can't wait! ETA: I just went back and read your post again....you definitely have to give it several days after an acne facial to see the results! My teenager gets them and her face has gotten so much better! You may have additional blackheads erupt, etc for a couple of days.

If I have zero relationship with the graduate including distant relatives, nothing. If we have a good relationship with the graduate- $20 If we have a close relationship with the graduate (niece/nephew, BFF, etc) $50 We will ONLY send graduation announcements to close family & friends. Sending them to anyone else just smacks of a gift grab to me. Kind of like expecting moms that invite Susy's aunt's cousin's girlfriend Sara to her baby shower.

Really? So a 10 year old girl shouldn't know that if she's raped by her babysitter, uncle, friend's dad, etc that she could get pregnant and needs to tell a trusted adult? Many sexually abused children don't tell anyone until they are adults, if ever. A child knowing they could get pregnant if they are sexually active is VERY important for cases like those, and those of 5th graders who think sex is "the thing" to do. I knew a girl that got pregnant when she was TWELVE. It happens.

We actually bought a dress on Amazon for one of DD's dresses this year! It worked out very well for the price we paid. Most of the places that make the dresses will let you send measurements and make it custom for you for no extra cost! The key thing is making SURE you order based off of their listed size charts and reading the reviews.

Going through this now......I do think it CAN get better by way of insisting that the hoarding be organized. Shelving, totes, etc in order to bring the hoard down to an organized mess. When you encounter 3-5 items of the same kind, SNEAK it down to 2 items of each kind. You can keep the hoarder busy helping you sort through everything by giving them stacks of documents, photos, etc to sort to occupy them long enough to allow you to sneak things out. The one I am helping right now doesn't even know WHAT all is there so it's been a lot easier to get rid of things without the person even noticing. To get the process started, you can go with the insistence that Adult Protective Services and EMS require that there are clear exits and paths through the house big enough for a rolling stretcher to get through in the event of a health emergency.

I worked on a Geri floor for 4 years....definitely pretty common and to be expected. My current client is around that age and just getting him out for a doctor appointment wears him out pretty quickly. The extent of his daily activity is walking out to the front porch to bird watch and then back to his chair.

Hmph..........My girl had professional shoots done for both her Military Ball and Prom. She was gorgeous and actually agreed to it. I'll always cherish these last few moments of her adolescence and our photographer friend had an awesome model to add to their portfolio. My Prom was 20 years ago.......we spent all day in salons getting our hair done and rented limos way back then.....that isn't something new.

My daughter's boyfriend Promposaled her......they were already planned on going together since her dress was on order but he wanted to do something cute for her (even though she didn't care either way). It was cute. And private. Not everything is about showing out for appearances. This is a To Each Their Own Thing.... Right now oodles of kids are having 2nd Christmas from the Easter Bunny. Mine got small baskets but I don't begrudge others who enjoy doing things different than me.

OMG! Are we the same person? We downgraded from a Chevy Tahoe to a Trax 6 weeks ago! :) I absolutely LOVE mine! It's Graphite colored and oh my, it gets so dirty! I have been washing it on average of 2x a week. Fortunately the dealership we bought our's from has an automatic carwash on site and one of the perks of purchasing it was that I can use the car wash as much as I want for free!!!

The best thing for me has been my Fitbit! It allows me to input my goal weight, and log my food and exercise and tells me how many calories I need in a day. I think for a teenager, a visual motivator like that would probably be better than just a meal plan. He can still eat what he wants, he just has to log it and will be alerted if his intake goes over his calorie limits. Also, make sure he is eating enough good fats. DH and I have both noticed our weight loss stalls if we aren't eating enough fat.