Coke, no matter what it is ~ Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, etc. :lol: I live in South Louisiana. I am also a weirdo who likes both Coke and Pepsi :tongue_smilie:

I live in South Louisiana and we pull over here. In my city, there is typically a lead police car and a police car at the end, along with motorcycle cops who go faster and stop at the lights to make sure everyone stops to let the funeral procession. Then they go ahead again to the next cross street and so on. The motorcycle cops will actually wave people going in the opposite direction over to stop. You pretty much have too pull over and stop. Most people do it automatically though and are already on the shoulder by the time the motorcycle cops come by.

I only have one doctor out of all the ones my family sees where we wait more than 10 or so minutes. It is my PCP and I am changing because of it. I don't believe there is an emergency every single time I go. Plus, although I like her and think she is a good dr, she is fairly easily replaced.

For my DH, who is Type 1 diabetic, it wouldn't really make a difference. He would have to give insulin for the strawberries, but I would still say they are healthier because they have more nutrients overall. I know a Type 1 diabetic who can't drink Diet Drinks because they spike his bg more than a regular coke would. Crazy, but true. He just sticks mostly to water. My DH can drink diet drinks with no problems whatsoever. I have no idea for a Type 2 diabetic who is trying control just through food. I would still say strawberries are healthier for them, but they may not be better for bg levels. So, it really depends on what type of healthier is meant.

Prayers coming from Baton Rouge!! It is scary and heartbreaking.

Yes, it is totally worth it. I have trained my kids to do all their laundry, fold the towels, and unload the dishwasher. They also vacuum and dust. And they do it well. I am a big believer in everyone working together to get the job done and to keep our house neat and clean. We all live here. Well, the 8 and 7 year old do it well, the 4 yo is still being trained. Yes, there is a learning curve and it takes time to teach them. It is time well worth it, imo. I would have had him help clean up the aftereffects though. Not a big deal that it didn't happen this time, I am sure there will be another time! lol

Yes!! And those pictures are adorable. My 4yo is playing t-ball right now. His first game he: ran to 3rd after hitting the ball, ran around the bases again after getting to home (the batter that had just hit was last batter, so he ran all the way around), would randomly start running the bases when he was playing in the field. One of those times, he collided with the child who was *supposed* to be running to 3rd, which then involved his coach holding him on the field and then my DH having to go get him. (The other child was fine). He holds his coach's hand in the field and while walking up to bat. It is adorable! My 7yo is in coach's pitch and they do much better. The games aren't as cute, but much more like a "real" baseball game.

I am so sorry. We have rented through Jackson Mountain Homes before and plan to again. They have a really good reputation (from what we have heard and our experience also). Good luck!

I don't require it, but they all drink it with at least one meal a day, sometimes two. They usually get OJ with breakfast. I don't encourage them to drink it at other times because of several reasons: 1. I hate milk and never think about it 2. I have one child who has tummy problems if they drink too much and one whose has excema problems if he drinks too much 3. It is expensive 4. I believe water is overall healthier for you and want to encourage a water habit at a young age My DH loves milk, but was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 2 years ago and milk really screws up his blood sugar levels. So, even though we are a family of 5, with 3 boys, 1 gallon of milk a week is plenty.

My 2 oldest, age 8 and 7 know a little about 9/11, but not much. I started talking with them both about it in the last 2 years, on the anniversary of the events. It has also been mentioned when they have seen other news that relates to terrorism. I haven't told them about Bin Laden yet today, mostly because I want to get school done before going down the rabbit trail of who, what, when, where, why and how. I have no problem with them knowing, but it hasn't been a part of our daily lives, so it isn't that relevant to them (in a personal way) yet. We do however talk about military a lot - we have family members who serve. They know there is a price being paid for our freedom and we appreciate that. They know more in general terms and less in specific details. They will be taught all about it when I feel like they are ready, so probably small amounts along the way. Similar to what we have already been doing, but more details. My 4 year old is clueless and I am fine with that right now. He is mostly around when we talk about things, but it goes over his head in a lot of ways.

I am a mom of 3 boys, at one point I had 3 age 4 and under. My house is a lot cleaner now after homeschooling for 2 years than before. But, it has nothing to do with where my kids go to school. It has everything to do with the fact they are 8, 7, and 4 now and can actively participate in keeping the house clean (being helpful and everything!) It sounds like your year was a success academically. I really think if your DH's only reason to send your child to school is the house, then I think he may have his expectations of what you can do may be off kilter. Yes, as a SAHM, I consider keeping the house up as part of my job. But, being a mom comes 1st. And now school comes before cleaning as well. My house is still much cleaner because my kids have gotten older.

I don't lock the doors during the day when I am home. My kids are in and out all day anyway, so it wouldn't even make sense. I do lock the doors and use my security system when not at home/at night. The front door is almost always locked bc we don't use it often. I do answer the door, but I have all my curtains/blinds open so people can see in anyway. If I ever felt uncomfortable, I wouldn't open the door. That has never happened though. Our neighbors on both sides are home most of the time and in and out as well. The neighbors on one side are my IL's. I also have 2 dogs in the yard, so I am always alerted when someone drives or walks up.

Joseph (my 4yo) has a tendency to slap people on the butt. Usually just people we know well, family or close friends. We have had MANY conversations about keeping our hands to ourselves, not touching people on their booty, etc. His first t-ball game he is in the field and the coaches wife (who we had only met 1x before) was standing near him and he walked right up and slapped her on her butt. I wanted to die. Once in church, we had a missionary speaking and Micah (7, but was 4 at the time) heard him mention frogs. He loudly said, "When I fart sometimes Nana says I have a frog in my pants, but I don't. Just a fart." People all over our section heard and I saw shoulders start shaking from laughter.

My 4 yo and 7yo share a room. I go in and take a big laundry basket with me. I throw away any trash and put anything out of place in the big basket. Then they go in and clean out the basket. I found that they didn't "see" what was out of place. They then have to pick up every night before bed. Eventually, it gets messier - we slack on cleaning up at night because of late nights at the ballpark or whatever and we repeat the process.

My oldest just got his cast off Friday from a broken wrist. His writing hand, of course. lol I wrote everything for him for the first 2 weeks and then he wrote half and I wrote half. With the thumb in a cast, she may not be able to write at all. It wasn't fun, and it took way longer (for me - for him it was faster because I helped him stay on track), but I was actually glad I wrote for him for awhile, especially math. I was able to see more clearly the areas he struggled and where it was in a problem that he got off track.

True. My 8 year old hides all pain, and my 7 year old treats a splinter the same as a broken bone. Which definitely makes it harder to make a medical decision. I admit, my dealing with daily pain does color my opinion and would be difficult for me to overcome when making decisions about my kids as well.

If it were me, I would pull him because he is more uncomfortable after class. I would be concerned something he was doing was aggravating the injury. 9 is young to have a neck injury and my concern would be long-term complications from failing to heal properly. I have pain in my shoulder from when I was 18 (in a wreck, surgery, best case scenario) and it really stinks to have to change what I am doing and how bc of an injury in the past. In my case, there was nothing better that could be done, but I would do anything I needed to try and avoid that for my dc. I think there is a difference in being injured and having to withdraw and just quitting because you don't want to do something anymore. My oldest went to 3 soccer practices and then broke his wrist. He can't play. I don't view that as "quitting". He has an injury. He does dress out and sit on the bench every game bc his brother is also on the team.

I see my regular dr every couple of years. I see my urologist (I have kidney stones) once a year or more if having trouble. I see a neurologist once a year (migraines). I almost *never* go to the dr for being sick. But, I am rarely ever sick. I don't even get colds that often. I do get migraines and kidney stones though. I would rather a cold.

I almost always tell my spouse. If it is extremely personal to the person telling me - female problems, or something sexually related (excluding affairs), then I don't tell my DH. I would tell my DH about an affair, depending on who it was. I also don't tell if someones "secret" is gossip for two reasons. One, I don't know if it is true or not and two, because it isn't even their secret to tell. BUT, everyone telling me secrets knows my position and if someone that doesn't already know my position, I tell them before they get far enough to have revealed a secret.

If I were staying, I would totally do the claw foot tub. I love baths ;-) But, for selling, I think people will balk at not having a shower. I even would if it were for my kid's bath room and I hate showers. lol

I have never had kids in public schools, so I don't know all the various fees, etc., but I have friends whose kids are in the public school system. They spend at least $200 per child for uniforms, not counting shoes. And every school list I have ever looked at the store would be about $50 and then there are additional "workbook" fees starting at $20 and going up. So, you would hit the $1500 mark before your children stepped foot on the school property.

My sister is graduating from med school in May/June with her PhD/MD. She just finished interviewing for residency programs. She went to a small, private college and majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry. When she was researching colleges, she asked for % of students being accepted into medical school from their programs and based her decision on a high percentage. She was an excellent student and accepted into many schools. She didn't go to the best one she was admitted to because it wouldn't have been a good fit for her personally One summer during college she took part in a summer program at Baylor. When she graduated college, she worked for 2 years at the NIH. Then she went to University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. We will find out in a few months where she will be going next.

I am sorry. I will be praying. My dad was killed in a car accident when I was 5, almost 6. My mom was a widow at 29, with 4 kids 8 and younger. I will be praying for your friend and her kids.

That is interesting. I live in Louisiana and all the McDonald's around here print the information on the wrappers. Not for salads, but all sandwiches and fries. My DH likes to stop at McDonald's when we travel because he is a Type 1 diabetic who has an insulin pump. McDonald's has the nutrition info easily available - on the wrappers at all the ones we have gone too or on the wall for things like salads. I have never seen them on the menu boards. They also have some of the healthiest choices among fast food restaurants. He spent lots of time looking at websites and gathering the nutrition information so he would know what he could eat if he is in a situation where fast food is the easiest/best choice at the time. McDonald's won hands down for the easiest to get nutrition info and the healthiest options. He did only check fast food restaurants we have available to us, so I have no idea if there are others that are better or not. Oh, and to be clear, it is not like we consider McDonald's health food, just among the best options for us for those times we do end up eating fast food.

We are starting back this coming Monday. August 2nd