We have been members at both but prefer Costco. It just seems to have nicer quality stuff. I think it is like the difference between Target and Walmart. Target seems to have nicer quality than Walmart. We now live where there is no Costco though so we are regulars at the Sam's Club, which is still much better than neither.

I have been having trouble with spots of cancer and pre-cancer on my face and chest. I have already had two cancer spots removed from around my left eyebrow and now barely have any left eyebrow left. I have also had a cancer spot removed from my upper chest, just under my neckline. When I was younger I had many bad sunburns and I have fair skin so now I am paying that price. I was concerned that I would have lots more on my face so my dh prescribed the Flonida 5% cream. Today is the 11th day of using it twice a day and I am pretty miserable. My face looks hideous, very red and, in some places, crusty. Very painful and I am having to take pain medication. I am suppose to use it for 14 days, though I don't know if I can last that long. On the upside, I have read that it is suppose to make your skin look much better and younger than it did before but I think it takes quite a while to heal. I am just wondering if anyone else has had any experience with this medication.

If you live in Oklahoma and teach science, I'll bring my two to you. :001_smile: ETA: Just noticed you are in AZ. Bummer.

I have found that many doctors and medical places do have a different price for cash paying customers. So I don't think people would think it is odd to ask if there is a different price for cash paying patients. It is definitely worth a try. I have saved a lot of money that way. The other thing is that you might want to consider searching for doctors in your area who do not take insurance. This is becoming more common these days. These docs do not have the overhead required to process all of the insurance claims and wait forever to get their money so they normally charge lower prices and they frequently list many of their charges up front so you can do some comparison shopping. It is definitely worth looking into. My dh started such a practice in our town about a year ago and he charges $55 for a normal office visit. He sets aside 1 hour appointment slots for new patients and 30 minutes for returning patients. He also receives discounts for lab work and passes a good deal of that amount on to his patients. Look around, search the web and you might find some of these kinds of practices in your area.

Unfortunately these days many people are very quick to accuse others of gay bashing and bigotry when there is none. Some people look for it in everything and will find it everywhere, even when it is not there.

I agree with this and others who have posted similar thoughts. I would not even tell the girls parents. I would assume it was my responsibility, as if this were my own child, since I was the adult in charge and they were under my supervision and care. I frequently remind my sons to watch their doors and be careful not to hit other cars when they are getting in and out of dh's car. Our van has sliding doors so they don't have to worry about it with the van and they are not used to having to be careful. Maybe this girl was also used to a van or maybe her parent's car door does not open as easily as yours does. Maybe the car she is used to riding in is smaller than yours so the doors have more room to open further. Maybe the wind was blowing and caught her door at just the right moment (I've had that happen). Regardless, her parents were not there to be able to warn her to be careful and you were supervising so I would think it is your responsibility.

I thought I wanted our own pool but dh had one in the past and did not want the upkeep and expense. Our neighborhood has an absolutely wonderful pool and we use it a lot. It has zero-entry or beach-entry or whatever they call it and it has a huge shallow area. Overall it is quite large and our kids really love going there because they get to meet other kids and play with them. It is definitely a win-win for us and I am now very happy that we did not put in our own pool. We don't socialize enough anyway so this helps a bit.

I think I would show the ortho the video above or tell him about it (he's probably heard of that type of treatment) and see what he has to say about that type of treatment VS the type he practices. It would be interesting to hear his point of view on the differences between the two treatment types and how that boy's face was impacted by the braces (or not). I hope you update this post after your meeting so we can hear what he had to say. My sons are too young for braces now and I don't know if they will need them or not but it would be good information to have when considering the options. I had never heard of facial changes with braces so I find this kind of shocking.

I grew up in Oklahoma, went to college in upstate NY, lived many years in New England and Texas and I have never heard of it until now.

We recently had our lucky streak broken also. My two will be 8YO in Sept and Nov and had never thrown up before. About a week ago, ds with Sept b-day woke up freezing cold during the night. While I was looking for the thermometer, he lost it on the kitchen floor. We were both so shocked it took us both a minute before we moved into action. I honestly had to think for a minute to figure out the best way to clean up that huge mess (and I had to hold my breath). Turns out ds had caught hand, foot, mouth disease from the neighbor children. I think he only threw up because of high fever. Other ds caught it too and never had the throw up part. I actually even had some symptoms of it. I'm glad we are all over it. I think that is the highest fever my two sons have ever had.

We use cots now but have had bad luck with air mattresses also. Actually, the boys and the dad use cots now. I stay home:).

He definitely has excellent research. His book The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work was excellent.

Every now and then I purchase two large rotisserie chickens and shred them and freeze them in small-ish bags (inside of a larger bag). Then I can quickly reheat them to use on top of yummy salads and in quick tacos, burritos and casadias.

My dh and I went to premarital counseling with a dear couple who had been married a very long time and did this as their ministry. We went through a workbook together and met with them once a week to discuss it. It was awesome because it made sure we discussed pretty much every important topic that could potentially trip us up later. We also had to work together to come up with a shared budget and discuss all things surrounding money, including how money was handled in our family of origin. We also talked about all things surrounding children and many other topics. I think it was one of the very best things that we could have done to prepare us for marriage.

I can see how you would be annoyed and also very careful how you approach her with that, since you don't want to discourage her helpful attitude. It sounds like you handled it very nicely, considering she had been told multiple times to ask first. She sounds like such a sweet girl with such a helpful attitude. Maybe you could start thinking about how she can be more help to you in the kitchen long term and start moving her in that direction (it sounds as if you are already doing this some though). Maybe if your breakfast menu consists of the same 5 or 6 things that get rotated, you could have her help you with breakfast long enough that she would start understanding things like the yogurt situation (we don't use the last bit because we need it to make the next batch) and other special rules or processes you follow while making breakfast. She obviously wants to help out and seems to look forward to taking on more responsibility in the kitchen, which is great in the long run for you and for her. It sounds like she just needs to learn more about the process you follow for the various meals. All in all, I think it is a good problem to have, even though I can see how it could be frustrating at times.:)

We did the same thing and I love having the extra sinks.

Actually my dh is like this. He makes me tired sometimes.:)

I guess I should check with the OT before I do anything. I was thinking that since he is so miserable about anything to do with writing, I would let him type for his dictation, copywork and narration type of work. I have been holding back and not having him do as much since he is so adamantly against writing and everything requiring writing is a battle. He would still have to write for math and spelling but, you are right, the OT may not want me to do that.

Can anyone recommend some good programs for teaching kids to type?

Well, based on what everyone is saying here, I will soon start teaching him to type, if the OT is okay with it. We have an appointment to finish up his evaluation on Friday so I can find out then. I was wondering about how one would do dictation but I guess you would do it just the same, only he would be typing instead of writing. I am guessing he would be very excited about this and it would probably speed up his writing a lot, as I think he has plenty to say but it is just painstakingly slow for him to write it.

And you write very well:). I love reading your blog and have been a regular reader now for I-don't-know-how-long. Your kids are awesome and you and your husband are wonderful parents. I have thought of you often as I have been uncovering the issues with my two sons (both from Russia).

i think I would let your dh look over FLL and WWE and then maybe do one or two lessons of each with him (let him teach you maybe) and see what he thinks. I think it is preferable for both the student and teacher to be able to use the materials without hating it. If he actually hates FLL and WWE, I would look around a bit more and see if I could find something that better suits them both. I have found that, sometimes, no matter what I use, my sons will say they hate it because they would just rather play.

I have also read a lot of the classics to mine when they were younger and am finding they often don't remember them now, even though they really enjoyed them at the time. They might remember it if I tell them something about it but I can tell they don't remember it well. I have already sold some of those and I now regret it because I know they would love to read some of them now. I will definitely be buying some of them again.

My son has been playing piano for the past year. I'm not sure how well he would do with learning to type. I will likely wait to ask the OT her advice on this before making a final decision.