Took a look at the pic, that would really be an easy one to photoshop. I see you've had a few offers, but if you still need my help, I'd be happy to. my screen name @gmail .com

78.79% I got #s 4, 7, 8, 13, 14, 27, & 33 wrong. I should have gotten 4, 7 and 8 right. We studied all of that last year. I'm really not sure where my brain was, except for the fact that I was rushing though to try and get it done before we went out the door. I have never delved into any philosophy, so 13 was out of my league. I really should have gotten 14 right too. 27 was way over my head. 33 I was split between A and D. chose the wrong one. I'm going to quiz my 11yo and see how she does. I bet she could get half of them.

Could you post that pic? It may be easier than you think to rearrange. If it's doable, I'd be happy to edit it for you. I have a long history of making people "disappear" :001_smile:

My 11yo is on her second pair. She loves them, I'm fine with them. Our old pediatrician had a pair. The kids loved it when he'd cme rolling into the exam room. I think 6 may be a tad young for them, but that's your call. My 6yo is not mature enough for them. And yes, they are more dangerous than regular shoes. I let my kids climb trees, ride skateboards, and jump on trampolines- so take my opinion for what it's worth.

We have iphones. I think that most of the new fancy phones are pretty similar. There are 2 areas that the iphone rises above the rest. The first is, it's an ipod. While the other phones may have mp3 players, the iphone is going to perfectly interface with itunes. Pretty much any apple product is going to be very intuitive when it comes to using it, and the iphone is no exception. The second advantage, and in my opinion this is HUGE, is the applications that you can load onto the phone. The iphone is like a mini computer. You can upload all sorts of programs onto it. There are many free aps out there, and I rarely pay for one, unless it's really important to me. I have added task managers, voice dialers, grocery lists, a google ap that searches by voice (way cool), and many games that keep my kids entertained when we're waiting in doctor offices. The ability to load aps onto the phone makes it almost limitless in its possibilities. Not to mention that it also has built in gps. I would suggest going to the Apple store and looking at it in person. It's impressive.

We have chihuahuas. We used to be big dog people, but somehow we morphed into owning these two little things. I have to say, I LOVE these dogs. They're really relaxed, happy to lay around all day. They're good with my kids, I think in large part because we've had them since puppyhood. You wouldn't think, but they are super low maintenance dogs. Almost like having cats, but not quite. We had to leave ours with a foster mom for a few months, both of them got along famously with their cats. They play, sleep, play sleep. Other than when they were little puppies, they don't chew on anything. The house breaking has gone great with one. The other one has to have an eye kept on her. Happy puppy hunting!

If you are a Christian, you might want to read Wild at Heart, by John Eldridge. It explained so many things that I just never knew I never knew about men and boys. The superhero thing is hardwired. Men WERE created for great adventures!

A 6yo would probably be using a booster, which you wouldn't have use for on an airplane. We check our carseats with our luggage, because getting through the airport with all of them is a pain. We always bring one for our 8yo and we also gate check his wheelchair. We have had damage on the wheelchair, but wheelchairs aren't as tough as car seats. We've never had damage on our car seats. We've also never bubblewrapped them- just tossed them in the provided clear plastic trash bags.

Go. It doesn't sound like you'll regret it.

I think I'd be ok with the lip gloss, mascara and compact powder. Anything more would be too much.

driving alone in a car, radio blasting, singing loudly. Beach bonfires

Here are my thoughts about everyone's feedback on this. Yes, we're still going to the party. I don't see the point in keeping two 4 year olds from enjoying each other's company. I, too, have made amazon wishlists for the kids in the past. The purpose was to have one central list of pre-approved, non junk gifts for our families to purchase. The prices were within levels that were discussed before hand with the family. This was an approach that we as a family came up with, no one was just sent the list. Doing this cut down tremendously on the sheer number of *things* that my kids received from family who lived across the country. It aided us in down-sizing Christmas. Which brings me to my next thought- 125 toys are more than a lifetime's worth in our family. If I had to approximate, I think my kids each receive about 10 toys a year. The sheer # just surprised me. I was pretty clear on the fact that they are not expecting me to buy the $350 item. What bothers me on a personal level is that 1) they clearly expect *something* from the list or they wouldn't have put the card in the invite, 2) there was nothing under $15. When we have had bday parties in the past (it's been about 2 years since our last one), most of the kids brought gifts. Some just brought homemade cards, which were absolute treasures. We have cut down on bday parties as a family choice, but I'm not opposed to them or presents for that matter. We will be giving her a nice book.

My dd was invited to a bday party for a child that we know from church. I don't know the parents well, but the girls play in sunday school together. I was just looking for the RSVP # and out fell a registry paper from Toys R Us. I looked it up- 125 items ranging from $15-$350 :eek: I refuse. There is just NO way. Even if any of the selections fell under my $10 budget, I still don't think I would give in.

I've noticed too! I wonder if the social groups have anything to do with it as well. There may be all sorts of interesting conversation going on off of the general board. Or not....I don't have the time to figure that one out.

Please tip. I've never met a stylist that didn't depend a great deal on tips to make ends meet. 20% is the standard.

A few thoughts. I know a gal like this and her issues stem from extreme insecurity. It seems like she is the most secure, all knowing person in the world (just your classic know-it-all), but she is admittedly, extremely insecure. The power struggles are part of her trying to prove herself as worthy. I remember you have one son who is a Christian, but I'm not sure if this is that guy. Knowing his worth in Christ may be a real issue for him. Well, even if he's not your Christian guy, this may be the source of the problems. Another thought would be putting him in a leader role in some aspects of his life, and as a subordinate in others. The truth is, he may just be a natural leader. My husband is one of those. Dh and I married when he was 19, so I've seen him through many, many stages in life. One thing has been a constant- he always ends up leading. One of the greatest aspects of leading that he had to mature into (and really get knocked on his @ss over) has been submission. Nobody can be a great leader without also knowing how to submit to authority. This son of yours sounds like he has a leaders drive, but obviously lacks the maturity to understand the submission aspect of truly great leadership. An outlet, and/or mentor in this area would be great. It sounds like your dh and you need to firmly draw the lines of authority. I'm not sure what this all looks like in practical terms. I see it as 2 separate issues. 1) how he relates to you and dh. 2) how he relates to his siblings. I think the most important is the first. You both need to seriously break the boy of thinking that he has any authority over you. I'd be tempted to let the second problem sort itself out. He will have plenty of natural consequences with his siblings, without you doing much. If anything, I'd probably just give his siblings the green light to rail on him and not step in much other than that. Not having teens myself (although dh is a youth pastor, so I spend my life surrounded by them), I'm not sure if any of this is helpful in practical terms. My ds has his father's personality, so I am very sure that we will deal with managing this personality at some point ; )

:lol::lol::lol:

Hey Leah, you and I live in the same town. Are you Covenant home Leah?

We were just at a mall is San jose yesterday and it was PACKED. I was really surprised. In our beach town, stores are starting to close and restaurants are def thinning out.

Dh and I both come from divorced families. My mom was the first to get remarried. She and her dh dated for over a year before they got married. It was definitely weird at first. We lived across the country, so by the time we met him, they were very serious. My mom (who is one of my best friends) became super sensitive and emotional at times. Looking back, I know it was because she was so nervous for us to like him. She was kind of a pain for about a year before and a year after they were married. The adjustments and emotions of it all just made her a little on edge. That said, now that we know him well (They've been married for 6 years now), we LOVE him. My kids call him GrandDad and he is just really, really great. For my kids, he has stood in a gap left by my absentee dad and I'm truly grateful for the way he loves them. He doesn't have any kids of his own, so my kids are his only grandkids, and he definitely dotes on them. On dh's side, his dad remarried about 3 years ago in whirlwind fashion. They met in September and were married by December. We were definitely a little skeptical at first. We didn't meet them until February. She won me over immediately. She has a large family (5 kids, a lot of grandkids) who we found out, were just as skeptical as we were. She treats my kids like she's known them since birth. They call her Grandma. I truly enjoy her company. She's really the MIL I always wished for. Despite any reservations we had at first, our parent's remarriage has been an extremely positive experience for our family. I am grateful that they have a partner for the rest of their lives and I also very much enjoy my relationship with them. btw, both parents met their spouses through online dating sites. :001_smile:

I can relate to that for sure. Though over the years, the fighting has definitely mellowed. We are still absolutely passionate about eachother and I think more dependent on each other than we were in our early years. We've also grown up together. He's 30, I'm 28. Our 11th aniversary is on Saturday and we've been together since I was 15. We're a total best case scenario of teenage pregnancy :)

I'd wait. In fact, I intended on starting latin in 4th grade, but I put it off. And then 5th grade, but we moved and I put it off. We're just starting in 6th grade and REALLY enjoying it. I'm so glad I waited until we could really commit to getting it done.

Praying for you Jessica, and all of the ladies who responded in similar situations. ((((HUGS)))))

No worries. It's a stressful situation and I totally get the added stress of you and your dh wanting to handle it differently. Btdt. When dh and I get like that, I usually wash my hands of the whole thing. It's just totally not worth the marital stress, iykwim. I hope this gets resolved soon for you!

Sorry about that. My response was more of a response to other's posts than your op. I hope everything works out for you!