I'm watching and it is terrible! They are digging into a deeper hole with their explanations! Megyn Kelly is being soft on them too. I'm not impressed.

You are exactly right!!! These are what she sent me, but they would be pear shaped when they are set. I had a marquee too in my last ring, I am wondering if the pear would be the same for catching on things.

I am in the process of replacing my lost wedding ring with insurance money. These are the two that dh and I have narrowed it down to, the band is similar to my original. All are pear shaped diamonds, even the ones on the side of the 3 stone ring. -The solitaire pear diamond will be.79 ct. -The 3 stone ring will have a middle diamond of .57 and the sides will total 1/3 ct. The quality of the diamonds are similar. The 3 stone would have a slightly thicker band than what you see in the picture. Which one would you choose? I can't decide which one I like the best. Help!!! Thanks!!!

I would definitely let her make this decision and not force her to go back to that school. Baylor in the spring sounds like a good plan!

Alpha Chi Omega alum here, pm me if I can do anything to help.

Ok, I have to put my plug in for malti-poos. We have one and she is one of the best dogs we have ever owned! She is 7 years old, extremely intelligent, was housebroken almost right away (we got her as a young puppy). She is a sweetheart, sleeps with us each night, a good watchdog, my little shadow-I just love her. Her parents were both malti-poos, so I guess that would make her a 2nd generation one, not sure. She weighs 9 pounds, very healthy, no problems whatsoever.

We look at the 35 mile drives to go to the mall or out to eat with a friend as baby steps for when she will officially be going away to college next year. I always worry about the other drivers too and am alarmed at all the people who text and drive! It is definitely scary!

When our dd is with us, we let her drive a lot for practice, she has driven through large cities with us, hours at a time. She is an excellent driver but I worry about the other drivers on the road along with her inexperience due to her age. I had more of a problem with the concert in a huge city and driving all that way as a female alone for the other situation. The other girls she was meeting were from other areas. Apparently some of the other parents felt the same as me because the trip didn't end up happening. We are actually the type of parents that let our kids have a lot of freedom within reason. I don't feel comfortable with her driving alone for long distances though but will have to come to terms with it next year when she attends college. She is looking at ones from anywhere to 1-3 hours away. At that time, we will have to trust that we gave her the best guidance and let her go.... .

I just said no for my daughter to drive 3 hours to meet friends and see a concert. She was not happy, but the farthest I let her go is to the next largest town about 35 miles away. She thinks we are overprotective, but I'd rather see her safe and mad at me any day than to take a chance with her safety.

I am using this debt snowball calculator which gives you a timetable for paying down your debt. You have the option of choosing to pay off the debts by interest or balance. I can see the "feel good/accomplishment" factor with the lowest balance first, but can see the benefits of getting those high interest rates taken care of as well. Here is the website for those interested. It is free and very helpful. http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

Do you pay down the credit cards/loans with the lowest balance first or the highest interest first? What way have you found works best for your families?

It took me a good 6 months to feel good again. I had an infection from the surgery and they had to go back in and clean it out, which I feel really delayed my recovery. I was tired all of the time and have tons of scar tissue now. I kept my ovaries and do get the pms symptoms each month still. If there is anything you can do to prevent the scar tissue from building up, do it! Otherwise, I feel much better and haven't had any other problems.

2 things I would like to add for you: 1) My kids went to ps after homeschooling. Each has made one good, true friend but it has taken YEARS. 2) Fundraisers: They are everywhere, at every grade level-we ALWAYS opt out. I am 100% against them, my kids aren't salespeople for the schools.

Nope

What age did you take your dd to the gynecologist for the first time? My dd is in her late teens, definitely not active and seems to have regular cycles, etc... so should I wait to take her? take her for a baseline exam? Not sure how to approach this....Thank you for any help or advice you can give me!

Thank you for all the replies and wonderful advice!! I have passed on the advice received here to her. I plan on calling her tonight and trying to get her to reconsider again. I would be more comfortable if she would at least wait until the divorce is final along with many other things. She will say that he has already bought his plane ticket, I will offer to refund it just to keep him away from her. That is all I can think of, she is a grown adult and she feels that I don't want her to be happy. If she won't cancel his visit, I will be making a trip there to check on things that is for sure. My sister is making sure that all of her checking account information is being hidden, social security numbers are locked up, etc...

My mom is on a dating site for older people. She is in her early 70's and has been on the site for about 6 months. My dad died a few years ago and she hasn't dated since he passed away. She has had a few dinner dates from the website but nothing serious. Well, now she drops the news on me today that a man she has been talking to (up to 5 times a day) is flying to see her and stay for 3 weeks at her house! They have been talking on the phone for the past few weeks. He says he is going through a divorce (he's still married though!) and is a few years younger than her. He has also recently filed for bankruptcy, she is not wealthy either having filed herself several years ago when my dad got sick, but she gets a monthly check from his SS and her retirement from work. He says he gets some SS money each month. I know she is lonely and determined to have him come (he already has the plane ticket purchased). I have told her my fears, researched him on the internet (found a drug charge), but he explained it away. She says she is prepared to have her heart broken-but I am fearing much worse. I have a sibling 30 minutes from her and she has told one friend of hers to be on standby in case she needs her while he is there. I live seveal hours away. Has anyone's parents met someone online? Am I making too much of the situation? Should I go there and meet this person? I would have to bring my kids and really don't want them around him. I have never been in a situation like this before and need any wisdom I can get.

Wow, Michelle looked several years younger in the makeover photo! She should have kept that look, her hair does look good curly too though but I love the straight look on her. Maybe Jim Bob didn't care for it.....

A real quick answer for you: as much as the budget allows for, also you have to think about your time. I tried to do all I could when my kids were that young, but if it was over our budget and took up too much of our time-it was out-I had to find an alternative or we just didn't do it.

Of course, Khan Academy, but also try puzzles.com, they are fun for gifted kids. I will look at my links at work and see if I have anything else for free that would work and post later.

I didn't know that there was a term for this! Sounds like a great plan, I despise clothes shopping and this sounds like the way to go for me!

In addition to all the wonderful suggestions above, I achieved nice, flat cookies after I purchased the following from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00629K4YK/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G0KJG4/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is Jana-the 24 year old courting with anyone? Her two younger sisters are obviously courting/engaged but I wondered about Jana. I think that Jim Bob and Michelle truly love each other and seem like a happy couple, but the things he was doing with her (rubbing up against her from behind, for example) on the double date, were strange to be doing in front of his daughter and her very nervous boyfriend. Jim Bob commented that he liked doing things with Michelle that "they couldn't do yet" since they were only courting.

I usually enjoy the Duggars, but Jim Bob's behavior on the double date is in one word....inappropriate! Sorry-trivial I know, but I just had to get it off my chest.

I could have grade skipped both of my children when they were younger and said no. This was after I put them in school after homeschooling them. While they were ready academically, they did not have the social/emotional skills to do so. It was the right decision at the time. When my ds was in 7th grade, the school wanted to accelerate him in science and math and again I said no-he wasn't ready. Now in 8th grade I have allowed him to take three high school classes (Math, Science, and Spanish) and he is thriving. It was simply the right time for him and he was mature enough to handle it. Dd needed time too, she continued on and then when she was 16 she applied to a high school where they start college early and finish high school at the same time and was accepted. She is doing great there and is very happy. For my kids, I am glad I waited until they were mature enough and it had a positive outcome. Now, if I would have done this when they younger, who knows? They might have done well, but as stressed as they get about schoolwork, I am glad they were able to take it easy when they were younger.