:glare: a tip should never be mandatory. I'm sorry but a tip by definition is given freely for quality of service and/or good food. It should not be part of the bill. Tips should be an incentive for the staff to maintain high standards. I would not return to a place that automatically adds a tip to the bill. That being said DH and I tend to be very good tippers when we are pleased with the service we receive.

Rarely. He might make me a steak, baked potato, and broccoli, but that's about it. He's never taken the kids to help them pick out any gift or planned anything with them on mothers day or any other day. For the most part it's just another day here. I quit Fathers day because what's the point?:glare:

:iagree:

Or it was "released". The pet store in our old town quit selling young turtles and tortioses because so many have been dumped on him or brought to him after being found in dumpsters and snowbanks. Often they are sick or suffering from shell rot when he gets them. Many people take on these pets without thinking what a big and long term responsibliity it is. My cousin has a pair of tortoises that taken care of will live 75 years or so. Our slider turtle will live twenty plus. They can be wonderful pets, though.

It's more likely then not that they are scams. We inquired about one here that seemed to good to be true, and it was. We got an email back explaining that they were "missionaries" traveling amongst other places to Nigeria. There was also a form asking for all kinds of personal info. We knew then it was without a doubt a scam. ETA: there are many very hosest people who advertise on Craigslist, but generally I'd say that if the rental/purchase price is significantly lower then the average for your area it is a scam.

Here as long as they hear from a parent that they have kept or are keeping their child out of school then it only becomes an issue if they miss 15 or more days in a semester. If there is no word from a parent then it is unexcused and the child can be disciplined, because it's assumed they skipped school. You will get a warning letter from the school if you get close to the 15 mark. ETA: the school district we are in now has an automated attendance hotline and it doesn't even ask for a reason, just students name, the date, and your relationship to the student.

:iagree:Yep, I honestly dont think any of my kids ever questioned it. I just expained what it meant and that it was the responsible thing to do for several reasons. To prevent bringing more unwanted pets into the world and because there are many health benefits for our dogs and cats.

A google image search came up with "No Vehicular Traffic" for a circular, blank, white sign with red around the border. Hope this helps

There is a hotel/bar in our area called Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn. It's been around for long time and years ago they made him change the name on his signs to just Skinny Dick's Inn, but at some point he was able to put the Halfway back in.

If its a tomato based sauce i would probably keep it and im usually the better safe than sorry type.

That does seem strange. I don't think I'd be too upset about her quitting. I would be a little paranoid about someone I hardly know wanting to be in my home when I'm not home. If she had worked for me for a while and I trusted her I would have no problem leaving to take care of my errands, but someone insisting I leave would make me very suspicious. On the other hand I too do my best housework when I'm home alone, but I'm cleaning my own house and not someone else's.

I dont remember for sure as I was pretty young at the time. I do remember however being in 7th grade when Columbia blew up during its launch. We were in the library at school watching the launch live.

So, you wouldn't feel at all responsible if you child damaged someone's else's property? It's not about what they like more, it's about the fact that their property was damaged and the right thing to do is to make them whole again. Unfortunately good body work does not come cheap, the estimate is probably reasonable for the damage done.

Haven't read the other replies, but I think a lot of it has to with the fact that when the childless ones get off work they are done with kids for the day. The moms are taking care of other peoples kids all day and then they go home to their own. Before having my own kids I was the fun aunt to my nephews and niece, but I only had to Be "on" for them a few hours a couple days a week. That's much different then 24/7.

No, our oldest has had a job since shortly after she turned sixteen and was made a manager just after she turned 18. Now at nineteen she is a bank teller. She wanted a job because she already knew she needed insurance if she wanted to drive and we weren't going to pay for it. She is currently renting a room in a friends house and has not once asked for our help. She decided to hold off on college for a couple years because she is still unsure of what she wants to do, but at 19 she has a very good job for some one her age and thinks that if she continues to rent a room, rather then getting her own apartment, for rest of this year she will be able to bank $10,000. She knows she will always have a home with us, but she has such a strong independent streak that she would have to have no choice for her to ask.

No, you're right the old fashioned play pens were larger. I had one with older DD. I never used it much other then to get a shower, or if I had to be out of eyesight for some other reason when Dh wasn't home. I dont know if they were recalled or just fell out of fashion as pack and plays were much more portable. ETA: DD's first Christmas we put the tree up in the playpen We had a pack and play with the younger two and we used it sparingly like the playpen. It aslo kept baby safe when older siblings, cousins, and friends were running around like little monkeys.

With oldest DD we were rarely ever home. My water broke at 5 am at a friends shop while helping him finish up a project for a customer all night. With younger DD I was busy running around getting ready for Christmas and older DD was in a co-op preschool so no sitting around with my feet up. When she went past her due date we went 4x4ing, snowmachining and anything else we could think of to help things along. We were in Kmart Christmas eve getting some last minute stuff for christmas when a lady walking by us asked when I was due. I said "last thursday" (it was wednesday) She just gave me a look of pity and said "I'm sorry". I went into labor at about 11:30 that night. With DS I had a first grader in PS and a just turned two year old so while we were home a bit more there wasn't much sitting around with my feet up.

:iagree:Where we're at a single person could only survive on that with room mates. Rent here is kind of crazy and with two military bases nearby I can only see it getting worse as more soldiers come home. The electric company is robbing people blind (dont even get me started on that one) and most homes here are heated with deisal fuel (currently over $4 a gallon).

Up here it is not uncommon for people to work long hard hours all summer and fall and live of savings and unemployment through the winter, but I really don't see this as lazy or wrong. They and their employer pay into the fund so that money is there when the work is not. So much of the work here is seasonal that it's just a fact of life, but this is different then not looking for work because you can get away with collecting unemployment for a couple years (or however long they've extended it to now). At some point those on unemployment for extended benefits use up what they and their employer contributed and are living on someone else's dime. I have no problem with this for those actively seeking work and due to the economy just can't find anything that meets their needs, but not looking for work because you can get away with it is wrong. Jennifer, I understand where your friend on public assistance is and if she is going to school so that one day she and her kids can be self sufficient then more power to her because a single mom with no real job skills is likely to be stuck in low paying jobs always dependent on some sort of assistance. I don't see this as lazy, I see her using the system in order to better herself and get on her feet so she can one day take care of her children herself.

My oldest had tubes put in at 8mo and had to have them surgically removed at 2 1/2. The one in the right ear was being pushed out like it was supposed to but it became lodged in the canal preventing the ear drum from closing and causing the ear to bleed. The left one was o.k. At that point , but the dr. Felt it better to remove both at the same time rather then taking the chance of her possibly requiring another surgery.

I don't post a lot, but this young lady has really been on my mind since she disappeared in Feb. I had an 18 year old Samantha and yesterday while she was celebrating her 19th birthday the body of a another Samantha, 18,was being found and drug from a lake. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers, or good wishes there going to need it in the days to come. I can't imagine losing one of my babies in such an awful way. My dad actually spoke to her father on the phone. Some how the licence plate number on one of his vehicle was reported as the license number of a suspicious truck truck that had been seen hanging around several coffee stands before the girl was abducted. We don't why or how because his plates were still on the vehicle they belonged to, a small car that hadn't been driven in months. [http://www.adn.com/2012/04/02/2403943/police-fbi-plan-koenig-news-conference.html

My wisdom teeth on top both came in and had to be removed. The bottom wisdom teeth never came in. The buds were in the gums at 16, but never matured beyond that so theyve never given me any problems.

I think treating anything other than a real baby like a baby is creepy. I think the dolls themselves are cute but also a little unnerving. An adult who feels the need to treat an inanimate object or even a pet as a real child is someone who really needs some mental health help. They could be a nice memorial to a lost infant, as long as that is all it is and not an effort to fill the hole the loss has left. I read an article not too long ago about how the female reborn dolls have become popular in China where female infants are often dicarded due to the 1 child law and the outdated emphasis on having sons.

I'm a pretty good speller when writing, but find verbal spelling to rather difficult. In my fourth grade spelling bee I mispelled weird in the sixth round. I knew how to spell it correctly, but when spelling it verbally I couldn't see the word and all I could remember was "i before e except after c".:001_huh:

My DH's grandmothers favorite line was "don't they need to be around other kids?" Nevermind that we lived in a neighborhood full of kids and that they participated in many group activities over the years. Maybe not the best reaction, but the comment never got much more then an eye roll and a giggle from me. After the way her husband and she had treated me over the years I never felt any need to explain myself to her.