Secular Confessions

[demigraf]

Oh! but funny we're talking about cosmetic treatments, because I'm doing some laser hair removal tomorrow. It'll be my second session; my last one was over 10 yrs ago when I did my underarms (worked well, didn't hurt, only started growing back heavily in the past year). AND I attempted to do an "all-over" bikini removal back then too. I was way into Brazilians back then. Yeeeouch! I've never done anything so painful in my life. And that was with numbing cream. Brazilian waxes themselves made me want to cry. I don't know what I was thinking. It was like being Brazilian waxed in the same spot over and over again. Most of the area has grown back, save for this one dime-sized spot that makes my waxing lady openly laugh and point at me.

This is one of the reasons I don't think I'll ever truly feel dignified, despite how hard I might try to appear so on the outside.

As for the underarm laser thing tomorrow, I'm doing it because I feel the way I smell has changed since having a kid. The presence of even a little hair only seems to seriously exacerbate the way I, uh, smell. Plus, the cost of the procedure is really worth just a handful of trips to my waxing lady.

Thanks for letting me share too much information in this post.

[missychrissy]

Now I know why I love you Myles. You're undignified in one tiny little way. :D

I've never been brave enough to try a brazilian, although I'd love to. I might just do a regular bikini wax to see how that goes. I've always just shaved (either bikini or brazilian, depending on my mood).

I didn't know that your hair could come back (albeit 10 years later) after laser treatment.

[daylilies]

Oh yes, I remember being engorged. Yick. It wasn't terrible, though.

LOL Myles :laugh:

[3andMe]

Ugh. It's 4:15 PM and the car shop has not even started looking at my car. I called them around noon and they said they were working on it. Now when I called back, they said they had not even pulled it into a bay yet and have obviously not diagnosed the problem. "We've been busy." When pressed, they said if it's a battery issue, it will be done tonight, and if it's an alternator, it won't be. They will call me back "soon" to let me know.

This is the dealer, and the only place my roadside assistance would let me have it towed because we were too far from home. After a time or two, I never took it back to the dealer because I was totally unimpressed with their service.

Anyway, I have to leave for work tomorrow at 5:30 AM and I have to pick the twins up on the way home after work, so if the car is not repaired tonight I will have to rent a car and put car seats in it tonight, and then probably figure out some way to turn that in tomorrow evening during rush hour and pick up my car after picking up the kids. Everything about this is pissing me off, after I was so calm about everything until now.

[Suja]

I've done laser hair removal as well, but still end up getting threaded.

In your shoes, I'd go ahead and rent the car anyway. Seriously doubt the'd get around to it in time for you to plan your day tomorrow.

[missychrissy]

:( Oh no L! That sounds like a nightmare. The dealerships around here will do the same thing. They'll say they're working on it, then right before closing time they'll say they didn't get a chance to look at it. It's very frustrating.

That said, I'm related to some mechanics. They complain a lot about people that constantly call. They say they can't work on any cars if they're on the phone. Not saying you did that, but if other people were calling them it could have put them behind schedule very easy.

[Gwenn]

L, that's scary and I'm glad you're all safe. And your pic of Baby S in the sunshine made me gasp, it was so pretty. :wub:

Ugh, plastic surgery. I can't imagine myself wanting elective surgery. DH told me early in our relationship that he wouldn't mind if I had a boob job. I told him it wasn't going to happen.

I've always wanted to get waxed - I used to get my brows and face done regularly but haven't in years. It does hurt so I haven't been brave enough to go for the more sensitive bits.

I picked up my Clomid today. I start taking it tonight and then I go in next Friday for an ultrasound to check for ovulation. DH and I decided we want to do IUI this cycle. Everyone wish us luck.

Jennifer, one of my kids at work today just had his adoption go through. When I saw him in December he had been with his foster fathers for almost 2 years and they were close to finalizing. Saw Dad today and he said the adoption went through over the break. So maybe that's good adoption vibes? I'm hoping so for your sake.

[AbbeysMom]

Sorry L. :hugs: Are there any "pick you up" rental car places that will meet you at the dealer? Would the dealer have someone drive it to your house for a small fee?

[missychrissy]

:shock: Wow Mandy. I don't know how I would have felt if my dh suggested anything to me. As it was, I talked about boob jobs for 10 years before he agreed to it. I mean, I could have done it at any point of course, but I wanted him to be on the same page as me since they're sorta his in a way too. :D Anyway, I loved that he loved them even when they were small. My BA was totally my idea.

:hooray: about the clomid and good luck!! I'm very excited for you! Maybe by this time next year, both you & Jennifer will have babies. That would be sweet.

[missychrissy]

Sorry L. :hugs: Are there any "pick you up" rental car places that will meet you at the dealer? Would the dealer have someone drive it to your house for a small fee?

Like Enterprise. Are they near you L? I see commercials all the time where they say they'll pick you up.

[Gwenn]

Yeah - it did piss me off at the time. Then again, I also wore an A cup so in a way I understood. Oh, well - it didn't stop him from marrying me. Or me from marrying him. :P

And now I've graduated a cup size! :laugh:

[missychrissy]

That was me too. I remember in health class they said that once you were 18 your breasts stopped growing. That was false because I was an A-cup until I was 25-26 and then I went to a B-cup. Now I'm a large C/small D. :P

[Cosmosmom]

Man they definitely don't stop growing. I was I think a D in high school. I lost weight, gained weight, lost it gained and gained some again. When I lost the last time I was down to a DD but now I'm back in DDD's. My DH has never suggested a BA. LOL

be careful if anyone ever things of getting the bat wings done....sucks when it's flabby under there even with working out BUT there are a ton of nerves there and last time I checked, the underarms had a pretty high rate of nerve damage and complications. Better to just ignore it or don't go sleeveless. I ignore and if in sleeveless, don't raise my arms and shake them much.

Yeah I will take a baby when I can get it BUT I'm not quite in a huge hurry anymore. I need Molly more trained first and time to save up the money. And hopefully get MIL up by us! Though don't want to take too long either because too much time to think isn't always a good thing either. LOL

Thinking good clomid vibes for you! Are you starting it day 3 or 5?

[Gwenn]

Starting tonight, day 3. Is there a difference with success rates?

He put me on 100mg, which I think is a pretty strong dose. They don't make 100mg pills, I guess, so I have to take 2.

[daylilies]

Bat wings! LOL, I've never heard of them referred to like that but I know what you mean.

I'm trying to whip myself into shape for my cousin's wedding and the cruise. They're both in June. I'm back on the no pasta/no bread diet. We'll see how it goes.

[Cosmosmom]

Last I checked it was up in the air. I do know I would do day 3 before 5 again. Day 5, two cycles I had one huge follicle. Day 3, I had three good sized ones. There are some who believe starting day 3 ups chances slightly of more follicles and better chance of one or two taking. I also had less O pain on day 3 than I did the first two on day 5.

[Cosmosmom]

OMG my puppy is driving me nuts tonight. She's normally pretty good but it's like she is possessed.

[Gwenn]

That's good to know.

[Suja]

OMG my puppy is driving me nuts tonight. She's normally pretty good but it's like she is possessed.

Happens with kids too.

[Cosmosmom]

Puppy is now in bed for the night. :) None of the bites drew blood....cannot wait until teething is done and the adult teeth are in. Time for a quick drink before bed. :)

[AmeriBrit]

I often hear people refer to bat wings as 'bingo wings' here in England. That always makes me laugh inside to hear that phrase. I think I'll leave the idea of plastic surgery behind. I think I can live with my extra bit of fat on the tummy...maybe I'll love it one day for its purpose of keeping me warm in the winter. ;)

Myles, good luck with your laser hair removal!

Mandy, good luck with the clomid!

And along the lines of kids/pets being possessed. Add Travis to the list. I had some strawberry cider to chill out last night once he went to bed. He has become so naughty lately. It feels like he's really mean to Cash all the time and he's very angry with me when I try to correct his behavior. Last night, he slapped my arm when he was angry and he was trying to pick up every single toy truck so that Cash couldn't pust one around, so I told him after dinner time that he wasn't having a dessert since he'd had a bad evening. He started kicking and shouting and complained about not having a dessert til he went to bed...he just seems so angry lately; do y'all think that's normal for a 3.5 year old to have so much anger/to have such a temper....I wonder if we should put him in some kind of therapy or something to work out any anger issues he's got going on....DH and I are similar in that we are very laid back but we both blow up at times from letting things that bother us build up too much.

[Bridget]

I think it's normal. Three is a rough age. Kai was a piece of work up until very recently and he is four and half! The kicking, screaming, hitting, etc. Sucks but it's normal.

[Cosmosmom]

I think that my puppy is probably about the equivalent of a 2-3 yr old human right now......course she is pretty good all day for daddy but at night for me, there is a really rough hour or two.

[missychrissy]

I think it's normal too Ash. Each one outgrows it in their own time. Conner still has bouts with it from time to time, but it's not as bad as it was. His new thing is picking on Bobbie when she's in a grumpy mood...which is often. She'll be venting about something and he'll walk up and shut her laptop lid or swat her on the arm for no reason other than to antagonize her. Of course, we can't address it fast enough and we always get a lecture from Bobbie about how 'he needs discipline!' As if we're not trying to redirect him. It must be nice to be 18 and have it all figured out. Ugh.

[AmeriBrit]

Thanks for the reassurance, ladies. I feel like every day I tell myself to be patient and calm about everything and that all flies out of the window by the evening if not before and I get to the point where as soon as DH walks through the door, I hand the kids over and say that I'm done for the day!

[missychrissy]

Thanks for the reassurance, ladies. I feel like every day I tell myself to be patient and calm about everything and that all flies out of the window by the evening if not before and I get to the point where as soon as DH walks through the door, I hand the kids over and say that I'm done for the day!

I think that's a common thing and for some, it causes strife. Some men come home tired after a long day's work and then they're met at the door with a wife passing an unhappy child off onto him. There's been a lot written about that very thing.

Not helpful, but at least you know you're not alone. There is no harder job than being a mother.

One thing I've noticed with Conner is that he'll get his own clothes out of his dresser for his dad, but he refuses to do so for me. As much as he can, he has me take care of him a lot when he's fully capable of doing some stuff for himself. It's so much easier to just do it too, even though I know I'm not really doing him any favors. I justify it by saying to myself that no grown man has their mother coming to their house and getting their clothes out of the dresser for them in the morning, so at some point Conner is bound to outgrow it. Right?! :P

[AmeriBrit]

I think that's a common thing and for some, it causes strife. Some men come home tired after a long day's work and then they're met at the door with a wife passing an unhappy child off onto him. There's been a lot written about that very thing.

Not helpful, but at least you know you're not alone. There is no harder job than being a mother.

One thing I've noticed with Conner is that he'll get his own clothes out of his dresser for his dad, but he refuses to do so for me. As much as he can, he has me take care of him a lot when he's fully capable of doing some stuff for himself. It's so much easier to just do it too, even though I know I'm not really doing him any favors. I justify it by saying to myself that no grown man has their mother coming to their house and getting their clothes out of the dresser for them in the morning, so at some point Conner is bound to outgrow it. Right?! :P

Oh, yeah, I know what ya mean. I only actually ever do that to DH if the day has been a really really bad one and I'm on the verg of my breaking point. Just going and lying down on my bed in the dark while he sorts their dinner out is a big help. And I think DH understands since he has the odd day off through the week sometimes, so he knows what it's like when both kids are being little crabs.

And you're right about helping them out; there's no harm in it really. Travis goes to "school" 2.5 days per week and one of the things they keep asking parents in every meeting I go to is to try to get the kids to do lots of things for themselves since they don't have time to help them at school, like putting their own raincoats and boots on, etc, so I have started letting Travis do it by himself and it's surprising how much he does on his own without a fuss (until he has trouble getting a t-shirt off or something and I hear him screaming in anger...lol).

[missychrissy]

I can't get Conner to do stuff on his own. He'll do those things for Daddy, but not me. It's not that he can't. He's a stinker and knows what he can get away with with Mom I guess.

[demigraf]

I

Myles, good luck with your laser hair removal!

Mandy, good luck with the clomid!


The contrast here made me giggle.

"Good luck getting wasted at the party Snooki! / Good luck saving the world, Superman!"

[AmeriBrit]

:giggle: The contrast here made me giggle.

"Good luck getting wasted at the party Snooki! / Good luck saving the world, Superman!"

I know. Lol. I tried to think of something clever to say about the hair removal this morning but drew a blank. How did it go? You won't find yourself in any hairy situations now, eh?

[daylilies]

Ash, I think the behavior is normal. At least, everyone keeps telling me it is. :laugh:


It has really helped since you all and my therapist said I shouldn't take things so personally. I feel like I was too close to Josh's emotions, if that makes sense. I have to kind of remove myself from the situation and realize it's not all about me. That his behavior is just that, his behavior and isn't really indicative of anything I'm doing wrong. It has taken a lot of time for that to start sinking in, but it has really helped to just step back and kind of raise an eyebrow at the meltdowns instead of flying off the handle.


Does anyone know if skydiving would be bad for someone with back problems? We're starting to plan fun things for my cousin who's getting married in June and my other cousin wants to take the bridal party skydiving (both indoors and outdoors were mentioned). I'm a little like, wtf? but I'll try it. Especially if it's indoors--that's just where you float over a giant fan, right? I just don't want to hurt myself.

[missychrissy]

I have a harder time with my own patience if I'm already tired or exasperated about something and then Conner starts acting up. We're all human. Most the time, though, I look at it as his way of expressing frustration because he hasn't yet learned appropriate coping skills. Maybe when I react badly to his poor behavior it's because my own coping skills need work. Gah! My first therapy appointment is this afternoon.

I haven't the foggiest idea about skydiving with a bad back. I only know I won't be doing it even with a good back. Unless I happen to be on a plane that's on fire and that's my only chance at living. :D

[daylilies]

Good luck at the therapy!
I'm sure skydiving is an amazing experience once you stop screaming ;)

[missychrissy]

lmao Kate!!

[Bridget]

Kate I'm glad to hear a new perspective has helped you. You sharing that here has helped me too, in regard to my situation with Savana's behaviors. Have I thanked you for that? Seriously, I've thought about it several times and you are right, it does remove a good amount of stress from the whole irrational child scenario.

Today we went on a walk and right around the corner from my house, where we walk all.the.time, the cleared a bunch of dead brush and there is this awesomely huge tree that fell. It's roots are high in the air on one end and the rest of it is perfect for climbing. So perfect. It's big and low to the ground so the little ones can do it! I never ventured in because it's probably private property and it looked creepy behind all that brush. Like alligators would live in there (it's swampy in the spring) even though I know there are no alligators in wisconsin. But now that it's out in the open it doesn't feel intrusive because it's like 8 feet from the road and I'm pretty sure roadsides are owned by the town. At least ours is since I almost had to move my flower garden since we don't "own" that land.
ANYWAY. Perfect climbing spot. The kids were so psyched. Kai kept saying over and over that he has always wanted to climb a tree and it was finally happening. Then he sat on this big bow and said, "I've always dreamed of sitting on a little crook in a tree and just sitting." lol he is so cute and uses the funniest language that he picks up from stories. He also mentioned he hoped we would see a little forest creature that was hurt so he could rescue it. I am so thrilled we found this little treasure just around the corner and both Kai and I are very excited to show Savana. It's the kind of spot that kids could spend hours. I'll take a little photo when we go back.
Ahhhh, it's the little things:)

[daylilies]

That is so cute! Whenever Josh does something new he says something similar, like "Wow, this is the first time I have done this!" and I can't help but wonder if it's going to be one of his lasting memories.

And you're welcome...but you shouldn't thank me, but the ladies who suggested that perspective to me. I forgot who that was, specifically, but you all have helped me and I'm glad you've also helped Bridget, through me :P

[AbbeysMom]

I know. Lol. I tried to think of something clever to say about the hair removal this morning but drew a blank. How did it go? You won't find yourself in any hairy situations now, eh?

it made me smile to see someone pun myles. :)

Mandy, I hope the Clomid is just the thing your body needs to get preggo. Lots of good vibes coming your way. 7910

Abbey's potty learning and doing great. She went with her bff to a bounce place today and when her friend saw her use the potty, she wanted to try too. Abbey was so cute and super helpful "C'mon, you can do it! Do you need to use my potty seat?" Her friend was still a little gunshy, but it was pretty heartwarming.

Someone here (or elsewhere, I can't remember anything lately) said something about how kids give different behavior at school and at home (like wild/misbehaving at home and super sweet at school). Abbey is the reversal of this, wonderful and loving around me, and crazy around anyone new. It makes me worried for school, since DH is still set on outside schooling in kindergarten.

[Smplyme89]

I'm with Chrissy there is no way in h*ll I will be skydiving anywhere!

Mandy I hope the Clomid works for you :babydust:

[Ky'sMom]

Molly, Elle is the same as Abbey. She is relatively sweet and calm at home (she has a mini-tude though and is also needs mini-anger management at times) but she can be a hellion at school and we are really working on it.

It sounds strange but I get frustrated that they aren't as consistent as they can be and I get an earful on Elle's bad days. I feel bad that she is demanding at school/daycare. She has a very powerful personality and I love that about her but she will go overboard if she is not reminded to think of others and the daycare just doesn't do that as much as I do and they also react more often and to a higher degree than I do. She will have a screaming fit there, which she hardly ever does at home and if she does I tell her to stop and she stops.

But I also wanted to comment to you Ash that T's behavior is normal. Elle is going through the 3 year old anger management stage as well. I went through it with Ky so was expecting it and honestly Elle is way better than Ky was. She does have her moments though but luckily she is much more rational than Ky was and will actually listen to me talking to her when I remind her that she should not get angry and I can tell that she attempts to not get angry and will try to find another way of getting her anger out, like punching or screaming into pillow or deep breathing which are options that I have told her she can do or just going to sit in her room and look at books to calm down.

That is so exciting Bridget, the tree you found! Elle would love something like that as well. I just love talking to her because she is always talking about having a "new adventure." She told me she wants to go on a ferris wheel so next time we go to Chicago I am going to take her to Navy Pier so she can have a big adventure on a ferris wheel. She is also excited that she is starting pre-ballet this weekend. I told her last week that she would go to dance class "next Saturday" and this past Saturday she got up super early, put on her tutu skirt, a tight shirt, and her gray and pink tights and was all cute and said "c'mon Mommy, you have to take me to dance class!" I felt bad because it wasn't until next Saturday and I forget with how clever she is that she is only 3 and doesn't understand all the references to next or last when it comes to days of the week.

Erin

[Suja]

Skydiving sounds like a lot of fun. I have friends that have done it, and most start saving up for their next dive. I think it should be okay if you have a bad back, but best to seek advice from whoever is offering it, and run it by your doctor.

Fingers crossed for you, Mandy. Hope Clomid's the charm.

Also, y'all are scaring me with all this 3 year old stuff. Little Miss Bossypants has quite a temper already, and I really hope it doesn't get any worse.

[demigraf]

Not to scare you further, Suja, but Bodhi is also clearly making the transition from the Terrible Twos to the Kill-Me-Now Threes. He's always been intense, but now he's trying to use reason ... intensely ... and with only minor success. It's funny to hear his "sass" include if/then statements. But today, DH left me a voicemail at work to tell me that he put himself to sleep during naptime today. A major first. As in, he's only ever done that one time before. We have wanted to get to this for some time, and figure we're ready because Bodhi actively tries to kick us out of his room much of the time.

Mandy, I am so, so hopeful that the Clomid will work its magic on you. You would be such an amazing mama.

So the laser hair removal is done. My underarms are still numb from the lidocaine. But tell me, how is it that I can't feel the pressure of my touch in the area, but I can still feel myself sweating there? Bodies are weird, yo.

Kate, sorry I am no help. I will never jump out of a plane, so you won't hear me recommending it even to people with titanium spines. Nuh uh.

Molly, please hug Abbey for me. I can't believe we're gonna have 3 yr olds!

Chrissy, good luck with your first session.

[Suja]

I'm not the Princesss of Patience (as a friend of mine likes to say), and she's already trying it. And I'm willing to bet she'll start early. She's always early with bad behaviors.

I finally used the vacuum seal bags I bought a while ago. There is a great deal of pleasure to be had at watching comforters and pillows shrink to nothing. Yes, I know my life is SO glamorous. Also organized the child's closet. She has way too much stuff. And now that her shelves have more space, I'm considering filling it up with 3 year okd clothes. At what age do they start forming opinions on clothes anyway?

[daylilies]

I've been waiting for the terrible threes to end for over 2 years now :laugh:
No really though...he started to get a little better around 4.5.

[missychrissy]

That tree sounds awesome Bridget. When will you get to take Savannah and show her?

I do think the 3s are worse than the 2s. At least they were for Conner. Bobbie and Jesi didn't really have a 'terrible' stage. They were quiet little girls. What happened? lol I remember Jesi throwing 1 fit in a store because she saw horses that she wanted. I also remember her tugging on a doll that was stuck in her toy box and she said, "god**** it!" Sydney was far more demanding than they were. I think she's still in her 'terrible' phase. :P j/k...she's simply more vocal about what she wants.

All my kids got picky about their clothes at different stages. I think Conner is worse than his sisters were at this age.

Therapy was ok I guess. My therapist is like 10 so that's going to take some getting used to, but she was very empathetic and said, "You really have been through a lot this last year" with big eyes. And I didn't even get a chance to tell her everything. At least I'm not crazy. She's also very intelligent so I'm sure she'll be good.

[daylilies]

As for forming opinions on clothes, I hear lots of moms of girls say that around now (age 4-5) they want to pick out their own clothes but moms of boys mostly say their boys don't care so much.

[daylilies]

That tree sounds awesome Bridget. When will you get to take Savannah and show her?

I do think the 3s are worse than the 2s. At least they were for Conner. Bobbie and Jesi didn't really have a 'terrible' stage. They were quiet little girls. What happened? lol I remember Jesi throwing 1 fit in a store because she saw horses that she wanted. I also remember her tugging on a doll that was stuck in her toy box and she said, "god**** it!" Sydney was far more demanding than they were. I think she's still in her 'terrible' phase. :P j/k...she's simply more vocal about what she wants.

All my kids got picky about their clothes at different stages. I think Conner is worse than his sisters were at this age.

Therapy was ok I guess. My therapist is like 10 so that's going to take some getting used to, but she was very empathetic and said, "You really have been through a lot this last year" with big eyes. And I didn't even get a chance to tell her everything. At least I'm not crazy. She's also very intelligent so I'm sure she'll be good.

That made me giggle :laugh: But I completely understand how disconcerting it is when someone you're supposed to look up to is younger than you. Most of my bosses in restaurants were younger than me (and had more experience, to boot) My therapist has at least 10 years on me though.

[Suja]

The reference to horse reminds me - the friend of mine who I went for a walk with over the weekend, turns out she bought a horse over the summer. Supposed to be super gentle, good for inexperienced riders and kids. I'm hoping to introduce Mira to her whenever we get a nice, warm weekend. And try my hand at riding. I've always wanted to do that.

[Gwenn]

I agree, an angry/defiant phase around 3 is pretty normal.

I remember when I was about 8, and we had a big oak tree that was struck by lightning. It fell across our lawn and eventually my dad had it chopped up into firewood and removed, but for a little while we had this fabulous place to climb. What a great memory! I had almost forgotten that.

Myles, which of us is Snooki and which is Superman? I don't quite look the part for either of them. :P

[Suja]

Myles, which of us is Snooki and which is Superman? I don't quite look the part for either of them. :P

Whichever one of you wears underwear as outerwear is Superman. DUH!

[Bridget]

I typed out a post an hour ago and thought I posted it and now it's not here!
Anyway, I mentioned how I thought each challenging stage phases out just in time for the next challenging phase.

We took Savana to see the tree right when she got home from school. Of course she had to act totally unimpressed since we discovered it without her but she couldn't resist it's awesomeness for long.

Chrissy, I so hope therapy is successful for you. Gosh you really have been through so much this year. Where you start?

Did I tell y'all I might have to start opening my daycare for a family at 5am? OUCH.

My kids are rocking like crazy to a Veggie Tales cd down in the daycare right now. Like top of the lungs singing.

Have we heard from Lydia? Wondering about the great car exchange.

[missychrissy]

Whichever one of you wears underwear as outerwear is Superman. DUH!

That would be Myles.

Bridget, I remember you saying that about getting a family at 5 am. Ouch. I hope if you have to your dbf will do the night routine and let you go to bed early.

[3andMe]

I am here, stewing in fury.

So, my car did not get done last night. I actually borrowed my mom's car today. I invited her over for dinner last night (honey chicken over rice with snow peas) and dh put the car seats in her car while I was cleaning up from dinner. She came over at 5 AM today so I could leave, and then she napped on the couch until the kids got up at 6:30 and dh took the twins to school.

I had a totally awful day at work, and then on the way home I called the car place, having realized I did not get a call from them all day. They had me on hold for 10 minutes. They finally told me they were NOT working on my car. They could not find my paperwork or anyone who could tell me anything about my car, but there was a note that they needed to ask me a question. They could not tell me if they had even figured out what was wrong with it yet. They assured me that they would try to locate the paperwork and a technician and call me back right away.

I have been keeping in mind Chrissy's advice about not calling repair shops too much, so I have not called back yet, but that was 2 hours ago that they promised to call me back right away. And now my car has been in the shop for two days so far and as far as I know, has not even had its issue diagnosed, let alone worked on. I could have told them it was the alternator, but they won't just start working on it on my say-so. I still have not once talked to anyone who can tell me anything about what's going on.

I am having a glass of wine, and am trying not to bust a gasket, because I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be able to fix that, either. Also, I'm starting to suspect that it won't be done tomorrow.

FYI, I called once to check on the status at noon yesterday (not known), and at 4 PM (not known), and at 3 PM today (we lost your paperwork, needed to talk to you but didn't call you, and will not call you back and still don't know about the status except your car is still not anywhere close to being fixed).

&%^*!@#

Bridget, so glad you found a good tree. We were at a playground once after a really windy day and there was half a tree down on the ground. I let the kids play in the branches and crawl through the leaves, pretending they were jungle explorers. They had a lot more fun than in the playground. And how is it Kai never climbed a tree before?

Yes, 5 AM sucks! BTW. It's not even the early mornings so much as it ruins the evening before, too.

We have had a period of anger and acting out with DS at 3 1/2 also. It's getting better, or at least it's changing into other behaviors. Suja, if it helps at all, DD was very dramatic and started having temper tantrums early and dh asked me in confidence at one point if it was possible she was a sociopath (!) but now she is much better behaved than DS, who was always a much mellower and more even-keeled baby. You probably missed Gwenn's post about how babies who are more emotional tend to be better adapted, socially and behaviorally, by the time they get to be preschoolers. It's certainly true in DD's case, it might be true in your DD's case, and I'm holding out hope for Baby S. who has the highest highs and the lowest lows and the loudest cries of all of our babies.

[Gwenn]

Whichever one of you wears underwear as outerwear is Superman. DUH!

But don't Snooki and Superman both do that?


That would be Myles.

I also considered this one as a possible response...

L, what a mess about your car. Those are the things that drive me to absolute fury. I'm sorry.

[Bridget]

Holy smokes, Lydia. I would be irate! That seems very unreasonable doesn't it? Thank goodness dbf almost always does the work on our vehicles. I've never had an experience like that.

Oh, and the reason Kai has never climbed a tree is mostly because he is very short so it's hard for him to reach the branches he needs to. Also, up until quite recently he is afraid of a lot of things. His confidence is really soaring these days and it's awesome to see. We don't come along good climbing trees all that often to be honest.

Sawyer is going to be one 16 days. A whole year!! He still feels new to me!

[Suja]

Oh Lydia, what a big bucket of Teh Suck! Can you get your car moved to your usual place? These bozos aren't exactly inspiring a lot of confidence. I hadn't seen Mandy's post on drama queens; good to know she doesn't have to be that way as she grows up.

Mandy, I thought Snooki was the one that didn't wear any underwear.

[daylilies]

I'm so sorry Lydia! What a pain!

Wow Bridget, 5 a.m. You couldn't pay me enough to be up that early regularly. And I'm assuming you have to be up even earlier, if your day care has to be open at 5.

I made some excellent chicken wings tonight. I think this may have even been my first time making them because DH is not a big fan and I wouldn't make them for just myself, but Josh loves them these days.

Anyway I followed Alton Brown's method of steaming them first and then baking them, so they have a nice crisp skin. They were juicy and delicious and I ate them with a bit of salt and lemon juice sprinkled on. I wanted to eat them all but had to save some for DH who was coming home later. Josh had already had dinner but had 3 chicken wings when they were done.

[Gwenn]

Oh Lydia, what a big bucket of Teh Suck! Can you get your car moved to your usual place? These bozos aren't exactly inspiring a lot of confidence. I hadn't seen Mandy's post on drama queens; good to know she doesn't have to be that way as she grows up.

Mandy, I thought Snooki was the one that didn't wear any underwear.

Good point.

As for my drama queen post, I had to do some continuing Ed over break and shared part of this in here. Here it is again, with more context.


Attention skills, like all behaviors, have underlying physiological bases that can be measured and examined for variability. For example, behavioral indications of sustained attention, such as quieting and looking, are associated with physiological changes, such as a slowing of heart rate. Researchers have concluded that heart rate changes during attention are mediated more by the para-sympathetic (i.e., rest–digest) than the sympathetic (i.e., fight–flight) system (Richards & Casey, 1991). The in-fluences of the parasympathetic system on the heart often are studied through measuring respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as an index of vagal activity. In a resting state, heart rate varies depending on the phase of the respiratory cycle, with an increase in heart rate on inspiration and a decrease in heart rate on expiration. The difference between the heart rate during inspiration versus expiration reflects the extent of influence of the vagus nerve in regulating the heartbeat. A larger differ-ence (i.e., higher RSA) presumably reflects higher vagal activity, and a smaller difference (i.e., lower RSA) pre-sumably reflects lower vagal activity. Higher RSA under nonchallenging, calm conditions has been associated concurrently and prospectively with a variety of child behavioral characteristics. For exam-ple, in infancy a higher baseline RSA is associated with more emotional reactivity, including more crying in re-sponse to mildly frustrating events and positive affective reactivity to social interactions; longitudinally, a higher baseline RSA in infancy predicts greater sociability dur-ing the toddler and preschool years (e.g., Fox, 1989; Porges, Doussard-Roosevelt, Portales, & Suess, 1994). Beauchaine (2001) suggested that RSA in infancy reflects the infant's capacity for engagement with the environment, with high RSA associated with greater behavioral, attentional, and emotional responsiveness. Thus, high levels of in-fant responsiveness can be evidenced in more extreme negative and positive emotional reactions but lead to better adaptation over time. Among preschoolers, higher resting RSA is related to higher concurrent social com-petence, better emotion regulation, and lower levels of problem behavior (Blair & Peters, 2003; Calkins, 1997; Doussard-Roosevelt, McClenny, & Porges, 2001; Porges et al., 1994).

[Bridget]

Those chicken wings sound so good! Yum. I've never made them. I only buy whole chickens and I can't bring myself to cut it into pieces. Raw chicken grosses me out.

[Suja]

Thanks for reposting, Mandy. I wonder what the stats are on the association between higher RSA during infancy and greater sociability during later years.

I don't like chicken wings, but DH loves them. He made the Alton Brown recipe as well, and it turned out very well.

[Gwenn]

I don't know the stats on that, but the article was actually discussing the predictive value of RSA for children with Autism who had a reduced capacity to engage with their environment, and thus poorer social and behavioral outcomes. This population did have lower RSA. They found that comparatively higher RSA in that population led to increased communication outcomes as well. For those kids, higher performance in the preschool years leads to better long term outcomes.

[Suja]

I'm wondering... are infants that turn out to be autistic later generally considered easier? I ask because we have a family friend with an autistic granddaughter, and they always used to say how easy she was. Basically content to be left alone, and consequently, not the least bit demanding.

[3andMe]

Those chicken wings sound good, but dh pretty much won't eat anything with bones still inside. He will have to make some major adjustments if we survive a disaster and I'm cooking squirrel on a stick for dinner.

I finally called back the car place when I thought it was almost closing time and I hadn't heard back. I talked to someone who knew what was going on and found notes on my car. It is the alternator, of course. I had a subtle oil leak that was dripping on the alternator and caused it to fail, and it took out the battery as well. They have a parts requisition submitted to see what might be covered under the warranty and will call me in the morning when they find out. We'll see if that really happens. I didn't even ask when it might be done, because I'm pretty sure the answer would have had no bearing on reality.

Oh, and dh got rear-ended today on the freeway in his brand new car. It's been a bad vehicular week for us.

[Gwenn]

L, I have found that to be a true statement when dealing with car repairs, etc ... Frequently the answer has no basis in reality. And count me among those who would have a difficult adjustment to squirrel on a stick.


I'm wondering... are infants that turn out to be autistic later generally considered easier? I ask because we have a family friend with an autistic granddaughter, and they always used to say how easy she was. Basically content to be left alone, and consequently, not the least bit demanding.

I suspect it's either one extreme or the other. I was on a training grant team with the mother of one of my students with autism. She said he was a difficult baby from the day he was born, and he was a difficult excitable 7-9 year old. He also had extreme ADHD, though. Other kids I've seen were just as you said - easy as pie so long as you didn't try to interact with them (which of course was my job- made me feel loved!). Again, they were like that as elementary kids and I'm sure after reading that article they were the same way as infants.

[AmeriBrit]

Oh, L, when it rains, it pours, right? I'm sorry about all your automobile issues. My DH has been taking my car to work this week to get more miles on it since I don't drive it very far. He thinks it just needs to drive more to get the battery warmed up (since it died the other day). That means he's left me with his sports car to take Cash and Travis to and from school. Ugh. This car is like 3 inches off the ground, so to get Cash in, I have to actually sit on the ground to lift him in (all this done acrobatically by the way). It's a good thing I'm bendy or I'd never be able to fit all of us in! I've been telling him for years we need to trade it in for a bigger car, but he loves that car like a person loves a pet, I think.

Bridget, that is so cool about the tree. It reminds me of the woods across the street in the house I grew up in til I was 9. There was an old tree that had fallen and we used to play all sorts of games on it. I can remember pretending it was an airplane and sitting in my seat while one of my cousins was the flight attendant. LOL. I'm glad that both my boys seem to love the outdoors, too. It's DH we need to convert from being a city boy. I told him we'll have to go camping next year when Cash is a little older. Cash always wants to be outside. He even picks his shoes up and brings them to me wherever I am in the house as if to say, "come on, let's go outside!" He's even started saying "two shoes" lately. It's so cute.

This might sound crazy to y'all but here lately to be more patient with Travis, when I feel like my patience is running low, I visualize a bucket and I imagine myself pouring in more "patience." It actually makes me stop and say, "OK, he's 3 and I'm 30...I can handle this calmly." LOL....at least, it's working for now.

We're off this afternoon to visit a school that he might be going to in September. We have to have 3 choices, so we're going to look at this one. This one is a "church of England" school, so I'm hesitant about it but I guess I'll see this afternoon just how religious the school is. They teach relgion in all schools here but there are Catholic and Anglican churches that are different from public schools, but I've never been to one, so I'm eager to see if this one is any good. I don't want my kids to go to a school where they try to fill their head with ideas of 'god' from an early age.

[missychrissy]

Oh, and dh got rear-ended today on the freeway in his brand new car. It's been a bad vehicular week for us.

Oh no!!! I'm glad everyone is ok, but man what luck. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I made you hesitate to call the dealership back because no matter what my brother and my other mechanic family/friends say, if one told me they'd call me back right away and I didn't hear from them in an hour, I'd definitely be calling them. I do hope they get it fixed today.

Good luck with the school Ash. I hope it's not overly religious.

[daylilies]

DH feels the same way about some meat with bones, but he likes ribs, and apparently the chicken wings.

Oh no Lydia! You're due for some smooth sailing up ahead, I think.

Good luck with the school Ash! I like your "patience" idea. Whatever works, right?

[missychrissy]

I'd totally be fine with eating squirrel on a stick. I've eaten squirrel before. :D

[daylilies]

I'd totally be fine with eating squirrel on a stick. I've eaten squirrel before. :D


What does it taste like?
I've had alligator...too bad there aren't any alligators around here.

[missychrissy]

What does it taste like?
I've had alligator...too bad there aren't any alligators around here.

It's really difficult to explain as it didn't taste like any other meat I'd ever had. It was slightly tangy. I guess people call it 'gamey' It was also seasoned to the hilt so I'm not sure how much of what I tasted was the meat and how much was that. It was also very stringy...more like chicken meat. But tougher.

[Cosmosmom]

Blech. Only meat I eat is chicken, turkey, cow, pig...and hotdogs. LOL I'm ok with raw chicken/turkey but not ground up meat like hamburger.

Will never see me skydiving and I think that I wouldn't attempt it with a bad back myself.

L, OMG what a week.

Yuck, our "spring" is ending today and that dirty word snow is back tonight/tomorrow.

Had class last night. Worked some more on come when called and a game called pass the puppy...divided into a couple of smaller groups based on dog size and passed the pups around to have them being used to being touched and held by other people. Molly is a rock star at follow me/come when called....not so fond of being passed around and was whining even though she could see us. And so happy to see her Cosmo when we got home. I'm happy that she is getting to attached to us and hopeful that once older and more trained, that we can have her off-leash in our yard to run around with Cosmo. Our house is at the end of the street and for now is a dead-end. We have a neighbor on one side and he has a fence. The other side and behind us is a field....last two summers they grew soybeans. At 16 weeks old, I don't trust her yet but there is hope there.

[daylilies]

Oh, I forgot to tell you guys, she meant indoor skydiving after all. Not sure if we will end up going for that. The other thing that was mentioned was an exotic dancing class. I'd be terrible at that. I can't dance to save my life!

[Ky'sMom]

Those chicken wings sound tasty! I will look up the recipe. I make some kick a$$ chicken wings but am always looking for ways to make them differently. They are my favorite chicken pieces.

And Bridget if we move to Chicago I'm going to have to drive up to see you and bring my kitchen shears and cut up a chicken for you LOL! My older brother is alway amazed at how fast and throroughly I can cut up whole chickens or chicken pieces. My mom used to buy either whole chickens or chicken/leg quarters and it was one of my jobs to cut the chicken up every 2-4 weeks (she would buy probably 30lbs of chicken at a time) skin them (she doesn't like skin on chicken) and put them into bags with twisty ties. I was always our meat sorter. Since she didn't have that much money she bought meat at a variety of places. We only got chicken and beef from the butcher and we only got pork from a farm way out in Elmira, OH. We loved the pork. They made link sausages that I also had to cut and bag for the freezer.

L just UGH!!!! about your vehicles. I hate dealing with dealerships period and never go to them anymore. My old mechanic was wonderful but he retired a few years ago and I haven't been able to find a good one since. Luckily my DH knows how to do basic things - brake jobs, oil changes, battery issues, even alternators - he's changed 2 or 3 that I know of. He always does a great job too. He is really anal about some things but I'm happy his anality (if that is a word) comes in handy when he is repairing vehicles. I still miss my old mechanic though. He always had a 24hour turnaround, sometimes shorter than that. I think it helped that I tipped him well because he was a great serviceman and appreciated his customers. I have had some hoopties and he changed a transmission for me once in one day. He started at 8am and called at 4pm and told me it was done. He did the same thing for an engine I had put in as well. I really appreciated him. The last work he did for me was to actually change the alternator and the water pump of my sedan I had before the vehicle I have now. He changed them within 2 hours and told me to go get lunch and come back and they would be done and that is what happened.

Erin

[daylilies]

I made the rest of the wings for lunch :) If you follow his recipe I did not make the glaze or anything but you can basically toss the wings in any sauce you like, when they're done.

I have to admit I was a bit rusty in seperating the whole wings into pieces but it's coming back to me now! Meat cutting was such a pain in the ass class but I was good at it back then!

[daylilies]

Can someone explain pinterest for me? It seems like almost every time I go, I can't see the pictures. They look like that broken link image. And then I can't find anything I'm looking for. How do you guys search for things you want to post? And what's the difference between liking and repinning?

[Smplyme89]

Therapy was ok I guess. My therapist is like 10 so that's going to take some getting used to, but she was very empathetic and said, "You really have been through a lot this last year" with big eyes. And I didn't even get a chance to tell her everything. At least I'm not crazy. She's also very intelligent so I'm sure she'll be good.

I'm glad its going well so far Chrissy :hugs:


Oh, and dh got rear-ended today on the freeway in his brand new car. It's been a bad vehicular week for us.

Ugh... I'm sorry L :hugs:


I'd totally be fine with eating squirrel on a stick. I've eaten squirrel before. :D

Squirrel is horrible, and gamey, and like... chewy :gross:


What does it taste like?
I've had alligator...too bad there aren't any alligators around here.

Mmmm... Alligator! It's been a long time :bellyrubs:

[AmeriBrit]

I have no idea what pinterest is except that people keep saying how fun it is.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised with the religious school today. I was impressed with the staff and the whole energy of the place was very positive. I guess I felt like they were going to play up the whole religious part of the school but it was only mentioned a few times. I'm going to see our village school on Friday to see the contrast between the two.

[Bridget]

I don't know what pintirest is either and I am not letting myself find out. I do not need to be on the computer any more than I usually am and I also have enough projects waiting for me to do/finish to be thinking about any more.

Sawyer is a huge pointer. Like, he points at me first thing when he wakes up in the morning. He points at any person he sees, whenever someone walks in the room, whenever someone speaks, and he points at everything he sees as we are walking. He points really emphatically too, with feeling lol. Like, his arm is very straight and stiff and stares at his hand while he does it. He also loves to play the acoustic drum we have and he beats really hard with both drumsticks then he stops and points both sticks at whomever happens to be watching him at the moment. Dbf and I say when he is a rockstar that will be his signature move.

[daylilies]

:laugh: Sawyer...that's too funny!

I know at least a couple of you friended me on pinterest! I still haven't been able to check it out because it's so frustrating!

[3andMe]

I have not checked out Pinterest for the same reasons. I'm sure I would love it.

I like picturing Sawyer pointing like that. Rock on, little dude.

I am so tired. I actually slept more last night than I usually do -- from 10 PM straight through until 6 AM, and baby S. is napping and I actually put Mighty Machines on the tv and lay down on the couch and the twins lay down on top of me and blanketed me with their warmth and I dozed off a little bit. It was so nice. I didn't ask them to do it. I just knew that if I lay down they would cover me up.

Supposedly my car will be done some time tomorrow and all but $150 is going to be covered by warranty. I had to call to find that out, too. Around noon I figured that the phone call I was promised "first thing in the morning" was not happening. I'm borrowing my mom's car again tomorrow.

[missychrissy]

:( At least it's only $150. ? I'm sorry L. What a frustrating experience.

Did you guys see the dancing 90-year-old Grandma? She dances to Lady Gaga, LMFAO, and Maroon 5. :wub: her!

[demigraf]

I have only one thing pinned on my Pinterest board, ever since AnnieEek sent me the invitation I begged off her. I've learned a couple cool ideas from the stuff other people have made. But I can't say I have used Pinterest to its fullest. Hence, I'm not a complete addict.

$150 is not bad, L, although that doesn't cover the lost time and frustration from the ordeal. :( My camera repair is costing me that much, and you're getting a whole car up and running again for the same amount. Does that make you feel any better about it?

Chrissy, glad to hear you're down with your therapist. It would be so hard to be sitting there with a therapist you don't respect, thinking, "Who's this clown?" I did have that happen to me once. My therapist was a Buddhist (with whom I typically get on famously), and he basically started preaching to me about how I needed more spirituality in my life. I was like, "Um, no. My problem isn't that I don't meditate enough. It's that I've been dating a sadistic d-bag and I need to figure out how to wrest myself from this toxic relationship." But anyway, I'm glad to hear first session went well.

I got a lot of compliments on the thong I wore over my jeans today. :P :winks:

[missychrissy]

I got a lot of compliments on the thong I wore over my jeans today. :P :winks:

:lol: you kill me!!

[Smplyme89]

Bridget Sawyer is so stinking cute!

L Im sorry this whole experience has been so awful:-(

[Suja]

I got a lot of compliments on the thong I wore over my jeans today. :P :winks:

Did you wear a matching cape?

[daylilies]

Hey beanpop,
Do you have an "unofficial" Doctor Who episode called Time Crash?

[3andMe]

$150 is not bad, L, although that doesn't cover the lost time and frustration from the ordeal. :( My camera repair is costing me that much, and you're getting a whole car up and running again for the same amount. Does that make you feel any better about it?



I was not complaining about the price by any means, just updating the whole situation. I hope it didn't sound that way. I'm really glad it was under warranty. I hate to think about how much it would have been if it wasn't covered, and if I hadn't had roadside assistance.

DH needs to get his camera repaired, though, and that bit of news doesn't make me feel better.

Was your outer thong made from scraps of Bodhi's old clothes? :laugh:

Our homework assignment for school this week was to make collages representing the five senses, so we did 3-dimensional collages with things like a rose, lemon wedge, ground coffee, onion slice, sand paper, aluminum foil, cotton ball, bells, rattle, glitter, mint, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, etc. We took thin cardboard and punched holes in it and used twist ties to affix some of the heavier objects that wouldn't hold with glue. The twins had such a fun time finding things that smelled and tasted strongly, and had interesting textures, and made sounds. We talked about which ones could represent more than one sense. The teachers said they were a hit at circle time.

[Suja]

Dh is convinced the kid needs to take dance lessons, on the basis of this: http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/spanaval/Mira/?action=view&current=MAH00627.mp4. (turn down the volume if at work)

[daylilies]

Too cute!

It's been an interesting morning! Earlier I was downstairs with Josh. DH was still asleep. One of our cats would not stop meowing so I asked Josh to go see what was wrong. He went, and called back to me, "Uh, I really think you need to come see this." I asked him if she took a chicken bone out of the trash again (she did yesterday) and he said "No, it's some kind of lizard thing." I ran over and it was an itty bitty salamander! The cat was trying to play with it and I had to hold her back. I called DH down and he got it onto a paper towel and let it outside.

Then about 10 minutes ago I looked out the window and there were about 10 wild turkeys walking around in our neighbor's yard. :laugh:

[Cosmosmom]

You know one time there was a big bird walking around the field behind us and I thought it was a female peacock. Dh made fun of me hardcore for that one and was like um, peacocks are not natural to Wisconsin. It was a turkey.
There was another time after that I had to stop my car in the middle of the road by the mall (so a built up area with a lot of shops and stores) because a group of about 15-20 turkies were crossing the road. Dh was like, look it's a group of peacocks.

Tuesday it was 53 degrees here. This morning the wind chill was -1. And we have snow on the ground and blowing around. I much preferred the days with 40's and 50's.

[demigraf]

Did you wear a matching cape?

Yes, but as a minor point of
clarification, I pronounce it "cap-ay".

:P

[demigraf]

You guys are making me hungry for wild game, btw.

[demigraf]

Dh is convinced the kid needs to take dance lessons, on the basis of this: http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/spanaval/Mira/?action=view&current=MAH00627.mp4. (turn down the volume if at work)

I just giggled out loud on the train. I've definitely seen less coordinated dancers in Zumba class. Can I borrow her for a flash mob I'm working on?

[missychrissy]

Dh is convinced the kid needs to take dance lessons, on the basis of this: http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/spanaval/Mira/?action=view&current=MAH00627.mp4. (turn down the volume if at work)
How adorable!!

[Suja]

I just giggled out loud on the train. I've definitely seen less coordinated dancers in Zumba class. Can I borrow her for a flash mob I'm working on?

That'd be me! I've got at least 3 left feet. I used to take aerobics with an even more uncoordinated friend, and she's been taking Zumba for a while. I wonder if she's gotten any better.

You're free to borrow her. She is not particularly cooperative, however. Also, underwear as outerwear (the "shrug" is one of mine): http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/spanaval/Mira/?action=view&current=MAH00634.mp4

[AmeriBrit]

Yes, but as a minor point of
clarification, I pronounce it "cap-ay".

:P

Of course you would; how else would we expect you to say it? :)

Mira can dance! She'd be great at zumba. I'm going tonight. There are a few new moves that have been added since I took a 2 month break from it. I call one the Tiger Tiger Woods because it's like you're swinging a golf club and sort of shaking your booty in between swings and the other is the Mrs. Tiger Woods where you punch up in the air and then out and over...it's pretty fun and I am soooooo uncoordinated but it's a good laugh and as long as you keep moving around, you burn calories, right?

The boys have not allowed me a full night's sleep in over a week now. Travis comes downstairs and gets in our bed pretty much every night, so that wakes me up and then a few hours later, Cash usually wakes up and I'm too tired to even do anything with him, so I usually just pick him up out of his crib and then get in to Travis' empty bed and try to sleep with him in there, but Cash is a kicker and thrasher in his sleep, so I don't sleep much once I'm up after that. And I am so not a morning person any way. Speaking of mornings, Bridget, did you ever decide if you're going to do the 5am starts for that family?

I've got to log off now because the kids are climbing up my legs, so I'll post this before they delete it!!!!!!!!

[daylilies]

I'm incredibly uncoordinated. I considered taking Zumba but I don't think I'd enjoy it. I did find a cute routine set to a nkotb song. It looked simple but still something I'd trip over myself trying to do.

[missychrissy]

There was a brief period where my mother worked and we had to leave the house at 3:15 in order for her to get there on time. My poor babysitter! She would let us in, cover us up on her two couches, and go back to bed until 6:30 or 7. Could you do something like that Bridget?

[Ky'sMom]

Off topic but kind of freaky that when I logged on here and where you see the "viewers" for each forum the Religious Communities had more than any others. It said there was 43 "viewers" and it didn't break it down for each subforum. Very strange IMO.

But hi to all those being Big Brother today. I would say something freaky but can't think of anything at the moment.

---------------------------------

Elle is starting her dance class this week Sura. Your DD is too cute with her moves! But she may not like a dance class. Elle has been asking to go to one for a while now and I found one that is $35 for 2 months. They offer a free class here but unfortunately we cannot make the time that it is offered since it is on Thursday at 2:15pm and both DH and I cannot get off of work to take her. But she is super excited. She got all her Capezio ballet outfit from Amazon yesterday and didn't want to take it off, especially the shoes. I am going to have to keep it in my room because I'm sure she would wear it constantly. I fear that she won't like the class though. She is starting to get more reserved again in groups and quiet. I have tried to prepare her in that we have discussed she will have to listen to the teacher and that she more than likely won't know any of the other kids so she will have to make new friends. She is okay with the friends part but I think she will more issues with not actually doing the dances she wants to do. But I am hoping she surprises me and more importantly I hope she enjoys the class.

Erin

[Ky'sMom]

Ever since my message the "viewers" went down to 37. I see you viewers!!!

Erin

[daylilies]

Ever since my message the "viewers" went down to 37. I see you viewers!!!

Erin


Wow! It's up to 49 now! I wonder what's going on that's so exciting? Maybe we should fling poo at each other or something. *makes monkey noises*

[Bridget]

Creepy.
Where do you find that number anyway??

We stopped doing Savana's dance because after all day at school it's just too much. And those were her words.

[daylilies]

If you go back to the main forum page, next to each category it shows how many people are viewing it.

I can see how that might be too much for her, Bridget. School is such a new thing it's probably pretty tiring for her.

I had a lovely time at the library today. There was a dad there with an English accent and I was melting into a little puddle listening to him say things like "Have another go at it" to his kids. I'm such a sucker for an English accent. He wasn't bad looking either.

[Suja]

I'm not thinking dance classes. DH is nuts and thinks she's super smart and super talented and well...super everything. If she's still interested when she's older, I'll look into some Indian dance classes as well. Especially something geared towards Bollywood dancing. I've watched some of these videos and gone 'How do they do that?'. I swear, some of these women shake body parts that can't be shaken that way.

[demigraf]

Awww. Your DH must be quite the doting daddy, Suja. On mildly related topic, have you ever seen those Masala Bhangra workout videos? I used to have one back in the day when workout tapes were still VHS. I still have never worked up the courage to show off my moves at an Indian wedding. (I think I mentioned my cousin married an Indian woman, so I get to go to their family weddings.)

Bodhi & Santi hung out again over the weekend when we took them to the Conservatory of Flowers in SF. Here's a shot of them. I really do love how affectionate they are with each other:
http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr268/maggiemillymollymay/APA%20stuff/photo-1.jpg

[daylilies]

They're so cute!

Speaking of dancing, I just bought Let's Dance Kids 2 for me and Josh (I think that's what it's called, it's an xbox 360 Kinect game) and it's kicking my butt. LOL

[missychrissy]

Erin I hope she loves it!

Kate, I'm a sucker for an English accent as well. I still haven't forgotten the one that was at the bar all those months ago when I was hanging out with my childhood friend. :P He probably thought I was the biggest dork ever, but it didn't stop him from really laying his accent on thick for me.

[Gwenn]

Hi! I'm tired and grumpy and wasn't going to post anything, but just for Erin's sake I'll wave and admit to viewing this thread.

Seriously, that is creepy.

Suja, so adorable! Love the dancing.

DH and I are having a mini-fight because my dad wants to buy us a commercial oven, and apparently there is no heat shield on it so the sides get hot. The way it would sit in our kitchen would mean the open (hot) side would be fully exposed. I told him that was a very bad idea if we had a baby and I wouldn't let him get an oven that would burn our child up, and how did he intend to keep the child out of the kitchen to prevent it from being burnt? Now he's sulking after telling me I'm just trying to find excuses because I "didn't want the oven from the beginning." He said "well, we won't get it anyway" and stomped off. Good.

[Suja]

Anyone looking to burn off a lot of calories in short order (and possibly end up in traction) just ought to try some Bollywood dances. I'm going to post this one (don't show kids until you've viewed; it's got plenty of offensive content): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8TpOLROOQ I really want to know how she does that.

Count me among the ones that love a British accent. Can't say I find a lot of British guys attractive though, at least from a physical perspective. Gwenn, I'm with you on this one. Unless DH can figure out a way to put a heat shield on the exposed side, that'd be too much of a risk. You can get it, but what's the point in getting it if you can't use it?

[daylilies]

The British accent bumps up a guy's attractiveness a lot for me.

[Gwenn]

The British accent bumps up a guy's attractiveness a lot for me.

Yeah, me too.

[daylilies]

I don't think I'm ready to try Bollywood dances when I can't even keep up with a kids dance game ;)
That was hot though.

[demigraf]

That's really impressive, Suja. I've never seen anyone dance so well with their boobs.

I'm sure some of you've already seen this, but for anyone who hasn't seen this clip from an old Indian film, it's one of the best (and quirkiest) pieces of cinematic song & dance I've ever seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyEnG_DEB1I . The female lead dancer makes the most comical faces, but I've looked up her biography and she's truly beautiful and had a really distinguished career.

Come to think of it, I've never seen the actual movie this clip came from. So I'd be curious to know the context of the musical number.

[daylilies]

I feel like I've heard that song before.

[raspberry]

cute little Mira dancing!

I am so clumsy and uncoordinated I know better than to attend any dance class. Back in high school I took exercises classes, and my friend and I laughed at each other at how uncoordinated we both were.

about the British accents, I :wub: my dh's accent, even though it's a bit muted. He lived in the US between the ages of 4-9 and then he moved back to England, then finally he moved here in the early 90's, so his accent is not as thick as his mother or brother. I've asked him before, if we ever moved to England, if he'd pick up a thicker accent lol. But I do love his slang. We've been together 8 years and he still surprises me with certain sayings.

[Suja]

That's really impressive, Suja. I've never seen anyone dance so well with their boobs.

I'm sure some of you've already seen this, but for anyone who hasn't seen this clip from an old Indian film, it's one of the best (and quirkiest) pieces of cinematic song & dance I've ever seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyEnG_DEB1I . The female lead dancer makes the most comical faces, but I've looked up her biography and she's truly beautiful and had a really distinguished career.

Come to think of it, I've never seen the actual movie this clip came from. So I'd be curious to know the context of the musical number.

I know, right! I've tried to do the boob thing, and don't know where to begin.

A lot of the older movies are seriously stylized, hence the crazy dancing. One thing I can say is that our actors and actresses really do earn their money. The movie that song came from is based on And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie. I think that the winners of the dance get a trip, due to plane trouble land on an island with a mansion, where they get bumped off one at a time while figuring out whodunit.

[missychrissy]

A lot of what she was doing in the bollywood dance video reminded me of Shakira's "hips don't lie" :P I do that move all the time. And booty pop. I thrust my boobs and/or ass out pretty good when I'm dancing hard. Can't make the boobs go up & down together like that, but I can do them in tandem. I do not perform that on the dance floor, just in the bathroom when Rich walks in on me & I'm in the shower. It's good for a laugh.

Myles-yours only made me wonder how bad her neck hurt the next day. Back in my headbanging days I'd often wake up the next day with a stiff/sore neck. :D

I love dancing. The bassline is what every dancer moves to. I love a lot of bass. It's probably because it makes it easier for me to keep the beat. :D I have thought about taking adult dance lessons just for fun/exercise but I'd be coming home later than I already do and my mommy-guilt won't let me.

[missychrissy]

One kind of dancing that's very easy to do (anyone can do it) and it's also good for your legs is line dancing. It's actually a lot of fun, although I haven't done that since I was a kid/teen.

[missychrissy]

This picture cracks me up. I'm not sure wtf I was doing with my arms, but I was actually twisting (as in Come On Baby, Let's do the Twist). Kinda hard to do with such a tight skirt on. :P

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/TeenieMissyChrissy/Android Pics/imagejpeg_2_11-1.jpg

eta: I just like how this one turned out. I look like I think I'm all that...but I wasn't thinking it at all. I was shocked when I saw it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/TeenieMissyChrissy/Android Pics/IMG_20111231_192600-1.jpg

[Bridget]

Dang, Chrissy!

[missychrissy]

:shame:

It is fun to get dressed up and go out. We don't do it much. In fact, I think the last time was our previous New Years Eve.

[Cosmosmom]

I cannot dance. I'm seriously uncoordinated. Walking is hard enough. LOL

Go Chrissy go!

I confess...we have I think just over 3 inches of snow. And I got stuck in the driveway when I came home. Honestly I can drive in the snow but the drift was a lot deeper than I was expecting. But I got DH to dig me out while I cooked dinner. :)

[Bridget]

You look amazing and I'm very glad you get to go out and rock the dance floor. Now that's some therapy right there!

[Cosmosmom]

Oh and Mandy. I am totally with out. There has got to be a different stove that wouldn't be dangerous!

How have you been doing with the clomid?

[missychrissy]

You look amazing and I'm very glad you get to go out and rock the dance floor. Now that's some therapy right there!

In Nov/Dec, I didn't even want to dance. That was when I was saying I felt like I was on the verge of crying but couldn't. I didn't even play any music in my car during that time, and I :wub: music. I knew something was horribly wrong. But thank you. I do find dancing very therapeutic. And ego boosting.

Mandy-I read that about your stove from my phone and then forgot to respond. I suck. I think you were totally right and your dh is being ridiculous about it. I hope he gets over it fast. I'm sure once you have a little one he'll know you were correct...whether he ever says so or not.

Jennifer, we're supposed to get 3-5 inches tomorrow. That will be our first accumulation of anything all winter, and it's hardly anything to write home about. I have to drive in too because I have a dr's appointment at 4:00. I kinda would like to have one big dump of show (like 12 inches) just to see how my all wheel drive does in it. :P

[daylilies]

You look amazing Chrissy, but your sleeves kind of blend in with your tree and I was confused about where your arms where for a second. :laugh:

[missychrissy]

You look amazing Chrissy, but your sleeves kind of blend in with your tree and I was confused about where your arms where for a second. :laugh:
I was wearing the leopard print jacket and it's slightly opened, hiding my arms. The liner matched the dress and the print matched the 5" heels.

[daylilies]

Yeah, I figured it out. It was just an odd optical illusion.

[missychrissy]

I really need another excuse to wear that outfit. I'm afraid I spent far too much on it. Or, Rich did.

[daylilies]

Haha! I'm sure you'll wear it again!

[Gwenn]

LOL, Chrissy!


Oh and Mandy. I am totally with out. There has got to be a different stove that wouldn't be dangerous!

How have you been doing with the clomid?

going fine. I'm taking it at bedtime, and if I read for too long I start to get a headache. Otherwise, I sleep through most of the side effects. I've been feeling fine up until today when I've been very grouchy, but I also forgot to take my thyroid pill yesterday and the day before and it just caught up with me. I really need to not do that, but I forget it in the morning.

[3andMe]

I feel like I've heard that song before.

I was thinking the same thing, and then I had to look it up on Wikipedia. It was in a 2001 film with Steve Buscemi and Scarlett Johansson called Ghost World.

When my dad was here for his last visit, he professed to have no idea whatsoever what Bollywood was, or what the dance style looked like. So I demonstrated for him some Bollywood dancing and my sister was appalled and said I wasn't doing it right and found some Bollywood film on Netflix at my mom's house and showed him. I think it helps to be surrounded by about 50 guys, but I swear I had some of the wiggling down pretty well. I have no formal training, natch, but I have had belly dancing lessons and I can quiver in spots that you wouldn't think. I can make my boobs shake in two different directions if I want to (not that I do, and certainly not for my dad).

My dad was a little horrified at the whole thing.

Oh, and by the way, my car still isn't done. It's been in the shop since Sunday night and they think it might be done tomorrow, but may not be, and if not, maybe Monday. Every day I have called late afternoon when they haven't told me anything, and they tell me each day it will probably be done the next day and they will call me. Each day they don't call me and then it's not done.

[AbbeysMom]

<3 that movie, and the song. :)

[AmeriBrit]

Anyone looking to burn off a lot of calories in short order (and possibly end up in traction) just ought to try some Bollywood dances. I'm going to post this one (don't show kids until you've viewed; it's got plenty of offensive content): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8TpOLROOQ I really want to know how she does that.

Count me among the ones that love a British accent. Can't say I find a lot of British guys attractive though, at least from a physical perspective. Gwenn, I'm with you on this one. Unless DH can figure out a way to put a heat shield on the exposed side, that'd be too much of a risk. You can get it, but what's the point in getting it if you can't use it?

Wow, that clip was amazing. That'll make ya skinny in no time if you can dance like that!

About British accents, I only like certain ones. There's quite a few of them that make my ears hurt, like London Cockney slang and the Liverpool accent-the really really thick one, not the one like the Beatles spoke. I do love the Yorkshire accent and the Middle country accent. There is something really cute about being called "love" or "flower" by the older generation here; it makes me feel all warm and cosy like I'm loved by them some how. LOL.


Off topic but kind of freaky that when I logged on here and where you see the "viewers" for each forum the Religious Communities had more than any others. It said there was 43 "viewers" and it didn't break it down for each subforum. Very strange IMO.

But hi to all those being Big Brother today. I would say something freaky but can't think of anything at the moment.

Erin

I'm sure we provide entertainment to quite a few folks who like to lurk...we're kinda like a Days of Our Lives interwebz soap section of the forum....

Erin, I hope Elle likes her dance class! :)



about the British accents, I :wub: my dh's accent, even though it's a bit muted. He lived in the US between the ages of 4-9 and then he moved back to England, then finally he moved here in the early 90's, so his accent is not as thick as his mother or brother. I've asked him before, if we ever moved to England, if he'd pick up a thicker accent lol. But I do love his slang. We've been together 8 years and he still surprises me with certain sayings.

I think it would definitely thicken up if you moved over here. My accent always goes "Taladega Nights" Southern when we go back home for a visit to Arkansas, so I think it's who you're surrounded by that affects your accent. My accent is always a conversation starter with people. :)


This picture cracks me up. I'm not sure wtf I was doing with my arms, but I was actually twisting (as in Come On Baby, Let's do the Twist). Kinda hard to do with such a tight skirt on. :P

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/TeenieMissyChrissy/Android Pics/imagejpeg_2_11-1.jpg

eta: I just like how this one turned out. I look like I think I'm all that...but I wasn't thinking it at all. I was shocked when I saw it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/TeenieMissyChrissy/Android Pics/IMG_20111231_192600-1.jpg

I love that outfit, Chrissy! When you're finished with it, send it to me? ;)

I visited another school today; I have until this coming Sunday to put Travis' application in for 3 choices....aaaah, what to choose, what to choose! I'm so glad it's Friday! I hope y'all have a great weekend....I'll probably check in again sometime this weekend!

[missychrissy]

L, I think your sister is jealous. I'm sure you did it just fine and it made her feel insecure. With things like that, I know I could mimic them on dvd and catch on fairly easy. I think some people are adapt at that. Formal training simply makes those with the natural ability be phenomenal. If I were to claim one regret, it's that I didn't have the opportunity to take dance as a kid. My parents couldn't afford it.

I'd be calling them every hour about your car. You've been more than patient L. There's no excuse for it to take this long.

Ash, I'd gladly give it to you but I'm afraid you'd swim in it!! I'm a lot bigger than you are! Good luck with the schools. Is there a lot of paperwork for each one?

[missychrissy]

Jesi took off again. Last night Syd saw her at the end of our driveway talking on her phone. Rich went to wake her up this morning and she wasn't in her room or anywhere else in the house. She's ignoring my calls, texts, and FB messages even though she appears online on FB.

I am concerned, but I'm more angry than worried at this point. 1/10 was exactly the 1 year anniversary of when she ran away the first time. I cannot believe she'd do this to us again.

[daylilies]

I have no idea which British accents are which. I know I like the one David Tennant uses for the Doctor (his real accent is Scottish) and the current Doctor, Matt Smith. And the guy in the library. :laugh: I could not STAND the way Donna, one of the Doctor's companions, talked. She got on my nerves so much.

Chrissy, I'm so sorry. I remember when she ran away last year. It was scary for all of us; I can't imagine how much worse it is for you.

[missychrissy]

I'm just angry right now. I can't believe she'd try to do this to us again.

[demigraf]

Oh no, Chrissy! Please keep us posted. :comfort:

[Suja]

Oh, Chrissy, I'm so sorry. Why is she doing this?

[raspberry]

Chrissy I am sorry. :hugs:

[3andMe]

Chrissy, that is just awful. I hope she turns up quickly and apologizes.

[Aelith]

:hugs: Chrissy; I hope she comes home safely and soon.

[Bridget]

Oh no, Chrissy!:hugs:I hope she is home by now, or that you have heard from her.

[missychrissy]

She arrived home shortly after 5, crying and claiming to not remember anything. She has bruises on her neck. We're at the sheriff's station now. I'm hoping they can get her to remember more. I don't know what to think.

[Suja]

Oh no! That's scary! Hope you figure out what happened.

[daylilies]

Wah? Scary...

[missychrissy]

Either something horrible happened or she's lying. A deputy is questioning her alone right now. The bruises on her neck are alarming.

[raspberry]

oh my, Chrissy that is terrible. I hope you find answers tonight.

[Gwenn]

OMG, Chrissy... I'm so sorry.

[Bridget]

Chrissy we are here for you. I also hope you find answers asap.

[daylilies]

Hoping for an update soon. Chrissy I hope you all are hanging in there.

[Bridget]

Dammit I just keep checking to see if you've been in here, Chrissy.

[AbbeysMom]

Huge hugs Chrissy. :hugs: I hope you are able to find out what happened and I hope she's OK. :pace:

[Gwenn]

:pace:

Still waiting for an update... :hugs:

[3andMe]

How awful. I am so sorry.

[AmeriBrit]

I'm thinking of you and your family today, Chrissy. I hope that Jesi is ok!

[missychrissy]

We're finally home at 3:00 am. She turned up shortly after I got home, about 6 pm. She was crying and said she couldn't remember where she'd been since 11 pm the previous night. She also had awful bruises around her throat. We took her immediately to the sheriff's office. They did a preliminary report and encouraged us to take her to the ER for a full work up. What they wanted to know was if she'd been given any date-rape type drugs. On the side, the deputy said it could be either case; either someone drugged her and assaulted her and she really doesn't remember, or she's lying to cover up for someone but a crime definitely occurred because of the marks on her neck. The deputy thought the bruises looked like someone pressed on her throat with knuckles on each side of her esophagus. The ER Dr thought it looked like someone tried to strangle her with a belt or something because there were marks on the side of her neck as well. It's definitely more pronounced in the front though, and wider...like a buckle maybe. Talk about sickened and feeling helpless. Yet again. :cry: She's ok now though, and that's what is important.

The next step is visiting with the investigator Monday morning. He'll take her statement and we'll sign releases for him to receive the lab results from her ER visit tonight. She wasn't sexually assaulted, so I guess that's a good thing. I never imagined "I'm glad she was only choked" would be a thought I'd have. Irony. :(

The Investigator asked us not to grill her, as tempting as it might be. If she's protecting someone or lying because she's afraid of getting in trouble with us, he said he's usually good at getting kids to open up to him but if we interrogate her ourselves, it will give her time to build up more lies. It's possible she was given a drug and he's not ruling that out either. That's what the lab work will reveal.

Ugh. This mommy business is hands down the most difficult role any person could ever play. I don't know if I'm cut out for this. A little late now, huh? I'm not saying she's not worth it. It's just so tremendously heartbreaking and now I'm questioning everything I ever did as a mother. Where did I go wrong where something like this could happen, just a mere 7 months after my oldest daughter was sexually assaulted? :cry:

14 months of hell with no end in sight. No wonder why I'm in therapy and on anti-depressants. Cripes.

As always-thank you all for your support. It means so much to me. My phone died so I couldn't update sooner. I'm sorry.

[Bridget]

This wait must be agonizing for you. I am so so sorry. :hugs:

[girlwonder]

I'm really sad and sorry right now for all that has happened. This latest is just another truly terrible thing. I hope you can get to the bottom of it without too much more drama or upset. Big big big hugs for you right now.

[Cosmosmom]

Big hugs Chrissy. Just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you and your family.

[Aelith]

I'm so sorry you're family is going through all this. I hope your daughter's physical trauma heals quickly and that the police can get to the bottom of all this. :hugs:

[AbbeysMom]

:hugs: Chrissy. You didn't do anything wrong. Some of the best, most successful, smartest, kindest and coolest people I know today put their parents through living hell while they were teenagers. IMO, being a teenager is just incredibly difficult for most great people.

[Gwenn]

:hugs: I'm thinking of you all, Chrissy.

[daylilies]

:hugs: You didn't do anything wrong.
Remember what we discussed about not taking our kids' behaviors personally? ;) I know it doesn't help much to compare her to our younger kids because she's so much older and she should have more awareness of how her behaviors affect the whole family. But at the same time I remember teenagehood as being this weird time where I was blissfully unaware of how my actions could possibly affect my parents or anyone else. And I turned out to be a relatively not screwed up person.

[daylilies]

Then again I'm probably talking out of my ass. LOL

[Gwenn]

Then again I'm probably talking out of my ass. LOL

LOL, I was thinking you made a lot of sense. I agree.

[raspberry]

Chrissy, I am sorry you're having to go through this. :hugs: Like others have said you didn't do anything wrong. Being a mom is hard, and being a teenager is hard.

[missychrissy]

Thanks ladies. And Kate I thought you made a ton of sense. Thank you.

[daylilies]

Thank you, I just didn't want to presume that having a teen is anything like dealing with a 5 year old LOL
Glad it makes sense though.

[beanpop]

Hey beanpop,
Do you have an "unofficial" Doctor Who episode called Time Crash?

It's a short mini-episode, 7 minutes or something. It's on YouTube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szuP0oBZX4g


Dh is convinced the kid needs to take dance lessons, on the basis of this: http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/spanaval/Mira/?action=view&current=MAH00627.mp4. (turn down the volume if at work)

She is too cute!! I love watching her dance. And I enjoyed that other Bollywood video too - I was going to mention it reminded me of Shakira as well :laugh:

Chrissy, I'm so sorry that you've had to go through all of this heartache. I can't even imagine what you must be feeling right now. I really hope that things calm down for you soon. :hugs:

Oh, and I agree with you all - British accents are super hot! Except Cockney. lol

[missychrissy]

Thank you, I just didn't want to presume that having a teen is anything like dealing with a 5 year old LOL
Glad it makes sense though.

In a lot of ways, it's very similar. Only they're very convinced in their knowledge of everything in the world and of their own invincibility...and can use strong arguments for their case at times. They're very adept at using your words against you at the most inopportune times and will twist your words around to fit their view of the world. :D

It's not all bad though. The love you feel for your teens is as strong as it is for them when they're wee little babies. That never goes away.

[daylilies]

I'm sure it doesn't :)

[missychrissy]

I'm learning more than I ever wanted to know about gaming thanks to Conner. He's always finding these new games he wants to play, but then doesn't know how so I have to figure it out for him. He does really well in that I only have to show him which controls work one time and he remembers them. And he's learning letters & keys. Specifically, the A, S, D, W, X, CTRL, space bar, and arrow keys. :-)

[Bridget]

He's going to be a computer whiz like his mama.
Been thinking about you and J all day, btw.

I keep forgetting if I mention things here but dbf is probably going to start this new job. In mid february his friend is going to fly him to Ohio (?) and show him the ropes and if all goes as planned, he'll accept the position and he will either travel for 1-2 wks at a time or we will move to possibly Ohio. I don't know what to think about all this. He tells me that if he takes this job he will make enough money to support us all and I could just homeschool the kids, or we could find a good private school and I could be a sahm to Sawyer until he goes and that Ohio would not be forever, just until we get to Hawaii. I would love to see him making consistent money. While I am not one to need a lot of money to be happy, it will be nice to not stress about paying the bills, and stress about daycare kids showing up or not. And it's hard for me to listen to him b!tch about money when he could work a job he hated if it really bugged him that much. Not that I would wish anyone to work a job they hated but really then don't complain, you know? Work with what ya got or change it!
So. The travel part scares me. Can I swing it alone? Do I want to? Can I trust him?


The job is hard for me to understand. His friend works for a company that is opening a chain of pizza places. They need people to go to where the restuarant opens and do promotions for the joint, get people in there. It's just the kind of thing that dbf would be great at. He'd set his own hours, not really have to answer to anyone on a day to day basis as long as he was meeting numbers. I guess now that I wrote it out, it's not that hard to understand lol.

I dunno. I won't discourage him. He's really excited. We'll see where this takes us.

[daylilies]

Is the job a definite? I mean I know you probably wouldn't move out there without knowing the job is secure but I'd hate to see you move out there and have the job fall through. I'd make sure all the ducks are in a row and then, good luck! It sounds exciting!

Are there going to be more jobs lined up for him after this chain opens?

[missychrissy]

...Can I swing it alone? Do I want to? Can I trust him?

I think that's the only real question. I know you can swing it alone. Well, I don't know if you want to but you know...

And as far as working at a job he doesn't like, I don't know about everyone in the world, but the majority of the people I know work jobs they don't like, but they need/want $ so they suck it up and do it. I think his excuse of not wanting to answer to someone is just immaturity/selfishness on his part. Sorry.

I hope things work out, whichever route he takes. Do you have any idea how long he'd be traveling before you'd be in Hawaii? If it were me, I think I'd be tempted to stay put till that goal was reached. He'd still be traveling if you were in Ohio, right? At least where you are you're close to family.

[daylilies]

So yesterday I drove up to a bridal shop to meet with the bridal party and get measured for my cousin's wedding in June. I'm pleased to report that the bridesmaid dress she picked out is rather nice! I'm only worried because it's strapless. I'm not well endowed at all. Is there something I can do to ensure it stays in place? I think those clear straps would be kind of obvious looking.

Also, does anyone know anything about covering tattoos? I have one on my upper back I think it would be a good idea to cover. Is there something special I can get?

[AbbeysMom]

:)

[Gwenn]

Bridget, I agree it's about trust. I know you can manage. I hope it works out.

Kate, you can get double sided fabric tape to put on your bra, but you probably don't need it if it fits properly. I'm not that big and I can wear a strapless dress if it fits properly. No advice about the tattoo, though.

[missychrissy]

I agree with Mandy about the double-sided fabric tape and that you shouldn't need it if it fits properly. As for the tat coverage, the only thing I know if is Kat Von D's concealer: http://www.amazon.com/Kat-Von-Tattoo-Concealer-Almond/dp/B002NPYQ0U I don't know how well it works, I happened to see her episode where she was making the commercial for it.

I'm curious about what tat you have on your upper back now. I didn't know you had one. Or if I knew, I forgot. Do you have any pics of it?

[daylilies]

I don't have any pics. It's an angel, which I guess is interesting considering my secular background.

I don't know, I just kind of like to believe there is *some* kind of energy out there that is bigger than we know, and the best way I could think to represent that was an angel. I've always kind of felt lucky for making it through a lot of things I went through as a child, my hospitalizations and stuff. I wanted to represent that. I thought for a long time about getting a tattoo. I originally wanted one in college. I wanted the sacred heart that you see a lot in the DiCaprio/Danes version of Romeo and Juliet (my favorite movie at the time) which, funny enough is also a religious symbol. Something like these but without a cross. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sacred+heart&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=639l2184l0l2636l12l5l0l4l4l1l437l1215l0.2.2 .0.1l8l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=800&bih=379&wrapid=tlif132666768828710&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=q1cTT82MJebW0QG89Ny4Aw

I didn't realize that it was a well known religious symbol until much later and I was glad I didn't get that particular tattoo. About 4 years later I decided on the angel.

I have no pictures but I could try to get one taken sometime and post it.

[Bridget]

Yes, double sided tape would be my rec too. I don't know about covering a tat. I can't imagine a way to do it that would look nice.

Y'all are right. I could handle things here. I mostly think about bedtime! It can be the most chaotic time and it's nice to have an extra set of hands. I'm not going to think too hard about any of this until I see the wheels in motion.

I agree it's pretty selfish not to work a mundane job for the paycheck but I feel obligated to note that he does make money. He was smart when he was young and made good property investments so we have that rental income, and when he does line up a carpentry or remodel job he makes good money and he pays off any debt we've built up immediately. I was really irresponsible when I was young and saved nothing. We'd never have been able to buy this house if it wasn't for his finances. I'll forever be grateful to him for that. I got to spend a lot of time with my mom in the two years before she died. When I was pleading my case to move back here and be close to my family I promised him I would never expect him to work a job he hated and boy has he held me to that!! lol He left a pretty cake job in Hawaii....

[Ky'sMom]

I also am confident that you will be okay alone Bridget. I also feel it would have more to do with trust than anything else. I am hoping for the best for both of you though. I also am not a money type of person but still I don't like to stress about it and it would be great if you would not have to consider finances as much, it can only make things a little less hectic IMO.

Sorry Kate but no advice about the dress here. I have huge boobs and don't usually wear strapless things for the opposite reason, they will spill out all over the place. I do have a great strapless bra but it is kind of uncomfortable so I don't wear it often.

And Chrissy, I hope Jesi will open up to you and tell you what happened to her. I can only imagine how scary it is to see your child with choke marks on his/her neck. That would be frightening and disturbing.

Erin

[daylilies]

Actually, if you go to the main apa page (not the forum page) the drawing of the woman at the top is like my tattoo. Kind of an outline like that.

I'm confident they'll make my dress fit right but I just don't know how a strapless dress stays up if it doesn't have anything to cling to. LOL

[missychrissy]

That's pretty neat Kate. I like angels, even though I don't believe. I guess for me it's like liking Santa Clause...I like the idea of angels and I do think they're beautiful. And who knows, we don't know what we don't know. I'm willing to be wrong about the existence of angels.

[missychrissy]

Jesi finally owned up to everything. She took off with a bf and was drinking. The bruises on her neck are not bruises. Case closed. Except she's grounded. Till she's like 30.

I'm disappointed in her of course but greatly relieved. I was pretty sure she was being deceptive, but I was afraid she was lying to protect an abusive bf. I didn't want that for her. Of the two options, I prefer this one I guess.

[Cosmosmom]

If they aren't bruises, what were they? I have to admit when I heard about neck bruises, my first thought was that thing that a number of kids are doing where they try to get a high by choking themselves.

[missychrissy]

They hickies (sp?).

[Bridget]

Wow, Chrissy. I can imagine you are dealing with some pretty intense feelings of relief, disappointment and anger. Big hugs to you.

[daylilies]

Wow, those are some amazing hickies.

[missychrissy]

No kidding.

[Cosmosmom]

I didn't even think of that as what they could be....better than bruises I suppose.

[missychrissy]

I didn't even think of that as what they could be....better than bruises I suppose.

i didn't even think of it either Jennifer. I was a little embarrassed when the investigator told me that's what the marks were.

[AbbeysMom]

Wow Chrissy. I'm so relived for you that there was no violence, but my stomach would be in knots that she took a lie that far... will she be in trouble with the police at all, since she originally lied to them?

:hugs:

[AbbeysMom]

I got some good news today at my high risk ultrasound, the doctor says it looks like a healthy baby! :)

Also, it's a baby BOY!!!

I'm in shock about that, TBH. :laugh:

[Bridget]

Well you err on the side of trusting your child and I wouldn't feel stupid for that.

Sawyer has been sitting here for about 5 minutes raising his hand and putting them behind his head, joining them and them keeping them together as he brings them forward and into his lap. Over and over and over. He is so funny to me. So different than Savana and Kai were.

My oldest childhood friend is here visiting from Alaska and is coming over here on friday with her family to sleep over until saturday. I am unspeakably happy and excited to spend time with her.

[Cosmosmom]

So I had it out with DH this weekend. Started saturday when I got up and didn't close the office door right away and Molly got a wooden duck off the bookshelf. She got a little chunk out of his tail before I realized it. DH freaked out...his one grandpa carved the duck and it's the only thing he has of him. Which I get that he should be upset. Good news is that we were able to smooth out the spot and found some stain that is awfully darn close and it looks pratically like it was never touched. Course in 14 yrs together, I knew he liked the duck but never knew how much it meant to him. And not sure why it was kept on the bottom shelf. Than Molly threw up so there was that to clean up. Sunday he wasn't feeling good so DH was crabby there. It was like all weekend I heard was about how he didn't like having two dogs, didn't want the second dog, going to get dog food all the time now, cleaning up double the waste and changing the litter all the time now, puppy whines too much, makes Cosmo bark too much, takes too much time to watch....OMG. Than there was also a lot of nagging at me. I finally blew up at him and was crying and basically said I want a baby but I didn't know if I wanted one with him. I was tired of hearing about how a second dog messes up his life and what did he want me to do about it now. At least we know in the future that we will wait until Molly is gone and than get another puppy. But what did he want me to do. I mean I get annoyed at her sometimes too but she's ours and even he said he doesnt' want to get rid of her (my family would take her in a second because she is a pretty great puppy most of the time). He said he was just venting. Fine but don't make it all the time all weekened long.
So now we are up in the air about a kid yet again. OMG it would so much easier to find oneself knocked up and just go from there and deal with it. This waiting and second guessing sucks.
Deal is that he could be a great dad if he wanted to. Especially had this happened 6-10 years ago when we were in our 20's and just not so set in our routine and had that energy again. We have had 14 years of it being just us. I just question if this is what he wants. I think that he might be happier not having a kid. He can be selfish and likes his rec and relaxation time. He's not always the most patient, likes things neat and in order and is NOT good with change. Even just changing furniture or another decorating thing can be like pulling teeth with him and something we argue about the most. And I want him to be happy. He knows I have always wanted a baby and knows that I will be happier having one. And he wants most in life is for me to be happy and he almost always gives me what I want. So it's kind of this big circle we keep going around in.
So he told me when were deciding about the house to make the decison. Fine. I did it and stand by it. I told him I'm leaving this one up to him. he said that isn't fair, I said tough. I do not want to go through life hearing about how he lost sleep because of the baby and I was the one who wanted the baby like I did with the puppy all weekend. Not fair to baby and not fair to me. He knows what I want....I want a baby but I also want him happy in life.

Don't know what is going on now. We haven't talked about it much since last night because he had to work and we only have a short time together in the morning. I kind of wish that he could get back to a first shift but don't see that happening soon. It can be hard being on different shifts mostly due to his weird sleeping times. I'm just glad that I wear glasses because they are helping hide how much my eyelids are swollen today.

Don't know if we will talk more tonight or not. We need to start working on cleaning (house is picked up but needs a good cleaning and I like things like fresh sheets in the guest room) because we have company coming this weekend for his 35th birthday.

[Bridget]

Molly, THat is FANTASTIC. And boys are so so so so wonderful. I know that goes without saying but I just had to:)

ETA: Jennifer, we posted at the same time. I'm sorry you had a rough weekend and dh was being that way.

[Suja]

Chrissy, i'm sorry you're having to deal with all this. Glad J wasn't hurt, though.

Molly, that's awesome! Names?

Jennifer, sorry ou're going through this. I wish there were a way for you two to experience what it's like to have a child, both the good and the bad, without committing to it.:hugs:

[missychrissy]

Wow Chrissy. I'm so relived for you that there was no violence, but my stomach would be in knots that she took a lie that far... will she be in trouble with the police at all, since she originally lied to them?

:hugs:

No, she's not in trouble with the police at all. The investigator said he sees it all the time. Adolescent girls will tell their parents something and then it escalates out of control really fast on them and they just don't know how to get out of it. He said that she was straight-up honest with him right from the beginning. When we initially went to the sheriff, she only talked to a deputy and apparently they don't care so much about lying to deputies. :P j/k...I think it's like he said, they're used to it and the fact that she did own up to it to the investigator is all they care about.

The guy she was with is 20 and age of consent is 18 in NY. We could pursue that if we wanted to, but I'm not interested. She was a willing participant and I don't believe in ruining a guy's life in situations like this. The investigator agreed with me on that. So the whole thing is dropped other than her being grounded at home.


I got some good news today at my high risk ultrasound, the doctor says it looks like a healthy baby! :)

Also, it's a baby BOY!!!

I'm in shock about that, TBH. :laugh:

:hooray: I'm so happy for you!! Congratulations!! That's really big news!!


My oldest childhood friend is here visiting from Alaska and is coming over here on friday with her family to sleep over until saturday. I am unspeakably happy and excited to spend time with her.

:wub: I hope you have a great time!!!

Jennifer, it sounds to me like you two just had a bad weekend. I don't think that any life decisions were made :hugs: It happens to the best of us.

[daylilies]

I got some good news today at my high risk ultrasound, the doctor says it looks like a healthy baby! :)

Also, it's a baby BOY!!!

I'm in shock about that, TBH. :laugh:

Congrats!!


Well you err on the side of trusting your child and I wouldn't feel stupid for that.

Sawyer has been sitting here for about 5 minutes raising his hand and putting them behind his head, joining them and them keeping them together as he brings them forward and into his lap. Over and over and over. He is so funny to me. So different than Savana and Kai were.

My oldest childhood friend is here visiting from Alaska and is coming over here on friday with her family to sleep over until saturday. I am unspeakably happy and excited to spend time with her.

Yay! Have fun!

[AmeriBrit]

Molly, congrats on the healthy baby boy! That is such great news!

Chrissy, I'm glad J is OK; that's the main thing. I hope she doesn't do anymore silly stuff this year!

Jennifer, I'm sorry you and your DH had a bad weekend. I wish I had some wise advice. Kids do change your life and there is no going back, but I would never go back to my childless life now that I have my 2 little lads.

Travis had a great day at school today; the teacher said he's really coming out of his shell. She said he told the whole class about how he feeds the birds with his grandparents. :) Oh, but she also said he spent most of the day with his hand in his pants! (He's going through a very annoying stage of fiddling with his bits!) I had to have a talk with him about not doing that kinda thing at school! :S

[raspberry]

Molly congrats on a healthy baby boy!! Boys are so much fun!!!!

Chrissy, wow, that is a lot for you deal with. Are you & Jesi able to talk about it?

Bridget, enjoy your time with your friend. I love your Sawyer stories, such a sweetie.

Jennifer, sorry about the fight with your dh.

It's a nice day here, Gilly and I just went on a nature walk. He is always so fascinated with the storm drains, so we gathered up stones, sticks, flowers, mulch and he threw them down into it listening for them to drop in the water. And it's garbage day here so G was happy, G LOVES garbage trucks. He literally squeals when he hears the truck rumbling down the street. The garbage man is nice to him, he does extra "tricks" for G. Gilly even asked Santa for a garbage truck for Xmas. Santa laughed, and winked at me, "that is a new one" Santa did his duty, G got a bright green garbage truck Xmas morning :)

[Cosmosmom]

Molly congrats! That is fantastic news!

Chrissy I kind of agree with you there....if the guy was like 30, I would be mad and wanting to press charges. But 17 and 20 is not unreasonble to me.

I just wish that this wasn't a major life decison we had so much time to think about and make. Who knew looking back that I wish that we just had a "surprise" back early on in the relationship in our earlier/mid 20's.
The one good thing is that I really don't think he realized how much blame for the dog he was putting on me and how it was making me feel.....he thought he was just venting. He is pretty good about apologizing...except he turns it around and it becomes about how much he sucks. OMG. This morning in the short time we had before I leave, he was definitely making an effort and was playing with the puppy and snuggling on her and saying how she's a pretty good little poogle.

[3andMe]

Molly, I am so thrilled for you! I have been watching your ticker and I saw it pass 12 weeks a bit ago and wanted to say something, but didn't want to in case you felt jinxed or something. I remember at the beginning when everything seemed so touch-and-go, and I have been happier and happier for you with each day that goes by.

Chrissy, what a rollercoaster these past few days have been. I am so glad she's back safely, and I can kind of understand how easy it would be to get wrapped up in a lie that snowballs like that, just to try to stay out of trouble. She must have been really scared, although probably not as scared as you were. I think you are handling it really well, and I also will say I am glad you are not going to file charges against the boy.

Ashley, they never grow out of that stage of fiddling with their bits. :laugh: Luckily, they do learn to be more discreet. Good luck with the lessons. Baby S. has taken to shouting "My penis! My penis! My penis!" at his main decibel level (super-loud) at random times and whenever I change his diaper. Of course, he had to do it when I tried to change it discreetly on the airplane. Between that and his corruption of "Jingle Bells" to "Tingle Balls," which he also shouts, he's getting very good at drawing attention to us.

Jennifer, sorry you and DH had a rough time this weekend. It's easy to have a bad moment and start extrapolating from there, but there are all kinds of good qualities in your DH (obviously, since you picked him) that would make him an excellent father as well.

Bridget, it is bizarre to me how different my third is from my first two, as well. And also because I thought my twins were as different as night and day, I had the hardest time imagining how any other child could be different from them. I figured that he would be a little bit like DD in some situations, and maybe a bit like DS in others, but instead he's just as completely different from them as they were from each other. If I could have tolerated it in any way, I would have loved to keep having children just because it's so fascinating to see what they're like and they are all so wonderful and unique. I would love to keep seeing more different combinations of me and DH. Still, I recently read a quote that seemed apt from the comedian Jim Gaffigan, who is now a father of four: “People ask me what it’s like to have a fourth child. Imagine you’re drowning. Then somebody hands you a baby.” That's kind of how I feel now. I laughed when I read that, and shared it with DH, and he held me for a moment because he knew how I felt.

Oh, and JOY! My car got finished just in the nick of time on Friday afternoon, but they want me to bring it back next week for a turn signal assembly replacement under warranty. I'm scared.

[beanpop]

Molly, I am so happy for you :wub:

Chrissy, I'm glad she finally came clean! Man, she stresses me out just reading about her escapades. I can't imagine what you're going through!

[missychrissy]

Jennifer, I don't think anyone is ever fully prepared for a baby/child. Somehow, you make it work. Planned or unplanned, there are days when you wonder how you'll get through it. I'm sure it's the same for the Dads as well. It doesn't negate the love you have, or he will have, for your child. At least now he's aware of how his venting can be perceived as regret to you and hopefully by the time that time comes he'll have a different approach to coping with the stress. I'm confident he'll be able to make the necessary adjustments when you guys have your baby. I don't think he'd go through the adoption process if he didn't want a baby as well.


...Still, I recently read a quote that seemed apt from the comedian Jim Gaffigan, who is now a father of four: “People ask me what it’s like to have a fourth child. Imagine you’re drowning. Then somebody hands you a baby.” That's kind of how I feel now. I laughed when I read that, and shared it with DH, and he held me for a moment because he knew how I felt...

:lol: That's funny! And I'd say accurate. I hope they don't take forever and a day to do the repair on your car.


We just had another big blow up because Jesi dropped the bomb that she intends on getting a GED instead of graduating high school. This is a problem because NY makes it virtually impossible to get a GED unless you've been out of school for a solid year or it's after the last year you were registered with has graduated. Officially, she's considered a 10th grader even though she could graduate next school year if she passed all her classes (she should be in 11th right now but has 2 10th grade classes, if that makes sense). So NY wouldn't allow her to take the GED test until after June 2014, unless she were to quit school right now. Then she could apply to take it in 2013, I think. If the school kept her registered in Sept of this year, then she would still have to wait till 2014. I've heard of people 'officially' quitting their school but the school going ahead and scheduling them anyway because they're a minor living in the district. I do not know of anyone that was able to get their GED until after their class graduated. Including myself.

The other exceptions would be if she were in a drug and alcohol in-patient program, mental health facility, or incarcerated. None of them seem like good alternatives to me. She's in tears and frustrated and saying we don't understand. Ugh.

[Suja]

Chrissy, what is her rationale or wanting to go the GED route? It just seems like she is not thinking straight right now, and perhaps should wait to make such important decisions.

[AbbeysMom]

Is doing online high school an option? It seems like if she went that route she could get out of the social situation of high school (if that's what she wants/needs) and accelerate getting a degree.

If she/you do decide on going the GED route, she can study for the GED and then take classes for college credit at the community college while she waits to take the test. Although she/you would have to pay for classes out-of-pocket (financial aid is usually only given to students who are officially 'accepted' into school, though anyone can take a class and receive the same credit). That way she wouldn't just be biding her time (or getting into trouble) while she waits to continue school.

I'm not a big believer that high school offers any life experience that's especially beneficial to anyone, but if there's anyway you can use this to guide her towards higher education earlier, it has the potential to send her life in a new direction. JMO from my own experience long ago as a dropout/GED graduate. :hugs:

[missychrissy]

Chrissy, what is her rationale or wanting to go the GED route? It just seems like she is not thinking straight right now, and perhaps should wait to make such important decisions.

She's really struggling with algebra, which is required to graduate high school (regents is the only option) and it's required to pass the GED. I'm calling her school today and see if she can get extra help. She was supposed to be put in an 'extra help' math class but they put her in English instead, which she doesn't have a problem with and doesn't need.

There's a charter school that she attended last year and she really wants to go back there. I told her that if she behaves (no more taking off, drinking, etc), we'll see about her returning in Sept. They have more one-on-one options available there.


JMO from my own experience long ago as a dropout/GED graduate. :hugs:

I appreciate that, but as a high school dropout/GED graduate myself, I don't want that for my own kids. Not at all. imo, it's the hard road and really, NY doesn't make it easy to get before a year after your class graduates high school. I don't even know if it's possible-unless, like I said, she was institutionalized.

[Aelith]

I got some good news today at my high risk ultrasound, the doctor says it looks like a healthy baby! :)

Also, it's a baby BOY!!!

I'm in shock about that, TBH. :laugh:

Congratulations - how wonderful!!

[Suja]

She's really struggling with algebra, which is required to graduate high school (regents is the only option) and it's required to pass the GED. I'm calling her school today and see if she can get extra help. She was supposed to be put in an 'extra help' math class but they put her in English instead, which she doesn't have a problem with and doesn't need.


See, that doesn't make any sense. If she needs algebra to graduate or to pass GED, then what's the point of passing up school to take GED? While you are waiting to see if she can extra help from school, it might be productive to go through the Algebra series here: http://www.khanacademy.org/ They are excellent, explained in very simple terms, and easy to understand. Even if she has some basic understanding, I would recommend that she start from the beginning. If something is still not clear, I'd be happy to help via IM or email (in case she can't get in-person help from friends/family/teachers).

[Cosmosmom]

Or if the school isn't willing to help (which they should be!), what about a tutor? Maybe a local college kid?

[missychrissy]

See, that doesn't make any sense. If she needs algebra to graduate or to pass GED, then what's the point of passing up school to take GED? While you are waiting to see if she can extra help from school, it might be productive to go through the Algebra series here: http://www.khanacademy.org/ They are excellent, explained in very simple terms, and easy to understand. Even if she has some basic understanding, I would recommend that she start from the beginning. If something is still not clear, I'd be happy to help via IM or email (in case she can't get in-person help from friends/family/teachers).

Thank you :wub:

And she didn't know she'd need algebra for her GED. She burst into tears and said she'd be a loser for her whole life then when I told her algebra was on my GED test. :(


Or if the school isn't willing to help (which they should be!), what about a tutor? Maybe a local college kid?

I'm working on it, thanks. I have a call into her guidance counselor and if I can't get anywhere with them I'll definitely be looking into tutors for her.

I know how she feels. I really, really suck at math too. I got to where I mastered basic algebra, but when I was in college I worked my ASS off for a B- in 200 level math. I didn't put a fraction of the effort into any of my other classes where I easily achieved an A in. I would have been a 4.0 if it weren't for math. (I ended up with a 3.7) So I get where her frustration is coming from. It took me 3 college years to complete the two required math classes for my associates degree. She has my brain.

[Smplyme89]

I got some good news today at my high risk ultrasound, the doctor says it looks like a healthy baby! :)

Also, it's a baby BOY!!!

I'm in shock about that, TBH. :laugh:

They could tell already!?!? That is awesome :hooray:

Any idea of names :wub:

[Smplyme89]

No, she's not in trouble with the police at all. The investigator said he sees it all the time. Adolescent girls will tell their parents something and then it escalates out of control really fast on them and they just don't know how to get out of it. He said that she was straight-up honest with him right from the beginning. When we initially went to the sheriff, she only talked to a deputy and apparently they don't care so much about lying to deputies. :P j/k...I think it's like he said, they're used to it and the fact that she did own up to it to the investigator is all they care about.



Wow. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that :( I agree though that it is better than the alternative of an abusive bf :ohno:

I have to say (as someone who dated an older man when she was young) thank you for not pursuing :) My parents threatened it and the thought that he could've went to prison, for doing nothing wrong, was heart wrenching.

[Suja]

Thank you :wub:

And she didn't know she'd need algebra for her GED. She burst into tears and said she'd be a loser for her whole life then when I told her algebra was on my GED test. :(


Oh goodness! Poor thing, so stressed about something like algebra! You know, I didn't particularly care for math in school, but when I had to take it again in grad school, I really didn't mind it so much. It made far more sense then, as a grown-up. That was totally not lip service, BTW. I'd be happy to help her out if she needs it. I hate to see kids struggle with math.

[missychrissy]

See, that doesn't make any sense. If she needs algebra to graduate or to pass GED, then what's the point of passing up school to take GED? While you are waiting to see if she can extra help from school, it might be productive to go through the Algebra series here: http://www.khanacademy.org/ They are excellent, explained in very simple terms, and easy to understand. Even if she has some basic understanding, I would recommend that she start from the beginning. If something is still not clear, I'd be happy to help via IM or email (in case she can't get in-person help from friends/family/teachers).


Oh goodness! Poor thing, so stressed about something like algebra! You know, I didn't particularly care for math in school, but when I had to take it again in grad school, I really didn't mind it so much. It made far more sense then, as a grown-up. That was totally not lip service, BTW. I'd be happy to help her out if she needs it. I hate to see kids struggle with math.

Thanks again for the link and the offer. I've forwarded the link to Jesi and she'll get a chance to look at it tomorrow. Her guidance counselor won't be back in the office till Thursday so I have a couple days to wait and see if he has any suggestions. In the meantime, I will have her visit that site for a few minutes every day at least and see if it can help her. I'll keep everyone posted on how she does. She's really a smart girl, but she's a hands-on kinda gal. She can eyeball measurements for cooking, distances, or how much ethernet it would take to run from one side of our house to another. I think she's one of those that learns differently and just needs to find that way of learning algebra that will make the light bulb go off for her.

[demigraf]

Suja, that was really nice of you to offer to help Chrissy with Jesi's algebra questions. Things like that always make me appreciate this forum.

Chrissy, I would totally be as worried as you are. (I was tickled to hear you took Jesi along for "bring your brat to work day" (your words) LOL.) I don't really know the first thing about talking to a teenager, but if it were my child, I would emphasize the importance of just making your best effort, placing academics at a higher priority over her social life, and the fact that she shouldn't be afraid to fail. I know how hard it is when you're in the thick of it and constantly feel like others are watching you screw up. I agree that the decision she's making now to avoid the relatively small discomfort of learning a little math will have big implications later on in life. How do you explain that to a teen? I don't know, but I would certainly try in whatever way I know how to talk to one.

Molly, yay :hooray: for a baby boy!!! I understand the shock of finding out you have one, and all the new gender-specific rearing thoughts you'll have from this point on. At least we can talk about that stuff together now. :)

Bridget, my thoughts on you moving to Ohio are to try to wait and see how it goes first before letting yourself worry about making a decision. Maybe he'll abandon the idea after the first couple of weeks, so you can let him take the temp on that and come back with more of a direction for your family once he's gone out and done it. As for trusting him, I know it's really hard given the past, but perhaps you could at least try to bring your trust for him in line with your decision to remain in the relationship... for your own peace of mind. I don't know if that made sense, but basically I'm just trying to say you're in it today, and you're going to have to trust him anyway, whether or not he's physically close by. The state line is more of just a psychological barrier. For your own sake, try not to look at it as if the other shoe is just waiting to drop on your relationship. If you can. It's no fun to exist in a relationship indefinitely with that level of indecision. :comfort:

Jennifer, I'm sorry you and your DH had the blowout over the dogs. I can add that DH & I had similar pissing matches when we added another dog into the mix. I think if you do decide to have a baby, the frustrations you experience will be pretty different from the ones you're having with the puppy. But still, I just hope if your DH says he wants a baby, he sticks with it and doesn't act like he was just dragged along for the ride through no choice of his own. It seems like that's what he was implying over the weekend.

I am swamped over here. So much so that I'm making really stupid mistakes and forgetting where I put my car and stuff like that. Oh well. Back to living the dream...

[Suja]

I can completely understand that people learn differently. Organic chem was my nemesis. I had a friend who could just visualize how stuff would work, but for the life of me, I couldn't. It showed in our grades. A couple of years ago, I helped a friend's daughter get through basic calculus, after she had failed it previously. It turned out that the instructor's style just didn't work for how she learned, and having things explained differently is all she needed.

[Gwenn]

Molly, I'm so happy your appointment went well! Congrats on a boy!

Chrissy, I'm glad Jesi is okay, and man! That must have been some hickey! I'm also glad you aren't pressing charges, though. Good luck with the algebra. I agree with everyone, getting a GED won't get her out of doing algebra so it makes a lot more sense to stick with it. I've actually heard really good things about the site Suja linked to.

Jennifer, DH and I had some crazy arguments about Gwennie when she was a puppy, too. I was the one who told him specifically that I didn't want a dog, and he got her anyway. So it was mostly me b!tching about her to DH. I adore her now and can't imagine life without her, if that helps.

My mother has been frustrating me recently. I've been sharing a fair amount with her about our RE and all that is associated with that. She keeps making comments about DH and whether or not he really wants a baby. DH DOES want a baby. He wants one as much as I do. But somehow my mom just can't seem to grasp that we BOTH are trying for a baby. I think because - to be honest - my dad really didn't want kids, at least not when he had them - and she just can't imagine that men want babies, too. It is really getting to me. I think at some point she insinuated that if DH did want a baby we wouldn't have taken so long to get pregnant - which really pissed me off. She hasn't quite said that recently, but not long ago when I emailed her about starting clomid she said something like "That sound really positive to me. I hope it does to both of you." Whatever that means. I don't tell her things, and then I feel bad and wish I shared things more, so I do and it's nice, and then she says crap like that. I need to stop talking to her about this stuff. She emailed me to ask how the Clomid was going. I didn't know how to respond - it's medicine - I'm taking it - I won't know how it worked until I go in for the ultrasound. What else am I supposed to say about it?

[missychrissy]

I am swamped over here. So much so that I'm making really stupid mistakes and forgetting where I put my car and stuff like that. Oh well. Back to living the dream...

I'm sorry you're swamped, but I've gotten to where I look forward to statements like that from you because they tickle me so. :-) You're a funny girl!!

Mandy, I'm sorry. I wish I had some good advice. I can relate to wanting a closer relationship/sharing more with your mother and just not being able to have one.

[AbbeysMom]

Thank you :wub:

And she didn't know she'd need algebra for her GED. She burst into tears and said she'd be a loser for her whole life then when I told her algebra was on my GED test. :(


Aw, that makes my heart hurt. :( I'd probably say something totally parent-inappropriate about how she doesn't need to worry, because the only time she'll ever need to know algebra is to graduate high school anyway.


And Myles, I forget where my car is all. the. time.

To the point where Abbey and I walk out of a store and she puts her hands on her hips and said "And now we have to find Mommy's car!" :shame:

[missychrissy]

Oh I didn't need to say it. Jesi already said it to me!

:lol: at Abbey. That's cute!! And funny :-)

[Cosmosmom]

LOL at Abbey and Molly! :) It's why I have an orange car and always park in the same general area at the stores or work.

It is a bit tricky Mandy because while a guy might want a baby as much....generally so much of the treatments for IF are for the woman or done to the woman. Maybe your mom doesn't really get clomid? I end up chatting about this stuff more with my MIL than my mom...just because MIL understands and did clomid 35 years ago to get DH. I know when she was trying, an older male relative actually said, whats the matter don'tcha know how to "f" right. My poor MIL.

Tried to find out what DH decided. He said he's just going with the flow and waiting for something to happen....we get a call and decide or end up with a miracle pg and decision made. I think that he's tired of thinking it's a go and than the freak out about what happens and wondering if it's the right thing and trying to reassure me. Normally I know him so well but can't figure this one out. He did spend 5K so far and for him that is HUGE he is so tight with money and worried about it all the time. And he did sit through the classes and help me on the paperwork and all that. I just worry a lot that he would do something even this big JUST to make me happy and want to make sure that this is something that he wants as well.

I also know that part of it is feeling that we missed the boat and might be too old. I know we aren't THAT old but kind of been feeling it lately. So we did talk about trying to get back into doing some exercise again and hopefully lose like 20lbs, maybe more. I know when I was doing some exercise on a regular basis, I didn't feel so stiff and just had much more energy.

[girlwonder]

I was horrible horrible horrible at all math classes, high school and college. I just couldn't get the ideas to stick for more than a second or two. I know exactly how she feels about being a loser, and really do feel like my inability to do math the way it was taught has very negatively affected my life. I love science but there's no way I could really every do it because I was so weak in math. I was really proud of myself when I passed Astronomy II with a B - I've never worked so hard in all my life for just a B. I would have liked to go back to grad school and study book and paper conservation, but to even get in I needed two semesters of chemistry which I had terrible trouble with in high school. I do feel that I am smart enough, but the people who teach math are the people who are good at it and they cannot imagine how a person couldn't just "get it" the way they can. I had math tutors through high school, but they didn't help because they were just like the teachers. I still don't know what would have been a better way, but nothing worked for me. It makes me sad - I feel like I could have had an interesting life/career if I had just been able to do math. As it is, I'm good for slinging coffee and drawing pretty pictures but those don't really pay.

[demigraf]

Drats. Already at the train
platform headed home (yep, worked til almost 7) and just realized I left the book I'm reading at my desk. I won't be back in the office until next Monday, when I hope I'll still want to read the book. Grrrr.

[Suja]

I was horrible horrible horrible at all math classes, high school and college. I just couldn't get the ideas to stick for more than a second or two. I know exactly how she feels about being a loser, and really do feel like my inability to do math the way it was taught has very negatively affected my life. I love science but there's no way I could really every do it because I was so weak in math. I was really proud of myself when I passed Astronomy II with a B - I've never worked so hard in all my life for just a B. I would have liked to go back to grad school and study book and paper conservation, but to even get in I needed two semesters of chemistry which I had terrible trouble with in high school. I do feel that I am smart enough, but the people who teach math are the people who are good at it and they cannot imagine how a person couldn't just "get it" the way they can. I had math tutors through high school, but they didn't help because they were just like the teachers. I still don't know what would have been a better way, but nothing worked for me. It makes me sad - I feel like I could have had an interesting life/career if I had just been able to do math. As it is, I'm good for slinging coffee and drawing pretty pictures but those don't really pay.

Wanna do some math together? I don't even know if I remember any of it, so we can learn together. Chemistry, you're totally on your own. It never made the least bit of sense to me.

[girlwonder]

Oh, the thought of doing math gives me cold sweats! That awful dreadful cold pit in my stomach feeling has never gone away. You don't want to be around me when I am balancing my checkbook or doing taxes - I make strange unintelligible screaming sounds and then start crying. So no, though I appreciate the gesture, I do not want to do math together! :laugh:

[girlwonder]

Congratulations on the baby boy, Molly!

[Bridget]

I was/am pretty horrible at math too. I remember my mom yelling at me after I got the results of my college entrance exam and found out I tested into high school algebra. She always thought I wasn't putting enough effort in but the reality is that I was trying but I couldn't get it. Then I guess I eventually decided that if i was going to be accused of not trying then why should I? I never excelled in my higher education endeavors.

Myles, that sucks that you forgot your book! I hate when I do stuff like that. And as far as the car goes, I drive a silver odysey(sp?) mini van and so does everyone else it seems. I walk out of the store and see my car everywhere! Oh, and also about dbf, I totally agree with you on the whole trust thing. If I'm going to stay with him I can't only trust him when he's in the living room. I have to trust him no matter where he is. A part of me thinks that if this works out for him that I should just be super supportive because it will be good for him to be successful and make a decent salary. And it would take a lot of pressure off me. But yeah, either way I'm not overthinking it right now. Can you tell? lol

I finally had to speak to my friend about her dirtbag husband if any of y'all remember that story. A whole slew of the old highschool gang is coming over to my house on friday since our friend from Alaska will be here. I had to let her know not to invite him. She understood completely. Thank goodness. I was just sick about having that conversation with her but as usual I worked myself up over very little.

Jennifer, I think once you and dh get that call you will know what you want/need. Like you said, it's just too much time to think about it.

Mandy, I am sorry your mom is not understanding. I withheld a lot, LOT of information about my life from my mom so I wouldn't have to be dissappointed by her reactions and opinions about it.

[girlwonder]

I have been keeping up but haven't been able to respond.


Chrissy- I don't know what to say about Jesi - I'm glad she is okay but I would have a difficult time with the magnitude of the lie.

Jennifer - sorry about you and dh. from how you have described him, I cannot imagine that he would not adore a little baby just to pieces. You can't know/plan for everything, but you can only know that however difficult one night or stretch of time is, that you will still love that little human beyond anything else so all is possible, even lack of sleep, disorganization, annoyance, mess, noise, etc.

Mandy - I wish your mother wouldn't say such thoughtless things. I might just start being more general and less "share-y" with someone who was so insensitive.

Bridget - I agree with PP who said to just let it roll right now with the Ohio thing. There's nothing to do but watch and when the time comes for a decision you can make it, but until then see if you can't just let the idea exist without weighing on you. Much easier said than done. Does he still want to get to Hawaii?

I know I am missing people, but I have to go get myself together for my first graphic design class tomorrow!

[Cosmosmom]

Yeah I am going to try really hard to just roll with it. Not easy when you are pretty type A and likes things planned out. I think I need a project....I'm good when plotting out something. First it was the house and all that went into building that, than it was all the adoption paperwork.....and now I mean I have the puppy and she takes time but I think I need a project or something.

If it helps any, my DH is excellent at math. I mean he almost majored in it in college and thinks doing math is fun. he's designing a lego tower in the program and was using trig to figure out the supports. I was like, dude you remember that stuff....he said sure, I use it when I program my graphing calculator. His degree and grad degree are in geophysics. Yet he does factory work and all the time feels like a loser. He's super smart and finds math easy....and it still got him nowhere.

[Suja]

Jennifer, meant to point you to this, for your DH: http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Ideas-Book-Daniel-Lipkowitz/dp/0756686067. It got good reviews in the newspaper.

[Gwenn]

I shared this on my facebook page, but I thought this article was really sweet and well worth the read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/us/navigating-love-and-autism.html?pagewanted=all

[AmeriBrit]

Ugh, my head is all in a swirl. Cash and Travis were both up all through the night and then we managed to oversleep! We got up at 8 whereas we are usually up by 7. We still got out of the house by 8:25, but I had to put a hat on over my hair as it's very wild this morning. It's thrown my whole morning off. I need to go sort my hair out!

Regarding forgetting where you've parked your car, I sometimes get in on the wrong side of the car to drive....LOL....that's pretty bad, right? Usually when it happens, I just pretend, I was looking for something on the passenger side and just make my way over to the drivers side...hehehe.

I'm pretty good at math; I think the subject I struggled most with at school was chemistry. I have a pretty sharp memory, so English and history were always a breeze. Math and physics were pretty easy for me, too (I played clarinet in the band and they always said back then that music helped your brain with math). I guess I was lucky in that respect. The worst part of high school for me was the social aspect of it. I was such an awkward kid/teenager....I'm still outgrowing that awkwardness!

[Bridget]

I hope you get your hair sorted!
They still say playing a musical instruments sharpens your math skills. I really, really, really want my kids to learn to play an instrument. I keep bugging dbf that we should get a piano but so far he is not biting.

[daylilies]

I'm not so good at math either. I just don't understand the concepts unless someone walks me through them every time. So I'd do fine in class and then draw a blank when I had to do homework or tests.

So remember I put in an application for the school district cafeterias? I got a call at 7 a.m. yesterday from the head of one of the elementary school kitchens. I was completely confused (I had just woken up a few minutes before) but I guess the jist of it was that their other backup had called out so she called me. I went in at 10:30 and worked until a little past two. It was like "restaurant lite" in that you're doing the same thing as you'd do in a restaurant but with lower quality products and less picky customers :laugh:

Unfortunately I'm a backup which means I don't have a steady schedule and I'll probably just be called for emergencies. But I hope if I work enough I'll be hired to a more permanent position someday.

[missychrissy]

I was horrible horrible horrible at all math classes, high school and college. I just couldn't get the ideas to stick for more than a second or two. I know exactly how she feels about being a loser, and really do feel like my inability to do math the way it was taught has very negatively affected my life. I love science but there's no way I could really every do it because I was so weak in math. I was really proud of myself when I passed Astronomy II with a B - I've never worked so hard in all my life for just a B. I would have liked to go back to grad school and study book and paper conservation, but to even get in I needed two semesters of chemistry which I had terrible trouble with in high school. I do feel that I am smart enough, but the people who teach math are the people who are good at it and they cannot imagine how a person couldn't just "get it" the way they can. I had math tutors through high school, but they didn't help because they were just like the teachers. I still don't know what would have been a better way, but nothing worked for me. It makes me sad - I feel like I could have had an interesting life/career if I had just been able to do math. As it is, I'm good for slinging coffee and drawing pretty pictures but those don't really pay.

This makes me so sad for you, but kind of relieved at the same time because YES YES YES it was exactly like that for me too. I bet that's how it is for Jesi too. I've always said that if there can be dyslexia for reading (and their is), then why can't there be something as fundamentally road-blocking for math? It certainly felt to me like I had a learning disability of some sort. It only pertained to math though.

Anyway, if you don't mind I'm going to share this post with Jesi. I think it might help her feel better about herself if she knows she's not the only one that has experienced such strong feelings about math...and that others have managed to get through it and survive and so can she.


Oh, the thought of doing math gives me cold sweats! That awful dreadful cold pit in my stomach feeling has never gone away. You don't want to be around me when I am balancing my checkbook or doing taxes - I make strange unintelligible screaming sounds and then start crying. So no, though I appreciate the gesture, I do not want to do math together! :laugh:

this is me too. One of my biggest complaints right now is I no longer have an office to shut myself away in as I try to sort our bills. I want to cry just thinking about doing our taxes in our 'open floor plan' house.


I finally had to speak to my friend about her dirtbag husband if any of y'all remember that story. A whole slew of the old highschool gang is coming over to my house on friday since our friend from Alaska will be here. I had to let her know not to invite him. She understood completely. Thank goodness. I was just sick about having that conversation with her but as usual I worked myself up over very little.

I'm glad it worked out. I feel bad for her and I don't even know her. :(


I know I am missing people, but I have to go get myself together for my first graphic design class tomorrow!

:hooray: Let us know how it went!!!


If it helps any, my DH is excellent at math. I mean he almost majored in it in college and thinks doing math is fun. he's designing a lego tower in the program and was using trig to figure out the supports. I was like, dude you remember that stuff....he said sure, I use it when I program my graphing calculator. His degree and grad degree are in geophysics. Yet he does factory work and all the time feels like a loser. He's super smart and finds math easy....and it still got him nowhere.

This actually makes me feel really bad for him. He's capable of so much more. :(


I guess I was lucky in that respect. The worst part of high school for me was the social aspect of it. I was such an awkward kid/teenager....I'm still outgrowing that awkwardness!

I have such trouble envisioning you as an awkward teen. You're so beautiful now :-) I assumed you were one of the popular ones.

I do hope you got your hair sorted out. :D


They still say playing a musical instruments sharpens your math skills. I really, really, really want my kids to learn to play an instrument. I keep bugging dbf that we should get a piano but so far he is not biting.

I see pianos offered on Freecycle all the time. Most say they need to be tuned, but the frequency is astounding to me. I always wonder how many end up in a landfill because people seem to have trouble giving them away.


So remember I put in an application for the school district cafeterias? I got a call at 7 a.m. yesterday from the head of one of the elementary school kitchens. I was completely confused (I had just woken up a few minutes before) but I guess the jist of it was that their other backup had called out so she called me. I went in at 10:30 and worked until a little past two. It was like "restaurant lite" in that you're doing the same thing as you'd do in a restaurant but with lower quality products and less picky customers :laugh:

Unfortunately I'm a backup which means I don't have a steady schedule and I'll probably just be called for emergencies. But I hope if I work enough I'll be hired to a more permanent position someday.

I do remember and I'm glad they called you! I bet it will turn into a more permanent, steady schedule if you hang with it. Ewe about the lower quality products though. :( I mean, I knew that about cafeteria food but still. I try not to think about it too much.

[Cosmosmom]

Jennifer, meant to point you to this, for your DH: http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Ideas-Book-Daniel-Lipkowitz/dp/0756686067. It got good reviews in the newspaper.

That looks cool. What DH is doing is building a city. He was going to do a model train layout but started to look into that and it was seeming too difficult (we are not artsy and so making trees and painting foam to look like rocks or making water). So instead he's doing it out of legos. Some of it is their kits and most are really detailed and for 14 or 16 and up. And some he's designing himself like a lego version of our house and a gas station. Most of the stuff I bought the past month we haven't put together yet but eventually need to figure out what size table in the basement and there will be a downtown street, residential area, lake with lighthouse and habor and of course the train.

[Cosmosmom]

Regarding forgetting where you've parked your car, I sometimes get in on the wrong side of the car to drive....LOL....that's pretty bad, right? Usually when it happens, I just pretend, I was looking for something on the passenger side and just make my way over to the drivers side...hehehe.

!

Umm, I think that we would all do that if we had to switch up which side we drive on!

[missychrissy]

That sounds really neat Jennifer. I hope you post pictures when you're done. Maybe 1 project you could do (since you mentioned maybe you needed one to fill in some void time right now) is creating a scrap book of your dh's progress on his lego town.


Umm, I think that we would all do that if we had to switch up which side we drive on!

And yeah, this Ash. I meant to say something like that when I quoted everyone above :D

[Cosmosmom]

Kate that is cool! And it could definitely lead to something more often.

Ashley I thought the same thing....hard to imagine someone as cute as you not being one of the popular girls!

Yup my DH is definitely capable of more. He did work in his area of study for almost a year but was let go when the company lost a major contract (not his fault....he was the low guy so was let go). Looked for a job at the same time I was and I got an offer first. So we moved for my job knowing he likely wouldn't find something up here....we are just too environmentally clean. He was able to get something that paid big money but was in TX and we didn't want to live there and it would have involved him being gone much of the time. When he was working in the field, it was stressful and he did a ton of traveling. When we moved up here, he considered going back to school and looked into accounting and nanotechnology (would be great at that but the teacher who taught all the classes had a strange style that he didn't gel with) and did a paralegal class but found that wasn't a good fit (he got pretty much an A+ but thought the job environment would be too fast paced and stressful). He's so smart but a slow reader....he reads for comprehension and not a good skimmer like me. There is something to be said for having a job like he does now in a factory setting where the stress is low, no travel, no bringing work home, no billing for every minute of work you do. He just wishes sometimes that he had a cool job but doesn't really want to do the school route again at least not right now.

I'm fine in math. Not my easiest subject, not my worst. I did pre-alegbra in 7th grade, alegbra 1 in 8th, alegbra 2 in 9th, geometry and trig in 10th, forgot what it was called in 11th but like a pre-calc I think. I stopped there because calc in 12th grade was at 7:30 am. I didn't need it to graduate so I dropped it and slept in an hour later. :) I hardly remember any math....just not something that is used in life beyond basics for most of us.
Gym was my worst subject. And funny enough but keyboarding. LOL I didn't really learn to type well until senior year when we got the internet at home and I found chat rooms.

I kind of like doing my taxes. It's not hard when you use the programs like tax cut or turbo tax. I just hope that this year we don't have to pay in like we usually do. Not having a kid really hurts at tax time.
I don't pay bills, DH does and he keeps the books balanced to the penny.

I told DH this morning that i still wanted a baby and asked if he knew that and he said he wasn't sure because he thinks I keep changing my mind. Ugh. He said that he still kind of wants one too but is scared. that I can deal with because he gets scared of things easily (why it took so long to get married and again so long to get a house).

Hey Chrissy, you complained about 15 being cold....it was negative 3 when I left this morning. LOL Tomorrow we have a high of 2 and wind chills might be -20 to -30. Now THAT is cold.

[missychrissy]

Hey Chrissy, you complained about 15 being cold....it was negative 3 when I left this morning. LOL Tomorrow we have a high of 2 and wind chills might be -20 to -30. Now THAT is cold.

That's what it's been here too for the last few days (week? I've lost track). Last night we had wind gusts up to 45 mph as well as below zero temps.

[Ky'sMom]

Hi all!!

Been out of the loop for my long weekend. I was off of work yesterday too. I always find it difficult to get online at home. I joke at work, which I probably shouldn't, that I do WAY more work at home than at work. I also have told my co-workers that I do not want a laptop or blackberry or iphone due to they will be wasting money on me since I am not going to work at home unless I'm sick. I have too much to do and cannot even get online to look up my secular girls much on weekends so actual work would be a joke and they would end up getting mad at me for not answering calls. I don't even answer my mom's calls sometimes because she calls during the hours I tell her not to call because I am too busy (between 5pm and 7pm are my busiest hours). She gets upset at me, but hell I talk to her almost every day so I don't see the big deal.

Wanted to give a big sigh of relief for you Chrissy with dealing with Jesi's situation. I am so dreading the teenage years even though I know deep down that I will hopefully still have a great relationship with my kids but I dread the worrying about them since they are older and as parents we have less control over where they go and who they are with and that is just frightening to me. I already let Ky do a lot of things by himself but he still has his right mind (I joke to my nephew who is 14 that he is losing his right mind and getting adolescent mind now) and Ky listens to my directions and will still do as I ask even with peer pressure because he thinks I know more than his friends, which I do of course! But I know I only have a few more years until he starts to think I am idiotic.

And I feel so bad for Jesi with her math problems. I struggled with math for a while until 10th grade. I remember being in tears because I got a D in trigonometry. I was an AP/Honors student so had to take all the complicated math classes and I cried about that D in class and went to my counselor and dropped the class. I put myself in Algebra 1 to start over and I luckily got a teacher named Mr. Merrit (his wife Mrs. Merrit was my trig teacher and she kept telling me to apply myself, which would also make me tear up because I WAS applying myself but I just didn't understand the basic concepts). Mr Merrit was a wonderful teacher and he explained everything to me in a very simple, direct fashion and I ended up acing all the rest of my math classes, including Calculus, which he also taught. I have since forgotten a lot of math and I am upset about that. Thanks for the website Suja!! I think I will go through it. I need to take my GRE and even though I have in recent years wanted to be a college professor of English Lit, I am thinking of going back to my first love of science and getting a degree in science. I was good at Biology, Physiology, and even Physics but I chickened out on Chemistry because I heard it was hard and I was taking enough hard classes so didn't want to attempt it...ever!

I hope Jesi can find someone like Mr. Merrit who can go back all the way to the basics and teach her adequately. I agree that everyone has different learning styles. Ky is doing algebra already in the 4th grade. His teacher is new and IMO she is not that great an explaining things to children so I usually end up teaching Ky via his homework. I was excited to teach him a formula Mr. Merrit taught me in how to find X when dealing with percentages, Is/Of = %/100 and you just plug in the info, seems confusing but to me it was very simple.

I did take a lot of music classes as a child. I have also heard that helped with math comprehension. I played piano, all the brass instruments except Tuba (too big), percussion, and a little violin. Maybe it helped me in some way.

Erin

[missychrissy]

That is/of=%/100 is my favorite equation. I use it all the time, even now. :P It's probably the only one I remember.

:lol: at you being busier at home than work. I can soooo relate to that!

[missychrissy]

heehee adolescent brain. It's a good way to look at it. And very true. The human brain isn't completely formed until you're 25 anyway. That's why teens/early 20's make some poor choices. Or so they say.

[daylilies]

Well, FWIW, the food is better than I remember it. Remember canned peas sitting in their own juice? LOL The ones I served were frozen. They had ravioli, not sure if that came frozen or what because it was cooked by the time I got there. Milk, fruit juice, fruit snacks, tuna sandwiches, decent looking salads, etc. It didn't look terrible. Still a far cry from my last job. :laugh:

[missychrissy]

Ewe-canned veggies are so gross! I definitely prefer frozen. I didn't think our school lunches were that bad growing up, but i know kids from neighboring schools complained that their hotdogs had a green tinge to them (and other such complaints).

[daylilies]

Ew! That's not good.

My public school food was around average but once I got to my private high school it was pretty good.