I think I saw the custard the other night SM

Storms knocked our electricity the other night [2008-06-13]
and there was nothing else to do, so we went to see Kung Fu Panda. The whole family loved it!

Yep, David A has to be the winner. He was last night. [2008-05-21]
I like David C also, but he just sounded like he was struggling. Just did not seem like he wants to win.

why on Earth does the guy mowing his lawn at night [2008-05-18]
not sure why you live in suburbia if you can't handle it. Sounds like you need to be in the country!!

I think I saw the custard the other night SM [2008-05-09]
at the store. FEET DON

I thought last night was great, never saw that sm [2008-05-09]
coming. I couldnthose girls unlike Ozzy who was really ticked off. I didn't like how Cirie played the game this year but I like the other 3 girls. Parv or Amanda will win in the end.

OMG! I used to love the custard. Don't know if they [2008-05-08]
nm

Last night most of them were not good. SM [2008-04-23]
Brooke has talent. Not that much, but something is there. Just not enough to be the next Americal Idol. I think Carly is vastly over-rated. I like Sayesha.

Louisville last night it was 3.38 to 3.41 - however [2008-04-22]
next week being Derby week, I am sure it will be out of sight.

Last night on Nancy Grace they reported a lot of the women are SM [2008-04-17]
on Welfare, and that the young boys work construction jobs and then turn all the money over to the leaders of the compound. Someone earlier posted that these are members of the Mormon church, but my cousin, who died in 1999 was Mormon and her husband who visited our family 2 years after her death (they lived on the opposite coast) told us that the Mormon church absolutely no longer tolerates polygamy. He has been Mormon all his life.

Took my son and some friends to see Prom Night this weekend... [2008-04-15]
the girl in the movie takes psych meds for various reasons. Anyway, she takes her pill bottle out of the medicine cabinet and there is a close-up of her pill bottle and it says Klonapin. I felt like I was work QA I said hey, they spelled that wrong. My son just rolled his eyes and said mom, it Just thought I would share how I can never seem to get away from work!

I was just reading the posts last night and missed it last week. It was not that I SM [2008-04-09]
trying to fight. I reads the other posts on that subject, and the moderator is correct. SOMEONE kept the back and forth up, but NOT ME. I am about done with this board, as this has hurt. I know that sounds dumb, but it really does. I sent you a VERY supportive reply today when you said you are trying so hards to quit. I wished you luck, but it was deleted. Now I am a trouble maker. I am shaking I am so upset about this.

Last night on TLC (I think) they ran the story again of the dear SM [2008-04-09]
woman from Georgia whose mother-in-law, husband, and two sons were afflicted with Hungtinton's disease. She broke promises to her husband and sons by placing them in nursing homes because she could no longer care for them. She shot both sons at the nursing home out of love and compassion. At the end of the show this time they reported that her youngest son is now also diagnosed with this dreaded disease. There is a suspicion my father had it, too. It is a terrible disease and the story just broke my heart. She is out of prison now, but the youngest son has a daughter. They are obviously afraid this young girl will eventually be diagnosed with it, too. They attributed my father's twitching, etc. to meds for Parkinson's disease, but there was also suspicion that he may have had Huntington's.

Results show is Thursday night. [2008-04-09]
x

Ho Hum show last night [2008-04-09]
Thought David Cook was not up to par. Although I'm not a fan of Kristy's I think she did well last night and should carry her through another week. Brooke is starting to get boring, she or Syesha may go tonight. Does anyone remember Tiny Tim from the ƌos, the one with the ukulele, I can't help thinking about him when I see Jason playing that thing.

Went to see Libera last night [2008-04-08]
Wow those little voices really are like angel voices! What a beautiful sound.

I didnt see last night's show but SM [2008-04-03]
I did see her the night before and thought she had that awful stretch-faced look of having too many surgeries. I don't understand how these celebrities think that looks good??!!!??! I like her too but jeez, enough is enough - at some point it's time to grow old gracefully and look normal!

Have boy to dinner, game night, to help paint a [2008-03-24]
x

Love Brooke. Everyone has a bad night every [2008-03-19]
once in a while. There are several that were a lot worse last night.

Up to 2 last night watching about tornado that hit Atlanta [2008-03-15]
I live really close to there and so much destruction, unbelievable that it went right downtown. Today we are having tornados over Georgia and I get scared just hearing about them. They are in the upper northern part as I type this. Pray for everyone to be safe.

In the middle of the night? [2008-03-11]
They Does the animal control in your area work 24/7? Ours doesn We tried blocking all entrances to the basement and they Was I supposed to blast music down my ducts all night, every night? I don IMO its less cruel than hunting for sport. I was protecting my property and my peace of mind. I also have no problem killing bats that get in my house, and trapping smaller animalsand relocating them elsewhere. If animals are outside, I don If they come in my house, I have a right to get them out by any means necessary.

Opium by YSL at night/Estee Lauder Pleasures during day [2008-02-27]
XX

Ok, Idol fans, how did you like last night? [2008-02-21]
I was blown away by the little Filipino girl (sorry have not learned their names yet) and also the 2 after her, 10 thru 12. They actually saved the best for last I thought. Once again this year feel the girls are better singers, for the most part, than the guys. I do not care for the nurse/rocker girl at all and also on the male side the Peter Frampton look alike guy. The girls rock again this year!!

went out last night at 10:00 and couldn't [2008-02-21]
even see the moon. It was snowing here. I was so disappointed. I never saw an eclipse before. Guess I'll have to wait until 2010 to see the next one.

2 degrees here in Wisconsin...clear sky...great night for eclipse! [2008-02-20]
Thanks for all the info!

My 17yr old son went to a candlelight vigil last night [2008-02-16]
for a fellow classmate whose parents found he had hung himself in his bedroom. This was not a close friend of my sons but they have had a class here and there together over the years. This year only 1 class together. My husband and I aren There is speculation that he may have been doing the strangulation game to get a quick high. I am not sure if anyone will ever know the truth. I know there will be much speculation and lots of rumors (most students first heard he had been in a car accident). My son tried to tell me as much as he knew about the boy without saying things he didn He said that the boy seemed very average (just like himself), he seemed to have several of friends, did not seem at all like the kind to do drugs, and he said he never saw any signs of this boy being bullied. Without trying to stereotype he just didn I know that when I tried it at 19 the only person that wasnSHOCKED was me. It is just so tragic and sad. Please parents, talk to your kids as much as possible about anything and everything. Just stay as involved in their lives as possible. I am not blaming the parents in anyway, just maybesomehowsomething could have been done to prevent this.

In your opinion, is there a benefit to forcing children to [2008-07-03]
My son is at camp for a week. Last night was family night. He cried and begged me to take him home but my husband and his leaders refused and said it would be a big mistake. My husband was an Eagle scout and doesn The places they were sleeping were these three sided buildings with open fronts. They were full of bugs, spiders, bees, etc. They did not have a campfire to scare any critters away. They have see stray cats, racoons, etc. But my son He wasn About half the other boys there in his room (of about 8) cry themselves to sleep every night. They are not homesick like we are told, they are miserable. I don But I don't see it.

My sons have been in Scouts for some time now...sm [2008-07-03]
My youngest (11 years old) was in Cub Scouts for about 3 years and crossed over into a newly chartered troop. My oldest son (17 years old) joined the troop also, mostly out of necessity (we needed his warm body in order to have enough boys to charter). My youngest loves it and my oldest is kind of lukewarm about it. I have also been a leader at the pack, troop, district and council level for over 4 years now. We are basically a scouting family and love it. With that said, however, I will say that scouting is not for everyone, and everyone does not get out of scouting what is there for them to learn simply because everyone is not interested in learning those things or because of poor leadership within the scouting unit. In your case, it sounds to me as if the latter may be true. You didn't say how old your son is or how long he has been in scouting, but it sounds to me like he has a very poor leader if he makes them camp this way. Some overly self-glorified scout leaders try to turn scouting into junior Army training which is not what it is meant to be. If there is another pack or troop in the area, you might consider changing and see if that improves his scouting experience by a new leader and better camping conditions. When we camp, each boy has his own tent (can be bought at Walmart for about $15) and we always have a campfire in a designated fire ring that burns pretty much all night. Each boy is safely enclosed in his own tent that zips up which greatly reduces the chances of spiders, snakes, bugs, etc. Of course the boys have to be trained to keep their tent flaps zipped closed at all times so that nothing gets in. My advice from a scouter's viewpoint is to talk to your son and then you and your son and husband talk to the scout leader and see what can be done to improve the scouting experience for your son as well as the other boys in the unit. If the leader does not want to chanage his ways to more closely follow the scouting ideals, then find another troop or pack to join. Sounds like there is a LOT of room for improvement here. Here is a link that may help, too. http://netcommish.com/askandy.asp

This one has struck a chord with me. [2008-07-03]
I have been an assistant scoutmaster for 8 years now. Yes, I am a mom, and there are women scout leaders out there! My job with our troop was Webelos-to-Scout Transition Coordinator. My job was to help our youngest boys and their families become part of our troop and to make sure that the boys have fun and get all that they can from the scout experience. Summer camp was always the make or break time for the youngest boys. You didn't say if your son is a new scout, but I assume this is his first time at summer camp. Homesickness and living in the outdoors are always the biggest hurdles during the first summer camp. You are not over-reacting because your son is having a bad time. That's a simple fact, and he deserves to have those feelings validated and addressed. Since I'm female, I tend to approach the first-time scout's misery in a different way, and over the years, a lot of men have disagreed with my methods. But, they work. Men seem to like the stick-it-out approach, and I've seen some of the worst leaders actually tease and belittle homesick boys or boys who don't take easily to the outdoor experience. That really finishes off the boy for scouting. He quits. Do you think that is what is happening with your son? At summer camp with our first year scouts, I always listen to them, validate their fears, and then try to help them overcome their fears with knowledge. If spiders or animals scare them, we go to the nature lodge and find out all about them. We do a good cleaning of their tents or lean-toWell, it I and my fellow adult leaders have spent a lot of nights sitting around picnic tables talking to scouts, sometimes making a game of listening for owls or watching spiders crawl across the table in the lantern light. And if boys do call home, I would run like crazy to the camp phone to call the parents first to let them know what was going on and to tell them to expect a call from their son. In that way, parents were prepared, and we could coordinate our efforts to help their son. Basically, it just takes some compassion. The hard core approach doesn't work. Why do I go through all the trouble? Because I know the value of the scouting program. When it's done well, it goes a long way to help parents raise up honorable men. In our troop, our scouts learn to be compassionate, because we've modeled that sort of behavior for them. They learn about living in the outdoors, and learn to take care of themselves and others. That gives them a sense of accomplishment and makes them feel capable. They learn problem-solving skills and teamwork. These are all important life skills, and when scouting is done well, boys who come through are lightyears ahead of most of their non-scout peers by the time they are 18. But that only happens when it's done right. There are great troops and adult volunteers in the BSA, but there are unfortunately some real losers, as well. It's true that scouting is not for everyone, but there is no reason for so many boys to be pushed away because of issues that just need a little careful thought and attention. This is one of my most passionate issues with scouting. Even the BSA knows that the first year scout is the most likely to quit, and they spend a lot of money and time training volunteers on this subject. It seems that some adults don't learn as quickly as others, though. And there is a core of leaders who like to remember what it was like when they were boy scouts, and won't move ahead or adapt their techniques for the boy of today's times. A new 11-year-old scout should not be expected to act like a man and tough it out. He's still a boy, and living in the woods is usually a totally new experience for him. MOST boys are scared at first, but the men and other boys hate to admit it. A new scout just needs some patience, understanding and time to mature. He needs to feel safe even when he's struggling, and he needs to know that he is supported. I don't know all the details of your son's experience, but if you think that what I've said might apply to him, you might consider looking for another troop, one that will provide him with a good, supportive program. Not all scout troops are the same. Each has a different personality, so perhaps another troop would suit your son better. If that's not possible, or if at this point he is completely turned off by scouting, there are certainly other activities out there that can teach him the things that are learned through scouting. Encourage him to find out what his talents are and help him to explore all of the possibilities that life has to offer. I'm so sorry to hear that your son is not enjoying scouts. It really breaks my heart when I hear such stories, because I know that the adult volunteers could handle the situation better. My own sons had a hard time the first time they went to camp, which is why I got involved. I knew there was a better way to deal with such a common problem. My oldest, who is now 20, still works with scouts, and my youngest will receive his Eagle Scout rank in just a couple of weeks. I have seen many, many boys' lives changed for the better by the scouting program, including my own sons. I hope that your son can also have a great experience in scouting. I'm always happy to talk about scouting, and if you'd like to send me a private message, I'd be glad to share more of my thoughts on the subject.

I would think your ex-SIL was [2008-07-02]
also my cousin. The thing is when she actually did get PG, no one believed her not even her own mother. Even still after she had a baby, every single time I see her she tells me that she missed her period, she is nauseated, her husband is trying to get her PG, her husbandjumped her last night. Then I get a third degree about how Iknew when I was PG.UGG...

We're off to the beach and need some ideas! [2008-07-02]
I think I have most of my bases covered, but just wanted to see if anyone had any other ideas for the trip. We're off to Ocean City MD for the fireworks - woohoo! I have 3 boys, ages 10, 7 and 5. We figure it We have a DVD player for the kids and they each have a portable video game to take. I think I have the drive down pretty well covered, but if you have anything to add, feel free. At the beach -- we borrowed boogie boards from a friend for each of them to try. I We also got some sand toys for building castles. Any other suggestions here? I'm afraid 1 or 2 won't like the boogie board thing and get bored very easily with the sand toys. We Anyone else know of anything at OC, MD that was really great for kids? Hubs and I have been there without the kids last summer, but really just enjoyed eating out and walking the boardwalk. I don We usually vacation at resort towns - like Disney and Dollywood - where there Just looking for suggestions!

A lot depends on your daughter, not just you - sm [2008-06-30]
Is she sensible? There are not many 16-y/o that have not tried drinking or smoking, it is all part of trying new things,etc. and it will happen whether you like it or not. You have to learn to trust her to make smart decisions and to make her own mistakes but obviously to guide her and make sure she doesndate had MadDog, nasty stuff, and I got obliterated as I did not realize what that crud would do to me. Lucky for me my dad was out of the country at the time. My punishment was being forced to go to school with a horrible hangover (though I puked my guts out in my friendscares). I actually went and got on the pill while still a virgin so when it did happen I would be protected. --- is your daughter that sensible and with some common sense? I did a lot of stupid things along with the smart things I doing, just got lucky and came out of it okay. At 16 you want to experiment and have fun. All my friend and I were A/B students, 1 smoked and did all sorts of drugs. I would drink and smoke pot now and them (1 x a week or so), and again parents NEVER knew it. I remember one time my dad picked me up at school after play practice (was helping out with set design), I was stoned, had been slipped angel dust and had been hallucinating about an hour or two prior, was still pretty high. He wanted me to drive home for practice (I was 16), I turned him down because I was very tired.....he never knew, I crawled into bed the minute I got home. I was very, very good at hiding it from my parents, how they didn't smell it on me I never knew, unless they just ignored it. My best friend smoked and they new that so I guess that helped cover it up a bit. Despite all this I was very anti-drug (anything but pot) as I had seen too many people messed up on coke, crank, LSD, etc. I was furious with my BF's brother as he was the one who slipped me the angel dust, I got lucky as nothing bad happened to me. He is dead now, ended up addicted to coke, then alcohol, got hepatitis, car-jacked 3 cars for drug money, and ended up in prison with a 20 year sentence, got out after 8 years in 2006, then got addicted to painkillers, they found him dead in his apartment, killed by mixing alcohol and painkillers. This just happened about 8 months ago. He was only 42. Very sad as he was a smart guy but had many, many problems and never got his life together. Obviously this does not happen to everyone who does drugs, it all depends on the person and their upbringing. His sister (one of my BFs) is a successful therapist, drinks but quit smoking several years ago, never got into hard drugs like her brother. ---sorry for the rambling, but don't go overboard and lock her up, that will just make her go in the opposite direction. Obviously you need to set limits, etc, and try to know where she is and who she is with, and set punishments if you catch her doing it and let her know what those punishments will be, whether it is grounding for a month, or no cell phone, no TV, no driving, whatever, be firm and stick to it. I know that my brothers and I all did stuff, most of which we got away with, but it was shear luck and stupidity when I look back at it. Not all kids are so lucky. I hope you daughter is one of the lucky ones.

been there [2008-06-30]
It is very scary and hard to know how to deal with these situations when they are basically really good kids - good grades, caring, thoughtful, involved in clubs, etc. . One thing I did with my daughter was told her straight out if I ever found out she had been drinking and driving, her car would be gone - not for a week or two either, at least 6 months and probably longer. . Also, if I found out she was riding with someone who had been drinking, she would be severely grounded. . There was ALWAYS the option to call for a ride home with no questions asked. .These things never happened as far as I know - I did find out, later, about a time or two when alcohol was consumed and she stayed all night at a friendhappy there is danger in that too - as her response/judgment in certain situations may be off. . It seems that you have good communication with her and you definitely want to keep that going. . It is a fine line - you want them to know what you do not approve of, yet want them to be open and honest and talk to you. . Hang in there, it will get better.

hormonal imbalances and sleep loss - can you help? sm [2008-06-30]
Hi, ladies. Five weeks ago I began experiencing severe middle insomnia for the first time in my life. I will sleep for 3 hours, be awake for 3 hours, and then maybe sleep for another hour before it is time to get up. I also cannot nap no matter how tired I am because I tried that several times. Ambien CR no longer keeps me alseep, nor does Lunesta, and I am not big on having to take a sleep aid every single night for sleep. I have tried melatonin, which also has not kept me asleep. I have been told I have hormonal imbalances (am nearly 44), am on no HRT, and wonder what anyone might suggest for sleep until I can get myself squared away on some hormonal therapy. My poor husband...He has been a saint through all of this, but I am not sure how much longer I can work, keep up with the house, etc., with missing so many hours of sleep each night. Pretty desperate here.

Well, now it's my turn to tell my story...(Beware..this is long) [2008-06-29]
Well, I just don I was 26 years old when I met and married my husband. It will be14 years ago this August. I was a platinum blond, Swedish, 26-year-old, voluptuous virgin waiting for my prince to come. I had never dated because I was too fearful and shy. My mother always told me that my prince was coming. She just didnthe prince of darkness. It has been a nightmare, although he says it has been great with only a few bumps along the way. He is abusive in every way including verbally, mentally, emotionally, some physical although very little (not an excuse, just telling it the way it is), what I feel is sexual abuse with me but not the children,but the worst by far is his financial abuse. He has told me many, many times, Who do you think YOU are? What do you think...that you I can find a dozen more women like you. I have three children, now ages 14, 13, and 11. 14-year-old has ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder. My husbandis just like this although he has never been diagnosed and never would be because in his own words, I am perfect just like God made me. There is nothing wrong with me. The problem here is you. My credit is down the toilet. Credit score is about 500. His is 800. Through the years, when the children were babies I had to feed them dry cereal with a cup of water because he wouldn One very hot night in the summer, I had to feed them generic hot dogs and pink beans, which were some kind of bean that slithered out of the can in a gelatinous material. The kids werewere dry heaving at the table. One day when I was about 8 months pregnant with my last child, he came up to me and said, Well, I I said what He said (very matter of fact), I I won If you want something, get off your f______fat a__ and get a job. I had a 6-month-old and a 1 1/2-year-old and 8 months pregnant with the third one. What!! Get a job!! Are you crazy?? He said, Oh well. Famous last words. That is all I ever hear. He has ripped out phone lines, denied us food and clothing. We have two cars. He used to hide the car I would drive around the neighborhood so I couldn He would even take the carseats. One time when I was pregnant, I had no money so my girlfriend needed a babysitter a few hours a week. She lives in Connecticut, which is about 45 minutes from my home. She could only pay $45 a week but I would drive up there four days a week to watch those kids just to get that measly $45. One day when I was leaving to go, I wanted $2 for an ice cream cone (I was pregnant at the time and that was my thing during that pregnancy). I asked him for $2 and he said no. I reached into his wallet and took $2 anyway. So he came after me. I took out the butcher knife but he ran outside to get to the car first so I couldn I put away the knife and ran out the back door to try to get to the car first but he got there before me. I reached in to try to grab the car keys out of the ignition when he rolled the window up as hard as he could. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I thought he was going to break my arm. I was able to backhand him and he unrolled the window. A little while later I ran to the neighbors to call the police because he ripped the phone lines out. I was there for about 15-20 minutes calling the police, family, and my friends to come and help. When I got back to the house, he had taken both cars (hid one in the neighborhood) and went to work. He left my 9-month-old and 1 1/2-year-old children all by themselves (and at the time I lived on a very busy street where cars would drive by at 50 mph). When I walked in, they were sitting on the living room floor screaming at the top of their lungs. The next morning I was in the shower and I lifted up my arms to wash my hair when out of the corner of my eye I saw something on the underside of my arm. It was a jet black bruise about four to five inches long by about two inches wide. It was literally jet black. I was stunned. When I called the police, I told them what was going on with his abuse. I told them I was pregnant with two little ones at home. I told them I had no food. I told them and showed them the bruise and I told them I wanted to press assault charges. They said, He did that to you? I said yes. I said, I want him arrested for assault. I told them where he worked. They turned around and told me that because the incident happened the day before that there was nothing they would do and that they weren They told me to just let him lie low for a while. This happened in 1996. We are not talking the 50s here. This was just before they handed me a pamphlet on battered women and battered women The pamphlet said there does not have to be any sign of physical abuse. If you are in a situation where you simply fear for your safety, the person can be arrested. And I am sitting there pregnant with ahuge, jet black bruise underneath my arm from where he rolled my arm up in the window. This is just a few tidbits of the life I have had with him. There have been some good times and good vacations but mostly bad. We have fought so bad for years and years that I know the toll it has taken on the kids. The guilt I have is insurmountable. If he buys groceries, I have to pay him back. If he pays the phone bill, I have to pay him back. If he buys me anything or gives me a $10 or $20 bill, I have to pay him back. Most of the time, I am not allowed to go into a store with him. I went with him once to Wal-Mart and I put a $2 box of sweetener into the carriage. That was it. I am now not allowed to go into a store with him. He screams at us that he pays the rent, therefore, it is his house and we have to learn to live the way he wants us to and we should be catering to him. If we don He has told me for years that he is a king and that the house is his castle and that he has allowed us to live with him because he is kind, loving, and gracious. He will only buy oneChristmas gift for his kids and no stocking stuffers or tape or wrapping paper or anything like that.I have to do that with what I get paid to do MT work. He doesn When they were little, I would tell him that the children needed some cool clothes for summer. He would take their little pants and cut them off and then take their turtleneck shirts and cut off the turtle neck and cut off the sleeves and say, There you go. There Or he would just tell me, Go ask your sister to buy them some clothes. He has threatened to kill me and the children if I leave. He has told me that he would kill me and the children before I would ever see child support. He has a sex fettish where he wants it all the time, every day multiple times in a day if he could get it (not that he does, mind you. I stopped that crazy crap a long time ago), and I am just supposed to stop all that I am doing and fulfill his needs (even though sex for me offers virtually nothing other than soreness,swelling, and boredom and has always been like this). If I don I am very overweight, I smoke like a chimney, my credit is destroyed, I don I have less now 14 years later than I did before I married him. At least before I married him I had my own very nice car and some clothes. I don My clothes are tattered, stained, and worn. And...I had dreams of what my life was going to be like when I got married. But it certainly was not a life like this. My kids are older now and they are seeing their father for who he is. He blames me and tells me it is all the bad stuff I am telling the children. I keep telling him it is what they have seen for 14 years. They beg me to divorce him. My youngest, who is 11, was diagnosed last year with severe ulcerative colitis. He has had a flare now for the past six weeks with at least ten bouts of diarrhea with blood every day. He talks about depression a lot and always asking me what it is. When I got the call last year from his pediatrician telling me to take him to the hospital for a possible blood transfusion (this was when we got his diagnosis), Ialmost fell on the floor from fear. I called my husband at work to tell him he needed to come home. He said, I can I have to work. He said, Don His red blood cell count had dropped to 7.2 froma normal of 12 because of his bleeding. He came to the hospital when he got out of work. He showed up at 6:00 p.m. We went outside and talked for a bit and then about 20 minutes after he showed up, he said, Well, I have to go home to eat and shower. I When I got angry, he said Hey, I I need to rest. Besides, there We still didn I didn I was scared to death. But he had to go home to eat and shower and rest!!!! I think that was the beginning of the end for me. I once read something on these boards that someone posted saying Marriage is not supposed to be a good deal for one and misery for the other. That is what my life has been. My marriage was a great deal for him...kids that he never has to pay for (I mean nothing...not school projects and believe me there are a ton of them, not clothes, not shoes, notebooks, backpacks, nothing), free sex, and a wife that he doesn I believe in my soul that my marriage was a good business deal for him. If you knew my husband, you would laugh at that statement because he is extremely uneducated and talks like a mentally retarded person. People in the past have actually asked me if he was mentally retarded. He thinks that if my son would drink lots and lots of water, that that will cure his ulcerative colitis and makes fun of me and insults me and everyone else. Itell him he is a moron and he doesn His abusive mother made them drink nothing but water. She would not buy them anything or strive for a better life. They lived in a nightmare life. So now he gets very angry when we woncure everything. He tells us that he is trying to show us how to live right but we just won He tells this to other people too including our landlord. He has the most disgusting habits. He picks scabs and eats them, he has eczema and psoriasis so he is one huge flake, which he enjoys picking off chunks and dropping them in a pile on the floor, he passes unbearable gas (like every two or three minutes that has such a horrid stench it makes all of us nauseous) and then flips out if we spray a room spray. He will actually grab the can and scream that this is his house and we are all just disgusting to live with and just impossible to live with. He just had a fight with my 12-year-old daughter tonight because he was passing tons and tons of gas and she sprayed a room spray. He got up in her face screaming at the top of his lungs at 11:00 at night that this is his house. He will pass gas all he wants and that he won She was crying and begging me to divorce him. She kept saying, You said it would be better for the family if you stayed married to him but it It won Well, I could go on and on. It has been 14 years of this but I think you get the picture. I have no money. I don I have a son who is going to need ongoing frequent medical care and I am afraid he will cancel the insurance if I do anything to get rid of him. I have a great fear for our safety. He has major problems with having to give up his money so to haveto pay child support will send him over the edge. He is a pathological liar so you can He told me, I would never allow anyone to judge me like that. You can tell the judge to kiss my balls. He seems to expect the absolute highest standards from the children and I but he doesn Never has and never will but will shove it down my throat when he doesn Well, any advice. I really am looking for legal advice for anyone else who has been through this. I know I need to get rid of him...for the kids sake. They need to see that life is not like this and not all men do this and that you don My daughter, who just turned 13, says to me she hates men with a passion. I told my niece that I felt like I was dying. I never, never, never, never leave my house except to go to Dunkin Donuts up the street to get a coffee. I haven And that is three hours probably once every two months. I am lonely, isolated, and ragingly angry. I want to go back to school but when I talk about that, he poo poos it saying I should go back in five or ten years or 15 years when my bills are paid and I can afford it. HELLO????? I am going to be 43 in October. Maybe I should just wait to go back to school until I Well you get the picture. If you By the way, when I bring up any of his abuse to him, he tells me I don Funny, he always remembers every time I swear at him though. Has never forgotten a single time.

I can't think of any either myself... [2008-06-28]
just had #48, have no kids at home, 6 grandchildren, we come and go as we please, no debt but our mortgage, can wear a size 8,BMI is 22.2,got carded at the casino the other night (they card 30 and under), still can turn heads and have a fantastic hubby. The alternative to having birthdays is death ya know, and who wants that! Enjoy your life no matter what your age, tomorrow is not guaranteed.

I have a similar problem with my son...sm [2008-06-27]
He is 10 and hates to take baths. EVERY night you have to tell him multiple times go get a bath. I told him, Do you want to stink? He says but I don't stink. I said because you take a bath every night. If you didn't you would stink. I have told him it is a fact of life everybody has to take a bath every day. Gosh I look forward to it. But I remember being little and not wanting to also. So I guess as he gets older he will grow out of it.

Identity theft -- never thought it could [2008-06-26]
Yesterday, I got a call from QVC. I had ordered a GPS system for my hubby and QVC called to say they were unable to complete processing of my order because my credit card wouldn QVC said the address I gave them as the billing address did not match the billing address of my credit card. I asked the rep to hold on while I pulled my credit card account up on line. When I did, I saw that my address and phone number had been changed to somewhere in TX (I live in PA). I told QVC I would have to call them back. I immediately called the credit card company. They pulled up my account and said that yes my address had been changed just a few days ago. When I asked how, they couldn They did not know if it was done on-line or by telephone. This, I don If someone called in to change it, shouldn Furthermore, if it was changed on-line, wouldn At any rate, it was changed, and my cc company tried to contact me to verify it by calling the new phone number given. (Makes no sense). Having received no answer, they sent a letter to me, which I have yet to get. One day after changing my address, someone made a $10 on-line purchase with cc account, which went through. Immediately following that, a $4500 on-line purchase was attempted to be put through. This one the cc company did not allow (thank God for small miracles). After having all of this explained to me, I was then transferred to an Identity Theft Specialist, who would help me close this account and reopen another one as well as put into action security alerts for me. For the next 7 years, my credit report will be flagged as a fraud alert, meaning that if anyone tries to open a new account in my name, the lender will have go through extensive verification to confirm it I I also had to file a report with my local police, which I doubt will accomplish anything. Local police are not trained in the same manner as state police, and I don We will see. I did, however, write down the address and the phone number that my account was changed to. My husband called the number last night from his cell phone and no one answered. He left a message stating he was looking for my name and to please return his call to his number. They immediately called back, but when my husband answered, they said nothing. They called back again later that night and did the same thing. Here I told her that apparently I was a victim of identity theft. She said that I said what do you mean and she proceeds to tell me that there have been a lot of account takeovers with this particular company and that it was determined to be an inside job. This left me feeling less than secure about setting up a new account with that company. It also makes me wonder if that My husband says as soon as the new account is set up, we Fortunately, this cc company has 0% identity theft liability, so we will not be responsible for the charges that did go through. However, the bigger concern here is that this person obviously has enough personal information about me to set up new accounts without my knowledge; hence, the reason for the fraud alerts on my credit report. I am so furious, if I ever get my hands on this person, I My husband and I have worked hard all our lives to have good credit and some skuzbucket thinks he can just come along and take it. I don I intend to pursue this fully. If it is an inside job, I will make sure that this credit card company does something about its current employee background checks. So, take a minute today and call your credit companies or go on-line and check to make sure that noone has changed your address and phone number.

"go brush your teeth" -- kid don't listen [2008-06-26]
You know, truthfully,I have a nearly perfect 7-year-old kid. He Why is it, then, that we have to havethis big fight EVERY night and EVERY morning regardinggo brush your teeth.Ihave to tell him this six to seven times beforeI am heard. Then I My onlythought is totry ignoring him when he requests something, making him ask me six to seven times. That might work. Gotta love him, but this really irks me.... Anyone else with a similar dilemma?

here's what I do -- [2008-06-26]
Every summer, I make a chore chart for each of my 3 boys, ages 5, 7 and 10. Brushing teeth is apparently a big chore that requires a reminder. So on my chore chart it goes, once in the morning and once at night (I figure 2 times a day is pretty good). Other chores I include are making their beds, picking up toys, dirty clothes in the hamper. They are also each required to help wash their clothes once a week and put away their clean clothes. In addition, they Each time they complete a chore, they get a sticker for that day. At the end of the week, we add up all their stickers. If they have a certain number collectively-- they get to pick a group activity (local amusement park, chuckie cheese or bike ride with the parents, etc.). If they don I Kids need structure, even in the summer, and this gives them something to look forward to at the end of the week. I Rewards don Just pick something you know your child would like. Having the chart helps to remind them and kids love the feeling of getting it right Good luck and remember: when all else fails, bribe

Cold/sinus infection with beginning of period? [2008-06-25]
Okay, here The day before my period, for the last year or so, I get a horrendously bad cold/sinus infection/flu-type process. It usually goes away about a day or two after my period. I have never ever had this happen before and its really bad this month. I have all the symptoms... stuffiness, red runny eyes, runny stuffy nose, pounding headache, throat like daggers, etc. It started as postnasal drip yesterday and I thought ohhh great... here we go. Needless to say I was up most of last night in complete tears because of the pain of it all and not being able to swallow at all. I have tried researching on the internet about this happening, but can Has anyone heard of this or had this happen? I just want to stop it. truly, I would take the worst god awful cramps over this torture. I have had this both on and off the pill and I am only 31. Any information would be appreciated as I know what a wealth of information our community could be. Unfortunately, I am in Europe and so I can The doctors here don�t do anything about anything unless its major either and I know they will brush it off as some silly sinus infection, but it happens every month and goes away in 3 days on its own, so it can Any advice is welcome. I go home to the US in 6 months and I can wait if I have to, but maybe some angel out there knows something to help. I have tried tons of medications and herbal things/natropathic and nothing works except my period being established. Thanks in advance and sorry for the icky topic. ;)

Have you tried this yet? sm [2008-06-25]
I am an allergy sufferer myself, mostly with dust mites, and it can get bad this time of year with all the additional allergens in the air in the southern US. Someone asked me if I had ever tried a Neti Pot. I knew what they were, but was convinced something so simple could not possibly work for me. I was wrong! I use this nearly every night nowand it has helped tremendously. You might want to try it. I cannot believe how much better I feel using it and can definitely tell if I miss a night. Come back and let me know how it works for you!

My experience...... [2008-06-25]
For at least the past 10 years, about a week before my period, I get a very stuffy nose, nearly cannot breath at night unless through the mouth, which then gives me a very dry sore throat. A doc I worked for in Florida said this is not unheard of considering we retain fluid before our periods, some more than others, and with the very stuffy nose I would get a migraine-like headache and ache in my shoulder joints and neck. This would go away almost immediately the day I woiuld start my period. He believes it has something to do with swollen mucous membranes because of inflammation in the body (fluid retention, hormone changes, etc.) which makes sense to me. My ears will even feel stuffy at times. He suggested I try Aleve or plain old aspirin for anti-inflammatory benefit and for me, it did help. It kept the swelling down, which helped everything else. Couldn't believe the difference this made for me. I know the misery you feel to some degree. Hope this will help you as well.

same problem [2008-06-23]
I have used the simply sleep and it is fabulous. Last night I did not have any, and I was awake at 12:45 and had to be up at4 a.m. The simply sleep only takes me minutes, I just lay down and close my eyes (they just close by themselves). I think I do open my eyes every now and then but no laying awake for 20-30 minutes 4 times a night. It is great. Will be taking it tonight so I can really sleep good.

Ever say the wrong thing [2008-06-22]
Ever say the wrong thing, and you realize as your talking trying to say something that would make them feel better that that what your saying doesn�t quite sound right so you keep trying to explain and it just gets worse and worse. Today I was talking to someone whose wife has cancer and she started chemo a few weeks ago. I�m always caring as my mom had cancer so I know a bit of what they are going through, but of course I don�t want to say that because it would sound as though what they are going through is not that important compared to what my mom went through (which of course is not true � I love both these people). Anyway�last night his wife passed out and they had to bring her to ER (she�s better and was released). He told me it gave him a scare and made him realize how fragile life is. I told him that�s true. He then was laughing and said something in regards to life isn�t forever and we all have to move on but nobody ever wants to (or something like that) and he was laughing about it (he�s not a very serious person and usually laughs at everything), and I told him that reminded me of a movie I saw called Kingdom of Heaven when someone said you don�t� seem upset that I�ve killed your master and the guy said to him �it was his time to go�. Talk about knowing immediately that was one of the stupidest things I could have said and I�m sure sounded insensitive. So, I tried to think of something less equally stupid to say (if such a thing was possible). But I told him sometimes its really depressing typing reports all day because there are so many people with such serious illness that it just get depressing typing them all day. Then I was thinking to myself that that made it sound as though what she is going through isn�t as important as everyone else. Not quite sure if all this was in my mind as I�m sensitive to others feelings and always want to say the right things so they will feel better (even though it may not always come out that way). I ended the conversation letting him know that what they were going through is very hard and that I was glad his wife was better and tell her that I�m thinking of her and wishing them the best. He said in an upbeat tone, thanks I will. He didn�t seem upset, but it was just a very awkward conversation and I wanted to get off before I said anything else. I don�t think he took offense to what I was saying but in these circumstances you never know and it just proved to myself that from now on its better to keep my mouth shut and not sound stupid than to say anything that makes me look so. Has anyone else been in a similar situation and do you think I�m being oversensitive. From now on a simple concerned and understanding �uh-hum� will be in my vocabulary.

Parents gettting divorced...sm [2008-06-21]
My parents are in their fifties and are getting a divorce because my dad is running around. Well she filed for divorce and he would not get out the house. He said until the divorce was final he had the right to stay, which is true actually. She can At the beginnning of the divorce he agreed to give her the house and 3 acres and he would just take the other additional 7 acres. Well he has been told for months he better be finding a place to live but he refused to even look. He doesn Now the papers will be final next week and mama said you are leaving. He says he can She says well you have been knowing for months you should have planned ahead. She doesn It is like she can He wants to do what he wants to do and have another woman and go out every night but he wants to live there and says how can you throw me out with nowhere to go. She said well you have had the opportunity to get a place. And he has had the money. She said he just won She could have him legally evicted and law officials make him leave but what an awful thing to have to do. But he is headset not to leave.

I had to mention the guy on America's Got Talent s/m [2008-06-20]
the other night who sang opera! What a talent and what a warm wonderful guy who broke down when he spoke of his mother, what she has done for him, and what this means to her!

A very good friend once said... [2008-06-20]
*If you can raise a puppy, then raising a child is easy...* I think you are on the right track. It I have a Corgi boy that did not train as fast as I thought he should, but he did get there after about 6-7 months. For me, since it was my first time, I had no idea how long it would take. It would probably go faster a 2nd time around. From some reading I did, it sounded like it should be in a matter of days, and some dogs just do not fit that mold. It reminds me of all those who told me their baby slept through the night at 6 weeks of age. That did not happen for me until my 3rd child was born. Each child and puppy are different.

Does anyone ever go through periods where you dont sleep well and keep [2008-06-19]
waking up all night. I hate that. Anything that helps other than pills?

I've got the same problem [2008-06-19]
For over the past month, I have been sleeping horribly. Around 11 p.m. I doze off watching tv and then I wake up about 1 or 2. I go to bed and from that point on, I am continually waking up. My husband does snore which bugs me. He wears the breathe right strips but they don't help that much. But even nights when he is nor snoring, I still do not sleep well. Last night I only got around 3 hrs of sleep. I would take any suggestions too of help with sleep. I have tried herbal teas and they do not help any.

Was having the same problem........ [2008-06-19]
about a year ago and decided to start taking Simply Sleep. In order to go to sleep around 9 p.m., I have to take it at 6 p.m. It forces me to fall asleep and stay asleep through the entire night. Once in a while I will wake up briefly, but am able to fall back asleep quickly. I am not groggy the next morning if I take it three hours before I go to bed. I am able to get a full 7 to 8 hours of sleep this way. Never had trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep before a year ago, but I guess that's what stress will do to you!!!!! Good luck!!!