Thingee

Julie Andrews

And THAT is the one and only reason I wouldn't mind having an outtie instead of an innie.

Vegetables from a home grown plot did and always will taste better than anything you can buy in a shop and of course, will be better for you, nutritionally.

First rate produce? If you mean by that there is little spoilage, sure, that's true. How does that happen? Erm, iradiation, picking unripe fruit...the list is endless.

There is far less choice. There are only one or two varietes of potato, tomato, apple, orange etc grown commercially and they are chosen for? Not taste, they are chosen because they have long shelf life or because they have good colour and few blemishes. ####### is that about? It's about profit, not good health or consumer satisfaction, but profit. So, because most food produced is bland what is done with it to make it acceptable? Added value! Add salt, suger and fat and what do we have, something the modern consumer can't do without.

Nostalgic for a bygone age? Not in the way you think, but I do care enough about my family's health to want the best for them, and that does not include filling them large quantities of mass produced garbage.

Home grown veggies are also a great way to get that finicky kid to eat "green stuff"! I won't do fruit trees as the bugs and birds eat them, leaving behind more mess than produce, but vegetables and herbs oh yeah!

131,986 with my first

570 with my last

I apparently don't exist as 0 people have my name.

Or tell them you died. Was visiting my stepfather, a telemarketer called and asked to speak to my mother(who had been dead for about 2 years.

"She's deceased." I answered in reply.

"Oh, OK, I'll call back later." was the response.

Wal-mart is nicknamed 'the devil store' in my house. Admittedly I shop there anyway as it's literally the only place withing 30 miles to get certain things.

ETA: For clothes for me and the kids I go to a lot of second hand stores. I've lost a load of weight and am between where I was and where I want to be..and the kids just grow too dam fast to spend top dollar on stuff at this point.

If you've given them money in the past the national list won't work. You can wait for a human being and ask to be taken off their list.

Not that I'm aware of..course I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. They aren't going to check your credit history or driving record...as far as time spent discussed in general I have no idea really...I doubt they will unless a red flag comes up.

Any given Sunday.

(For future reference...if they do the voice in a cartoon movie does that count?)

Gave jewelry back.

There were no memory invoking pieces of paper other than photos.

All the pictures I still have of the ex are of him involved in fatherly stuff and they're around for the kids.

My only concern would be with the birth certificate...it sounds like the nifty one the hospital gives you as opposed to the official kind...but since you're sending a copy of your passport you may be OK anyway.

I believe you want to speak to a real person...I assume from reading your post that you went through the automated system.

#1. That guy was a JERK...I'm being politer than I normally would be as 'adult' words aren't allowed.

#2. I wouldn't return to the mans house if I were you.

#3. Remember not all Americans are like that.

#4. I'm really wanting to say something about your husband's reaction, but am at a loss.

I can honestly say I've never spanked in anger...and again, let me clarify my definition. By spanking I mean a slap or 2 on the bottom. Hand tapping was done with 2 or 3 fingers, more an attention getting device with a tiny bit of sting. When they did get the 'hands on' parenting it was because they were up to something that could hurt them or others.

Common sense parenting doesn't always work. Again, childproofing is great in most cases..but there are exceptions. My son foiled them all by 20-22 months...he could open latched cabinet doors, pry the covers off the outlets(fingers got tapped for that), foiled baby gates you name it. He's an amazing kid, and one that was never spanked really..(developmental disorder) as it just frustrated the situation.

I am NOT advocating spanking as a fix all solution, I don't think there is a fix all. Again, all children are individuals. To some a time out is not a punishment..it's a chance to daydream undisturbed...and by time out let me say I mean to sit on a chair in an out of the way place...being sent to their room just means they get play time. To some spanking is too harsh, a tender psyche can't handle it. Of my five I could tell you what is the most effective punishment to each of them..not to ALL of them as they are very different people.

Their neurological system isn't fully developed yet.

getting some 110-120v will sure make it develop

You're right and sometimes a little finger burn from putting the hand over an open flame is the best way for them to learn because they see a direct connection. However, when a parent sees their toddler reaching for an open flame and forcefully holds their hand near the flame until it hurst - that's jacked up! The child may be learning that the flame hurts but also that mommy or daddy would forcefully cause them pain. That's when real psychosis begins and if you think that's liberal mumbo jumbo, just talk to an FBI Profiler. It ain't mumbo jumbo when we have psycho paths in this world. They aren't hatched that way. Parents can really f##k up their children with poisonous pedogogy. Every parent owes it to themselves and their children's future to learn all they can on parenting and not just rely on how our parent's raised us.

I agree with everything you said in that paragraph...well almost. I'd rather catch them at going too close to the flame and give them a tap as opposed to them getting a burn. Burns hurt for ages!

I'm going to wade into this simply because I can't resist any longer.

When you have a child that is say, 12 months old that decides that it would be lots of fun to play an electrical outlet sitting them down and having a discussion about risk isn't going to work. Saying "no, that's not safe" isn't always going to work either. All kids are different and respond to different corrections. Some kids DO respond to a 'No'..some kids respond to a very sharply spoken "NO!", and some kids need a tap on the hand combined with that sharp "NO!".

That being said, I do firmly believe that once a child enters that pre-teenhood he!! spanking, however you want to define it, should be out of bounds. I actually haven't laid a finger on my 3 elder children(10,9,8) in years...I don't have to because A. Now they DO understand fully when I explain why they're being punished, and B. Me taking away priviledges, or making them do lines(Yes, I really do that...they hate it with a passion and it helps with their handwriting) hurts more than a pop on the butt.

Now if I've misunderstood completely and what is being debated is pants pulled down, over the knee spanking for older children, or children being hit with belts, switches, etc, then disregard my statements please.

I totally disagree. Plug your electrical outlets but if you slap them on the hand, while you may be teaching them to stay away from outlets, you're also discouraging their curiosity as they are discovering the world around them. You have to be careful you're not sending mixed messages to your children. I'm not saying parenting is easy...in fact I think it's the most difficult job in the world and your kids bring out the best and worst in you. A toddler under the age of 2 really has no cognitive way of understanding right from wrong. It's no accident that children have no long term memory nor can they be potty trained before then. Their neurological system isn't fully developed yet.

The outlet was an example of a dangerous behavior, nothing more...Childproofing doesn't always work, would be nice if it did, but it doesn't. I disagree that's it's discouragig exploration, it's letting them know this particular area is out of bounds.

I'd be interested as to where the potty training info came from. Two of mine were trained prior to their 2nd birthday...and no, I wasn't reading their body cues..they knew how to take down their pants etc.

I'm going to wade into this simply because I can't resist any longer.

When you have a child that is say, 12 months old that decides that it would be lots of fun to play an electrical outlet sitting them down and having a discussion about risk isn't going to work. Saying "no, that's not safe" isn't always going to work either. All kids are different and respond to different corrections. Some kids DO respond to a 'No'..some kids respond to a very sharply spoken "NO!", and some kids need a tap on the hand combined with that sharp "NO!".

That being said, I do firmly believe that once a child enters that pre-teenhood he!! spanking, however you want to define it, should be out of bounds. I actually haven't laid a finger on my 3 elder children(10,9,8) in years...I don't have to because A. Now they DO understand fully when I explain why they're being punished, and B. Me taking away priviledges, or making them do lines(Yes, I really do that...they hate it with a passion and it helps with their handwriting) hurts more than a pop on the butt.

Now if I've misunderstood completely and what is being debated is pants pulled down, over the knee spanking for older children, or children being hit with belts, switches, etc, then disregard my statements please.

I voted trap them...but the entire idea includes spaying or neutering then asking around to see if anyone wants a barn cat. If the area is rural there will no doubt be people with large animals(horses,cows and the like) that would take you up on it.

So long as it's caffienated I don't much care. Coffee goooooooood.

Yeah, but DC is spreading like a friggin' virus these days....or DC commuters are anyway. Geezly crow the distances some people drive!

It's one of our 'family shows'. Meaning all of us can sit and watch without anyone asking to have the channel changed. The running comments generally consist of "Whoa! Mom look at THAT!' to which I respond "Yeah, I see, and if I ever catch you doing that Imma kick your butt no matter how old you are."

I have to say I really admire the way his family has handled his death.

That's probably going to be my best bet. She needs heartworm refills anyway. No more 'occasional' bills allowed this month. *Sigh*