Putting Weight on a Child

My nine-year-old needs to gain weight.  Doctor's orders.  She's a stick.  I was a stick as a child and her dad is one now so I'm not surprised, but the pediatrician wants her to gain some weight.  She mentioned butters, oils, whole milk.  Really?  Just load on the fat?  Sounds healthy!  Not.

I tried a carnation drink in the morning but she doesn't like them all that much.  I'm going to have to let loose on the bucks and get some PediaSure or something.  She says she likes the "ones with the bear."  That's PediaSure.  They're also not cheap.  Did you know that sometimes you can contact the manufacturer of a product for coupons or samples?  I've done that before.  I don't think I'll get away with asking for samples for, say, the next four months worth?  I didn't think so either.

Getting Rid of the Baby Urge

How do you get rid of that "baby urge" without having another baby?  Does anybody know?

I figured that I'd just hold babies and it'd take care of it.  When they started crying, I'd give them back.  Sounds great to this mom of four and stepmom to two more. 

It doesn't work.  Not that the idea in particular doesn't work but I can't find any babies to hold!!  Where are all the babies when you want them?  They are always in restaurants when you have a headache, yelling at the top of their little lungs, so why can't I find them when I need a baby cuddle?

Work at Home

I live in a small town where it's not that expensive to run a business.  As I was driving home from grocery shopping, I was thinking about business opportunities in the area. If I wanted to start my own business, it'd be really easy to do in our town from a financial standpoint.

I work from home though and my goal is to increase my work-at-home income so I can be here when my kids get on and off the bus. I am so lucky that I can do that.  It's what I always wanted to do when I had children.  I gave up a really good income working outside the home to do it so I better enjoy it! 

Drugs Harm More Than the User

My niece's dad is in prison for a crime he committed while on drugs.  She has been without her dad for years, and will continue to be for a couple more years at least.  The crime he committed - he definitely deserved the time (and more in my opinion).  It makes me wonder though, if he'd had been sentenced to entering one of the detox centers for a rapid detox and then major rehab, before things got so bad, would he have ended up a felon?  How does an Engineer with a great job go from having what most people want to sharing a cell, leaving a little girl without her dad (and believe me, she feels the absence of her father badly).

He tried to kick his drug habit a few times but it never worked for him.  If he'd gone into a detox that lasted longer, with longer recovery and follow-up psychological counseling for at least a couple months, would he have been successful? 

I wonder if he's received the detox and rehab while in prison so when he gets out, he'll be able to stay clean and actually participate in raising his child.  I hope so. 

Garmin Navigation Systems

Taking my youngest to children's hospital a few weeks ago made me realize that the navigation system on my cell phone isn't good enough to navigate downtown roads in a big city.  I need to look into Garmin GPS I think.

I also tested my cell navigation on a trip out of state and if I would've followed my cell phone navigation directions, I would've ended up in trouble in downtown Detroit! I definitely need to upgrade the navigation system I use when I travel.  I don't want to end up lost.  I have a hard enough time with no sense of direction as it is.  Getting lost would send me into a full-blown panic attack I think.

Disney for Christmas

Who has taken the kids to Disney?  Did you like it?  Did the kids enjoy it?  Is there a time of year, or age of child, that you would not go if you had to do it all over again?

I am thinking about Disney vacations for Christmas this year. Our youngest is finally old enough. I wanted to wait until she was old enough to remember it and she just started kindergarten so I think it's a great time now.

Two parents, four kids, and Mickey Mouse?  I need to look into how much it would cost us.  It'd be a great surprise for the kids.

Dogs Chewing - Separation Anxiety

Ack!  Dogs!!  Two of our dogs are chewing on our faux wood blinds. They end up back in their kennels when we leave when they do that. I can't have them chewing up all of our belongings because they don't like it when we leave.  I guess it's called separation anxiety?

It doesn't help that the kitten we found riding under my truck also climbs them AND shreds the underside of my couch. 

It's a good thing we love our pets because the frustration level of having pets can be quite high at times.

Wanting to Relocate

We are seriously considering moving back to our home state. The prospect is a bit daunting, especially in this economy where we know the chances of being able to sell our home in the time we need will be difficult.

We are looking for automotive jobs (or even aerospace) but those types of jobs aren't easy to come by in this economy. I hear technology jobs are more in demand. 

Picking up and moving four kids, the dogs, the horses, a kitten and a snake - easy, right?