Thursday's Coffee and Chat
 

:coffee: Good morning! Come pour yourself a cup of coffee, tea, or what have you and pull up a chair!

We had a very stormy night and it looks like a soggy day is ahead for the day. I really don't mind, as we're getting some much needed rain and relief from the heat wave.

I took the girls to Boomers for the day, yesterday, with some friends, and Cindy ended up taking the girls to see "Wall-E" last evening. So at least I got to have an early night. :) Today we invited some friends over for a playdate after their piano lessons this afternoon. The ground is too soggy for polo, so it looks like I'll be getting home to have supper with Jake again tonight. Grilled veggies and the last bit of the Taco Bake!

I have just enough time this morning to go to Curves before I head off to spend the day with my girls.

What's your day looking like today? :cofdate:

Whew! Please observe a moment of silence with me as the Hyper Pypers have just left for the day. They are off to Montreal and won't be back until this evening after dinner. I am looking forward to a day with no chaos in my house and no cooking! The weather has really affected their vacation as the rain has kept them off the Lake. Their very expensive boat is still in my lane and they are hoping for some better weather when they come back.

Having four noisy and untidy people in my house has made me realize how much I enjoy my solo existence! There are always at least two people talking, somebody drinking milk and eating something and the dogs jockeying for the crumbs. Because if the rain, we've not been on the deck much and cooking has been inside instead of on the BBQ. Breakfast has been a pound of bacon, a dozen eggs and a loaf of bread and I think we've gone through several gallons of milk and five dozen cookies. These people can eat!

Anyhow, today will be a bit quieter although I will be at the Fair for nine to assist in Homecraft judging. I plan to be outta there by noon as I have an appointment for a haircut in Brockville. Now that I'm no longer the Treasurer, the Fair can run without me.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be more of the same but the teens will probably be at the Fair a lot. I have a few duties over there - pet show judging and a couple of beer tent shifts - but am working in some naps and quiet times too.

I hope your Thursday is peaceful - I plan to enjoy mine.

Enjoy your few moments of solitude, Ruth! It's a shame that the rain has been putting a damper on their vacation plans and the Fair. I sure hope it dries out for the rest of their visit with you!

Good morning ladies! It's been raining for a week now with just peeks of sun here and there. I have managed to walk the dog between drops only once, she's beginning to go stir crazy. Throwing the toy down our small hall gets old quick for her.

Yesterday we had thunder like I've NEVER heard it before! I swear it rolled for a good solid five minutes! It was awesome. And night before last we had such a BANG of thunder that it woke me out of a sound sleep! I came out to find my son had snuck in the house sometime around 2 am (which is not allowed). It was hailing around 3:30 am... Joe and I sat up talking for a few minutes before trying to go back to sleep. (I was warned they always come back!)

I was hoping to hear back from one of the six companies I've interviewed for, so far nothing. But good news is that the two I want to work for I understand have not yet made a decision as to who they are going to hire. In the meantime I'm plugging away at the chores while I'm home! It feels good to get up to a clean house! Now that it's just me, it's so much easier to keep this place straightened. My son thinks it'll get back to normal when I start back to work, I'm determined to keep it clean!

Anyway, Ruth, I know what you mean about company! Always nice to see you, always nice to have our solitude back when they are gone! I have friends like that, I swear they are by far the loudest family in the country! When they talk it's at volume so high, and always talking over one another. But I've known them since I was 2 1/2 yrs old, so it's like family!

Anyway, Peace to you all, My coffee is done brewing, going to enjoy a little Gurnall!!!!!

Good morning,

Cottage: Sounds like a busy but fun day!

Ruth: Enjoy your solitude. I always look forward to quiet times.

I posted this on Wednesday's chat late yesterday and I'm crossposting here: Well, once again wheat sensitivity has reared its ugly head. Yesterday I had a whole wheat tortilla with my lunch (first wheat item in 2 weeks) and after that, I started to get huge carb cravings. I ate too much Wednesday, and I believe it was due to the whole wheat. I have had problems with white flour causing indigestion. Although I am not gluten intolerant, I have to be careful with whole wheat, too.

When I did SBD the last time, I didn't realize that whole wheat might be a trigger food. Now that I've joined this forum, I've learned a lot. I appreciate this forurm, and I'm very glad that you discuss the craving/trigger issue here so that I may be reminded of it and understand why this has happened.

I think I'll just try very hard to limit my grain products to oatmeal, sprouted grain english muffins-which never bother me even though they have sprouted wheat, and brown rice until I reach P3.

Anyone else have this problem with wheat?

Well, today I'm having lunch with a friend at a Middle Eastern Restaurant, yum! I checked out the menu beforehand, so I already know they have SBD friendly items. After that, I'll work on my book. My puppy is becoming a finicky eater, so I think that it is time for me to visit my holistic vet and ask her to create some home-cooked recipes for the little puppy princess. Can't say I blame the dog, I wouldn't want to eat canned food every day of my life!!

Have a great day, everyone!!

Good morning Chicks :coffee2:

Another rainy day here too. It's starting to drive me crazy, partly because I'm not getting enough exercise.

Cottage - Have a good indoor day!

Ruth - Have a lovely, quiet day :)

LoriAnn - Hope you hear positive things from one of the places you are interested in. The job market stinks right now so 6 interviews is fabulous.

Belle Mer - No experience with wheat sensitivity so I can't help. Sounds like you will figure it out though from trial and error. I hate when the cravings come back. Enjoy the Middle Eastern restaurant. Yum

I've got a 2.5 hour meeting this morning. I decided to do the conference call version because I'm just not up to 5 hours of driving this month. I also have another meeting I'd like to be at this afternoon.

I made really yummy zucchini chips yesterday. I finally bought a mandolin so the chips are all uniform which made a big difference! It also made a bit of a difference to my thumb (oops).

I'm going to do a couple of days of P1. I've been a bit "unfocused" the last few days and need to get back on track. I'm hoping that if I keep a handle on my eating for a couple of days I can add blueberries back in this weekend. I'm buying a flat tomorrow afternoon so hope the plan works!

Have a good day all

Know what's really good? Oatmeal with a fresh peach cut up into it and drizzled with SF caramel syrup! :drool:

I was complimenting a girl I hadn't seen for a long time at Curves this morning, she lost a lot of weight and looks fabulous. Well, I was bemoaning the fact that I've been at this same weight for 2 years now and just can't seem to reach my goal, and she said "yes, but doesn't it feel good that you've been able to maintain it and not gain back any weight?" Words of wisdom. :)

Good morning Chickies,

Ruth- hang in there and I hope the weather gets better

Cottage- Have a good day today

Lori- Hope you hear soon from one of the companies you want to work for

BelleMar- That is great that you figured out a one of the triggers for you. I am going to have to go to phase 1 again because my eating is getting out of control and have been sneaking in nonplan foods. I am starting to write a log of foods eaten again to stay on track as well.

CyndiM- Hope you get your exercise in soon

Yesterday took DD2 to Hospital for yearly checkup for gallstones and she good a good checkup no stones- lining is still a little thick but we are good for another year not having to remove. DD1 turned 15 yesterday and got her driving permit. Yikes

Rushing this morning. Have to call about a lead on a possible teaching job, then have to bring my Mother In Law over to the gulf coast. No time for personals, but wishing you all a great/dry day. Took Mother in Law to New Orleans yesterday and it was a soggy, but great day. There was a big diesel oil spill (over 4 hundred thousand gallons) in the Mississippi River yesterday. The smell in the French Quarter was unreal. ick. River is shut down for a couple of days while the clean up continues. The news says it will take weeks.

Belle, I have problems with ALL grains..UNLESS I eat them in small amounts along with larger amounts of protein and veggies. If I just ate a piece of bread without protein and veggies, I'd go nuts with cravings within a few minutes. I can't eat stuff like oatmeal in the morning..but I can eat a turkey sandwich loaded with spinich. Trial and error to find out that one!! I guess what I figured out that I can eat 1/4 grains as long as it's with 3/4 protein/vegges. Sounds weird, but it works for me. If I ate oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, I'd be hitting the candy machine!!

Morning ladies.

Interesting night last night. Put Little Guy to bed around 7:30 (he was exhausted from his first day at school) and we were watching a movie when he came out at 10:00 crying. He'd fallen out of his bed, first time ever, and caught his face on the corner of the nightstand on the way down. He's got a deep laceration by his ear (any deeper and he would've needed a stitch) and a scrape by his mouth. Poor kid. Now he looks all beat up for his second day of school. :( He was so upset last night. Seems to have forgotten about it this morning but I haven't reminded him of it yet to take a look....

Otherwise, weight still holding steady. Almost time to go to work and then teach piano afterward. Hope you all have a great day!

Lisa

Femme Creole,
Yes, I can't eat fruit with grains, I know that much. Oatmeal with yogurt doesn't bother me. I had the ww tortilla with leftover chili yesterday. Perhaps it was the combo of the beans and the wheat, I don't know. Anyway, thanks for the info. The tortillas have been banished to the freezer to await P3.

Good morning ladies!! Happy Thursday
(Can you believe how fast this week has been!)

Cottage - Your oatmeal sounds wonderful. What did you think of the movie? Were the girls interested the whole time? Just curious because I've heard that some kids didn't really like it.

Ruth - So glad to hear that you're getting some peace and quiet today. And I feel your pain. My family is VERY loud and always on the go. When we go over for holidays and such, it's almost always a welcome to climb into the car and go home. Have fun at the fair!

Loriann - Sorry that you haven't heard from anyone yet....I'm sure something is right around the corner. Good luck!!!

Belle Mer - Be sure to eat lots of hummus and tabouleh for me....I LOVE the stuff!

Cyndi - Did you cut yourself because you didn't use the finger guard? The first month dh and I were married I really ripped up my thumb. Went to the emergency room and everything. No stitches, but it was a mess. But now I LOVE my mandolin. Enjoy those chips!

Pearlrose - Glad to hear all is well with DD!

Cat - Good luck on the teaching lead. Are you looking for a new job this school year? Looks like you had a great time yesterday! Thanks, as always, for sharing your pics with us.

Weezle - Be sure you let the Little One's teacher know what happened to him when you take him to school today. When I was little I was sleep walking and hit my face on the corner of the bed frame. My mom said that where ever we went she got dirty looks because it appeared that I had gotten beat up. She felt terrible!

Me - Yesterday, as expected was super quiet. And today I think is going to be a repeat. I spent the majority of the day working on our revised staff and Student/Parent handbook. Good times!!! I got packages last night for the shower gift on Saturday, so I'll probably get to wrapping tonight.

Have a fantastic Thursday, Ladies!!!
ENJOY!!!

Hello, everyone - this is my first 'daily chat!' I am totally procrastinating from packing for the camping trip, just because I always procrastinate when it comes to packing. I think I get my best house cleaning done when I'm supposed to be getting ready for a trip! :p

Cottage - I think you and I are sort of neighbors. I live between Trenton and Princeton, NJ. My bf lives in Norristown, so I spend a fair amount of time on the PA turnpike! Haven't those been some awesome storms the past two nights?

Ruth - My two sons just went to their dad's house yesterday evening after being with me for two weeks straight, and I experienced a similar sudden awareness of...quiet! (And not being asked to fix someone something to eat/drink every few minutes!)

Loriann - Good luck with the job hunt! :crossed:

Belle - Way to go checking out the restaurant ahead! Sorry I have nothing to offer about your wheat question - just starting phase 2 today. But I can tell you I had a sudden craving for bread when I walked through that aisle of the store yesterday (I was looking for the tortillas.) It was weird - I'm not even a big bread eater, but that smell - wow. I headed out of there fast!

Cyndi - Good luck tomorrow with the flat!

Pearlrose - Glad to hear DD2 doesn't have stones. I had to have my gallbladder out, and before that the stone attacks were pretty bad.

Femmecreole - Good luck with the teaching job. What do you teach? The oil spill stuff sounds nasty - yuck! Do you live near the river and have to smell it?

Weezle - Poor little guy! I have a son starting kindergarten, so he's probably close in age. Hope your son heals soon!


Well, time's up, I should take a shower and start packing. Thanks for being a welcoming bunch of ladies - I look forward to spending more time here as I continue on this SB journey!

ok, just a quick update and then back to job searches. The two companies hired another candidate. Sigh. OH well, I know the right one is out there, somewhere!

Morning, girls.

It sounds like you all are having a great start to the day so far! Cottage - You've already been to Curves....now that is an early start!

A pretty quiet day around here. DS seems to be getting back into the swing of things. It is so much nicer to have my sweet little boy back :)

Cat - thanks for the heads up on the oil spill....DH and I had considered coming down to NO this weekend, but I think now we will save that for another day.

We went to get frozen yogurt last night (the raspberry sorbet was to die for). DS had their rainbow flavor which we thought was different flavors, but ended up being vanilla with a ton of food coloring. He was blue from head to toe when we left :( Now, I have to figure out how to get those stains out of his clothes.

I'll check back later :) Have a great day!

:faint: meeting by conference phone when most people are in the room is a drag. Luckily we have a conference phone with a mute button at home and I have the internet

Loriann - I'm sorry to hear that. :( I went through a few years of no job/bad job/no job, etc. before finding the place I'm at now, where I'm very happy. So you're right, the job for you is out there. I hope you find it REALLY soon!!!

I'm certified to teach Kindergarten-8th grade. I've taught 5th,6th,1st, 11 years of kindergarten and 4 years of 1/2 day kindergarten computer lab. I also have a web design company. I want to quit the design work and go back into the classroom full time. I do have my computer lab job still, but would rather a full time position so I can lose the design work.

I now live about 50 minutes from New Orleans, so I can't smell the spill. Zeff, if you stay away from the square and stay back on Bourbon, Royal etc, it's not as bad as being right on the river...we could smell it when we crossed streets the were vertical to the river though.

We like to stay off of Bourbon...especially when we have DS ;)

DH likes to stay on Decatur and in that area. We also like to walk by the river in the square and go to the aquarium. I think we'll just go in September when we get home from Mpls.

I went downtown for my last visit with the family court counselor. I had to address some of the lies Robert had told about me (he said I had hit Brian) but he had no proof and she said that the interview she had with Brian didn't give her the impression that he had any problem with me. Robert still hasn't had the home visit since he needs to find a place to live first but he needs to get that done soon. She said the report will be written up and sent to the court in about 6 weeks so he has a little more time but not a whole lot. She was able to look in the system and find out that he did have a court date for the criminal trial scheduled for this week but it was postponed until Sept. I spoke to a friend who got an email from him. I guess his criminal lawyer wants $3500 to go to trial and Robert needs $600 for the 6 month Batterer's Intervention class he has to attend. I suspect his lawyer is dragging things out hoping the divorce gets done so he has the money from his share of the house to pay for the lawyers. What a mess!

She did tell me that I should only have to wait a half hour if he is late for a pickup so I sent him an email telling him that. It was miserable waiting an hour in the heat on Saturday.

Hi everyone, hope everyone's day has been good. I have to cook soon so I don't have much time to read everything.

Um; question. This is embarrasing, but... when we moved into this house, there were roaches. (God, it's disgusting!) We have bombed this place like, 4 times with roach killer bombs. It never seemed to work! BF's ex-wife brought us this stuff, in a big sprayer bottle, called Ortho Home Defense Max. Well, you basically spray around the bottom interior part, and door ways. She said it got rid of her bugs in like, 3 days. (They are unfortunately HIGHLY common in this area. Most everyone has them. Pain to get rid of.)

Well, I am not so sure how that spray is going to get rid of those disgusting things just by spraying around the bottom interior of the house... they crawl everywhere! Also, I'm concerned about my pets. My black cat died, and I'm not sure if it was illness or any of the boric acid powder I had set out... (I am never using that crap again.) There is a momma cat left, with three vibrant kittens, as well as my black cat's two kittens, and then another cat we have that is mainly an outdoor cat and only comes in once in awhile to eat. So that's, 7 cats (yes, we are giving away all of the kittens 'cept for 2.)

Won't that stuff hurt them? Those kittens go all over the place, in the corners, under stuff, and I can easily see them skidding the cat food on the floor into the corners, where the poison will be...

Help.

Barb, it sounds like things are going very well for you concerning the family court counselor.

I wish that Robert creature would realize how detrimental his lies about you could be for his son, even if Brian is unaware of it. But what goes around comes around, and in the end things will be as they should!

Maybe one day, for Brian's sake, Robert-creature will get the mental help he needs, to be a good parent.

Are you going to be battling it out sometime soon for custody? (I couldn't remember if you had already gained custody, had temporary custody until final determinations could be made, or if the trial is pending.)

I am nervous about my bf's and his ex-wife's upcoming custody thing... his mother has been meeting with her mother, and they are so determined to keep that child. IMO, if she loved her granddaughter so much, she would WANT her granddaughter to grow up with her parents and siblings. What's she gonna do, a few years from now, when the child is old enough to see? And she's angry because her parents have kids by other people, who live with them? Doesn't the grandmother think of how much of an emotional impact that will make on the child? I have asked her that before in the past, when she kept refusing to "allow" her son to take it back to court, but she never had any good answers, other than "well my son is not ready, and [daughter's name] will stay with me."

She's such a greedy, vindictive, spiteful, evil, hateful... urrrrrrrggggh!

Lawyer's trying to get her "testimony" impeached from the court, but there is like, no way he'll be able to do it. After 3 years, of COURSE a judge is gonna wanna hear what she has to say. And it's not gonna be pretty. It's just not fair.

Just my .02. here. I hate bugs. I live in the south. I grew up in NYC. I know about roaches. I hate them.

I don't use chemical pesticides around pets. Boric Acid really works good for roaches. It isn't good for pets, but pesticides are worse. Pets walk in or lick pesticide residue same as Boric Acid. And worse is they inhale it. Not good. Not good for people, either. Boric Acid has to be placed deep into the area where the wall meets the floor, so pets can't get to it and so that the roaches walk in it. You can try one of those mustard type squeeze bottles, or something similar if you wanted to use it again.

This sounds weird, but have you thought about trying a dehumidifier? Bugs don't like to live in humidity under 40% Ever since we got a dehumidifier, the only thing I've seen is an occasional spider or two. We have our dehumidifier set at 39%.

Also, once you have succeeded in preventing them from coming in, spray the outside of the house around its foundation.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your problem. I know how gross it can be

That's a good idea to use a mustard bottle, thanks! I'm just worried about the smaller kittens getting under everything... they're able to get between the cabinets and fridge, under the stove, and other stuff. One walked under the stove where I had sprinkled boric acid. I panicked, pulled him out, and gave him a bath (which he did not like.)

I never thought to use a dehumidifier, ahaaaaa! I can get one cheap at the local secondhand shop tomorrow. Thanks!! :D

Afternoon my beach buddies~
Cant stay long ...I'll read posts later on this evening...
Thought i would check in before i start dinner...had a great day...spent some time outside..it was cooler out today... finally.
hope everyone has a wonderful evening..

Sara

:carrot::dust::broc:

Mel - As much as you worry about your cats, you should be worrying more about your son. I converted our household to completely pesticide free - green about 20 months ago. I clean with vinegar and baking soda (and only use boric acid for the hard stains and even then, only when I know that I can watch it). Shaklee's basic H2 and Basic G have been saving graces.

We live in a place with a ton of roaches as well....although we've never had a problem with them. Make sure to clean up really well...they live on the food that is left out and not swept up. I make sure to clean all the dishes right away, bag all the sugars in ziplocks and sweep daily. Since I started making a more conscious effort when we moved into this house, I haven't seen any.

A friend of ours has a serious infestation....it is really really really bad. She is a horrible slob though (sad, but true).

I clean with vinegar, baking soda, peroxide and borax. I am chemically sensitive and cannot use any scented products or synthetic chemicals in my home. Being chemically sensitive can be difficult sometimes, (like avoiding heavily perfumed ladies at church) but I'm glad to be free of chemicals, especially now that I have a puppy. She won't be exposed to anything lethal, at least at home. She's only 5 pounds soaking wet!

I DO worry about my son. It's not like he's low on my list of priorities. He's well taken care of. But my son isn't crawling around on the floor in potentially poisonous areas like my cats. Hence, the concern.

Sigh: not trying to be b*tchy and I apologize, but I am sensitive about that. Especially with an evil semi-MIL always lurking around the corner, ready for the day she has a reason to take my child like she took BF's ex-wife's.. Sorry.

I'm sorry, I just read what I wrote...it came out wrong. I didn't mean that you didn't care about your son. I meant that in no time at all, your son can find what you don't want him to. I can't tell you how many times I've found DS doing dangerous things when I just turned my attention for a minute (just today I found him INSIDE the refrigerator....literally). I would hate to see something happen to your little boy :(

Please forgive my wording ;) I was a bit distracted.

No no; I know you meant well. It is my over-sensitivity and almost as soon as I had hit the enter button, I felt like a b*tch, and guilty for being overly defensive. You made a really good point (and I know it!!) :)

I know what you mean; I am sorry. I really don't like the idea of using poisons for all of the reasons, son, cats, me and bf, everything. I used baking soda to scrub the sink today... I like being as green as possible although with BF around it's not always 100% possible.

I am scared to put the dishes away because there are roaches that live in the cabinets and they are like everywhere in the cabinets... so on the countertop there is a towel and like, a big pile of clean dishes. But then those dreaded bugs crawl all over everything and I don't use a single dish without recleaning it. Tired of living like this... urgh.

Sorry again Zeff; I'm Miss Hypersensitive. :p

it's fine. Believe me, I understand being hypersensitive. Just today I called DH at work and told him that he didn't care about the family because he had taken all of the leftovers from last night......and I cried and cried and cried.....thankfully he understands pregnancy.

Anyway, let me do some research and get back to this roach problem...

LOL. I did similar things during pregnancy... pretty emotional at the time, but in retrospect, pretty funny.

If you find anything, anything at all, I would appreciate it. I keep googling and coming up with boric acid and sticky traps, and I am very leery of Boric acid now. Sticky traps won't help my problem.

mmk...I found some info....some of it is pretty off the wall, but I'm sure you're willing to try anything at this point.

Hard boil eggs - take the yolk out and mash with boric acid. Put in a little alum. foil bowl behind refrigerators and under sinks...

sprinkle pure boric acid behind the stove and under sinks - your cats probably won't be able to get back there (and if they do....start entering them in some shows). I read that if you can see the boric acid, it is too much. Apparently the roaches will avoid it if they can see it - who knows.

make a mixture of powdered sugar and baking soda - put in alum. foil cups and put them in your cupboards. The sweetness will attract the bugs and the baking soda makes them explode (take pictures).

Move your refrigerator out and sprinkle some boric acid down. The kitties won't be able to get to it and neither will DS. Have bf move the fridge for you.

Apparently a good way to get the boric acid down without it being too much is to put it in a spray bottle and you will get a fine mist.

A roach's favorite food is not garbage...it is glue (from boxes, bags, etc.)....put everything with a glue seal on it (everything basically) in a plastic bag.

Step on every roach egg sack you find and then clean it up....when a female dies, she expels an egg sack - which will give you quite a few more roaches.

Diatomaceous earth is apparently great for roaches - killing them that is - you should be able to find it at garden centers and it is non-toxic for your family and kitties.

lastly - get a few geckos....I'm not sure how long they will last - but the kitties should enjoy them for awhile before they kill them ;) Geckos like to eat roaches....and kitties like to eat geckos.

Good Morning everyone! (err...evening for the most of ya). Yesterday they put into effect, strict water restrictions, as the water shortage has become a critical problem. bucket baths limited to 1 every 2-3 days, sheet washing every two weeks, water gets shut off at 6pm, We had been supplying water to a neighboring village who ran out of water a few weeks ago, we had to stop as our wells are critically low. Last night, a light rain started which lasted through the night, all my plants look happy this morning, dust settled. It was only 4/10th of an inch according to my rain gauge, but it's a welcome start to our non existant monsoon.

Have a good evening everyone!

Hmmm... Gecko's.... I have lots of them living here. , behind picture frames, under my fridge... I'll send ya some Melanie!

Thanks Zeffryn! I in particular like the idea of the baking soda and sugar. Explode b@stards explode!!!!

I am gonna get that diatomaceous earth stuff... though I'm curious, do you just throw it in cabinets or what? Never seen it before.

The spray bottle thing may work for me as well, I can spray it where they gather up high without having powder poison all over the place.

Getting rid of the gluey stuff is gonna be hard though.

I would get a gecko but, if my cats ate it, I would probably cry. lol. :p

Really great ideas. Gonna start implementing Operation Die-Roaches-Die tomorrow. BF calls them super-roaches, cause they won't die. Hopefully these things will do the trick. I really, really DO NOT want to have to spray this ortho poison I got from bf's ex-wife.

Thanks again! :D

Geckos are so cute!

Melanie - We're under temporary orders right now that give me custody with him getting visitation Wed from 5-7PM and 1st, 3rd and 5th weekend Saturday and Sunday noon to 5PM. No overnights although I have allowed him a couple. The counselor has to complete the family social study and write up the report and send it to the court before the divorce and then custody is decided at that time. I'm asking for sole managing conservatorship with Robert getting standard visitation (same Wed night, the 1st, 3rd, 5th weekends he would have him from Friday night until Sunday night) and he would have him for a month in the summer. Robert doesn't like the sole managing part but my lawyer explained that if we did join he could do stuff like make Brian see a counselor who he picked and then that counselor could be prejudiced against me. Right now I wouldn't put it past him. He also doesn't like that the divorce lists a cause of family violence but I will negotiate on that and make it irreconciliable differences if he give something up. We just need to get to mediation. I suspect the trial will be sometime in the last quarter of this year. At least I hope it is that soon. I really don't want to have to file joint income taxes again this year especially since he took all the economic stimulus package and refused to give me my share.

Good luck with your roach battle. When I switched to Tupperware it really helped because they can't get to the food. I also keep the catfood in containers so they can't get to the bags. It is rare that I ever have a roach and when I do, the cats kill it.

I think you would use the diatomaceous earth like you would boric acid. It's ground up shells.

If you do have a roach explode...take a picture!


Thankfully I super hate geckos...they are all over down here. Our kitty eats them all the time...and my son chases them around the house. They are fast little buggers.

If you do have to do the ortho-bomb.....try to get your animals and kid out of the house for at least a day (and you and bf too!)...