~ Proud Mommy to J & V ~

I'm looking for a new phone and the one I have (LG ENV Touch) is a pressure sensitive touch screen - I can use my nails to text. The one my husband has (Samsung Facinate) is heat sensitive touch screen - he uses the pads of his fingers and I don't like that aspect about it. Does Verizon Wireless carry a NEW Smartphone that I can use my nails to tap at?

This is NOT about population control or adopting from a shelter or being a "good" dog owner by just fixing the dog first, so please lets not go there. I feel that by doing research I AM being a good dog owner so that I can make the best decision for MY dog and MY family.

Before my Doberman has her first heat I am evaluating my options for her upcoming reproductive health. I have thought about breeding her at some point after 2 or 3 years of age, probably closer to 3 or 4. But before I decide if I want to breed her, I want her evaluated to see if she would even be a good candidate for such a journey. I know there are the medical tests that are required, as well as other optional but recommended tests as well. Where would an owner go, or who would an owner talk to about getting some premedical evaluations done? Such as temperament, breed standard measurements and physical characteristics and the like.

I see a LOT of anti-Obama stuff since he has been in office and was wondering if its this bad after every president is elected or is this one an exception?

I want to make jam and yeah, I could put some in the freezer in jars but I want some that will last in a cupboard too. I don't have a canning pot or rack, and it isn't in our budget to go out and buy all the specific tools. I have heard of using a skillet with a little boiling water and the glass jars fliped over on thier lids but I don't know how long the jars will keep.

Any ideas? Personal experiences? Thoughts?

If a woman's income is from club dancing - so kinda technically self employed, how does she determine how much money to set aside to pay taxes - if she chooses to report her income honestly?

If your divorce or separation was uncontested and you agreed on terms for child support before going to court, how do you get the payment? Is it sent to a third party and then sent to you? Do you and the other parent keep detailed records of payments sent/received? Is a check mailed or are funds transferred from one account to another? Have you ever heard of Paypal being used so there is a detailed record, but nothing to get lost in the mail?

The ones that have room for three adults - the bench seat, can you secure two Britax Marathons if the kids meet the guidelines to be forward facing?

I'd put them in a car, but I could be moving on my own with two kids and no car.

A couple divorced late in the year. They have two kids that they share custody of equally.

Could they both claim the children on their W-2s - if they decided to claim dependents - but only claim one child each on their tax returns?

How would EIC work? Child tax credit? Could they both qualify for the credits depending on how they filed?

Do child support payments effect either parent's eligibility they are still within income limits?

At what age did you find that your child was able to sit through a *G* or *PG* movie in the theater? What movie was the first movie you saw together?

So my husband and I just caught this snake in our house and it was about 15-17 inches long, dark in color with the copperhead identifiers (we live in rural KY so this is a common snake in our area and easy to identify). Now we are worried that there might be another one inside We have two little ones and the snake was in the playroom. It is still springtime and we are having a hard time catching this last mouse that is taunting us, should we be worried about another on in the house?

you have it chained up year round outside? I live in a rural area of KY where it is common to have dogs outside year round either chained up or in a 8'X10' kennel and more often than not, they have very little social interaction with their owners or other animals. Some are even on chains that give a meager 6 ft of slack for the dog to circle around with.

I don't understand, what's the point of having these dogs and feeding them super cheap/low quality dog food if no one plays withe them or gives them attention?

Abortion was brought up recently by one of my friends on MySpace. It had something to do with Obama and his position on the subject, but it made me think about the ones that are done not as a method of "birth control" but b/c of incest, rape, deformities or for babies that if carried to term and birthed would not have a very good quality of life due to all the medications or other medical treatments needed to sustain life.

A point was brought up about how these certain conditions can hinder the "survival of the fittest" and natural selection concepts.

How would you approach a situation like this?

When your little one or some one else's says a "naughty word" in context or even out of context for the matter, how do you handle it? Do you a make a big deal out of it and say how they are not supposed to use that kind of language, its not nice, etc? Or do you tell them that isn't something they should say with other people around?

What do you do when (or if) your toddler were to say swear words?

My daughter is nearly 14 months old and her hair is always in her face & eyes. I try to keep it pinned back or in a little pony-tail on top but she always pulls it out. Her hair isn't growing in the direction for it to lack back on its own, and I'm trying to encourage it to do so by keeping it pinned back.

What do you use on your daughter's hair? How long before it will start falling away from the eyes instead of in the eyes? Tips?

I have had this gosh darn wart on my knuckle for almost 2.5 years now. I have bought who knows how many wart freeze kits, wart remover pads and liquid wart removers. I have also been to the clinic once to have them freeze it, but it didn't do any better than the one from the store. I am so sick and tired of this wart! It is about as round as my 13 months old's thumb nail and hasn't gotten any smaller. Each treatment I do works to get it less thick, but that's it.

ANY IDEAS, PLEASE?

I was asked the other day if I was more PRO-breastfeeding or ANTI-formula. Now most of you would immediately say that they are one in the same, but I had to think about the question before I responded. Which was I?

I am more ANTI-formula than I am PRO-breastfeeding. Granted, formula - a dead substance - has for many years has sustained life, but breastMILK - a LIVING substance - has sustained optimum life since the dawn of time and the first mother put her baby to her breast.

For ME it comes down to the breastMILK. It was designed for babies by their mothers and it shouldn't matter if the breastMILK is fed to the baby at the breast or via a bottle.

**So what are you? More anti-formula or pro-breastfeeding?**

The following reasons came to mind rather quickly as to why *I* am more anti-formula:

--Formula is inadequate. There are an estimated 300 some odd nutritious properties/ingredients in Breastmilk. Breastmilk is the STANDARD for optimal infant and toddler nutrition. Formula has about 40 some odd ingredients in it. That is approximately 13% of the ingredients that are in breastmilk.

--NO antibodies in formula. Formula is not only nutritionally lacking in comparison to the breastmilk standard, it is immunologically lacking as well. Formula cannot mimic the maternal antibodies that are passed from mother to baby to help protect the baby's new and immature immune system. The human breast customizes antibodies in the milk for the baby to fight whatever pathogen - virus/bacteria/germs- the infant is exposed to its environment.

--The ingredients are all synthetic. The ingredients are not made by human body nor are they naturally occuring ingredients from human milk. The base for most formulas is cows milk - a common allergen for MANY babies. The protiens and fats are also LARGER than the ones found in breastmilk - this makes formula harder to digest and it takes longer too. Lactose free formulas - most common is SOY - is inappropriate as well because the protiens and fats are derived from the soybean - a vegetable/legume - and they are not made to be easily digested by infants either. Soy is now becoming a growing allergen in babies and children, too.

--Contributes to unhealthy weight gains. Cows milk protiens and fats are designed to feed a baby COW that starts out around 80-100 pounds and is supposed to triple its birthweight the first couple of weeks. And we wonder why there are so many overweight children and adults? It all begins at the bottle of formula (and then compounds the problem with the over processed foods we eat).

--Increased risk of Diabetes. By contributing to unhealthy weight gains, formula is putting each child at an increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes - either as a child/teen or as an adult. The formula teaches our bodies the wrong way to break down food particles and leads to problems later in life.

--Unsterile manufacturing. If you think that formula is made in clean, germ free white rooms where the employees are dressed in sterile clothing and use the strictest policies to maintain germ-free environments - you are sadly mistaken. The formula is manufactured just like any other product - with the most cost effective method of production - which is always the least ideal and sanitary way.

--Recalls/contaminations. Because of the methods of productions and the fact that there is such thing as human error, formulas can be recalled for many reasons. Either there is something hazardous that could be in the lot of formula, or they miscalculated the amounts for the ingredients. SInce the dawn of mass formula production there have been 22-25 SIGNIFICANT recalls of formula for potentially life-threatening situations. Ingredients were either deficient or superpotent that could cause harm to the babies or they had foreign particles/bacteria in them like glass or salmonella. Breastmilk is ALWAYS made in sterile production conditions and can NEVER be recalled.

--Undermines mothers' abilities. Samples of formula are often given in the hospital or even mailled to a pregnant mother who registers for a baby item or magazine. They come with information on breastfeeding but implies that the mother's milk might be inadequate or the mother might not make enough of her own milk, that there are alternatives. This sets any new mom up for disaster! Before her baby is even here, she is doubting herself and her body's ability to nourish her baby. She will be more worried about what the formula company said *might* happen that she forgets to relax and have faith in herself and her body. Next thing the mother knows, she is having all those problems she feared and the formula company's information on breastfeeding was what started it.

--->Breast MILK is the key. We all have heard the slogans *Breast is Best,* *Human Milk for Human Babies,* and *Babies Were Born to Breastfeed* and all that is well and good. However, many mothers find that feedi

If a service member is in one branch and doesn't like his MOS, he can change it, right? Say s/he changed it and then still didn't like it, but then determined it was the branch of service that s/he didn't like and switched branches. Could switching branches allow another lat move for whatever reason?

If the father is the servicemember and shares custody of his kids with his ex-wife, does he still qualify for base housing or BAH so that he doesn't have to live in the barracks and still get to have his kids visit?

When parents get divorced and the mother has primary custody, how do you explain to a 3 year old little boy who idolizes his father, where Daddy is?

Or when he visits his Daddy, where Mommy is?

Fed Ex and UPS - and anyone else for that matter are unable to find our house w/o calling for directions and due to the nature of the incline up to our house, they are not able to make it up, does this mean if our car becomes subject of a repo that they will have a hard time finding/accessing our house too?