Sillybillybob brilliant to hear that you have allocated yourself Thurs evenings!! Much deserved!! Hope council sorts out bin issue pronto.
(V. sorry if you and/or anyone else came on here early looking for today's steps and they weren't here btw - always mean to post steps night before - but not getting back on here at night atm!)
Dizzy Toffee Rowing and Angry hope the gnashers are not causing you all too much discomfort! [Proffers pain killers, oil of cloves etc]
Just and Alice and anyone else under the weather 
And to Elliepac Blue and everyone else who is feeling stressed and overwhelmed 
for later
Dizzy well done for undergoing dentist's waiting room ordeal - I find it very nerve-wracking too.
Very admiring of people on here (such as you and Feetheart) who can participate in a sporting activity with their dc.
Sympathies Blue It never rains but it pours! Hope today is less stressful for you than yesterday and that meeting goes OK.
Hope you got some shut eye Bitchy [glugs special brew gratefully]
Good luck with the job applications Goth!
Do take it steady Angrybuddha! Swan is right - the shakes sound awful - are you on antibiotics? (If not, should you be?)
Swan thanks, I think you've hit the nail on the head about the sense of time running out! It's a consequence of having a child late in life I guess (and thank heavens we could!) that our plans will change radically. I have sympathy for your sister's (and bil's) situation. Obviously, priorities lie in order of (a) work (b) schooling, but I sometimes think if the SAHparent (or the one who earns less) feels powerless/demoralised/unfulfilled then the whole 'demeanour' of the family (can't think of correct word!) goes down the pan - I see it a lot here - and sometimes what-appears-to-be "selfishness" (again it's not selfishness really - that's not the the right word) can be unselfish if any of that makes any sense at all! Now I've managed to confuse myself
.
Btw, I know hwk is a real trial atm but your dc always seem to be learning about such interesting topics! And writing ballads! Fabulous!
Tangential aside > I must be getting old because I am really enjoying watching Tudor Monastery atm!!
Poor you Toffee only having a day between mega-dental traumas!
Elliepac Hope you are OK x So sorry everything is such tough going right now and absolutely no need to apologise fhs! I take my hat off to any parent who works full time but from the experience of having two siblings (well one has just retired in fact) in education, I think it is a particularly draining profession. Hope you can get the support you need and find a way through the crapola .
Feetheart as I mentioned up-thread, I think it is so great you can go running with your ds!! (I try and go horse-riding with dd every once in a while, but she is a bit embarrassed by the ladder and winch !!)
Oh no Just a fearsome stomach bug is the very last thing you need right now (well it's never a good time, but I hope you haven't over-done things helping your neighbours). Here's to a very speedy recovery! (That mould cannot be doing your grungy chest any good at all.) Take it steady x
Rowingboat ha! I wish I had just a tad of obsessiveness about my cleaning!! (pauses while stack of papers falls on my head too ) Arf at Eeyore dentist ... I think it must be quite depressing spending the majority of your time staring at people's molars. Hope you are not too sore today!
Btw, hotspots (baby-step 6 here) are just 2 mins I think!! (Sorry not to get back to you about this last night.)
Alice Hope you are now all back up to full strength in your household. And yes, it does make total sense, the agitation comes sporadically I find: long periods of feeling fine and then the odd 'oh dear, why are we here, what are we doing, are we doing the right thing'?? I'm the same as you in that I probably feel more at home here than in the UK now (and of course UK not remotely the same now as when I left it anyway!). And you're right that it's the people that one misses the most in whatever country! (One problem about living here is that you make good friends and then they move on after three or four years.) However, I must confess to a hankering for British countryside and housing. And sense of humour. And inclusivity. Not homesick at all me, oh no !! [Btw, have I remembered correctly that you are from the States? If so, "Happy Thanksgiving"!!! Apologies if I have this totally wrong!]
Big, encouraging wing flaps to eveyrone else I have missed!
Hope everyone has as good a day as possible!