Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[ChiCricket]

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

I'm probably sharing too much because I'm feeling kind of low.

No reason, winter just does that to me. I got diagnosed with SAD..(seasonal affective disorder) years ago.

I'm supposed to sit under a special light for it but have been really  bad about doing it, and now I'm paying for it.

But the light really does help, so I'm going to go read under it  for awhile now.

As I read, I'll have April the giraffe up on my tablet..Anyone else addicted? ;-)

[lookeyloo]

@ChiCricket - beautiful family!!  I have the SAD too, and until I figured out what it was, I was drawn to the lighting section of the Lowe's near my office.  I just couldn't explain why it made me feel better.  I did get some of those lamps while I was working, but since I am retired I don't have much of a problem since I can be outside some every day.  As for April, I was looking for her, and somehow got a year old video of another giraffe giving birth.  Quite fascinating.

[ginger90]

Beautiful picture!

[Love2dance]

@ChiCricket, lovely wedding picture! Beautiful family!

[Arwen Evenstar]

Today is the Equinox, so there will be more sun /daylight today...unless of course, the weather where you are is overcast.

[GeeGolly]

38 minutes ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

Today is the Equinox, so there will be more sun /daylight today...unless of course, the weather where you are is overcast.

6:25 and it's still light out. YAY!

[Barb23]

Thank you all for sharing your photos & thank you to the military for their service. I agree, it is nice putting a face with a screen name.  But even after seeing Happy's photos, in my mind I still picture her resembling my son's preschool/daycare teacher.  I don't know why but in my mind she will always look like Miss Judy.

[emma675]

Aw, such beautiful families in our little thread!

Jynnan Tonnix, congrats to your son and thank him for his service! Does he know where he'll be stationed yet? My cousin has been stationed in Korea for the last few years (he's Army) and will be coming home next month. He is getting out and wants to go back to school. I often wonder how tough the transition back into "normal" life really is.

[Jynnan tonnix]

14 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Aw, such beautiful families in our little thread!

Jynnan Tonnix, congrats to your son and thank him for his service! Does he know where he'll be stationed yet? My cousin has been stationed in Korea for the last few years (he's Army) and will be coming home next month. He is getting out and wants to go back to school. I often wonder how tough the transition back into "normal" life really is.

He's got a significant amount of training, still, before he gets sent anywhere. Which does make this mommy heart rather happy! Because they have plucked him out specially for the aviation track (his original plan, and one of the reasons he ended up in the USMC to start with was with the idea that he would get the experience he needed to pursue a track towards some sort of criminal profiling - he got his degree in psychology towards that goal )  but apparently he has a lot of the attributes they look for in fliers, and, as he said when we asked him how he felt about such a huge turn-around, "who doesn't want to fly??". So we'l see how it goes. At any rate, he has another 6 months of "the basic school" for new officers, followed by two years of flight school, so at least he'l be reasonably close by for the immediate future.

[Jellybeans]

Where is HFC?  

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, Jellybeans said:

Where is HFC?  

I recall HFC was going to be moving. Perhaps busy with that?

[Jellybeans]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I recall HFC was going to be moving. Perhaps busy with that?

Thanks.  I missed that post.

[Natalie68]

On 3/20/2017 at 11:28 AM, ChiCricket said:

Ok, one more because my Army daughter was horrified at me posting that picture of her "when she was pregnant with her 2nd child, and FAT, mom!" (her words, not mine..LOL)

So here is a picture of said Army daughter on her wedding day, along with her four siblings. (She can't complain how she looked HERE)

Daughter to the left of the bride works for the airlines (so my husband I fly free:)..such a nice perk! And daughter to the right of bride was a tv reporter/ news anchor, and now is a SAHM of 3, and is planning on doing other tv work (behind the scenes, she said being on air is too much pressure) once they're all in school:)

BTW, these are the high and tight haircuts that make me laugh...(on the inside)..ok..NOW I'm done. ;-)

Beautiful family!

[GeeGolly]

Question - butter, maple syrup and Parmesan cheese; refrigerate after opening or not?

[Barb23]

Butter & cheese - I keep in fridge, even tho my mother leaves her butter out overnight to soften it for her toast

Syrup - I leave out.  I would think the cold would make it thicker.

I guess it's sort of to each his own. Mr Barb grew up with keeping almost everything in fridge. After 32 years of marriage, I still have to remember he puts the crackers in the fridge. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

I live in Houston where bread goes moldy if left on counter in its wrapper for more than 48 hours .

I wouldn't put the maple syrup in the fridge or olive oil. My British family members would leave out butter. My precious grandma, RIP, was born in 1916 and had some crazy ideas about what should and shouldn't go in the fridge. My siblings and I couldn't find the potato chips we'd purchased, and we asked grandma where they were. "I put the crisps in the fridge", she announced, thinking she'd done the right thing.

"Good Lord, Grandma! You put the roast in the pantry, but crisps go in the fridge? If anything needs to go in the fridge, it's that roast! It's a wonder you don't have botulism!", I shrieked incredulously. 

Back in the day, the larder was on the outside wall to preserve food by keeping it cool. I guess old habits die hard, but we all still have a laugh 30 years later.  She's been gone since 2001, and I still miss her.

[frenchtoast]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Question - butter, maple syrup and Parmesan cheese; refrigerate after opening or not?

Mrs. Butterworth's I keep in the pantry, but we don't have that anymore. The kids have been influenced by living in New England, and now the whole family prefers maple syrup which has to be refrigerated.

I keep a stick of butter on the counter in the winter, but it's too warm in the summer. I should note that the house is chilly (thermostat is set to 65/66) and that doesn't soften butter adequately for baking which is annoying. But in the summer, the house is 74, so the be butter gets way too soft. I also have margarine (in the fridge, of course) because I need something spreadable for bread. I keep bread in its bag in a bread box. Lasts longer for me than in the fridge.

And finally, I get the bags of shredded parm from the cheese area of the deli, not the Kraft one by the pastas, and that is sold refrigerated so I keep it refrigerated. I can leave it out on the counter for serving and putting it back because it's a hard cheese and would take longer to go off--unlike something like, say, ricotta. 

[bigskygirl]

Question for the lucky ones who deal with hypothyroidism. My physician assistant suggested I go to the brand name of the medication I take after my wonderful season of life radiation ablation treatment in December 2012. I started feeling like absolute crap two weeks after taking generic Levothyroxin, and my thyroid hormone levels change more times over the last five years, plus the specialist I see thinks I am sensitive to the med. Any suggestions or ideas will be greatly appreciated because feeling like crap for too long is no walk in the park. I know the specialist I see probably will be willing to change meds if possible, but I do not want to end up on something else which may make me more sick and miserable.

[EVS]

Is the brand name tirosent or something like that?

[McManda]

Ooh, I get to use my work knowledge! I'm just a tech so no real clinical knowledge, but maybe a good starting point.

Brand name would be Synthroid (tablets) or Tirosint (capsules). Have you been on one of the brand names before? Did it work for you? This is one of those meds where there is a difference between brand and generic, and my pharmacist usually advises against switching between the two with any sort of regularity, mostly because it's tricky enough to regulate hormones (instead of one being "better" or having more agreeable inactive ingredients or something). If you started with brand Synthroid and did fine with it, it's possible that a switch to generic levothyroxine could be the issue.

If you haven't been on either before, I'd touch base with the doctor and let him know. It could be too much/too little hormone regulation.

If Synthroid/levothyroxine was working for you and now is not, there are a couple different options. One is to try a different medication - some people respond better to Armour Thyroid (or its generic, NP Thyroid) or Nature-Throid. They're what came before Synthroid and are non-synthetic - they're made using porcine thyroid glands, so you get both T3 and  T4 hormones. (Synthroid is pure T4.)

If you're against using animal products and would rather keep using Synthroid/levothyroxine, it's possible to add in a T3 medication called Cytomel (or its generic liothyronine). As far as I know, measuring those levels is a different blood test that they don't always run when monitoring T4 levels.

I'd strongly recommend talking to your doctor and/or your pharmacist. Both could help further that I can, but maybe at least I got you thinking about some talking points.

Good luck!

[EVS]

I used to take the generic levothyroxine but it made my heart race. I had an issue with armor thyroid also, but I don't remember what it was. I've been taking Tirosint (Thanks for the correct spelling McManda) for about a year and it does not elevate my heart rate. I still have very low energy but I also have an autoimmune disorder which affects that. Tirosint is more expensive though. 

[zoomama]

on a totally different subject, i just head on the news that jon gosslein (kate + 8) is doing a one night only strip show with male dance revue group. OMG ---- it never ends with him.   

[EVS]

7 minutes ago, zoomama said:

on a totally different subject, i just head on the news that jon gosslein (kate + 8) is doing a one night only strip show with male dance revue group. OMG ---- it never ends with him.   

I read that also. Unless it's some kind of spoof/comedy act, I can't imagine anyone paying him to strip. At least it's only one night, I guess.

[bigskygirl]

1 hour ago, McManda said:

Ooh, I get to use my work knowledge! I'm just a tech so no real clinical knowledge, but maybe a good starting point.

Brand name would be Synthroid (tablets) or Tirosint (capsules). Have you been on one of the brand names before? Did it work for you? This is one of those meds where there is a difference between brand and generic, and my pharmacist usually advises against switching between the two with any sort of regularity, mostly because it's tricky enough to regulate hormones (instead of one being "better" or having more agreeable inactive ingredients or something). If you started with brand Synthroid and did fine with it, it's possible that a switch to generic levothyroxine could be the issue.

If you haven't been on either before, I'd touch base with the doctor and let him know. It could be too much/too little hormone regulation.

If Synthroid/levothyroxine was working for you and now is not, there are a couple different options. One is to try a different medication - some people respond better to Armour Thyroid (or its generic, NP Thyroid) or Nature-Throid. They're what came before Synthroid and are non-synthetic - they're made using porcine thyroid glands, so you get both T3 and  T4 hormones. (Synthroid is pure T4.)

If you're against using animal products and would rather keep using Synthroid/levothyroxine, it's possible to add in a T3 medication called Cytomel (or its generic liothyronine). As far as I know, measuring those levels is a different blood test that they don't always run when monitoring T4 levels.

I'd strongly recommend talking to your doctor and/or your pharmacist. Both could help further that I can, but maybe at least I got you thinking about some talking points.

Good luck!

@McManda  I have been on generic levothyroxine since late January 2013 after having a Radiation Ablation Treatment to zap my thyroid cells due to Graves Disease (an autoimmune thyroid disorder-hyperthyroidism.) I started taking the medication and within two weeks I started having some nasty hyperthyroid symptoms. The nitwit out of town doctor lowered the dosage, but the symptoms have not went away due to the fact he would argue with me by saying I could not be having any side effects to the med, and I was borderline hyperthyroid. Wrong!!! I was hyperthyroid for the first two years (give or take three months.)

Since the treatment and the starting of the medication, I have been diagnosed with hyper or hypothyroidism, eye damage/light sensitivity, severe sleep apnea, tmj, acid reflux disease, gastritis, borderline stomach slow digestion, trouble swallowing at times, allergies and sensitivity to smells have gotten worse, and I feel like I have a cold, the flu and more allergies are kicking in at the same time. I also have chest pain/tightness, racing heart rate/palpations, and asthma type symptoms. Before my hyperthyroidism came back in August 2012, I was only on one medication. I am on six medications and take calcium supplements because I am at a higher risk of osteoporosis due to the two stomach medications I am on, plus eye drops due to dry eyes/eye pain. I cannot take the cold or the heat because I become sick and miserable. The specialist I see now told me I could be sensitive to the med I am on now, and he has been working hard to find the right med dosage for me for two years. I am surprise I have not ended up in the ER or the hospital once in the last four years. I have had more blood tests, medical procedures, and medical appointments in the last two years than my husband who was diagnosed with acute renal failure in November 2000 and was given two weeks to live, and a new kidney on April 27, 2004. The idiot out of town quack told me if I had the radiation treatment my quality of life would improve, I would feel better, and hypothyroidism is easier to treat. I am grateful the local hospital finally got a new specialist over two years ago because I know my health would have downhill more if I would have kept going to the other doctor.

[lookeyloo]

For @bigskygirl - I finally settled on levoxyl which is a T4 and a compounded sustained release T3. I have been on this for a long time. When we moved here the three doctors I saw refused to give me what I was taking for over 15 years saying it would kill me!  I was feeling fine on them. They gave me low doses of armour and then nature throid. I might have done okay on them if they gave me enough. If you read up in it there are several different schools of thought on reference ranges for the tsh and T4 and T3. http://hypothyroidmom.com/is-your-thyroid-doctor-using-the-old-tsh-lab-standardshttp://hypothyroidmom.com/is-your-thyroid-doctor-using-the-old-tsh-lab-standards/

I had a checkup with my oncologist 3 months ago and when he asked me how I was feeling I just let it all out about the endocrinologists not giving me what I needed. I told him what my blood levels used to be and he said "that won't kill you and I will write the prescriptions and you can come here for blood work". And now I feel normal again. 

Get your blood work and make sure they don't rely just on the TSH. It is miserable to know your body isn't functioning correctly and no one will help. 

Keep us posted. 

[McManda]

Oh yeah, I forgot Levoxyl. Also an option.

I'd definitely talk to your doctor about running  a full blood panel. As a specialist he might have already, but it does sound like there are some missing pieces, especially if the only thing he's tried is adjusting your dose of levothyroxine with such severe symptoms. 

May I ask what kind of dose you're on? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but it sounds like you're basically looking at using medication to replace your thyroid function, so I'd imagine is a higher dose. Synthroid is available commercially up to 300mcg, but it's possible to go higher either by compounding a dose or combining two different strengths.

[bigskygirl]

@McManda I am on 75 mcg right now. The specialist and physician assistant have run blood tests and thyroid blood tests over the last two years seeing if something else or another medical condition are causing my symptoms. We have tried something like 50 mcg one day and 75 mcg the next day, but it cause my levels to go off to hypothyroid one month to hyperthyroid a couple of weeks later. The specialist I see now knows what he is doing, and I can tell he is frustrated like I am over the whole thing. The first doctor probably made mistakes and kept me on too high of a dosage for two years which I think is part of the problem. I could have had thyroiditis after I started taken the med, but he did not catch it. I had thyroid blood tests last week, and they both came back within the normal range (and yes, they did change the testing ranges on the tests.) I was on 100 mcg at first when my levels went wacky, and I was put on a lower dosage of 88 mcg six weeks after I started taking the med, but the symptoms kept getting worse. Like I also said, it did not help when the first specialist and other doctors would not listen to me when I said I felt like crap almost 24/7. It was not until I started putting my foot down and kept pushing them and switching doctors until they started checking for other possible things. In fact, the specialist I see now did checked certain things when I told him I was feeling sick and miserable after drinking the nasty stuff for my colonoscopy/EGD tests in late December. He also did a thyroid ultrasound and sent me back for an EKG because of palpations and chest pain/tightness I was having last year.

[lookeyloo]

21 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

@McManda I am on 75 mcg right now. The specialist and physician assistant have run blood tests and thyroid blood tests over the last two years seeing if something else or another medical condition are causing my symptoms. We have tried something like 50 mcg one day and 75 mcg the next day, but it cause my levels to go off to hypothyroid one month to hyperthyroid a couple of weeks later. The specialist I see now knows what he is doing, and I can tell he is frustrated like I am over the whole thing. The first doctor probably made mistakes and kept me on too high of a dosage for two years which I think is part of the problem. I could have had thyroiditis after I started taken the med, but he did not catch it. I had thyroid blood tests last week, and they both came back within the normal range (and yes, they did change the testing ranges on the tests.) I was on 100 mcg at first when my levels went wacky, and I was put on a lower dosage of 88 mcg six weeks after I started taking the med, but the symptoms kept getting worse. Like I also said, it did not help when the first specialist and other doctors would not listen to me when I said I felt like crap almost 24/7. It was not until I started putting my foot down and kept pushing them and switching doctors until they started checking for other possible things. In fact, the specialist I see now did checked certain things when I told him I was feeling sick and miserable after drinking the nasty stuff for my colonoscopy/EGD tests in late December. He also did a thyroid ultrasound and sent me back for an EKG because of palpations and chest pain/tightness I was having last year.

Interesting. Because when I was on the low dose of armour I had palpitations and chest pain so severe I ended up in the ER  and then admitted. By morning my chest pain was gone but they did a whole bunch of tests including a heart cath and miraculously I have zero plaque in my coronary arteries. Cardiologist told me an improper dose of thyroid meds can cause these symptoms. But still have to rule out heart issues. 

[bigskygirl]

I had a treadmill stress test and a treadmill stress test/echocardiogram to rule out heart disease, heart damage or blocked coronary arteries because of the chest pain/tightness and palpitations. I was told the chest pain/tightness and asthma type symptoms was due to acid reflux disease after I had a chest xray and lung function test. I cannot go out in the heat for long periods of time because it can cause the chest pressure and asthma type symptoms to act up.

[emma675]

bigskygirl, when is the last time they checked your thyroid antibodies (TSI, TRab, TPOAb)? If you've still got high TSI levels, that can totally mess with your ability to process thyroid meds correctly. Also, are they looking at your Free T3 and Free T4 when they run labs? If you've got high FT3, it can cause some of your symptoms. Back when I was on a T4-only med, my doctor insisted that the pharmacy give me brand name (Synthroid) because he was convinced the generics didn't have the same amounts as brands and he found a lot of his patients reacted badly to the fillers the generics used.

Edited March 28, 2017 by emma675d

[bigskygirl]

@emma675  Could you make a list of thyroid antibodies tests on here or send the list to me on a PM so we are not taking over the thread. Ha! I know my doctor and/or physician assistant would not mind ordering the tests. I am a little nervous about trying another med because the med I am on now is not fun. I try to follow the directions for taking my thyroid med (do not eat before or after for 1/2 to one hours, do not take with other meds, do not take calcium or other vitamins for four hours after taking med, take with water, etc. etc.)

[Tabbygirl521]

On 3/26/2017 at 3:17 AM, GeeGolly said:

Question - butter, maple syrup and Parmesan cheese; refrigerate after opening or not?

The pure maple syrup I buy says "refrigerate" on the label, so I do. I nuke it a bit before applying to food. 

I leave butter out, in Tupperware. For whatever it's worth, I work in a commercial baking kitchen and we leave butter out for hours, since we often need softened butter. We sit keep it wrapped. 

I refrigerate my Parm, but I notice Whole Foods leaves theirs at room temp, but it is shrink-wrapped. So I dunno. 

Now how about eggs? In parts of Europe, eggs stay out!

[emma675]

bigskygirl, I pm'ed you!

I read something once that says if you get your eggs straight from chickens on the farm or in your backyard, they don't need to be refrigerated. But if you get them from the store they need to because they are already most likely a month old by the time you get them.  My backyard neighbors have a bunch of chickens (they think they're urban farmers) but they've never shared any with me. I've wanted to see how they compare to my store bought, free range, no antibiotics, no hormones, really well loved chickens, eggs.

[Tabbygirl521]

5 minutes ago, emma675 said:

bigskygirl, I pm'ed you!

I read something once that says if you get your eggs straight from chickens on the farm or in your backyard, they don't need to be refrigerated. But if you get them from the store they need to because they are already most likely a month old by the time you get them.  My backyard neighbors have a bunch of chickens (they think they're urban farmers) but they've never shared any with me. I've wanted to see how they compare to my store bought, free range, no antibiotics, no hormones, really well loved chickens, eggs.

I get my eggs from someone who raises their own chickens, and I do notice a difference in flavor from the kind you describe. The taste is more noticeable and richer, somehow. And the yolks are gorgeous orange!

[Andalusian]

3 hours ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

I get my eggs from someone who raises their own chickens, and I do notice a difference in flavor from the kind you describe. The taste is more noticeable and richer, somehow. And the yolks are gorgeous orange!

We wash our eggs in America(and Japan) with an enzyme that goes through the protection on the porous shell.

This was a really good article I read on it if you're interested -- plus it has pictures of beautiful colored eggs!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/insider/why-do-americans-refrigerate-their-eggs.html?_r=0

[GeeGolly]

I refrigerate eggs, but my mom would leave them out for a couple of days if she had many, like at Easter or prepping for old fashioned baked sales. She did grow up on a farm until she was a teen, I never asked her, but maybe they never refrigerated them then.

[Nysha]

My grandma was born in 1910 and grew up on a farm. She kept her eggs in a wire basket on the counter. She didn't refrigerate her mayo, ketchup, or mustard, either. 

[Jynnan tonnix]

15 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I refrigerate eggs, but my mom would leave them out for a couple of days if she had many, like at Easter or prepping for old fashioned baked sales. She did grow up on a farm until she was a teen, I never asked her, but maybe they never refrigerated them then.

I've always them out for a couple of days under those circumstances as well, as they always leave them out in Europe, and I figured it was just typicalAmerican overreaction, but I recently googled the question, as I wasn't sure of the whys and wherefores, and learned that in Europe chickens are routinely vaccinated against salmonella, while in the USA they are not, therefore they really should be refrigerated here. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

To all the Texas posters: Y'all stay dry and off the roads until this line of storms passes thru your area...I know the DFW metroplex was hard hit. Houston is about to "get it". Let us all know how you are.

[MunichNark]

Why on earth would anyone put ketchup in the fridge?? Butter is just fine outside as well, unless it's roasting hot.

Eggs are funny, I spent quite a bit of time in the UK and eggs are always put in the cold section, yet here in Germany, eggs are never refrigerated. It still horrifies me, since salmonella stories abounded in the UK. I do keep mine in the fridge.

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, MunichNark said:

Why on earth would anyone put ketchup in the fridge?? Butter is just fine outside as well, unless it's roasting hot.

Eggs are funny, I spent quite a bit of time in the UK and eggs are always put in the cold section, yet here in Germany, eggs are never refrigerated. It still horrifies me, since salmonella stories abounded in the UK. I do keep mine in the fridge.

Ketchup is so much better when it's cold!

[GeeGolly]

I refrigerate eggs, ketchup, maple syrup, Parm cheese and butter sort of. We refrigerate the butter we purchase but leave a half of stick out on the counter until it's used up. That's the way I grew up as well. One of my sisters-in-law thought I was crazy for refrigerating maple syrup. One of my kids asked many years ago why we refrigerate ketchup, because McDonald's leaves there packets of ketchup out. Then every year or two the 'eggs shouldn't be kept on the fridge door because its not cold enough' makes the rounds. I find it confusing and amusing of why we do what we do with certain foods.

[emma675]

Woo, we had some wicked storms in Dallas early Wednesday morning. I had my trees trimmed in December and I'm so glad I did because a bunch of my neighbors didn't and they have trees down right and left. A few streets behind me still don't have power yet and there are no time estimates from the power company for when it will come back on.

What's funny/ironic is that a few neighbors who routinely complain about and block the power company trying to access their backyards to trim the trees are the ones who lost power because trees fell on the lines. The power company totally goes to town hacking back trees near the lines but I always give them access to do it in my backyard because I don't want to lose power during storms!

[zoomama]

i have family in the northeast dallas area and i saw that they (figuratively, not literally) got smacked in this storm. they showed rockwall on our news here in cali. my kids are south of ft worth so they did fine, this time. 

[lookeyloo]

1 hour ago, emma675 said:

Woo, we had some wicked storms in Dallas early Wednesday morning. I had my trees trimmed in December and I'm so glad I did because a bunch of my neighbors didn't and they have trees down right and left. A few streets behind me still don't have power yet and there are no time estimates from the power company for when it will come back on.

What's funny/ironic is that a few neighbors who routinely complain about and block the power company trying to access their backyards to trim the trees are the ones who lost power because trees fell on the lines. The power company totally goes to town hacking back trees near the lines but I always give them access to do it in my backyard because I don't want to lose power during storms!

When we lived in Louisiana in hurricane/tornado country we routinely had an arborist trim the trees around our house.  He thinned them correctly and took out anything dead.  He never guaranteed they would survive those storms, but he said they would stand a much better chance.  they weren't near power lines, but, we were responsible for them.  Best investment.  Neighbors had issues, and we didn't.  

[Barbie]

    Just watched a youtube special about the Rayford family from UK..... 

they have 19 now.... I will never understand wanting this many kids... 

[Love2dance]

1 hour ago, Barbie said:

    Just watched a youtube special about the Rayford family from UK..... 

 

they have 19 now.... I will never understand wanting this many kids... 

So the good news is, the father actually WORKS, the children go to a real school, the older children are allowed to go away to college, and the daughter who lives with her boy friend and two babies is completely accepted. Waaaaaaay too many kids, but what a refreshing family after watching the Duggars.

[ChocolateAddict]

My 90 year old great uncle (by marriage) was one in 15.  His parents lived in a small town in the US, were very Catholic and I believe started having children at 18 or 19.  They weren't actively trying for a big family like the Duggars but she was an amazingly fertile woman and they didn't believe in family planning. That said, they were fairly spaced out over 24 years or something like that.  There was actually never a time in his childhood where all 15 of the kids were together because the oldest boy joined the army, the second oldest boy joined the navy, the oldest sister married and moved away, etc.  He was the second youngest and by the time he was born, the older children had already begun moving out.  It wasn't until their parents 50th wedding anniversary that all the kids actually came together and he ended up with more than 100 nieces and nephews just on his side of the family because they all reproduced like bunnies (clearly fertility ran in the family!). 

He said that as much as he loved all his brothers and sisters, he only had a close relationship with a couple of them because, despite what the Duggars say, you aren't automatically going to be best friends with all your siblings, especially with such a big age gap. He also felt a little sad that he couldn't actually name all his nieces and nephews and again, it was hard to build relationships with so many of them.  There is also a little bit of resentment with the middle kids who never really got the attention that the oldest and youngest children got because their parents were so busy and couldn't give them that one-on-one time. 

While they all love each other, none of the kids went on to hit double digits with their own broods.  My great uncle in particular wanted 4 or 5, certainly not 10 or 11. I always loved listening to his stories about growing up because you don't see that in Australia today.  It's also an interesting contrast to the Duggars who insist that everyone is best friends and they all love spending every day with their siblings. In his family, the oldest moved out because they weren't interested in living with the under 10 crowd and frankly, had to get jobs.  The Duggars could probably learn a few lessons! 

Edited April 2, 2017 by ChocolateAddict

[Love2dance]

Thinking about all our friends in the South and hoping you are safe during the storms today. Hugs and safe wishes for you all.

[lookeyloo]

3 hours ago, Love2dance said:

Thinking about all our friends in the South and hoping you are safe during the storms today. Hugs and safe wishes for you all.

Although I'm not back in Louisiana where there was that giant flood last August, we did have some serious weather pass through metro Atlanta.  So thanks for your thoughts.  We are also thinking of our former Louisiana folks whose houses flooded again after the rains last night.  What a mess for those poor people.  They were just about ready to move back in.