JZ, I do admire your scruples. I just think that, like everyone said, right and wrong gets a little fuzzy when you bring family into the equation. I think you should at least investigate this other possibility, but do so as quickly as possible. If it does turn out that you want to take the other offer, the only remaining scruple I see is letting the other company know as soon as you can.

In unrelated news, the kitten has a cold and keep sneezing on me. Ew.

juliana - would she still be able to pay for it online? If so, then yes, please try! And even if it doesn't pan out, thank you in advance for offering.

I just clipped my kitties' claws. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now they've had some treats for only howling and not scratching me. I expect them to come curl up again soon, but I'm getting the cold shoulder for inflicting such indignities.

I'm fortunate that my cat thinks that the occasional claw clipping is no big deal. He just sits in my lap until I'm finished with him.

The dog, however, is a totally different story. His front nails refuse to wear down, even with daily walks on concrete. And ninety pounds of (mostly) muscle fighting against you while you have the clippers in one hand, his paw in the other, and your entire body pinning him down... I'll just say that it's not a simple task.

Even the vet won't attempt it unless they already have him under anesthesia for his teeth cleanings. Years ago a vet assistant thought I was a wuss until he almost knocked her out by hitting her in the face with his big 'ol knot-head and then he let his bowels loose all over her shoes.

Congratulations, Jilli!

Thanks for all the support ... I really was freaking for a while there. In order to calm myself and get some sleep, I ended up making a hot toddy. It helped. A lot.

I think at this point, I've simmered down to "displeased" with the lack of choices. And to be honest with you, I could be a lot happier with the medical plan with the huge deductible if we also had Flex Spending or cafeteria-plan HSAs so that this stuff could come out pre-tax. We'd get better control of the financial hit we have to take, as well as stretching the dollars. But this company won't do Direct Deposit for our paychecks on the grounds that it costs them too much. Not knowing how spendy it is for a company to deal with Flex Spending, etc., I'm guessing that it's going to be too much for the company as well.

Okay, I'm skipping a hundred and something posts because if I don't write it now I'll forget:

The kids have Golden Time just now (Friday afternoon), which means they can do whatever they like. Lachlan and Ronan have just come up to me with some shadow puppets they have made.

Lachlan: Look! We've made puppets! Our story is called 'The Giant Volcano and the Killer Bombs.'

Me: ....does it have a happy ending?

Ronan: No!

Me: I sort of suspected as much.

Lachlan: This boy goes into the volcano! And then the bomb comes out and he dies!

Me: !!!!!!!!

Ronan: Well...maybe he die and then he go to heaven! And become an angel! And can does magic!

Lachlan: No. He just dies.

Ronan: And comes back! Like Jesus!

Lachlan: And he comes back as a lion. And then somebody kills him, so he's dead.

Ronan:.....

Me: ...nope, not a very happy ending at all, then. But what a fantastic story!

(They're presently trying to show the story to the other kids, many of whom are busy with lego/building swords out of scrap paper/drawing flowers with sketch pens/other such pursuits)

Oh geez. My sister, bless her heart, is *just now* trying to find a Wii to get the kidlets for Christmas. As in this Christmas. Crazy woman.

Oh yikes! Good luck. They have been in limited supply for over a year now. I finally got mine in the late spring and that was after a few months of keeping an eye out for one.

And he comes back as a lion.

Bless. Your kids are adorable, Fay.

Excellent story, Fay, that reminds me of Tina, King of Monster Island.

I'm kind of exhausted. Emmett found out there was no Santa Claus tonight. There were tears. And more tears.

And much talking about it and he was okay when he went to bed.

But he kind of killed me when he said, "It was just nice believing that there was somebody as good as Santa in the world. It was just nice to believe that."

Aww! Poor Emmett!

"It was just nice believing that there was somebody as good as Santa in the world. It was just nice to believe that."

Kinda killed me, too.