So, Joe wants to buy me some jewelry for Valentine's Day. I've been thinking that I want some sort of mother-child necklace, but I'm not sure what I want. Not anything too sweet/cutesy, but something that represents Ellie and Frisco in some way. Amy suggestions?

Also, relatedly, if vwbug is around, I really liked that ladybug necklace you had but can't remember that name you told me. Any chance they sell online?

The cost for our beagle-mix puppy is about $230/year for accident/illness coverage, not routine care, with a $200 deductible. They'll accept bills from any licensed vet in the US.

One of our Giardia visits was $500+.

I hoping, of course, that the hivemind has used a company and has a hate/love opinion.

eta: Stephanie, when we got a necklace for my mother with all of her grandchildren represented by their birthstones we went to a jeweler who helped us design something she'd actually wear.

Since I don't have any children, and I still paid my 1/3, I felt free to tell my sisters they were dumb for having children that needed to be represented by diamonds, emeralds and rubies.

So, Joe wants to buy me some jewelry for Valentine's Day. I've been thinking that I want some sort of mother-child necklace, but I'm not sure what I want. Not anything too sweet/cutesy, but something that represents Ellie and Frisco in some way. Amy suggestions?

Because I'm going crazy waiting for news about my new niece who should be being born sometime today, dang it, I am searching Etsy for ideas for you, Stephanie!

So far:

[link]

[link]

Also, not jewelry but tattoos! Ones my friends got to represent their being moms:

[link] [link]

We have two dogs and have never had health insurance for them. For the most part, our bills are just for routine shots and stuff. When we lived in Colorado, we had a few incidents (porcupine attack and allergic reaction to pine sap) that could have cost us big bucks but didn't. I think $230 per year is a lot, especially with a deductible.

I know this is opposite what I just said, but I can't imagine you would generally spend that much on non-routine care.

oh, i really like the bird nest one. Tattoos are a bit scary for me, but still cool.

I feel for your SIL - she's been waiting since Sunday, right? I hope your niece hurries up and makes her appearance.

For our two dogs and cat we never had insurance. You have to weigh the cost against how often a catastrophic incident will come into play--the giardia or an accident. A lot of policies don't cover genetic defects or pre-existing conditions with dogs (our case of hip dysplasia in Sam wouldn't have covered hip surgery for example). Overall, a once-a-year appointment for us for check ups would run about $200 per dog so there's the deductible.

Overall, a once-a-year appointment for us for check ups would run about $200 per dog so there's the deductible.

Does routine care count against the deductible? Also, is it like car insurance, deductible per incident rather than cumulative? Those would make a big difference.

I think I'd have to say that unless you had some inkling that Miss Sass was likely to be sickly (say it ain't so!) then it's probably not going to come out in your favor.

I feel for your SIL - she's been waiting since Sunday, right? I hope your niece hurries up and makes her appearance.

She's been in the hospital since Sunday. And they did a "foley bulb" that night according to my brother. Is that when they try to manually dilate the cervix? But nothing happened.

My parents should be out there now so I'm going to call them in a few minutes and see if i can get an update that way.

And they did a "foley bulb" that night according to my brother. Is that when they try to manually dilate the cervix? But nothing happened.

That doesn't even sound remotely fun. I hope things start moving soon for her.

Labor-ma to your SiL, libkitty!

I wrote up a post on my training blog about tips for finding a massage therapist. I figured I would share in case it helps anyone: [link]