Originally Posted by 01gt4.6 (Post 35870)

okay today is Friday so I got to weigh in. I hopped on the scale 17 times to make up for lost time. j/k

Originally Posted by 01gt4.6 (Post 35870)

okay today is Friday so I got to weigh in. I hopped on the scale 17 times to make up for lost time. j/k

Originally Posted by cjohnson728 (Post 35882)

Great mental picture :D Hope you logged all those plyometrics!

Originally Posted by mtlgirl (Post 35884)

I hope you liked what you saw 17 times!

Originally Posted by quinnesec (Post 35660)

Caroline,

I couldn't agree with you more about date night! Anyone who has read my posts for the last year, knows that I'm a huge fan of this. My husband and I have set aside Friday as date night for over 20 years. Can I throw in my 2 cents worth as one of the "old ladies" on here? :o

I can't say that my husband and I have ever gone through a "rough patch". In fact, people that know us well would tell you that we never even fight. When people comment on our marriage or ask how we do it, we always tell them the same thing:

Never say anything negative about your spouse to anyone. You should be each others biggest, most vocal cheerleaders.

Always present a united parenting front to your children. If you disagree about something, talk it over in private, then stand united.

Be kind, respectful, courteous and polite to each other always! Even if you want to say something hurtful, don't.

Set aside a date night that is non-negotiable! If daughter wants to have a sleep over that night, tough. If son wants to have the guys over for pizza, tough. This is your night. Dress as you would when you were dating... both of you.

And, I know it's cliché, but be each others best friend always. Don't put girlfriends (or for him, buddies) ahead of your spouse... ever. This one is really easy for us because we were best friends for many, many years before it ever occurred to us to ever date. When we were single and just friends, we would call each other after dates with other people and say how awful it was... in detail. Believe me... I heard some stories... but we don't have any secrets, that's for sure. I told him everything and he told me everything. We whined to one another for years that there were no good people left out there to date. Sometimes exactly what you're looking for is right under your nose. ;)

Originally Posted by Mern (Post 35717)

Caroline, you are one smart cookie! DH and I will be married for 40 years this July. He worked afternoon shift most of the time until our kids were almost out of high school, so it was a lot like single-parenting for me--our boy and girl together and his two boys from his first marriage every other weekend. Oh, how I wish I'd known way back then that it's not only OK, but highly advisable to set aside one day a week for date night. We made it through and are both now retired, so it's a lot easier now and our marriage is a lot happier. :)...

Originally Posted by almeeker (Post 35684)

Michelle, I have a friend who's stepson was having terrible bullying issues. She didn't really know what to do for him so she ended up taking him to a martial arts program for self defense. It was a wonderful solution for him, and boosted his self esteem to the point where he isn't "victim" material anymore. Before the situation was completely resolved there was an incident where the biggest bully grab hold of him and was about to draw blood, but her son knew exactly how to reverse the hold and ended up with the bully pinned to the ground. Anyway by the time an adult arrived, there were enough witnesses that my friends' stepson didn't get in trouble. The bully swung first, and all her kid did was defend himself. He didn't even hurt the bully, well, he maybe damaged his pride a little.