I think even if you share a household, you need to learn some boundaries. To protect yourself, mostly. But also because it's right. True, your mom is too "lazy" to make those albums. But maybe that's just a pipe dream; maybe she thinks she "ought" to put photos in albums, and just can't admit that she doesn't really WANT to. That's often behind people's laziness--the fact that the benefits of that thing are just not apparent. If people don't do something, I believe it's because they don't genuinely WANT to. No matter what their mouth says. (and frankly, there is NO empirical benefit to putting photos in albums w/ fancy paper and stickers. The fancy paper and stickers are make-work, and should be done only by those people who get some sort of artistic satisfaction out of doing it. Your mom obviously doesn't get enough satisfaction to bother with it. She's ALLOWED not to want to actually follow through on her albums. Of course it would be nice if she could be honest with herself and say, "I'm content w/ these photos in boxes, and I'm going to stop kidding myself that I'll really make albums," and then toss the excess scrapbooking stuff. But having only recently been through that process, I can tell you that it's not an easy one. It involves creating an entirely new self-image.) I think you need to stop taking responsibility for "fixing" your mom--whether she's morally deficient ("irresponsible and immature") or ill ("psychological disorder"). You *can't* fix her. She's a grownup, and if she's going to change, it will be only because she wants to. You can't even make her go to a psychiatrist to see if medications would help her (say, if she has OCD), because she is NOT your legal dependent. I think you need to just NOT focus on her, and her stuff. No more going "room to room" and making lists of all the ways she is deficient. I know you live there, but it's not your space. Focus your energy on getting out, and on making your life be what you want. Try to maintain calm and order in the places where it affects you, and then, regarding all else, close your eyes, stick your fingers in your ears, and say "la, la, la!" Try to have your own life settled so that if you *need* to "be there" for your little sisters, you can, but don't take on that responsibility too rapidly. A 17-year-old can watch over a 12-year-old, and your dad is part of the family too. Few people have actually died because the corners of the living room are stacked full of out-of-date textbooks, etc. Also, you need to spend some energy, not on fixing things in your parents' marriage, but on getting OUT from "in between." Stop taking ANYBODY's side in any of their disputes or problem. LEAVE THE ROOM! I'm not trying to be snippy. I'm just trying to make you see that you are reaching beyond where you ought to. And your basic assumption--that *you* need to "fix" all these problems in your parents' lives--is wrong. You need to "declutter" that assumption--toss it in the garbage. That assumption is YOUR equivalent of old issues of magazines, etc. You can't fix those problems. So stop trying to. You'll find it amazingly freeing.

hiding it in her food, or if its a liquid, poor it into her water bowl, add some water, and let her drink it up(dont worry, if a dog is thirsty, she'll drink anything! how do u explain toilet drinking?)take a peice of bread, hid a pil inside it, and give it to her, or stuff it in her mouth,tilt her head so her muzzle points upwards, and gently rub her throat, urging her to swallow it. if u think she did, check her mouth by firmly, but not roughly, squeezing the top of her mouth, and gently forcing it open.

Sethramesh, oh I'm happy you saw my post. :-) Most dogs don't like the halter kind of "collar." I've heard this time and again and it was true for my dogs too. I think they except the Easy Walker much better and folks I've heard from who've tried it loved it... but I haven't tried it myself but intend to get one. The method of training I described should work well with any type of collar... but I remember my daughter's Lab/Boxer as a puppy and man oh man what energy! Had those been out then I'd have definitely gotten my daughter one. Please keep us posted and let us know how this works for you. I teach dog and parrot training and I love feedback. Cutter, thanks! Yes it's very important to set ourselves and our dogs up to succeed, and training is so much more fun that way. I'm with you on not liking jerking... it's not good for me and it's not good for my dog. I end up at the chiropractor's office... and eventually, so does my dog. Shelties are really sweet little dogs. I used to have a pair of them. The only thing I didn't like was the shedding. Wow can they shed. Have fun training your little girl that way. Have you gotten her yet?

We don't have all that much power, believe me! We can 'flag' a post but have zero power to delete someone's comments, thank goodness. The offending post will be masked on your screen, but not on anyone else's. The flagging notifies the administrators to take a look; a post or thread will be yanked only if deemed necessary. It's a great tool, absolutely, as it lets Tamara or others know of a problem. I flag flagrant spam when I see it. And there's been a couple of incidences in the garden forums with an irrational, mean spirited individual who felt it his right to spout all kinds of ugly comments. At first his posts were deleted and I suspect he was given a warning. When he was finally banned, it was a huge relief to everybody. I don't think that I've flagged anyone in this forum. But there sure have been times in the past where I would have. I also think that certain words are triggers for automatic deletion of a post. That's the only way to keep such a large community from becoming a hotbed of potty mouths, lol.