I'm happy you found a solution to your problem Cena. Today i ran into a similiar problem. I went home for lunch to notice my geraniums had been pulled up. The hay was spread back over my soil. I live in a townhouse and a portion of my very expensive HOA fee goes to the upkeep of the community. I went to asked the landscaping guys what happened and no one was able to give me an explanation. I huffed and puffed and called the owner and manager of the company. They insist they do not pull up flowers without written consent. I am soooo mad, Thankfully my bed in the back of the townhome was not touched but my pansies that were replanted by my a/c unit have been pulled up and my flowers in the front of my house are gone. I can not get an answer from the HOA on what to do about it. But the owner of the landscaping company told me that the contract was terminated this morning and as of june 11th they will no longer be servicing our community. I nevered thought i could get so mad behind my flowers. But they have changed they way the front of my house looks now and that is NOT RIGHT.

Hi everyone, Well, I'm happy to report this (ripoff) problem has been resolved! DH called the flooring manager today and spoke with him. We own a business also, and dh is a good negotiator, so I "let" him call. LOL! He explained the situation. The man immediately said they could not accept "special order" tile back. Blah, blah, blah. DH had a long conversation with the manager, and even mentioned that his salesman had offered me the tile from another source for less. Of course the manager didn't believe us and thought he meant because they have more than one supplier to stock their store. DH didn't argue, but of course that's NOT what the salesman said when he whispered to me over the desk and said I'd have to trust him since I'd be paying him. Ick.... still makes my skin crawl. Anyhoo, the manager was not going to take the tile back. DH told him we had more to order today, but needed to resolve this first, and said "did you notice the total sale on our tile was almost $17,000.?! And the manager said he did. Then DH pulled out the big guns (many of you suggested it... wish I would have logged on and read this first to get dh straight to it... LOL). He said "well, we're building an 11,000 square foot house, and my wife had thought to furnish much of our home from your large showroom, but obviously we won't be shopping in your store again. That got him! Suddenly he had a call to make and wanted to do something to help us out. First we were basically liars and his salesman was they best they had, and I was mistaken and wrong, and suddenly when they see dollar signs they're going to work with us. Made me really disappointed that it took that, but at this point I didn't want to give in to the slimy salesman. He obviously does things like this to other people. I can't believe that I am the first!! The manager called dh back after some time, and said they'll take it back for 20% restocking fee and $60.00 shipping fee. They "found one of their vendors who would take it back". Hmmm. Supposedly they couldn't take it back under any condition. Wonder why the rules changed?! :o~ LOL! So we decided to just go with their pathetic offer. We don't want this tile sitting in our garage. It is not my favorite tile, so I would not want to save it for another project like a future guest house or whatever (believe me, dh tried to talk me into that... LOL). OUr wonderful tile guy loaded all of the extra up with his helpers and took it over to their store, and picked up the remaining tile we need for our hallway tiling. He had a nice discussion with the manager about how his clients really liked their furniture store and intended to go back for some large purchases..... until today! The manager felt bad and apologized for the misunderstanding. They do have a sign posted that there are no returns on special orders. But tile man stuck up for me and said that of course when his client was in there shopping, she was not looking at little bitty signs on the desk but looking around at tile and designing her spaces. And that when their salesman suggested an extra 10% tile to my tile order, because of course we could return whatever we didn't use, it became "their problem". The manager agreed. Our tile man also advised the manager that he refers about a million dollars in tile sales to that area of that state each year, and it would be a shame if he had to say "except for XXXXX store. They'll rip you off, so avoid them! The manager about choked on that comment and was super apologetic! A few of the tiles were broken when he returned them today. I actually received broken tiles in my order, so when the manager said "oh, you've got a few broken tiles in here" my tile man said "yes, and that's how we received them. They are yours now". And the manager just gave up and accepted them. Brother!! I still don't think they realize they have a weasel working for them. I won't be the one to point it out. But maybe when about 10 other attractive female customers report that he's offering them lower prices if they buy thru him, they'll realize he is not a good representative for their company. Sorry if they didn't want to hear it today. So all's well. I would have preferred ALL my money back since the salesman said that, but sometimes you just give a little to "get" what you need. And I needed that tile out of my garage. :o) Thanks for your great advice. I'm relieved this is over. On to the next saga...... LOL!

Wish you had an extra pair of hands to help! When we had a cat, it took both DH and I and lots of cussing and struggles to get meds down him! I think if you squirted it on her paws thats good. They will hate to have anything on themselves and will lick it all off to be clean. Ours would get hair balls and vet said take a little vaseline and just smear it on the paws and that would help. So I think that would be good for the antacid too. Sorry about your wounds Janie!

Hello all How nice to have advice, I tell ya, My kids are grown, and I am really rusty at this stuff. I have got so much comfort from this help. To Sweeby, I can't get away with nothin, lol very observant of you. Thank you for the time you have taken here. And, I am starting to believe that, yes there is something a bit off, when a child is told the permission has to be recieved for the computer, but only for supervision, not to say no, and 5 minutes later, she sneaks again, and we have another talk, and the next 5 days are all the same. That is just amazing. The places she goes are all pg healthy disney type sites, so that's not the incentive. I have to say I am wondering if just being defiant isn't the jolly she is looking for. And if you look at just this disobediance, and not the rest maybe its normal, but I would have never pushed an adult several times a day, day after day, and it's important to point out, I am NOT a comfortable auntie she has known all her life, I am a new person in her life. That concerns me because of the problems she will have if she is like this with teachers and other parents. And it appears she is. So I think , like you probably do,Two or three talks is alot, but maybe normal. This was was 9 or 10, To put me in a place to do that, must have been some of the power she was after, I just don't know, but It will never happen again. Trying not to rock the boat, left my about to sink the ship i think. Don't laugh, but I honestly believe she purposely didn't let the dog out so I would have to clean the carpet from urine for a week back in the beginning.. She was sitting 3 feet from the door, where her dog peed, and it was the third time that morning, So I reminded her every half hour. I didnt make the lunch she requested, and she was a bit peeved about it. I had told her mother I felt she should clean these oversites, because we have all been clear she is responsible for letting her dog out. But mamma quickly said no, she would clean it when she got home from work. I knew right then, I may be heading for a real power trip. Plus, I believe she got this fairy tale notion, that at my house, she would be a princess, with control of the days, and that I would not be like another adult/parent figure. From what I have read, 10 year olds didnt know they didn't necessarily have to mind, just a few months ago, and so defying is a bit of an experiment, that we have to endure till they get sick of consequences, they may pay a price, but they need to learn it the hard way, just in case you are not going to follow thru, so I imagine, when I was telling her to pick up her shoes, close the door, no wet towels on the rug please, she was disappointed. And a bit angry too. Just when she is an age where she is finding adult commands tiring, she gets another bossy adult to deal with. Of course, thats just too bad, but I do think this has a hand in her difficult moods. And no, she is not a monster. No one thinks that here I am sure, I certainly don't either. But she has learned manipulation, and she has come to rely on it too heavily. I have talked to her mother, she tries to get her way with me by implying her mom cant do anything for her because she works all the time. With her her mother it's that I am not attentive and wont do any thing with her, sorta the same. So the next time she is working one of us against the other,to get what she wants, (and yes it is normal, but it is running rampant in this house) Mom and are are casually are going to talk to each other right then, in front of her. There will be no fireworks, just state what was said, and then of course deny there is any truth to it, she will see the consequence. We will go on about our day, not punishing for he lie, for the time being, and I hope; in time, she will stop, because it just doesnt work. Sounds reasonable to me, and watch next week Ill be writting how I screwed that up too lol Your advice to be firm but always kind opened my eyes, I was not being firm often enough, she was so tough, and I had told her so many time, that by then time I got firm, being kind was beyond me. I tried not to look mad, but I was mad and that always shows. Seek, I do not by any stretch think this little girl is a phychopath. I think that she was in a place in her world, where at some point this manipulation was all that worked for her. I think things are better now, but she has made such good use of it she doesnt see any reason to give it up. But she spends so much effort and energy at it, she isnt thriving in any other areas, She has too much to keep straight, and too many people to keep from talking to one another. Her school performance last year was pathetic, with f's even. It's not easy to get an f in the 4th grade. I think that this is just something kids all have to learn, but she has had too few adults in her life to have it backfire before BUT, I am grateful to have you say she sounds normal, You have no idea. I dont have a clue either way to be honest, but it give me hope. And it lets me see, that maybe I am too concerned about a few things, I have let go of a little because of your words. I pick up shoes and various other things as often as I tell her to do it, that was a battle I didnt need. So thanks. Because it has been good for us, LINDAC: You are right on the money, with this thank you thing. I have noticed her mother isnt' setting the world on fire with this social grace either, but there's a twist I cant ignore, mom is deaf in one ear, and I think this has played a role, I have repeated myself to her, and when she hears me, she is graciously appreciative, most of the time. But I have realized that when I thought she heard me and choose to say nothing when a thank you was the standard response, she in fact did not. I have watched her with my son, and i c its something to take into consideration, and it makes me all the more determined because I see that it wasnt modeled for fair reason, and so Ill do it now. And Please Know that your compliment on my parenting, was surprisingly emotional, and extremely comforting. So much so, that my eyes welled up and I had realize that failing at this is part of my frustration. Which is not productive at all. I have to accept this is part of the angst too, I feel like I am failing to get along with a ten year old, and it feels crappy, so doing the normal parenting, "what do you say" has not come automatically, I didnt see that until I read your post, and I am grateful. So confidently and relentlessly, I am going to irritate the hell out of her the way I did my own boys. thank you! BEENTHERE I have actually done what you suggest, and I suspect someone has beat me to this technique, and wore it out, she considers any talking, no matter how hard I try to make it light and easy, as a lecture, and gets snotty for the rest of the day, tho this worked well on my boys, its like blowing in an ashtray with her. Even the praise, she sees right thru. I have had it work, if it was praise for something I had not corrected her on, shes a tough cookie. But she is improving here this last week, and I am hopeful it may be a real change for us all. thanks for the help. To the rest of you, speaking of rules, Ya caught me. It's amazing the way you all nailed me on so much. I have been a wuss about house rules, big time, and I knew it. Seeing it in print made me furious with myself, but thank you. It is my responsibility to state my rules, to keep trouble from popping up, and I was an idiot for being reluctant. I wonder if I can buy a set of balls on ebay, I need some. lol To all of you, I can't seem to make my point with out writting a book the size of "gone with the wind." I actually edit and cut things down, tho I know that is hard to believe. I am sorry. You all have taken so much time and careful consideration,to evaluate my situation,and advise me, because you obviously care to give helpful advice, (and probably because I need it so badly he he) and I am just impressed, surprised, thankful, and most importantly to you, I bet, I have more self confidence in my handling her, and feel sure that my choices are fair, and respect us both. And I am not blowing smoke, Honestly, every post here helped me in ways that I could see happening , and that's big stuff. I really lost it for a while there. I am embarrassed to admit I was downright depressed and hated getting up to face another day. I had no idea what to do. Having someone to vent to and get my head straight was a god send. I had to thank you all. My next post is going to be something like what's your favorite cookie to make with the kids, or what word do you have for Fart or penis. lol I wont be near as needy to get the answers so the thanks i give will be short and sweet i promisel And penis was dinkerdink at our house, In fact I am afraid that became a word in our family's dysfunctional dictionary that stuck to this day. :o) Thanks all Your amazing laurilye