I do hope you took her to the vet already. My dog had a swollen toe, which I didn't think was a real problem since it didn't affect her walking or seem to bother her at all. I had taken her to the vet for other things and they noticed the toe, but didn't seem too concerned of it, so I figured they would know and left it as just another in a long line of benign bumps she'd previously developed. It became a natural part of life for months until it suddenly turned dark and made her limp, at which time I panicked and took her in. My deepest nightmare and regret... Even after they surgically took the toe off, she developed Mast Cell cancer from it. The surgery was too late and killed her about a month later. The kicker here is that once the toe turned dark, my vets relayed of their having heard of many other dogs getting Mast Cell cancer from swollen toes before and that if ever a dog had a swollen toe you should just take it off and not chance it, because even if it's benign in the beginning, the chances are it will turn later, and probably too late. These are the same vets that noticed it earlier and didn't say a damn thing! I'm angry and frustrated and just don't understand. I miss my girl terribly and feel I truly let her down. I know I was in denial and should have investigated further and not just count on bumbling doctors not paying attention or simply not giving a damn. I think I was afraid of knowing due to not being able to fix it, but this was fixable if caught in time. Please do not allow this to happen to your baby. You'll regret it forever. I do. My heart aches terribly from it all. I will never forget my beloved baby girl and pray I reunite with her in the ever-after when my time on this earth is done. God knows it would never be Heaven for me without her.

Hello I'm sorry if I have offended some people with my comments. I don't think I explained my situation very well and, as we are all prone to doing when we are feeling down, I focused too much on the negative in my posts. I hope that in not having put my best foot forward I haven't messed up my chances of being able to use the forum to offer and receive support in the future. I certainly didn't want to upset anyone. Hoping to clear up a few issues of doubt (my fault for not making it clearer): 1. I have no problem at all with my partner calling his kids once a day. Twice a day. Whenever he needs to. I should have made it clear that my gripe was with my partner usually calling his ex-wife when his kids aren't even there. This is his right, as their father, to ask about their well-being, but I happen to know that the conversations are rarely limited to his kids. I simply ask him not to hide these calls from me because it creates suspicion where there doesn't need to be any. when he calls her in fron tof me i leave the room. i respect his privacy. But there is no place for hiding stuff in a partnership. he does not HAVE to hide calls to his kids from me in any way shape or form. I'm sorry if my post gave that impression. 2. With regard to the financial situation. My ex gives me as much as he can, which is enough for us to get by on if I work. I have to work to raise my kids. I have always worked. I'm not looking for a free lunch from anyone. My problem with my partner is that his ex has refused to look for work for two years now. We have been struggling because the money he has left after giving 70% of his salary (his choice, not court imposed) to his ex does not cover what we spend and we do NOT live a life of luxury. I appreciate that he has to pay for his kids and compensate his ex for her loss of income due to their divorce. But it's tough when you are both working so hard to make ends meet (actually not BOTH...three of us..because my ex also works hard) and your partner's ex can run up three hundred dollar phone bills in a month calling her latest guy...and you know you will end up footing the bill. This has happened. Things LIKE this happen too much. 3. His kids visiting. I will admit that I did not have a very clear concept of what this would be like for my kids. There are a lot more issues here than I went into in my posts. One of my children has Aspergers and we try to keep to a fairly a tight routine for him. This is not respected when his kids come. My kids are supposed to be in bed by nine but often, he is still here with his kids at this time and I end up having to virtually ask him to leave, which is really ugly. But when you are trying to hold lifer together as a working mom with four kids, things like getting them to bed on time are really important. Having two kids running around at this time makes things stressful when they don't need to be. Rules are not respected sometimes because tends to be soft on his kids. I understand this, when he has limited time with them adn doesn't want to be the bad guy. but it means that my kids get very confused about what is right and wrong. I take a back step and allow him to discipline his own kids but it's hard for mine to understand that there is one rule for them and one rule for my partner's kids. he feels his kids should have complete run of the house when they come. i say there are boundaries that should be respected, which are ONLY the same boundaries that I impose on my own kids, such as them not being allowed to take food without asking, such as the younger kids not being allowed into their older sister's bedroom without permission. To him, this is me not making them feel at home. 4. Vacations. I appreciate that my attitude seems selfish. OK, I admit that it is. I have tried to suggest us going on separate vacations. Last year we did that. We went away with his kids for six days to the beach while mine were with their dad at the beach. Then, when I wanted usto go away with my kids to the beach later in the Summer, he insisted we take his kids too because by taking mine away with us to stay with my friends who had invited us to their rented beach house for a week, my kids were then getting more days at the beach than kis because they had already had six days at the beach with their Dad. Things like that leave you with a bad taste in your mouth because everything gets painted like a competition. my kids are always painted as the lucky ones. I can't take them on a day trip without him insisting we do the same with his kids the following week. He is NOT expected to pay for these trips, by the way. I have familyin England. My whole family. I take my kids there once a year. I can't afford to take them all. I usually have to take one at a time for financial reasons but it is important for them to see their grandparents. What we keep on getting is that it's HIS kids' turn next. I find this really hard. I pay for these trips. Actually, the last few years my family have helped me out and paid for these trips. I would find it so hard to justify to my kids that I would take his kids to stay with THEIR grandparents, leaving them behind. OK, so his kids miss out on a plane trip. But they have all four grandparents down the street. We all have blessings and crosses to bear. They're not always the same. And yes, I am sadly doing my children a disservice a lot of the time because I am trying so hard to make this work and to make him happy and make his kids happy. I think maybe that is why I feel so resentful at times. And I'm glad that some of you have pointed that out to me. xx

Condoms fail, women lie, young men lust, young girls don't make the best decisions. Un-wanted children are born every minute...these are facts. So in our situation, an unwanting mother brought her unwanted teen to an unknowing, unwanting man(father)and woman. So terribly sad. Who hurts..I believe this young person does, I'm certain we do, and I pray his mother does so she doesn't make this mistake again, yes mistake..and yes, my husband has learned a huge lesson..see line one. We have not only stepped up to the plate...We're batting like heck at all the crazy pitches!

It’s not soft and mushy or damp. It’s hard, but if you push hard enough it will indent. And my husband poked a hole in it and it was hollow inside. I’m pretty sure it’s the drywall tape bulging. It hasn’t gotten worse at all fortunately. Our house was built in 1984 and we’ve done no work to that ceiling other than painting, but that was 5 years ago when we bought the house. We checked the attic space again while it was raining and there were no leaks anywhere. There are no pipes up there, no duct work, just insulation. The gas fireplace is on the other side of the room and is properly vented through the chimney. That’s the only thing I can think of may have caused it. We even asked our neighbor who is a contractor and he has no idea why that’d suddenly happen.