OK I have to jump in here. I am a working mother with 2 kids age 4 and 10 like you spitfire. I work full time, commuting into NYC in a high demand job that requires me to travel. My husband also works full time. I am a harried mother with very little time to do anything. My kids are a disaster BUT I'll be darned if I let then run around destroying things that aren't theirs (like an item in a store) or playing/eating things that aren't paid for. I don't think that being a busy mom excuses anyone from having their kids be so out of control that they are downright disruptive and destructive. I don't post often on these boards, not because I feel left out, but because sometimes what I have to say is not as interesting as what others are saying. I've found the couple of times that I have posted, people are very friendly and accepting. A majority of posters have kids and many of them do work outside the home. Just because they make time to do things they like/enjoy does not necessarily mean that they have grown/no children or that they stay home. Reading your post got to me because you are not the only busy working mom out there. So when people hide behind that to make excuses for bad behavior or for feeling left out, I think that's the fault of the individual. Goldust posted an observation that annoyed her to the friends on this board, I don't think it was fair of you to accuse people of trying to turn this into a "slam" on women with young children. That was not the point of her post. I'm off on the one vacation I get a year so I won't see your response. Trust me when I say that I feel your pain but I just don't think your rant was fair.

Interesting comments here - I don't remember JFK's election but I remember reading a lot about the Catholic connection. I do see a similarity, especially being here in the DC area and feelilng the excitement. I think there is a groundswell because Obama is different - he is young, energetic and vibrant, but is also grounded. This is truly a new era. A lot of shoulders and backs were bent/broken during a very ugly time in America's history. But I really think the groudswell of the younger Americans, coming together for change, was the true catalyst. There are a lot of people from the Civil Rights era that could be qualified to be President, but I don't think it was race that influenced this as much as America wanting to rid the past. I've never seen a time, other than during the 60s with the Viet nam war and Civil Rights protests, that so many young people have spoken. They rallied so hard - to win and to vote for the change. Obama was definitely a contributor in that, through a generational connection. The fact that he is African-American (really), was just the icing on the cake. I think it was more a coincidence that he is Black. But it offered the country a chance to redeem from that ugly past. If JFK had lived, it would have been similar. But times have changed and since then, more people have been allowed into the voting process. More people have been allowed to participate and lead. So, with change, came change.

Thanks for the comps guys. Maecat - The house has a typical rear entry garage. You enter the back of the house from the garage or the back patio. We use our garage for darts and ping pong. We can fold up the ping pong table and still get both cars in the garage...so that works great. Susan - We bought the stone from Whiz-Q stone in south Fort Worth. There website is www.whizq.com. Great group of people. I live in Carrollton and wanted to buy from places I found in Lewisville and Frisco and they were not friendly to the non-commercial buyer. Whiz-Q was just the opposite. I called ahead and asked if I could get some samples and when I showed up they had gallon zippys with my name ready to roll. The stome I bought was Arizona Extra Small Cobble for $160/ton. The final bill was for around $850. It was $640 for the rock. $85 for delivery. $45 for the bags. Then tax. I thought it was very fair. As for how much you will need, they have a calculator on there website to figure this out. You enter the square footage and the depth and it tells you how much you need. Ours worked out perfectly. It was a bit of a drive to go to there but it was well worth it to check it out and talk to them. Plus you can see their products in person. Desertfix - The PVC is run underneath the deck for future low volt lights. I should have done this before the rock, but I am not sure if I am going to do this or not. Tresw - Thanks for all the help from your posts. You have been fantastic with your own personal threads plus your replys to others. How is the salt working for you??? Our system has been very easy. We have checked our CYA and it has been in the 70s lately but everything else is in check.

I HAVE THE SOLUTION! NO NEED TO BUY A NEW FAUCET OR END. I stumbled across this (and your thumbs down thread) when trying to figure out why my ikea pull out kitchen faucet had such poor flow. It wasn't even enough to trigger the tankless water heater. I went to Ikea and while there brought it up with a kitchen specialist who denied all knowledge of a problem or that a flow restrictor existed. I said that's impossible as FR's are legally required in my state. But it was the way she denied all knowledge that got me thinking there's something more to this, and VOILA! I solved it. Here's HOW TO REMOVE BOTH (YES, THERE'S TWO!) FLOW RESTRICTORS IN AN IKEA FACUET. 1, On the pull out spout you'll see indents for a wrench, let's call this part the hose coupler. Now It's the actually the larger cylindrical spout part below it that you need to get off, so grip tight and unscrew it away from the house coupling. 2, once you have the spout end free. you'll notice that it's a metal cover with a black plastic part inside. Push downwards gently on the screw thread and the plastic barrel will come out of the housing. It's this part that aerates the water and has the flow restrictors. At the bottom of this barrel, you'll see the grey part with little teeth around the edge (they look like battlements on a castle). If you still have the green key that came with the faucet I think this should unscrew it. I lost mine so instead unscrewed this grey part with a good quality flat head screwdriver, pushing against one of the teeth in a counter clockwise pressure. Be careful not to cut the tooth as you push it. If you won't budge, move on to another tooth and try again. Don't use a very sharp screwdriver - I used the flat wide one in a Swiss Army Knife and it was perfect. They grey part will unscrew and on top of it, you'll see a little white mech and underneath that, something green. That little white mesh is a cap that sits inside (not on top) of the white ring housing. Pry it out with a little knife, it'll pop right out and inside there is FR number one - a little green devil, that sucks the pressure from your beloved faucet. Pull it out and put the little white mesh cap on. Now look up that plastic barrel - you'll see theres a white/beige contraption with a spring. Yoo can either push up from below to pop this out with something like a pencil. or get that flat screw driver again, and from the top, angle it under the lip of this little contraption and while pulling up, turn it in your hand.It's only held in place with a rubber O ring so should slide out. This little contraption is a pressure regulator and will also affect flow. 3, Now, screw the grey part back in, and then slide the metal cylinder cover over the barrel and then screw the spout back in to the hose coupler. DONE. You know have virtually full flow back. It will be at the price of that aerating feature, but I just want as much pressure as possible. I did not try putting the pressure regulator back in, but someone else out there may want to try. I hope this helps and please feel free to comment with any questions If you need.