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  • [-]2 year-old twins. Thinking of ditching the Subaru Outback for a Prius. Crazy? We live in Manhattan and DH mostly uses the car to drive to work alone every day, but we do take family trips from time to time.

    17 replies [ Reply | Options ]
    05.15.08, 04:52 AM [ Watch | Flag ]
    • I'm in the burbs and I have a subaru too. I'm also thinking about getting a prius.

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      05.15.08, 04:53 AM [ Flag ]
    • If you can fit your car seats in there, go for it. You don't need a mini-van!

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      05.15.08, 04:53 AM [ Flag ]
      • You can fit 2 carseats in a Prius very comfortably.

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        05.15.08, 04:54 AM [ Flag ]
      • OP: Carseats will fit, but I was worried more about trunk space. On the other hand, we don't need to schlep as much stuff as we used to, and trunk is much safer than wagon in an accident. That's my thinking at least.

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        05.15.08, 04:55 AM [ Flag ]
        • prius has fantastic trunk space

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          05.15.08, 04:55 AM [ Flag ]
          • np: I've never driven one, but the rear windshield looks like it's on such an odd angle. Is visibility compromised? Or is it just a matter of getting used to it.

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            05.15.08, 04:58 AM [ Flag ]
            • it's actually great-doesn't impede visibility at all; i love driving dh's car-it's worth listening to the 3 dc smushed together in the back quibbling because it's fun to drive and saves us so much $$$ in gas vs driving my suv

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              05.15.08, 05:00 AM [ Flag ]
              • Why don't you change to a Prius too?

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                05.15.08, 05:10 AM [ Flag ]
          • can you get a double stroller and weekend bags in there?

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            05.15.08, 05:13 AM [ Flag ]
      • Outback is not an SUV

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        05.15.08, 05:09 AM [ Flag ]
    • If I had 2 kids (have 3), I'd get a Prius.

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      05.15.08, 04:54 AM [ Flag ]
    • dh has a prius and we actually manage to get 3 dc-including 1 in a carseat in the back-also has a great trunk-go for it

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      05.15.08, 04:54 AM [ Flag ]
    • The two cars are probably similar in size and trunk space, no? Probably won't be a big difference and as the twins get older, their stuff gets smaller so it will be even less an issue when you have them in the car.

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      05.15.08, 04:55 AM [ Flag ]
    • we are planning to ditch our subaru legacy stationwagon for a prius. we tried it out with the car seats and legroom is fine and think of how much less fuel you'll be using!

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      05.15.08, 04:58 AM [ Flag ]
      • ^ but we're in burbs now and still need a car with 4 wh dr for poor weather days - we have one which we'll only use for that and hauling stuff around and use prius for day to day.

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        05.15.08, 05:00 AM [ Flag ]
        • Where do you live that doesn't get plowed and gets lots of snow?

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          05.15.08, 05:11 AM [ Flag ]
  • [-]Do you know many 6-yr-olds who won't go on a playdate without their mom or nanny?

    9 replies [ Reply | Options ]
    05.15.08, 04:20 AM [ Watch | Flag ]
    • 6 is a very funny age, one of the toughest. I know 5-6 year olds who clutch their mom's hands until they ease into a playdate, even when it's with a best friend.

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      05.15.08, 04:21 AM [ Flag ]
      • my niece was a very independent toddler- always wanted to stay at "grandma's" and would cry when it was time to go home. at 6, she became more reluctant to be away from her mom. seems like a phase. lots is changing for them at this age.

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        05.15.08, 04:23 AM [ Flag ]
    • No, none. I have a 6 yr old dd and she and her friends have been doing drop off playdates since age 4.

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      05.15.08, 04:23 AM [ Flag ]
    • My 6 old is out of the car so fast I can barely get to the door to talk to other kids Mom

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      05.15.08, 04:25 AM [ Flag ]
    • It's common where I am for the nanny/parent to accompany the kid on the playdate (but not mandatory). My kid prefers me to come along sometimes.

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      05.15.08, 04:35 AM [ Flag ]
    • I have a first grader and all the playdates are still with moms and/or nannies.

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      05.15.08, 04:36 AM [ Flag ]
      • That is so odd! What do you do while the kids play? My dd and her friends go off to their bedrooms or out in the backyard...why are you there? They don't need supervision like toddlers do.

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        05.15.08, 04:40 AM [ Flag ]
      • just curious: where do you live?

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        05.15.08, 04:40 AM [ Flag ]
  • [-]The secret to being a successful working actress and a mother? Gwyneth Paltrow says it comes down to having an excellent nanny. I have an amazing nanny. I didn't have one till Apple was 14 months old.

    11 replies [ Reply | Options ]
    05.15.08, 04:13 AM [ Watch | Flag ]
    • at least she's being honest; you know all celebs have nannies-it makes me crazy when they claim to do everything themselves

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      05.15.08, 04:13 AM [ Flag ]
    • The secret to being a successful WOHM is an excellent nanny. I have an amazing nanny

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      05.15.08, 04:17 AM [ Flag ]
    • I don't quite understand your post, but I totally agree with her. How can you really immerse yourself in a job if you are worried about dcs all of the time?

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      05.15.08, 04:18 AM [ Flag ]
    • She's changed her tune then. Her old line was "why do people have babies if they don't want to take care of them themselves" Sanctimonious millionaire creep.

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      05.15.08, 04:19 AM [ Flag ]
      • exactely (and I actually generally likme her) but that line of her's in the past is so gross considering Im sure she had a personal assistant to everything else in her life as well as housekeeper, cooks etc.

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        05.15.08, 04:21 AM [ Flag ]
      • you may have noticed that she isn't exactly working full time. You guys are weird. You have no idea how hands on or off she is.

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        05.15.08, 04:25 AM [ Flag ]
        • Oh shut up, she and Madonna work out for hours each day, she clearly has a lot of help and she WAS quoted criticizing women for having any, questioning why have a kid at all if you want to work. As if we all have movie star money and it's a choice?

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          05.15.08, 04:27 AM [ Flag ]
          • someone's cranky this morning!

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            05.15.08, 04:30 AM [ Flag ]
            • Someone's a f/t WOHM who gets irked at celebs saying they dropped all the weight by "chasing a toddler" or questioning why I bothered having dc's if I work. Her "work" is 6-8 weeks on a film and then take a year off. Blech.

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              05.15.08, 04:32 AM [ Flag ]
              • Fishticks is totally annoying and smug

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                05.15.08, 04:39 AM [ Flag ]
            • SAHM here : I agree with her. Anyone can be a great mom with all of that help. I have more than most, and I definitely have it easier than many.

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              05.15.08, 04:38 AM [ Flag ]
  • [-]Describe yourself in socioeconomic terms and how YOU will benefit from Universal Health Care.

    189 replies [ Reply | Options ]
    05.14.08, 07:42 PM [ Watch | Flagged ]
    • I will not benefit from it at all. dh is a physician. He will become a state employee with little or no autonomy. It will probably force him out of medicine.

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      05.14.08, 07:43 PM [ Flag ]
      • as a md your dh doesn't support uhc?

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        05.14.08, 07:44 PM [ Flag ]
        • NP: I can't imagine any md supporting Universal Health Care. It ruins the business model

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          05.14.08, 07:46 PM [ Flag ]
          • Universal health care does not equal single payer. It's about creating a system that incorporates public and private options to provide coverage for all. The insurers are for it, for crying out loud....

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            05.14.08, 07:49 PM [ Flag ]
            • you bloody well bet they are for it. it will allow them to further reduce their "overhead" by reducing payments to doctors and hospitals and having the government join them in the push for generic meds and rationing of health care.

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              05.14.08, 07:52 PM [ Flag ]
              • finally, someone who knows what they are talking about.

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                05.14.08, 07:54 PM [ Flag ]
              • Well, we agree that the private payers will try to game any system. But that's better than no coverage for millions, which leads to so much bad debt for hospitals. And it still doesn't change the fact that no one is advocating single-payer, which is what OR was implying.

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                05.14.08, 07:56 PM [ Flag ]
          • yes but health care is more than about a business model. I can't imagine any MD's not supporting some type of coverage.

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            05.14.08, 07:51 PM [ Flag ]
          • health care shouldn't be run as a business model. It is far from a free market as it is now.

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            05.14.08, 07:54 PM [ Flag ]
          • DH is an emergency md and ADAMENTLY supports universal healthcare. good god emergency medicine is a MESS thanks to healthcare system's exclusion of the poor

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            05.14.08, 08:46 PM [ Flag ]
            • np - I know other physicians who support universal healthcare. I wonder what makes some support it and others not.

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              05.14.08, 09:06 PM [ Flag ]
              • dh's salary will not be tremendously affected as he is not in private practice and he doesn't need referrals for his specialty, obviously

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                05.14.08, 09:08 PM [ Flag ]
          • a recent study i read about showed that 70% of health care providers support a single-payer, universal system

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            05.14.08, 09:36 PM [ Flag ]
            • ITA with this among doctors that I know.

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              05.14.08, 09:37 PM [ Flag ]
      • np -a state employee? all of us (MD here too)? universal health care means continued private insurance in most cases, no?

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        05.14.08, 07:45 PM [ Flag ]
        • not exactly

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          05.14.08, 07:45 PM [ Flag ]
          • Actually, yes it does. No one is proposing single payer (even though we accept this approach for education).

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            05.14.08, 07:46 PM [ Flag ]
            • look, it really depends on your field and the rate of reimbursement.

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              05.14.08, 07:48 PM [ Flag ]
              • No, it really doesn't. The proposals out there wouldn't change most of our coverage at all. They would simply expand the options so that everyone can get coverage.

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                05.14.08, 07:51 PM [ Flag ]
                • ultimately, someone would have to pay for it all.

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                  05.14.08, 07:51 PM [ Flag ]
                  • you betcha. the costs are enormous and we can simply NOT afford it.

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                    05.14.08, 07:53 PM [ Flag ]
                  • It will be much more economical than our current system, where physicians and hospitals have to eat an enormous amount of uncompensated care. Providers will make out much better if everyone has coverage.

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                    05.14.08, 07:53 PM [ Flag ]
                    • wrong, the rates for reimbursement for care will be set very low. the doctors will suffer and the best will simply leave medicine, there is already a trend of young doctors leaving the field after a few years of practicing in this current environment. It will get worse.

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                      05.14.08, 07:55 PM [ Flag ]
                      • Set by whom? These are not single-payer systems. We will continue to have a patchwork of coverage methods. And at least providers will get reimbursed. If you think retaining the current model will keep the physicians who are leaving the field, you're crazy.

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                        05.14.08, 07:59 PM [ Flag ]
                        • the Universal Coverage plans will offer rock bottom reimbursement and their will be pressure on MDs to participate. The other plans will try to use it as a new benchmark which they will then lower their rates to. Docs will either par or opt out.

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                          05.14.08, 08:03 PM [ Flag ]
                        • exactly

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                          05.14.08, 08:06 PM [ Flag ]
                        • exactly meant for here

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                          05.14.08, 08:06 PM [ Flag ]
                        • exactly

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                          05.14.08, 08:07 PM [ Flag ]
                        • What "universal coverage" plans? Do you mean the plans payers introduce for poorer people? Again, we're not talking about a new system -- it's add-on to what we already have.

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                          05.14.08, 08:07 PM [ Flag ]
                        • ok, all three posts are appearing in the wrong place.

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                          05.14.08, 08:07 PM [ Flag ]
                        • the "add on" will become the new benchmark for the "private insurers" to follow. just like medicare is now. this will lead to rationing, generics, lower reimbursement to docs and hospitals and ultimately the best docs and hospitals will opt out.

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                          05.14.08, 08:22 PM [ Flag ]
                        • np - Right now, in NYC, doctors are optioning out of many private insurers.

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                          05.14.08, 08:28 PM [ Flag ]
                        • you bet they are. and if you think the oxford, ghi, and the rest are abhorrent to doctors, just wait for the universal plan to appear administered by the government. they will opt out of all insurance plans (if they can) and the 2 tiered private v public health care system will then exist here in the good old USA.

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                          05.14.08, 08:34 PM [ Flag ]
          • how so? Neither BO nor HRC are proposing gov't sponsored coverage for all

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            05.14.08, 07:50 PM [ Flag ]
      • this works in many countries all over the world

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        05.14.08, 07:45 PM [ Flag ]
        • the first "generation" to transition will suffer the most

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          05.14.08, 07:46 PM [ Flag ]
        • but it really doesn't

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          05.14.08, 07:52 PM [ Flag ]
      • np -- Universal health care IS NOT THE SAME AS SINGLE PAYER. Single payer is a type of universal health care. But none of the major candidates is proposing this. It scares me that doctors don't know this.

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        05.14.08, 07:46 PM [ Flag ]
    • I don't think I will benefit but the millions of children and elderly people will probably benefit.

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      05.14.08, 07:44 PM [ Flag ]
    • why did you post this to the NY schools board?

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      05.14.08, 07:44 PM [ Flag ]
    • I also will not benefit. We have excellent insurance now.

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      05.14.08, 07:44 PM [ Flag ]
      • baby you are paying for it whether you realize it or not. Your insurance is irrelevant.

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        05.14.08, 07:54 PM [ Flag ]
    • i'm not wealthy but we have fantastic insurance. i'm guessing i won't benefit from it but will instead end up with more of a mess at local doctors and hospitals and that we'll pay more taxes b/c of it.

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      05.14.08, 07:45 PM [ Flag ]
      • So, if you send your kids to private school, do you think you should be exempt from taxes that support the public education system?

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        05.14.08, 07:51 PM [ Flag ]
        • yes, to a certain degree. i believe in school vouchers that are good for private school as well. most of the time it won't cover the entire cost of private school but the public school system doesn't want the private school students either.

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          05.14.08, 07:53 PM [ Flag ]
          • Public scho