My oldest got her first two teeth at 6 weeks, and my youngest at 10 weeks. Oldest had all of her permanent teeth by age 12, and youngest is probably going to be the same.

Some of the threads I've read recently, including this one, make me very appreciative of our school district. We've had our share of issues with the schools here, but they are very respectful of family. My daughter is in 10th grade in ps, and didn't have anything assigned over the holiday break--no homework, reviews, papers, etc. There was another thread about homework and testing. Our district allows one makeup day for every day a student misses school. So, if a student missed 5 days of school, they would have 5 days to make up work, tests, etc. after they return. They have policies in place about certain absences being excused or unexecused, but IME, they excuse any absences a parent requests (including trips to Disney World). If I know we're going to be missing school for an extended period of time, I'll send an email to teachers. Otherwise, I just call in the day of the absence. We've never had a problem. We're thinking of moving out of state, and these issues make me wonder what we might be getting ourselves into! ETA: Good for you for you for standing up to them!!

We have rented through http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com twice. They have properties in several areas (including Windsor Hills, which is where we stayed). We were very satisfied. We had a private pool, very nice home, game room, laundry room, etc. We would definitely rent through them again.

Mini phyllo cups with brie, honey, and walnuts-baked just long enough to melt the cheese. This is a new favorite of mine.

:iagree:

You can set up an account using just your email address. I have a Facebook account, but I don't have it associated with my Pinterest account.

:iagree:

I am the oldest of several siblings. It has always been the norm in my family for family members to watch each others children, for free. My children are old enough now that my oldest can stay at home with our younger child, so I don't need to ask family to take care of mine very often, but I still babysit for my nieces and nephews. It's just something you do for family, in our case. I do prefer to babysit in my home though, rather than going to their homes. And if someone else is watching my kids, it's usually at their home. Obviously, if I already have other plans, I don't change my plans in order to babysit, unless it's an emergency.

I would stay far, far away from Maytag. We bought all new Maytag appliances when we moved into our house 6 years ago. We had to replace the ceramic top on our electric stove twice, before recently having to buy a new stove altogether. The repairs would have cost almost as much as the new stove. Our dishwasher had to be replaced after about 4 years--again, repairs were as much as a new dishwasher. Our upright freezer has had every single part of the cooling system replaced. Thankfully, that was under warranty at the time, so we didn't have to pay anything. Our Maytag refrigerator has been fine, and our washer and dryer have been fine as well. We have had good luck personally with GE and Whirlpool appliances. Since the appliance purchasing fiasco, we make sure to check Consumer Reports for all new purchases. We don't always buy the "best", but we try to balance cost and reviews when making our decisions.

We have a 3-in-1 air hockey/pool/ping pong table very similar to this. It's very sturdy and heavy (although not so much so that it's impossible or expensive to move), and our kids love it. We don't use the pool side very often, but the air hockey gets a lot of use.

Aren't both those words pronounced the same? :confused: They are when I say them. Loving this thread!!

I used Bare Minerals for a time, but switched to Mirabella about 6 months ago. I have very sensitive skin, rosacea, and tend to break out easily. Mirabella doesn't irritate my skin at all. It is a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way. I've been using the same bottle of foundation for the past 6 months, about 4 times per week, and am just getting to the point that I need to replace it. You can only buy it online, or at some salons (which is where I purchased mine). I've been very satisfied with it.

I always use baby oil.

:iagree: We have a miniature Schnauzer, and we love him. I have severe allergies, and he doesn't bother me at all. He is also great with kids, was easy to train, and is a pretty smart little guy. He's also a really sturdy dog. He even goes jogging with my dh sometimes--usually only a couple of miles. Schnauzers do require regular grooming to keep the schnauzer "look", but they do not shed. We had a beagle years ago, and he shed terribly! He was also a barker, ran away every time something caught his attention, and was virtually impossible to house train. We ended up giving him to a person who lived on an acreage.

We have wood siding, and our caulking matches our siding. The trim on the corners of the house is the same color as the siding, though. I personally wouldn't use clear caulking, but I would probably use white caulking along the white trim. --Chris

Thank you for the advice (and reassurance!), everyone. I'm sharing this thread with dh and we're deciding how to proceed with dd. --Chris

Enjoy it! I miss my little ones. My youngest is 10 and still likes to cuddle sometimes, but it isn't quite the same.

Thank you so much for this.

[quote name=Joanne;3201721 However' date=' I think that the computer, email, and text monitoring is too restrictive for her age and history. I think she's earned age appropriate freedom.[/quote] So, in your opinion, should we not monitor those things at all? Or retain the right to do so if we are concerned about something, but not monitor unless we're given reason to do so? I used to feel the same way about our dds having a relationship. I suppose we could have told dd that she couldn't date at all, but how would I force her not to have an emotional connection to another person? Regardless of how I might feel about her having a serious relationship, she and bf still have feelings for one another. I don't think I could stop that even if I wanted to. DD does spend a lot of time with other friends and is involved in different activities. She doesn't see bf more than a few days a week--a couple of those times are at church--although they talk/text everyday. I don't think she's expecting to be allowed to do whatever/whenever. She just wants to be able to go out on a dinner or movie date. I agree with Joanne. I have already talked to dd about birth control, but so far she hasn't asked to follow through. We've discussed the fact that the pill doesn't protect against stds. She knows that we would rather she make the choice to abstain. However, if she chooses not to, then she knows what she needs to do to protect herself. It's just me who is embarrassed to be considering allowing my child to be on birth control.

It isn't that we don't have a problem with the age difference--we do, which is a big reason we've restricted them dating. If we had felt we could stop them from being together completely, without alienating dd, we would have. However, dd goes to the same church, and we can't keep them from seeing one another at all. We made the decision to allow it, but with lots of restrictions. However, now that she is 16, she wants more freedom to actually date him. And, as much as I really would like to just lock her in her room until she's 20 (:tongue_smilie:), I know that isn't reality. When they started talking, I checked into the age of consent laws for our state and had a long talk with dd about them. The law in our state for age of consent says that at age 14 or 15 the other person has to be within 4 years of age. At age 16, the other person's age no longer matters, as long as they are 16 or older. As far as the law is concerned, their relationship has never been illegal. We have had a lot of conversations with dd about this, and I've also talked to bf. Both of them know how dh and I feel about them becoming intimate. But, I know ultimately, I'm not going to be able to make that decision for her or him. I've known bf since he was 13 years old. He really is a good guy--well-mannered, respectful, hard-working. If it weren't for the age difference, I would be ecstatic for her to be in a relationship with him. In a couple more years, the age difference won't be an issue any longer. But right now, I just don't know what to allow, which is why I'm here. I really appreciate the feedback I'm getting!

We've had the rules about checking her cell phone and computer in place for several years, since she first got a cell phone and computer. It isn't something that we check everyday, or even every week necessarily, but we do check occasionally. She has never liked that we check, but we've always felt that we should be doing that as a protection to her. But, I know that as she proves herself trustworthy and mature, that we need to loosen the reins--I guess I'm just not sure how much. As far as dating goes, I have never been a big fan of teenagers spending a lot of alone time together. Even the best kids can be driven by their hormones. I just don't want her to make a choice that she'll regret, but at the same time, I know that she needs to learn to make choices for herself. I know that ultimately it is our responsibility as her parents to decide where to draw the line, but I'm just not sure where to draw that line. As a said, neither dh or I have a good history to fall back on for parenting. Also, dd is the oldest child in our extended family, so we don't really have anyone among our own siblings to go to for advice because no one else has a teen this age. I'm not saying dh and I are right. I really am looking for another perspective.

Terrified! :tongue_smilie: She is pretty perceptive, and I know she knows how conflicted we are feeling.

I’ve been a member here for a couple of years, but I read a lot more often than I post. I am often amazed to see questions asked here that I’ve been wondering at myself, and I appreciate the diversity of opinions offered. I think this may be the first thread that I’ve started. I’m definitely looking for a variety of opinions, but please be gentle. We have two dds--16 (birthday tomorrow) and 10. We have always been pretty careful with both girls about who they spend time with, where we allow them to go, how long they are able to be gone, etc. Obviously, our dd16 has quite a bit more freedom than dd10. My concerns are in regards to dd16. DD16 has been “dating” (for lack of a better term) her 19 year old bf (almost 20 now) for the past year. We knew that the two of them were interested in one another even before she turned 15, and she finally came to me and told me that she really liked him and they were “talking”. We don’t allow them to go out on dates unless they have someone with them that we trust. The two of them usually spend time here at our house with dh and I, or at his house with his parents supervising. We have known bf19 and his family for several years and have a lot of respect for them. Bf19 is a great guy and we really like him, but we haven’t been thrilled about the two of them dating because of the age difference. We have talked to both dd and bf about our concerns, and bf has been very good about letting us know that he knows dd is young, and that he knows he needs to be careful with her. Now that dd is turning 16, we aren’t sure where to go from here. We have always been of the mind-set that we would allow our girls to date when they turn 16, and we’ve told dd that in the past. However, I’m not sure how much freedom to give her (and him). I don’t want to encourage them to spend a lot of time alone together, but I’m not sure I want to completely forbid the two of them going to movies or dinner, etc. Dh is very concerned about bf and his intentions towards our dd, to the point that he told me to talk to her and let her know that if she felt it was important that we would support letting her go on birth control. I feel like a horrible parent for even considering allowing that, but at the same time, I would feel even more horrible if she were to have an unplanned pregnancy at this point. I don’t think the two of them are intimate right now—I don’t think they have had much of an opportunity to be, and she tells me that it is something she isn’t even considering right now. I know dd and bf say they are madly in love and have talked about getting married in the future. We have talked to her about waiting to get married until she has finished college, etc., but I can’t say what she really wants to do. Dh and I were 19 when we married, so she thinks we’re being hypocritical to suggest waiting. Neither dh or I have a great foundation to fall back on for advice. His parents were extremely strict, to the point that they sometimes followed him to see what he was doing. Dh would often sneak around to circumvent his parents rules. I was raised by my single mother who had a very strict upbringing and who didn’t want to be that kind of parent. She allowed us to do pretty much whatever we wanted to, within reason. I was a “good kid” and never really did anything out of line. We really want to start giving dd16 the freedom to make her own choices and mistakes, as much as that frightens us. At the same time, we don’t want to give her enough rope to hang herself. She is a good kid, does well in school, and is fairly mature for her age. She usually has a pretty good head on her shoulders. However, we have had issues in the past with her lying to us, often about petty things. She has been working on that, and is becoming more trustworthy. Our relationship with dd is somewhat strained, and we are considering family counseling. I’m sure I’ve rambled quite a bit, and I hope I’m making sense. How much freedom do you give a 16 year old girl? Do you allow them to date one-on-one, or only with another couple or friends? How do we go about letting her grow up and make her own choices, without completely stepping out of the way as her parents? Chris ETA: The strain in our relationship is partly from the dating situation. It is also because we keep tabs on her cell phone texts and usage, her computer usage, etc. I think all of it boils down to her thinking we are too strict, and her thinking that we snoop. We made it very clear before giving her a cell and a computer that we would be checking those things, but she doesn't like that we do. To be fair, she hasn't given us a lot of concern in those areas, and maybe that is something else we need to reevaluate.

We have a 5-year-old Miniature Schnauzer, and we've had him since he was a puppy. He has been a great dog for us. He was easy to house train, doesn't shed, and is great with kids. He tends to bark a lot around strangers, but isn't yappy in general. He does require a lot of grooming. His hair mats very easily if we don't keep it groomed, and it can get expensive since we take him to a dog groomer instead of doing it ourselves. We did not have his ears cropped, and he hasn't had any issues with ear infections. He is a sturdy little dog, and weighs about 18 pounds. Definitely not tiny, but not a big dog by any means.

I agree with the suggestions to use Terro. We had an ant invasion in our kitchen. I put Terro out about a week ago, and I haven't noticed any ants in the last couple of days.