A lot of people have suggested Abram over Abraham....I actually DO like the sound of it better, and I've thought of it....but, really, if I'm going to have an Abe I refuse to lose the Abraham Lincoln part. Maybe I should make a deal with myself that if I manage to finally finish reading Team of Rivals before he's born, he's meant to be an Abe. Or if I can hold him 3 extra days to make him an Aquarian like Lincoln instead of a Capricorn. I get a little....arbitrary in my baby naming sometimes.

I adore Leo. Ari also means lion (and he's named after his great grandfather, who was a Leo/hebrew name Ariyeh), so I always thought I couldn't do another lion baby....but I think I'd probably just go ahead and do it anyway this time around--except that my very good friend, who we see almost every day, named her baby Leo a year ago. :(

What everyone else said :). DS averages working on it 4 days a week, but sometimes it might be 2 or 3 days, and sometimes it takes him more than one day to finish a "day" of work. He has other academic writing he does, too, so I don't want him to burn out. Of course, we're also well over halfway through with Level 1 (started it last year), and the next one's not out yet, so that helps take the pressure off ;).

Ronan was actually the 48th most popular name for baby boys in Ireland last year. I have a good friend with a 3 year old Cormac--love it!

I love Walt. I can't remember why it never makes the short list. It may be a DH veto. Or it may be that, with my Disney World obsession, everyone would assume I was naming him after Walt Disney....and I don't have THAT much of a Disney obsession! I love Owen, too! I'm partial to long Os, it seems. I've mostly held back from wholly embracing it because I worry it's too popular. Although it's certainly no Will. So DOES it get misheard as Rowan all the time? If so, does it drive you crazy? you know, it's funny...I never DO hear Abraham, but it's actually ranked 192...which puts it over 100 spaces ahead of Finn. Where ARE all the Abes? It must be some subculture using it disproportionately that's pulling it up, but I can't figure out what it is. Southern evangelicals would be my best guess, but if that were the case, you'd think I'd be running into them.

Finally! A strong vote for Abe! I have asked Milo, and he says he doesn't care. He's an easygoing kid, generally speaking. I think Theo is super cute, and people have suggested it to me a lot (and then Milo would have another O ending name to offset his A beginning brothers ;)).....but I don't think I can get past how I'd be essentially calling my kid "god." Is that weird of me? Seems like a lot to live up to....

I love Desmond, but DH's cousin's kid is named that, which I think eliminates it for us. I also like Duncan and Declan. DH nixed Declan, but I think I could get Duncan if I wanted. But it's probably my least favorite of the 3. A real life mother of a Malachy! I think the thing that eliminated it for me was that DH could never remember which pronunciation I was in favor of. That seemed like a bad sign. You don't want your own father to constantly mispronounce your name! Several people have pointed out the malarky thing to me, but I don't really see it, either....unless he spends a lot of time hanging out with a bunch of bad natured senior citizens--I just can't see that being a go to insult for 8 year olds. Yeah--with Finn, I couldn't even claim to have been ahead of the curve like you can!

Adventure Time is why my 11 year old ranks Finn as his #1 by far ;). I forgot to list that as one of the cons--I'm not so keen on naming my son after a cartoon character! A lot of those have made my short-ish list at one point or another. DH vetoes Levi whenever I bring it up (and I think I'd feel terribly conflicted about using an American rather than a Hebrew pronunciation, but too self-conscious to use the Hebrew one). And I love Hugh, and for awhile was crushing super hard on Hugo. But....it just went away somehow--I'm not into it anymore.

I like Billy, but not Bill. But, really, Will is my favorite by far. If I used any other nickname, the ONLY reason I'd be using it is because it's less common. Ha! I didn't know about that, but I think it's probably not a point in favor of it for me ;)

I held out for a long time, but I'm jumping in now! 28 weeks pregnant with boy #4. Naming boys is hard! I am running out of tricks. First three boys are Ari, Milo, and August/Gus. So we tend toward uncommon but not unheard of names....they were all ranked in the 700's when we used them, I believe, and have since all moved up, but not dramatically so. We have ideas, but I thought we'd be more settled on something by now, and....we're not. Part of me wants to just name him William and call him Will. I LOVE Will. And I love the name's literary legacy, with Shakespeare and Yeats and Faulkner and all that. But I don't think I can do it. It's a steady resident of the top 10, and it was THE most popular boys' name in Georgia last year. I just can't do it. I am not used to running into other kids with my kids' names. I'm afraid I would be completely obnoxious about it, at least in my head. Like there'd be another little Will on the playground, and I'd be all, "oh, yes, he's Will, too. But not like yours. I actually THOUGHT about it." See? Naming a baby Will might turn me into a terrible person. Here is what else I have: Ronan: pros: means "little seal." Squee! so cute. I love seals. Irish. I am fixated on Irish names this time around, and briefly contemplated Malachy (with a "kee" not a "kai" at the end). cons: everyone will mishear it as Roman or Rowan. Taylor Swift has a new song out about a kid named Ronan who died of cancer. inauspicious. Finn: pros: LOVE it. lots of cool stories go with it. Irish again. cons: trendy. like, super trendy. like, I worry it's the next Aidan. Glee. Tori Spelling's new baby. I know two real life little Finns (though we don't see either very often). Abraham/Abe: pros: Abe Lincoln! the thought of a toddler named Abe is unbearably adorable to me. And also, I think he could be in a band when he's in college. con?: paired with DH's last name (baby will have both our last names, but for everyday use, DH's mostly gets used) he will sound like a 90 year old Jewish man. But there are worse things. cons: we will have all A names except one. Although they all have different sounds, and August mostly goes by Gus. Abraham is kind of unwieldy (though Abe is not). Okay, so...thoughts? I am also open to other suggestions, with the disclaimer that I really can't imagine that there's any boy name out there I haven't already considered. FOUR boys! I should probably confess that I have a hard time not thinking of him as Ronan. But I don't know if that's just because for awhile we were thinking that was probably going to be it, and we got used to it or because.....it's meant to be or something. It is not, objectively, my favorite of the names, I'm pretty sure. I can talk about names for a long time. I am not, sadly, one of those people who can just slap a poll up there and call it good.

I already feel like this with my 9 year old. It worries me. His personality is very similar to my husband's, and DH tells me that he pretty much can't remember having conversations with his parents for whole years when he was a kid. When he talks to his friends, he mostly talks about Minecraft...and, yeah, there's not a lot for me to work with there. I try to remember that a lot of it is his personality; he's just not as chatty as my other kids, and it doesn't mean there's necessarily a problem.

I missed the post about how the dog is playing in the front yard without a leash the first time. So they have a dog who they know isn't under voice control and who they know to be dog aggressive; either one of those is plenty of reason to ALWAYS have the dog on a leash or inside a fence. I guess what I'd do next would depend on how you think they'd respond to one more serious talk about the problem. Maybe an "oh, gosh, I know I'm such a nervous nellie, but I'm afraid someone's going to get hurt--could you please make sure the dog doesn't get loose again" preserve the peace sort of thing...but only if you think there's an excellent chance it will work.

Is he getting out of their fence or slipping out the door or off the leash? If it's the fence, I think it's absolutely their responsibility to either take steps to make their fence more secure or always be out there with him to make sure he doesn't get out. I'm kind of surprised so many people are saying it's no big deal. I have a dog who's an escape artist, but she's also completely people and dog friendly and is only a danger to herself when she gets out. I also have a dog who's dog aggressive (not at all people aggressive, thank goodness), and there's NO WAY I would let a situation where she was repeatedly getting out and attacking another dog go on without fixing it. It's VERY easy for people to wind up getting hurt trying to break up dog fights, even with dogs who are generally people friendly. Fighting dogs don't always know who or what they're biting.

This DK one is the one my son likes the best: http://www.amazon.com/First-Animal-Encyclopedia-Reference-Series/dp/0756602270/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350999295&sr=8-1&keywords=my+first+animal+encyclopedia

Does he have a nice animal encyclopedia type book already? My now almost 7 year old wore his out starting when he was 5ish.

snap circuits?

Have you done routine bloodwork to rule out something like a thyroid condition (which could explain the weight loss)? I wouldn't do more extensive testing than that, either, on a dog that age, but I would rule out anything obvious and easy to treat first. If you've done that and not come up with any answers, then, yes, it sounds like it might be time to let her go. :grouphug:

These days DH usually goes....maybe 60-70% of the time, anyway. Kids are old enough to stay home if I go, but we usually shop in the evenings or on weekends when we're both home anyway.

I've never stayed at the Polynesian, so I can't help you there....but our experience has been that the search for connecting rooms pretty much consumes all the brainpower and energy of the desk staff, and they have little left over for other requests. Not to say it's not worth asking, but make sure you let them know that connecting rooms is the most important thing (assuming it is) and don't be surprised if it makes it harder to get your other requests.

Well, first thought it that property taxes can (and probably will) go up over time, while your mortgage cost is fixed.

We have: Kitchenaid mixer breadbox (we don't actually eat bread very often, so this is mostly decorative; it was my grandmother's) toaster oven (I'd like to get rid of this, but DH likes it) knife block utensil holder with spatulas and spoons and whatnot

"Snopes isn't always right, you know!" is the last refuge of the stupid.

Occasional babysitting, no. A regular gig, like you describe, absolutely. Especially for a sibling or sibling-in-law (i.e. it might be different for grandchildren; you'd have to ask me again when I get there!)

Because I have one right now, and he's awesome. I've heard lots of people say the same thing....there's something quirky and wonderful about orange tabbies.

Oh, orange kitties are special. I posted on facebook the other day that once I'm through this current round of cats (umm, another 15 years or so maybe?) I'm going to have one cat at a time, always a boy orange tabby. And maybe I'll adopt older ones that someone else already declawed. I'm not going to declaw anyone, but I have to admit I wouldn' t mind if they just mysteriously disappeared one day.