If my furnace were broken, I'd call as soon as possible about getting it fixed. As far as how cold, I would not want the pipes to freeze. I'd either shut off the water or set the taps to drip if the indoor temperature started inching below 40 degrees. I would try to find somewhere to go during the day and bundle up at night. I'd put all the mattresses and blankets in one room have the whole family sleep there. Above 40 degrees, we would carry on as normal. (Before our first son was born, 55 degrees was our normal daytime heat setting. Now, it is 68 degrees.)

You might ask your sons if they would rather you buy them fewer more expensive gifts or more less expensive gifts.

Thank you for all the advice. My husband and I discussed this last evening and decided that we will continue to tell our son that Santa will not be coming to our house. Husband and son will discuss pretending in general and how much fun it can be. Husband and son will be setting the house alarm on Christmas Eve so no strangers can enter. Although he has never wanted to sit on Santa’s lap, we think the fear over Santa stems from the song Santa Claus is coming to town. He has been learning the song at daycare. The daycare teacher apparently told one of the children not to pout because Santa was watching. My husband will be talking to the daycare teacher. He will request that she reassure our son that Santa is not really watching him and that Santa will not be coming to his house. Our library had Gail Gibbon’s Christmas book. I will read it to both boys emphasizing the non-Santa traditions. They will be told that the gifts they find under the Christmas tree are gifts from people they know and love. We will hang stockings on Christmas Eve, if son #1 questions this, he will be told that mommy and dad will fill them with surprises. The library did not have any picture books about Saint Nicholas book. I plan to buy one or two for next year.) If son continues to be stressed over the Santa issue, we will tell him Santa is a game people like to play at Christmas time. It can be fun to imagine flying reindeer and a mysterious gift-giver, but that he does not have to play the game if he does not want to. He will be told that he should not spoil the game for those who do like to play it.

My almost 4 year old son does not want Santa to come to his house. The idea that a stranger would come into his house while he is sleeping really bothers him. My husband and I have repeatedly told him that Santa will not come if he does not want Santa to come. We have never stressed the Santa aspect of Christmas. We read few stories about Santa and have not watched any Christmas movies. Gifts under the tree are from family members. We have followed my family’s tradition of Santa filling stockings. (In my Husband’s family all gifts were from Santa.) At this point telling son that Santa is pretend is not an option. Through December 23rd, son will be attending daycare. (Husband and I decided for other reasons that it would be best for me to stay home with the children. I have given notice, but must work until late December.) I have spoken with son’s teachers regarding his fear of Santa. They said that other than singing Christmas songs, they have not discussed Santa. They requested that we not tell him Santa is pretend as long as son is attending the daycare. They say it would devastate the other children if he told them Santa was not real. Also, MIL is adamant that Santa brings gifts. Last year she marked all gifts from her as being from Santa. Husband will not stand up to his mother. I do not want son to be in the middle of a battle. And of course, we have small friends and relatives who do believe Santa will visit them. I am considering asking one of husband’s friends to pretend to be Santa via telephone. Friend could then reassure son that Santa only visits children who want to see him. Would this work or make things worse? Our other son is younger, so what we do will also impact him.

Put a few on his/her tray or the table and see what the baby does. If he or she can get them to his/her mouth, the baby is ready for them.

For the middle school students continuity would be good. Either continue Bahasa because they have already started learning it, or offer Mandarin or Spanish because those languages are offered at the high school level. If the middle school schedule is too tight for a full course, could the students study the language less intensely? Perhaps the equivalent of a one year course over two academic years?

In the long run an average or even under-average child who works hard is better off than a bright child for whom everything seems to come easy. The child who has to work hard learns to persevere. A child for whom everything is easy does not know what to do when he/she eventually fails at something.

They look good to me.

My understanding of white elephant gift exchanges is that the gift should be something from your house that you no longer need or want. It could be a gag gift or an item that does not appeal to you but might be valued by someone else. Unopened jars of bath salt if you are shower person, for example. You could also fill a decorative (or give-me) mug with candies, cookies, or cocoa mix.

Are you ready for tough love? If he messes in his pants, he has to change them. He must remove his underpants and dump the mess in the toilet. You help him clean himself. Then stand him at the sink with a small bar of soap saved for just this purpose. (You could also set a basin of warm water on the floor.) He must scrub his underwear clean. I did not have to resort to this with my son, but my cousin says it was the only thing that worked with her daughter. My older son trained at a little over three. Pull-ups did not work. Once we put him in underwear, he urine trained over a weekend. The first day, he did not make it to the potty once. He would pee then cry because he did not like the urine running down his leg. I changed him and cleaned the puddles off of the floor. The second day he started asking to use the potty. Poop took longer. He would cry and ask for a diaper when he needed to go. After several days of being told no more diapers, he would hide to make a bowel movement. I asked his doctor what to do, Dr. said to just put him on the potty and make him sit there until he goes. To a toddler peeing and pooping are two different processes. It took about a week of sitting him on the potty (and reading to him while he was sitting) for him to reliably use the potty.

Have you looked at My Pyramid.gov http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx ? If you plug in her age, sex, weight, height, and activity level, you will see the "recommended" number of calories and amount of each food group she should be consuming. You could then check this information against her diet to see whether she is really overeating or if your perception of what she should be eating is skewed. She needs protein in the morning. A hard boiled egg, cheese cubes, or a slice of whole wheat toast with nut butter would be good additions to the oatmeal. If she doesn't like to eat breakfast, offer it as a mid-morning snack. Include moderate amounts of healthy fat in her diet. Her brain needs the fuel. She may need more fiber, try to make her breads/grains whole grain whenever possible. Whole grains are more filling and take longer to digest than highly processed grains. A healthy choice meal is not filling. Leftovers or soup and a sandwich might be better choices. Her diet appears to be lacking in calcium and possibly vitamin D. If she is lacking in essential vitamins and minerals her body is programmed to continue eating in an attempt to get the nutrients. If she is meeting the recommended guidelines for food consumption, try having her drink a glass of water then waiting 10 minutes. If she is still hungry after 10 minutes, she may have a snack. The same thing can work at meals. After she eats what is initally placed on her plate, have her drink some water and wait. If she is still hungry, then give her more food. Others have mentioned that she may be about to enter a growth spurt. Also, some days she just may be extra hungry. She should not be punished for being hungry.

Tennis balls, soccer ball, beach ball, almost any ball large enough not to fit in his mouth. If he is prone to putting toys in his mouth avoid Nerf and other foam type balls. He could bite a piece out of this type of ball. Toy trucks and cars A riding toy

If the child eats a well-balanced diet, a multi-vitamin is not necessary. Toddlers can be finicky eaters. The mother might view the multi-vitamin as insurance that nutritional needs are being met.

If your objective is mostly to have fun, old fashioned schoolyard games could work well. Circle games such as the Farmer in the Dell, the Hokey Pokey, Shoo Fly, or Duck, Duck, Goose. More active games include Simon Says, Follow the Leader, Red Light-Green Light, Mr. Fox What Time is It?, Red Rover, Four Square, and Hopscotch. Simple obstacle courses could also be fun.

The books are not offensive. I agree with OrganicAnn. If your goal is start your nephew's personal library, the books are great. If you are looking for read aloud books for a baby or toddler, these are not good choices. Some favorites in our house have been Freight train (Donald Crews), Babies (Gyo Fugikawa), the Going to Bed Book (Sandra Boynton), Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown) , and the Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle). All of these are available in board book versions.