If you have no idea who I am talking about, thank your lucky stars and move on with your day in blissful ignorance. I have teens who listen to the radio so I know more about this carp than I wish I did. First, I do not get that family. They are the highest followed women on IG, because???? Honestly, I don't get it. And, putting on my judgey pants, I'm having trouble finding sympathy for this guy who signed up to be part of the circus, couldn't deal with it and was found will all the drugs in his system. At the Bunny Ranch. AND do people really believe that, out of all the people in and out of his hospital room, it was Kim Kardasians hand that he squeezed?? Please.

If we do, I missed it. Thoughts?? Who is blowing the horn?!?! My guess is Ron.

We don't typically have much winter. But, on the few days that there is snow, the kids all want to play in it. Buying winter gear (boots, etc.) seems like a waste but they need it to play outside. What do you do?

My son wants to quit music lessons. He has wanted to quit for months. I have to tell his teacher. Ugh.

I have an iPhone 4 that I haven't used in a year. When I quit using it, I forgot the 4 digit passcode. I just want the notes off of it. I'm trying to sync it to iTunes (where it was synced before) and it won't let me without the passcode. At this point, I have to wait an hour before I can try a new passcode. What is the point of that?!? If I am syncing with the computer where it was synced before, I'm obviously the owner--why can't I change or delete the passcode from my iTunes account?!? And I totally blame the kids for this!! The only reason I don't remember the passcode is because they kept seeing it and playing on my phone so I kept changing it.

I'm pretty sure PTE goes on sale around Thanksgiving every year? Does anyone remember how much it costs on sale?? If I have a recipe that calls for eggs, is there a way that I can set it up so "eggs" goes to my Aldi shopping list, frozen veg automatically goes on the WalMart shopping list, etc.??

Ok, put your menus here!! The day is getting away from me so I'll update when I'm done. S 1--leftovers M 2--sausage dip with chips and veggies T 3--crock-pot Italian beef W 4-- Th 5-- F 6--Dd birthday dinner out! S 7--

I've vented on this board one or two (or six) times about my dislike for dinner, cooking, shopping, feeding the picky children, all of it. I picked up a copy of Dinner The Playbook by Jenny Rosenstrach and I have to say, I'm inspired!! Basically, she got tired of picky eaters sucking the fun out of dinner and issued herself a 30 day challenge to cook only new food for 30 days. The kids had to try one bite of everything and then grade it. Ok, I am not a food blogger so I have no intention of cooking 30 new meals. But, I am going to quit serving dinner based on the lowest bar set by the picky eaters. I have one child who will eat anything as long as it is made of Ramen noodles and my other picky eater also takes medicine that screws up his appetite. Why am I trying to make them happy with dinner?? That isn't a thing!! Reading this book has made me realize (again) that I must have a written plan and I need a set day to grocery shop. Today is Thursday, my DH's birthday is tomorrow. I went to the store yesterday for milk and I need to go again today for carrots for the carrot cake I make for him every year. How insane is that??? Had I bothered to make a plan for the week, I would save myself an hour today. Insane!! The book says to start on the next Sunday so that is when the challenge starts. If you are brave enough to take the challenge, sit down, write out a list of meals and a shopping list and decide when to shop. If anyone wants to join me, we can start a daily 'what's for dinner?' thread to inspire one another. The author has a blog with lots of recipes. http://www.dinneralovestory.com/ I have tried a few from The Playbook and, keeping it real here, they aren't really for my family. But www.allrecipes.com works great! We start Sunday! Who is in??

DH has a birthday this month. I have a vague memory of some new gaming thing that recently came out? Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

Hive, give me some guidance. We have a basement that was finished in the 80's. The walls are powder blue fake wood paneling with blue trim. The floor is nasty nasty nasty flat blue carpet (the kind that unravels and it is). The ceiling is that industrial looking drop ceiling with those big fluorescent lights. Yes, everyone looks slightly sick in our basement. I don't think there is much or any insulation because it gets cold down there. We have 2 options. The first option is to remove the ceiling and the paneling, have a proper ceiling put in with nicer lighting, have the walls insulated and dry walled, and get new flooring. I hesitate with this because our sump pump went out once and the basement immediately had water in it. That could happen again, right? Should we keep an extra sump pump around in case of emergency? That is the only water issue we've had. The other option is quick and dirty. Paint the paneling and get a new floor. It would still be cold but it would be cheap. Also, what kind of flooring (see above water concern)? I typically hate carpet but it would really help warm it up down there. So, what says the Hive?

http://www.candlesbyvictoria.com/ I keep hearing about Candles by Victoria and I love candles so I thought I'd check them out. Holy cow, there are soooo many scents! How did you ever decide? Any recommendations?

Can we have a discussion without nastiness? If not, I'll turn this car around and we'll go straight home! I know people who think the solution to mass shootings is to arm everyone. I know people who think the solution is the destruction of all guns. Neither of these are a real solution. Is there a middle-of-the-road solution? Is there a way to preserve gun rights while protecting the citizens? Is the horse already out of the barn?? Without collecting all the guns, won't bad guys always be able to get their hands on them? What does effective gun control look like??

I mentioned the KM method to DH. I told him I was tempted to put all the toys in one room and have the kids pick their favorites. He thought it was a good idea!! Do I dare?? We have soooo many toys!

When did they get rid of it?? None of the books I'm looking at have that feature now. I don't need a drawing of a man to know what 5x7 means.

DH and I have decided that, most likely, in 2 years when the youngest starts K and all my kids are in school, I'll return to the workforce to assist with college costs. So, I've been thinking. Since I can't convince anyone to pay me to watch Netflix, what am I passionate about? Honestly, not really anything (Netflix excluded). I have a degree in Literature. That plus $2 will get you a cup of coffee. If I return it and get my money back, I totally would. I have no desire to go back to school. I need flexibility because I'll still have a house full of kids. Should I try to work from home? Start a business?? How in the world do I decide what to do??

I'm not on FB much. If I belong to a group, how do I ask that group a question without the question going to all of the people on my friend list?

In the past few weeks, I've been asked by two women to "join their amazing team" selling face cream. I'm not sure if I should feel insulted that I look so old that I need anti-aging cream or complimented because I look so damn good I'll be able to sell the stuff well. And, MLM companies are cults. These two women are so friendly if you want to hear about joining the team and rage against "haters" if you aren't interested. their FB pages are full of clever one-liners designed to draw me in. Even photos of their kids playing are captioned with "so nice to be able to watch these darlings play while making money at home". It is a cult, I tell ya!!

I want Friday night to be DIY pizza night but I need easy, individual crusts that don't end up costing more that take-out pizza. Suggestions?

Almost all the birthday parties my kids go to now ask for food donations to the food pantry instead of gifts. My kindergartener is invited to party this weekend that just says "no gifts please". I feel strange not taking anything. Can I take a card with a $5 gift card in it?

When kids learned to swim by getting thrown in a pond and figuring their way out. Sigh. Six months of lessons at the Y and two kids still can't swim. They can hold on to a noodle and kick their feet like champs, though!

My 13yo has started watching Supernatural. I've seen about half of the first season. The 9yo wants to watch with her. He isn't scared by ghosts or gore but I limit his access to sex, language and serious horror stuff. I've seen the episode with the ex-girlfriend (with the racist ghost truck). Is there more sex than that? Does the gore get worse?

We're thinking of going to Gatlinburg for a long weekend. Fun things to do? Good places to stay with 5 kids?

Take pretty much anything you can think of, add the word 'sexy' in front of it and you will find a Halloween costume. What woman wants to be Sexy Minnie Mouse, Sexy Banana or Sexy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?? I'll tell you--none of them!! Those costumes exist so boys will see them in catalogs and think "Hey, let's go to the Halloween party! Maybe a Sexy Watermelon will show up!" Let's give Halloween back to the kiddos!

Clothing management. Ugh. I feel like I'm constantly clothing shopping. And then, this morning was our first cool morning. One kid has no pants (I've saved all his older brother's clothes--was his brother never a size 8???), one kid has no non-sandal church shoes which was fine because she also has no tights that fit. Not only were we late for Mass, we were a hot mess when we finally showed up!

It was a woman who asked you about a happy time in your life. Then she used a giant color wheel based on that time (like a trip to Hawaii) to decorate a room. Anyone remember the name?