LL Bean slippers are the only ones I have ever been really satisfied with. They have a number of different styles, actual soles and are very warm.

I got one for my 10 year old when I started needing to be able to contact her. She is dropped off for activities now and rides her bike to a friend's house down the road. We also had an issue where she made a poor safety choice at a sleepover because she didn't know how to get out of the situation (rode in a car without a seatbelt because there were too many kids) and I wanted to ensure she could always easily reach me for help now that she is facing tween/teen choices.

At that price you need to be looking for a rescue or an "oops" litter from a family.

Since it was an old guy I would think nice. I can absolutely see my lonely and bored grandfather doing the same thing.

I really prefer to shop locally but during the holiday season usually get so frustrated with all the other shoppers that I end up ordering online so I don't have to face people.

I rarely even notice gunshots anymore because we live in the woods and all of our neighbors hunt (it's deer season). If we were in a high crime area I think I would probably lock myself in the bedroom with my kids and a cell phone if I heard a gunshot late at night (or at all).

I just saw tinker crate and think I am going to sign my 8 year old up to receive it. The same company has a few art based monthly kits also and I am planning to pick one for my other daughter.

Drug use, physical violence, complete unwillingness to move toward adulthood. The first two wuld be a case by case basis dependent on if the child was actively trying to work through the issue.

I occasionally sit down with my family when it is on but I am generally doing something else and only half paying attention. I don't ever turn it on myself ad couldn't really tell you much about any thing on tv.

I would eat it. I regularly thaw chicken on the kitchen counter and it has always been fine. I make sure it is thoroughly cooked.

Memberships, tickets and craft kits that make things we can give away as gifts (perler beads make good coasters, pot holders, etc).

If she tests high enough for Davidson I would consider Reno. I wouldn't make that move without the test results in hand though. If she does not test well enough for that I would consider mid atlantic east coast. There are quite a few programs for PG kids at colleges along this coast and Mary Baldwin is a great option if you want to consider a college experience starting at middle school age (because it is geared to PG kids and can support them properly in an environment that does take into account their emotional age and need for peers).

My husband and I divorced after 10 years with a 4 and 6 year old at home. It was, and still is, hard. I would have chosen a workable partnership rather than divorce but he was unwilling to do so as he was having multiple affairs and wanted to move in with one of the women. Now, three years later he wishes he had chosen differently but it is far too late. Make a pro and con list for each option. Really think through what you would need to do to make being a single mom work (it is HARD). My suggestion would be individual counseling at first then couples counseling so that you can figure out what you want and need then work with him (if he is willing) to figure out if that is possible in your marriage (or if you are willing to put your wants and needs on hold for a few years until the kids are older).

She sounds just like my oldest child. The good news, with a lot of cbt it has gotten better. The bad news, it took an anxiety diagnosis, meds for that and a lot of cbt to get any better. It is exhausting to live with a child like her but I try to remind myself that the qualities that drive me the nuttiest will be beneficial when she is an adult.

Pediatric Oncologist

The prescribing doctor should handle the medications side effects.

watered down elmer's glue. Seriously. It will wash out.

Definitely look around and compare plans (and don't be afraid to tell the companies you are doing so as there is often room for negotiation). I just stopped at Verizon to look at options and they offered me 4 lines (all smart phones/iphones) with unlimited talk and text plus 10g of shared data for $160 per month. Adding a non smart phone line was only $20 per month additional (each).

I expect to cover an undergrad degree for each of my kids and will do my best to help them with graduate work if that is the path they need/want to take. At this point (8 and 10) the things I am doing to help them get established in life are fairly basic. I have them stack wood, help with housework, volunteer on park cleanup days, etc so that they learn to handle hard work. I figure if they can work hard in situations that aren't necessarily their ideal they will be able to help themselves. I also pay each of them $5 a week. They have bank accounts and investment accounts (minimal balances) and we spend a lot of time working toward financial literacy. Again, if they can handle what money they do have they are more likely to be able to help themselves. If I give them the skills they need to be successful they will be, with or without my financial support (though I do expect to cover things like insurance and cell phones as well as deposits if they need me to).

We have two different custody schedules in our house, mine with my ex and SO's with his ex (we each have two kids). They both have benefits and drawbacks. My kids are with us M-F and every other weekend during the school year. They go to their father's house one state away every other weekend during the school year. During the summer we do every other week, switching on Sundays. We split holidays and vacations during the year (we each get half of them and switch which ones each year). He pays child support, I claim the kids on taxes, we split medical and extracurricular activities based on income percentage (add our incomes together and each pay the percentage equal to our share of that amount). The biggest benefit is that the kids have a home base. All of their needed stuff is here for school and activities. They each have a room at their dads but they pack a suitcase to go visit each time. The biggest drawback is that their dad is reluctant to allow them to skip visitation to participate in life here. They are getting older and there has been quite a bit of resentment lately about friend's parties missed, school dances missed, wanting to trick or treat with friends not dad, etc. It can also be difficult because extracurricular stuff is becoming more involved and often spills onto the weekend which their dad complains about. My SO's kids are with us M, TH and F nights plus every other Sat/Sun. Their schedule stays the same year round. They go with whichever parent they would normally be with on most holidays. The only real exception is Christmas Eve which they switch every other year so they each get a chance to do stockings. They negotiate to change the schedule if one wants them for more days to travel. Neither pays child support (we have them more but their dad makes more money), they split the kids for tax purposes and they split kid activities and medical expenses 50/50. The biggest benefit is that the kids get to spend a fair amount of time with both parents. They don't need to worry about activities as much because their parents are in the same area (5 miles apart) and both get enough time with them that they are willing to let them go to most things they ask to do. The biggest drawback is that they really don't have a home base. They have their stuff at their mom's and their stuff at their dad's. It is a constant issue to get things back and forth when it is needed and there is a constant shuffling of clothes/coats/shoes that get left at the wrong parents house. There also isn't one "in charge" parent which means things sometimes fall through the cracks (each thinks the other has the info/has it covered) and there has to be a lot more compromise about how things are done (one doesn't enforce homework as well so the other winds up with more than half the burden, etc). My ideal, and the setup my own kids have requested more than once, would be their dad and I in the same school district. They are with me Sun night through Fri after school and every other weekend. They are with him the alternate Friday and Saturday nights. We keep the schedule flexible and they go with him one or two evenings a week for dinner/homework/rides to activities but get dropped off at home to sleep in their own rooms and go to school the next morning from here. This would only work if both parents were pretty much on the same page with parenting and were willing to put the kids first and work together (so, will never work for us because my ex is Disney Dad and wouldn't enforce decent diets, homework or showing up to activities if the kids balked at all). I don't see us ever going to a flexible schedule where the kids basically stay where they want to because of the drastic differences in our parenting styles. I can easily see my kids trying to take advantage of their father's inability to enforce rules and desire to be seen as their favorite to play us against each other.

My girls loved the corolle dolls before they moved up to american girls. They also liked their bitty twins. I think you can't go wrong with either.

I would probably prescreen some doctors and make her another appt with someone else.

My 7 year old just started swimming in sept and had her first meet. She managed a c time on her backstroke and freestyle but dq'd her fly and breast. Not bad for only 12 practices before the meet. She can't wait for the next one.

I would probably use a month or two worth for travel each year and dump the rest in savings. I am quite happy with my life currently but wouldn't argue with a yearly longer vacation to some far away destination (a couple of weeks in europe, a tour of the great wall of china, etc).