I love food trucks. Our area has a ton of great ones. I eat lunch at them once a week or so and then almost every saturday my kids and I eat brunch from the fod trucks at the farmers market. A local brewery has a weekly food truck night that we go to sometimes for a date night. It's quite fun.

When I think single dad I think of a dad who has custody of his kids a significant percent of the time and does quite a bit of the work of raising them. My ex has our kids 15% of the time total, every other Saturday night and 4 weeks each summer (in one week increments, at least two of which are spent with his parents). I would never consider him a single dad because he does none of the actual work of raising them. He plays with them, spoils them and shows them off to his friends, family and girlfriend but he doesn't ever have to get his hands dirty...he just sends them home. My SO was a single dad. He has his kids 60% of the time and is responsible for homework, dr appts, arranging child care, supplying everything they need in his home, etc. He did these things on his own or made the arrangements he needed to to get help with them before we started living together.

This is very interesting to me. I have a very high tolerance for pain and heat but can't handle cold. I also require larger than normal amounts of medication for pain relief or anesthesia but there is a threshold for what my body can handle and going over it even the tiniest bit can have a pretty negative outcome (doctors have said I am a very difficult patient because it is such a fine line). My older child seems to have a fairly normal pain tolerance but a huge aversion to blood and injury so her reactions can be over the top (I can tell because she reacts as expected to injuries that she doesn't see). My younger daughter seems to have an abnormally high pain tolerance. She will react normally to small injuries but major injuries leave her silent and almost indifferent. It took us a few years to realize that if she is crying she is fine, if we think she should be crying and she isn't something is probably really wrong.

We have the same policy. We have basic AT&T gophones that do not have data service right now. They are "family" cell phones to be taken by whichever kid is being dropped off without a parent somewhere (sports, scouts, sleepover). Our kids are 7-10 years old.

Having pants tailored is actually less expensive than I realized. I usually only pay around $15 a pair to have mine altered for an almost perfect fit.

I would probably get the shot if you have never had a tetanus shot and it went through a shoe (who knows what was on the shoe). I would wait until tomorrow though and ask my regular doc. For tonight I would soak in warm water and epsom salts to draw out any dirt. Unfortunately it will probably hurt quite a bit more before it gets better.

We moved to the Ashland/Richmond area from the northeast and I absolutely love it here. I can't imagine leaving. I would be happy to answer any questions by pm. And, the job market here is actually fairly good depending on what type of work he is looking for.

I can rack up 20-30 texts in a few minutes going back and forth with a friend. I don't think it is unreasonable for a college student to have 15-20 of those short conversations a day, especially if some are work (sorority, volunteer, school) related.

Mine are 7 and 9 and both know the keypad code for the garage door (door from garage into house is not locked) as well as where the key is hidden outside.

Has it been a good day or a bad day? Sometimes I just go stand in the shower for 20-30 minutes so everyone will leave me alone.

Been there, done that.

I doubt there is any kind of rule. I would ask the administrative staff at the office who they are referring her clients to in the interim. You will most likely need to see that person until she comes back to work (if she does).

I have a similar family history and I would not send photos.

And that s why Tricare is such an expensive program. I would go to the ER in that situation (truly inconsolable child) but I would be clear when I got there that I wanted a regular urgent appt and was told to use the ER instead.

I grate cheese with a hand grater, I shred cheese with the food processor (even if I use the grating blade, though I don't know why now that I am thinking about it).

I would buy a microwave. Then you could just plate his food when you eat and cover it so it becomes a matter of popping it in the microwave when he gets home.

I don't have a problem with skulls as long as they are kid appropriate and not gory or grotesque. My youngest loves "pirate" accessories.

I absolutely agree with this. And I believe that forward progress should be in real world skills that are applicable to the lives they will live after school.

I only allow my kids to play with "problem" children under my direct supervision. I have found that either the "problem" child chafes at my redirection and no longer wants to come play or craves adult direction and changes her behavior so she becomes pleasant enough at my home for me to allow my children to play unsupervised with her (I use her because my experience has been with girls).

It is really no big deal. Life isn't fair. I would explain that to my child and expect him to adjust.

It is really no big deal. Life isn't fair. I would explain that to my child and expect him to adjust.

Look around at what resources are available there for kids. Some libraries have toy lending sections (and some communities have freestanding toy lending libraries). I wouldn't bring much for a four year old. We did a couple of three month stints living in small condos or extended stay hotels when the kids were little so our family could be together and we stuck to the basics. We took clothes and a small duffel of favorite toys and then hit the library regularly and picked up some toys at thrift stores and on craigslist very cheaply (that we could just leave when we moved on).

All of the homeschool specific classes around here are during regular public school hours. I have never seen anything for homeschoolers in the evenings or on weekends.

My oldest does better in public school for a number of reasons - She needs way (WAY) more social interaction than I can provide. She isn't a follower at all, more of a natural leader and extrovert with a need for constant interaction. Trying to fill her need for interaction (she just wants to talk, constantly) left me absolutely exhausted by noon every day. She is very motivated to work and compete to be the best with her peers but very unmotivated when she is working on her own. She is quite contrarian and argumentative. Not necessarily in a bad way but in a questions everything way. It will serve her well later in life but was causing major problems in our mother/daughter relationship. Overall, both she and I are happier when we aren't together all the time. I love her dearly but she is a tough kid who needs constant attention and competition.

You could encourage him to look into certification exams for computer skills. It isn't my field (or interest) so I don't know which are the best but I know there are exams such as A+ and through Microsoft to certify as a computer technician (?) that don't require any classroom time.