This is what we do. We don't have a landline so our "home phone" is an additional iPhone on our plan, costs an extra $6 a month. DS1 is home alone on occasion, and he'll use either the phone or the associated iMessage account on the homeschool laptop to message me. In the spring DD1 has an overnight chorus camp and she'll take it with her then. It stays charging in the kitchen otherwise. (Unless a certain 4 year old takes it, with the 6 year old's permission of course, :glare: to play Minecraft and drops it in the toilet.)

We've done it with the door to our family room (in the basement) and I've often thought about doing the same thing to our bedroom! There's always a cat on the wrong side of it and they've destroyed the carpet. For the one in the family room, we put in this: http://www.cathole.com/

Yes, I woke up when I was having my gallbladder removed a few years ago.

I was born in the mid-70s, my dad wasn't allowed in the delivery room. My brother was born mid-80s and though my dad was allowed in but I believe he chose not to be.

I have a Trackr on my Kindle. I was so tired of losing it in the house, and the last time it was missing for 2 months. :glare: I'm using one of the Sticker Trackrs from this site: http://www.thetrackr.com/ I ordered it from Amazon, it took a few weeks to get here.

Definitely check the coverage in your area. We switched from Sprint to Ting (uses the Sprint network) in June and couldn't be happier, we've saved hundreds.

I have precipitous labors too, and my body pushes without me controlling it. My labor with the Caboose last month was 10 minutes from first contraction to baby. For me, waterbirth has been very helpful. I tore with my first (smallest baby, just over 8 lbs, born in the hospital) but with my last 5, born at home in the water and 3 of them 10-10.5 lbs, no tearing. Being in the water and being able to get in the position that felt right (half squatting, half kneeling) was the key. Having a birth tub with temperature control that could be prefilled was important too, since my longest labor was 2 hours and most were much shorter.

Do you apply it when your hair is wet or dry? I let my hair air dry yesterday and was terrified when I looked in the mirror. My hair wanted to party like it was 1989.

I haven't done the full curriculum, but DS1 tried their Intermediate World History A (the one that uses Human Odyssey) for a couple months in the fall. For that course there was more online time than reading in the textbook, the textbook definitely seemed secondary. We gave it a try for a couple months and neither of us was that impressed with him, he requested to switch to History Odyssey after looking at the sample.

We have a separate category for medical expenses, even though most of our medical items are covered completely by insurance. It's a small amount that accrues so I can use it as needed. For other items we have a Misc. category, for items that aren't frequent enough to warrant their own categories.

I'm sending you a PM also!

The ILs got the kinetic polymer sand from Brookstone & the sand box/molds for all the kids. Most of the kids find it kind of neat, but the almost-2 year old is just convinced I'm keeping him away from something delicious. From the other MIL overseas, 3 phonics readers, pre-reader through advanced level 1. I wasn't quite sure how to divvy those out and wrap them, so I just split them between the 4 year old and the 6 year old and hoped the older kids didn't notice.

I had an Otterbox as my first case, it worked well though it eventually needed to be replaced. I replaced it with a Lifeproof case because I wanted something that was also waterproof, it worked out great. Protected it through many, many falls and accidental dunkings (though you may not need that since you have older kids). Several months ago we got an additional iPhone as our home phone, DH got an Otterbox for it. Then a couple weeks ago 4 year old DS2 was using it to play Minecaft (apparently he asked 6 year old DD2 for permission :huh: ) and dropped it in the toilet, but didn't tell anyone. I was really wishing it had a Lifeproof case on it after that.

2. Sounds about right.

Ugh, I'm sorry. I have chronic migraines and I take Fioricet for them during my pregnancies.

We did this nearly 10 years ago, though we only had 1 infant/young toddler (and 7 cats). Definitely check the towing capacity! Other than that, what helped me was getting the little round stick-on blind spot mirrors to attach to the side mirrors (like these: http://www.amazon.com/Convex-Adhesive-Round-Blind-Mirror/dp/B007PP2FPQ/). That helped me be more comfortable driving and changing lanes.

We've been taking a break too, but I think it's harder than just continuing! If I wasn't so exhausted and trying to get last-minute things done before the baby comes then I would just keep going, it keeps the kids from squabbling. When we keep going with school then they have enough time left in the day to play with each other and enjoy it, but not enough where it gets to the at-each-other's-throats point that puts me over the edge.

I just went and checked, 71 orders this year plus the one I'm getting ready to make this year. That's not including keeping my Kindle fed.

Oh man, I looooove fried chicken but very rarely have it, most places use MSG (in one of its myriad forms) in the seasoning so I can't eat it. I tried to make it about 7 years ago, when DH was at sea and I was craving it. Did I mention that DH is the cook in the family? I found a recipe and tried it, what a catastrophe. I'm not sure a CSI arson team could have identified it :huh: and the pan was not able to be recovered.

We keep the feed in a bin, and when it gets down to a certain point (there's a ridge near the bottom of the bin), then the kids are supposed to tell us that we need to get more. There have been a couple times when they forgot, and for that night the chickens get a mix of oats and wheat in addition to their usual scraps and compost. We had the porch poop issue too. :glare: Every morning the ladies would be on the back porch lined up by the sliding glass door, waiting on me to come into the kitchen. The yard was a mess and it wasn't a good place for the kids to play, not what I had in mind with backyard chickens. We ended up fencing in part of the back yard around their coop with wood posts and chicken wire and made a gate. The "chicken yard" as we call it is probably about 15 feet x 40 feet, and also contains our compost pile in the back. They still have room to roam and peck and hunt for bugs, but I have a poop-free back porch.

DD1 gets abdominal migraines. She also gets classic migraines, but about once a week or so it will present only as stomach pain.

http://chaosandwine.com/2014/12/10/wordless-wednesday-an-honest-look/ The cat on the table, the 4 year old climbing the walls, the dirty dishes in the sink.

DH is the better cook and people enjoy eating what he cooks, neither of those things can be said about me. By the time he gets home from work, though, most days we need something simple. I've been enjoying several dishes from this site, many of them don't have involved prep and the kids have enjoyed them also. http://www.budgetbytes.com/ We have a Google spreadsheet where we plan out the meals for the week and that helps a lot. So does wine while cooking, though DH has to drink my glass for me for another few weeks.

Yes, definitely! GSWL has been great for DS1 and DD1. Even if a sequel came out after they were in another program down the road, I would happily use it with my younger kids. I recommend GSWL whenever a question about beginning Latin programs comes up in discussion.

For me, caught up means none of the hampers are overflowing onto the floor and everybody has socks & underwear for the next day.