DS1 has been wearing deodorant for a year or so, though it's taking some experimenting to find one that works well but doesn't smell like a teenage locker room. DD1 wears it also because she wants to, I haven't really noticed her needing it yet though. I recently switched to the roll on crystal deodorant (by Kiss My Face) and it works much better than what I was using previously, so I may buy some unscented for the kids.

We switched to Ting at the beginning of June and wish we had done so as soon as our contract was up! We've been very happy with it. We switched two iPhones from Sprint to Ting, so we already had the compatible phones. Our reception has been good, but we were using the Sprint network previously so we knew what to expect. We did purchase an additional used iPhone from Glyde to have as our house phone and for when one of the older kids is away from us at camp or overnight. I'm happy with our transaction, the phone was very reasonably priced, in very good condition, and arrived promptly.

I switched my 5 & 7 year olds to McRuffy LA for K and 2, it was a good fit for them. It's a bit boring for me, but I like that it's open & go and they both enjoy it.

We did a cross-country road trip with 5 kids last summer. It was... long. I'm glad we did it, but it'll definitely take me a few years to recover! Hauling the luggage in and out each night was a pain. On the way back I organized the bags by night rather than by person, that way we only had to bring in that night's bag (with clothes/jammies for everyone) and the toiletry bag. All the dirty laundry just went into a mesh laundry bag each night. A car top carrier would have been really helpful, I won't do a long trip like that again without one. We would stop for snacks since somebody usually had to pee anyway. They each had their refillable water bottles and I carried a gallon of water in there for easy refills. Keeping the car neat? Hahahahahahaha! Yeah... I got nothin'.

For my kids it was the proteins that caused the behavior issues. I started a thread with a nearly identical title on another board 7-8 years ago and there were many others that ran into the same issues.

We switched from Sprint to Ting and have been really happy with it, I wish we had done it much sooner! We went from a little over $150 a month bill for two smartphones to just under $50 a month. We added on another smartphone as a home/kids phone (for when one is away at camps) since it ended up being so reasonable.

It was definitely more on the teacher intensive side for us. It's been over 2 years since we used it and we're still occasionally finding the tiles somewhere in the house. DS1 didn't care for all the fiddling with the tiles, and I had too many younger ones to juggle to really feel like dealing with it that much.

I saw that a few days ago, we're going to try it this week! Did you have any problems with it sticking? http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/06/14/how-to-make-epic-pancakes-with-your-japanese-rice-cooker/

Just something else to throw out there - abdominal migraines. My 7 year old DD1 gets them (though she frequently gets the aura preceding them), we have a strong family history of migraine.

This is what we used, bought it from the piercing studio where DD1 got her ears pierced and I got more piercings done.

Same with mine. :)

I've had one hospital birth and 4 home births, loved my home births! I'm getting prenatal care at a hospital this time but I really hope to not have to give birth there.

The piercing shop around I took 7 year old DD1 to needed to see my ID, but didn't need to see her birth certificate.

The only people who would even possibly drop by unannounced are the few people who are welcome to come in my house and see it in all its craptastic glory, as I've done the same for them. They know who they are. :D Our families live very far away and don't drop in, thankfully giving me time to rescue the house before they do. (WTH, how did the toothpaste get all over the cabinet doors like that? KIDS!!!) In fact, when I was calling my mother last week to tell her I was in the hospital, I made her promise to not unexpectedly come out to visit (like she has in a similar situation 10 years ago) before telling her what was going on. Unexpected visitors seriously stress me out. And jammies all day? Sure. If the 3 year old is dressed at all then it's a formal day. And if the kids are still in their jammies at lunch then just keep them on until you get in the bath after dinner, no need to make more laundry when you're just going to wear it for a few hours. Surely my kids aren't the only ones who ask "where are we going?" when I tell them to get dressed right after breakfast? :leaving:

Awesome! I'm adding those to my Amazon list. Thank you!

Oh no, I was worried about that. :( He will be missed, and my thoughts are with his family.

Math Mammoth was a bust here and we moved to TT, it's been a good fit for DS1. I do supplement with word problems and have some of the "Key to..." books that I haven't pulled out yet but will soon. DD1 started with TT also after she did MCP Math in K and 1st. For now, it's working for our family and consistently gets done, and has stopped me from jumping around (MUS, MM, Singapore - poor DS1!) so I'm pleased with it.

Congrats! I can't wait to read it, love SG!

If it were my child I would come and get them, absolutely no problem. I don't want to set the precedent of them feeling like they have to stay in a situation where they are uncomfortable for whatever reason, and definitely want them to feel like I can come and get them from a bad situation, no questions ask. My 7 year old DD1 had never spent a night away from home and recently had an overnight chorus festival about an hour away from our house. She's a bit of an introvert and slow to warm up so I had my doubts about it (though I kept them to myself) and was prepared to come and get her at any point if she needed it. She completely surprised me by doing the 7 year old equivalent of telling me not to let the door hit me on the way out after I checked her into her dorm room, "no Mommy, you don't need to stay, I'm going to hang out with my friends now!" and had a fantastic time. I was definitely surprised but very pleased, especially when various chaperones pulled me aside the next day to tell me how awesome she did and what a pleasure she was to be around. Of all my children, she was the one I was the most worried about.

I've been on various antihypertensives (beta blockers & calcium channel blockers), antidepressants, and anticonvulsants for mine. There are some that have much worse side effects than others, but it varies a lot from person to person. I think my biggest piece of advice would be to keep trying even if the first one or two (or 10 :glare: ) don't work. What works great for one person could be completely ineffective for another, so the key is just finding the one that works for you.

I can't take triptans, so in addition to my preventive meds I have Fioricet to treat my breakthrough migraines. A lot of my migraines are triggered by my occipital neuralgia, and like Spryte I was on Tegretol to help control that. For breakthrough migraines that don't respond to Fioricet I have Toradol injections.

The standard diapers/wipes/changes of clothes for the littles. Apparently my girls like to store all their jackets in the van, or either just never want to bring them inside. :huh: A Baby Bjorn little potty for those emergency middle-of-nowhere stops for the girls (man, the boys are so easy). A chux pad for any car seat/booster accidents if we don't get pulled over in time. Emergency supplies & first aid kit. Barf bags & Dramamine for DD1. (They're purple and sold under the cloying name of "Morning Chicness bags" or something like that.)

My 9 year old loves it. My 7 year old has a love-hate relationship with it. Likes watching it, but then apparently wakes up in the middle of the night thinking of weeping angels.

Yes, this happened to us when our household goods were in storage (in the lovely FL summer heat for 30 days) during a military move. :ack2: It was vile. (This was pre-kids, when we were nowhere near our weight allowance and had the option of bringing our fridge along with us to the new house we bought.) That same move did a number on our front loader, we never had mildew issues until then.

I not only take my smartphone, I also take my Kindle (easier for me to read outside on the Paperwhite) and my knitting. Stone me now.