I am so paranoid about choking! My kids still don't get hard candy....and I still cut their hot dogs down the middle. I've done the heimlich twice on my oldest....once was a gummy vitamin and once was asparagus. So scary. I'm also super paranoid about water bottle caps. A little girl choked and died while taking one off with her teeth. Her dad was driving her to school and saw her slumped over in the back seat while in the car rider line at our local elementary school. Now I take the caps off before I let my kids have the bottle. It was just such a sad situation:(

Be sure to tell the allergist about any previous rashes, etc. My dd's nut allergy started this way. She would get rashes, but I didn't realize nuts were the cause. I had her tested (not because of nuts, but frequent Asthma)and she only tested as slightly allergic (I forget the number). Two years later and her sensitivity level is now 4 times higher. Her reactions have become more severe over time. Apparently this is pretty common. We never leave the house without our Epi and Benadryl! I would definitely be calling the dr. in the AM and asking for an epi prescription until you can get in to an allergist!!

I will definitely check out the book! Any insight would be helpful. I have always thrived on social activity so it's hard for me to feel like he's nor missing out. However, I know he is happy and it's more my problem than his!

When my oldest was a year she fell and hit her head on our brick fireplace (no fire). She actually didn't fall that hard, but when she hit it the cement holding the bricks was uneven and sticking out (does that make sense?). Anyway, it actually poked a small hole in her head and bled like crazy!!! When I was in Jr. High I went tubing with my friends family. The intertube popped and somehow the tow rope hook (those BIG ones) lodged in my arm. They had to swim out, unhook me, and head to ER. A few weeks later another part of my arm started to swell. When they cut it open they pulled out a piece of the intertube. Ugh....that was just traumatizing!!!!

Hmmmm.....Chess might be a good idea! We tried soccer, baseball, gym, but he is not into anything that might result in injuries:). He is very anxious and worries about stuff like that. Going to have to find out about a local chess club!

I should have come up with better wording. I was trying to steer away from "shy" as he is definitely not shy once put into a social situation. He is loud, silly, talkative, etc. It's just that if he had his choice, he would stay home. I apologize if my wording was offense....totally not my intention!! Thanks for the advice. I guess I just need to respect his need for alone time. I just hate to seem him slowly pulling away from all the social activities he used to look forward to. It just makes me sad to see him alone even though I know it apparently is what he wants.

Ds is 9. He is a sweet, compassionate, smart, funny kid. When he was younger we were always on the go....playdates, gymnastics, field trips, etc. Within the last two years he has become extremely anti-social. I wouldn't even call it shy because once he is around his friends, he has a good time and is running around crazy with them. However, he does not ever WANT to do anything with friends. He quit gym and complains about every outing we go on. Just this morning I had signed him up for a mini camp. It was all kids he knew well from co-op. He threw, as usual, a huge fit about going. He says he just wants to stay home and play computer, build things, and play with his sisters. I forced him to go and he said it was fun, but he still doesn't want to go back. He is totally content being at home. I am very social and can't relate. I continue to make play dates because I don't think it's good for him to be isolating himself. What do you think? Should I back off or keep pushing him out of his comfort zone? He is well liked by other kids so there are no hidden issues like bullying, etc. ETA: I realize he is not clinically anti-social. I was posting while listening to three kids, the TV, and the dog and just couldn't come up with another word. Shy didn't describe him so I resorted to anti-social, as in "not social". Didn't intend to offend any introverts....I am aware that one is a clinical dx while one is just a personality type.

I hate exercising. Hate it! As others stated, I have very little time to myself. I'm constantly running around with the kids, cleaning, cooking, etc. I want to relax in my free time. I also find it boring. Now if I had time to play a sport, like tennis or softball, I'd be all over that. I like activities with a "purpose", not just repetitive motions.

Oh so many!!! Here are a few that stand out: Walking Dead Jericho How I Met Your Mother Chuck Medium Ghost Whisperer

Usually at night. Mostly because my hair is super thick and takes forever to dry. I hate blow drying it (takes a good 45 mins), so I shower at night and let it dry overnight. It's still damp, but much less work to blow dry!

Have you tried something like the Loseit! app? Or anything that you have to enter in every calorie you eat? I found it to be a real eye opener. I was eating so many hidden calories! Writing everything down and staying within my allotted calorie intake forced me to be very choosy with what I ate. Like, is that slice of cheese on your sandwich really worth using up some calories? The accountability really worked for me. That, and exercise. I wish it were possible to get out of that one but I just don't think it is:(

Sadly, none of mine enjoy it. They will, however, do it for money:)

Oh, and we have also taken a nebulizer when she was younger. Now she is old enough for the inhaler. I just make sure everything is labeled with the pharmacy label. But, like I said, we've never been questioned about it.

We've never had a problem. We take dd's albuterol, epi-pen, benadryl, etc. in our carry on. They have never even asked about it (and we fly a few times a year).

I've been coloring mine for 20 years now.....and have never done the test. I don't have sensitive skin or any allergies so it never worried me.

P.S.: looks like we're neighbors here in middle TN!:)

Thank you! Off to read your blog.....:)

So, we decided to get some guinea keets to help control our tick population. They are only a few weeks old. This will be our first time raising, well, anything! I know I need to get a heat lamp and a cardboard box/Tupperware, but what else should I get? I'm heading up to the store this afternoon. Any other tips?

Another vote for ABF! They were awesome! We moved from CA to TN. We had our cars shipped and flew out here, but I don't think driving would have been so bad if we had the time to stop and see some things.

My dd used to vomit every few weeks for no apparent reason. She was dx with abdominal migraines. I have traditional migraines...I guess hers just manifested itself differently. Hers were aggravated by long days and/or stressful days. She hasn't had any since we pulled her from PS (which was very stressful for her).

Always best to save opinions on names to yourself. Why hurt someones feelings? I'll be honest, my dd is Mikayla and even reading the negative comments here from people I don't know kind of hurts mine:001_huh: I can't understand why people even care what names other people use.....to each his own.

Yup! But we just moves in last month so I may still be in the honeymoon stage. My favorite feature is that there are two separate stairways. Up one is just a huge bonus room. Up the other are all the kids rooms. So, we can actually use our bonus room at night without the kids being bothered. Love it. Also loving that we finally have a mud room! Ahhhhh.....so much better than a tiny laundry room right in the middle of our kitchen!

Thanks everyone! I really didn't want to wait to get them until we could fence the whole thing! You know, I heard about guineas for the ticks, but I also heard they are very loud. I wonder what's more annoying....ticks or loud guineas:)

So, we just moved to some land with an existing coop. We really want to get some chickens to help with our tick problem (eggs too!). I want them to free range to eat as many bugs as possible. This may sound dumb, but won't they wander away? We have 22 acres.....only a fairly small area is fenced. Do we need fencing all around?

My dd 15 loved it. But, she also thinks Twilight is a masterpiece;)