My GPS has only once ever steered me wrong. It had me get off and back on the expressway repeatedly. Complete with squealing tires to get ahead of someone at an intersection so I could change lanes. I have no idea what I did, but I did assume the possibility of user error. It still resulted in a terse conversation with the darn thing. My sister was with me and fortunately we found our way. Don't enter an address if you can help it. Search and choose whenever possible. The next time I went to the same place, that's what I did and it was fine. (I have a Garmin--most scary GPS stories seem to involve the Tom Tom.) Google maps, however, has sent me to a shipping and receiving area at a factory when I was looking for an airport. It was Flint Bishop airport, not some rinky-dink out of the way small town hangar.

Mine is in a spot between the kitchen and the back door with about 24" (or slightly less) between it and the wall with the door closed. If I leave the door open, it would take out the knees of anyone walking past.

Unless the chickens are living in your house, you're probably doing much much better than you think. Your kids are still so little. Hang in there! :-)

I think we like to tell ourselves we are multitasking when really we are just constantly switching gears/being interrupted. It's inefficient. I'm trying to purposely do less of it. My first step has been to move the computer further from the kitchen.

I've noticed that people who worry about having time to keep their house clean are keeping it a lot cleaner than they realize.

If he hasn't installed them, it's not too late. He can just hang them lower. If he hasn't made them yet, they could be 3" taller, but even if it's too late for that, they can still be lower. (I am assuming you are speaking of custom cabinets?)

Find that nurse and hire her as a doula?

When I had that problem (with my Math Mammoth order), I could not even *find* my spam folder. Somehow it had ended up hidden. That was weird. :-/

Did you check your spam folder? That's where things with lots of links end up quite often with gmail. It's where my Math Mammoth purchase ended up. And search does not return results from the spam folder (I just tried it.).

Duolingo is also free and fun (and definitely not kid geared.) My 9 year old did quite a bit of the French though.

The "tasks" feature might be your best bet for the checklists. I have not used it much, but I do know that there can be sublists. For calendars, I made one for each kid and chose them each a separate color instead of color coding individual subjects. I use mine to put in outside commitments, extracurriculars etc. I don't know how to do screenshots (and there's not much on there now anyway). Also, if you need to get supplies for something by a particular date, make a list in the notes section and have it send you an e-mail. That's an awesome feature that saved me many times last year when I was teaching a hands-on co-op class and only had a car 3 days a week.

My son target shoots and hunts. He'd probably give the gun an admiring glance and ask the dad if he could help clean it.

I second the suggestion for fish oil and sleep (not necessarily in that order though. Blech!).

Pretty color! As bold as it is, it is much more muted than the "orange peel" in my son's room. :-)

I said I would re-enforce it--not that anyone who didn't was definitely going to have it fall apart. So I guess I would disagree that we're actually disagreeing. ;-) (It's certainly not a serious disagreement anyway.) IKEA can be very hit or miss on things. Some of their desks and tables, for instance, are awesome, but I am sitting at one of their tables that is sagging. I also really do have a tendency to be over cautious and overbuild things. Building and modifying things my idea of fun (but it makes furniture shopping with me a bit of a trial, I'm sure. ;-)) I would love to try something like this with short wall cabinets--also not meant to support weight on the top. (There's holding weight and then there's holding weight on a particular spot.). And I have built shelves (years ago) that when I look at them now, I wonder how they are still holding together. lol! I'm just glad they do. It seems I can never get around to getting enough projects done. All my physics education has been practical application. Trial and... umm... error :-P ETA: The unit you linked is 32" tall. They are not assuming anyone will sit on it. This one is a bench: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S69923542/ It's hard to see since it's white, but the top overlaps the sides. The top on this is clearly intended to hold more weight.

That's really awesome! I wonder if I can talk dh into an IKEA trip anytime soon. It's 2 hrs away. :-/ My oldest has an awesome IKEA office chair and I'd love a couple more of those. It was a wool one and quite spendy though.

I was not talking about the strength of the material, but rather the hardware supporting the weight *at the ends* vs. the shelves themselves. A shelf does have the same amount of load bearing capability in all directions. The designer assumes the weight will be in a particular place and designs it accordingly. A bench would typically be constructed with the top overlapping the sides--not in between. Like this: http://ana-white.com/sites/default/files/images/knock%20off%20wood%20west%20elm%20rolling%20bench%204.jpg The IKEA shelf looks similar, but the ends are constructed differently (The short ends overlap the sides http://img.roomeon.com/img/object/ikea-expedit-shelves_0526769f7f_xxl.png ) because they assume most people will use it vertically and might put something on top of the shelf. If it were me, I'd poke something into each corner just because it would be a bummer to have the hardware work loose over time. And I have a fair amount of carpentry experience. :-)

There is one that is red, black and white. Modern Curriculum Press? It's pretty good and reasonably priced too. ETA: I see now it's already been mentioned. I would be seriously considering it myself if I didn't already have TWO excellent programs in my house to choose from for my 5th grader this fall. It is often overlooked.

I would think as a shelving unit, it would be okay either way. The sides are generally not meant to be load bearing though. The shelves should help with that. The shelves are fixed, not adjustable right? That would help a lot. I'd still be tempted to tap a piece of 1x3 painted to match and cut about 1/16" wider (press fit) into the corners. Just because I like to modify, build (and overbuild) things. :-) I've actually thought about this kind of a lot. I have the perfect spot! IKEA is 2 hours from me though. P.S. I love those red chairs! How are they holding up? Years ago I did go to IKEA and bought my kids each a chair. The seats all eventually split. :-( It was this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S69816641/ The wheels were so NOT a good idea, but they were out of the fixed chair bases and I wanted particular colors.

I really have no idea whether or not everyone who comes into my home is up to date on their shots or not. I can't imagine asking. Not letting sick people around the baby and hand washing sounds about the best you can do.

Something like this sounds good to me right about now too.

It comes up as unavailable for me. Does that mean it's only on streaming?

I love the color of this room and love the idea of the IKEA shelf turned sideways, but I do wonder how it will hold up. The sides were not meant to be weight bearing. (I would probably do it, but not let any adults sit there.)

You mean like to track in some sort of fitness program?

I would not break it down *quite* that much.