You poor thing! I was 52" around at the widest point with my twins and I thought that was bad :-). My boys were 13 lbs 8 oz combined. How much did yours weigh? I'll try and post a pic soon.

Santa doesn't have time to wrap here :-). All other presents are put under the tree before Christmas and Santa leaves his unwrapped presents in front of the tree on Christmas Eve. Santa also fills the stockings with unwrapped presents.

Hi ladies! I just wanted to thank you again for the wonderful advice on the flooring issue. The owner has been very responsive. They came out on Thursday and some repairs were going to occur on Sat. However, the floor was still not cleaned (the cutting was done in the house). Once DH got the floors all cleaned up and I really started looking, they were a mess. I have pictures of them with all the blue painters tape that I will try and post when I get them loaded. Anyway, I called the owne and cancelled the installer coming out that Sat. Both the owne and the installer came out today. Both were very upset (not with me). I have 3 options. To repair and replace the existing wood, to sand our BRAND NEW pre-finished floors, or they replace everything. If they start all over with brand new wood, there will only be 2 people doing the install, each piece of wood is to be inspected, the cutting will be done in the garage, and the owner will be there watching. Only thing is we can't use the same wood -- we have to get a different type of wood (it is part of Mohawk's 30 day customer satisfaction guarantee). I've brought home 3 floor samples that I like to try tonight. They had refinished our floors on the first floor and had done a beautiful job. I'm relieved they are trying to correct the issues with the new floor. Anyway, I know in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a huge deal. We have a roof over our heads, a family, and good health. It would just be nice for a contractor to get the job done right the first time. Hope things go better with the painters :-). Thanks again!

Hi all! I'm getting my house painted later this week. I'm curious what your preferred brand (and level) of interior paint is? Thanks much!

I have already done that -- LOL. I have told everyone I've hired I'm very picky -- I'm very visual and I see things that I wish I didn't. Anyway, we have put the fear of the Blue Tape Queen :D on him already and he has willingly accepted the job. DH also added provisions to his contract about the wood being in the same condition as when they arrived or there would be heck to pay. Now the floors may not be perfect unless it's fixed by then. DH is an attorney, but no one we've hired knows that yet. That is my secret weapon :-). Thanks everyone for making feel like I'm not crazy to expect so much. I know the owner is going to be unhappy with his crew so we'll see.

Thanks ladies! I'm going to meet with the owner of the store today. We owe them the remainder of the balance once the wood was installed. They aren't getting it until I'm happy. I will also cancel my carpet order if I'm not satisfied. I'm going to put blue painter's tape on the affected areas and he will not be happy when he comes over and sees. I haven't even seen it in daylight yet. Can't wait :-(. Thanks again!

Thanks for responding Tap, tap, tap! The floor is gorgous and I love the differences in the wood. I'm talking about scratches that were put there by the installers during installation -- cracks at the edge of the piece of wood or a scratch in the middle of the piece of wood that took the finish off the wood. There was only one piece of actual wood that I didn't prefer that has left a gap between the floor boards. I think that one came that way, but they had extra so I don't know why they used it. My concern for some of these areas is because the wood is in my 5 year old twins rooms and I'm pretty sure they are going to get snagged running around in their stocks. I didn't want to put carpet in the there because I have one child that throws-up whenever he gets a fever. Anyway, the affected areas aren't in the middle where I'm planning to put a rug. I guess I shouldn't expect so much from people -- that way I won't be disappointed :sad:

So, DH and I went over to our new house (we aren't living there yet) to inspect our new pre-finished hardwood floors that were installed today. They are a beautiful cherry wood w/cherry spice stain and it wasn't cheap. Well, there are several areas in each room (we had 4 rooms done) that have scratches or nicks or they didn't use the best piece of wood. I want to make them fix it, but I know they will only replace the piece of wood and not all the flooring. I'm thinking the nail holes used to put the replacement piece of wood in will look worse than the scratch or nick. For those that have had new pre-finished hardwood installed, did the installers do a perfect job or did you have a few minor issues? Did you have them fix it or leave it as is? I'm not sure if we are just expceptionally picky for wanting it to be near perfect and expecting any flooring installer to do a perfect job or if we are right to expect it to be perfect. I need to get perspective on this because we are having the same company (different installers) install a lot of carpet in 2 weeks, have a painter coming to paint the entire house (and fix nail pops, etc), and are getting new countertops installed. I'm expecting everyone to do their best -- just as I would do at my job (if I were still working out of the home LOL). The wood was the first thing we've had done by a contractor so far. Thanks much!

For those that have the quartz, is your's light or dark? We are getting a light color becasue the existing tile backsplash, cabinets, and tile floor are all on the darker side. The previous owners have gray Corian in there and we want to lighten it up. If you have light quartz, still no problems with staining? Thanks!

Wish I could help, but we are just getting ready to install quartz. I think that's the most popular these days. Granite prices are coming down.

Not reallly. I just point out OFTEN to both of them that not all people are made the same. I just focus on what each child is really good at. I think it's going to get harder though as the years go by. BTW, my boys are fraternal :-)

I just went through this. I received estimates from 3 people that came very highly recommended to me. I saw the actual work of 2 of them and both had done wonderful jobs. The 3rd painter -- I had not seen her actual work, but she wanted $19,400 to paint my whole house. I about fell over. She must paint in gold :-). Anyway, the guy we went with had a wonderfully laid out contract that specificed what was included, what rooms will be done, how many coats of paint (2 on the walls and ceilings, 1 on the trim and doors). We are having our entire house painted except for 3 bathrooms. That includes all spindles on the stariway. All repairs to drywall (nail pops, settlement cracks), caulk around windows, doors and trim, etc. are included (repairs and supplies). Ask if paint is included in the price 'cause than can be quite a bit extra if not. Have them specify brand of paint also. That is the only problem we encountered. We hadn't discussed brand of paint because there is a big difference in cost between paint from Home Depot/Lowe's, Duron and Benjamin Moore. The new house being painted is empty so they don't need to move or protect furniture. They do need to carfully protect our newly refinished hardwood floors and newly installed hardwood floors. We pulled the carpet out and the new carpet isn't going in until the painting is finished. I know the owner will be in and out several times a day (not on site all day), but he brought his crew leader to the estimate and I really liked him. He was pointing out things to be fixed that I hadn't noticed. There will be a crew of 4 additional people working also. I called references. One of them took pictures for me and sent them to me via email. Anyway, it's kind of a stressful process, but good luck.

We just bought a new house in September. On the outside, it is not the prettiest house in the neighborhood. We have siding and would have loved brick or stone front. However, it is in a great neighborhood with lots of kids (we didn't have any kids in our previous neighborhood) and I love the interior floor plan. I live inside the house so preferred the great interior over the not my favorite exterior. That being said, we are able to fix up the inside the way we want it. We can add landscaping and will put in a new front door and change the shutter color to spruce up the outside a little. I came from a small house (3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths with no basement). I went for space. Good luck with your decision.

I could so use that time right now as we are fixing up a house we just bought to move into. So...I would mostly be doing that, exercising and trying to get my scrapbooks done for my boys.

I'm very good about changing my boys' sheets once a week. My sheets -- not so much. Try for every 2 weeks (sometimes goes 3).

We got the grandparents, aunts and uncles photo calendars 2 years ago. We didn't do them last year and everyone wanted to know where there calendar was. We are doing them again this year. DH's parents also love gift cards to their favorite restaurants and asked for new L.L. Bean slippers to keep at our new house for when they come over (which is often). My dad is getting a gift of a full house cleaning by a cleaning service.

My boys are 5 and we are almost done with ETC 2. We do 2 to 4 pages a day (4-5 days a week). It takes them between 10 and 20 minutes depending on whether they are goofing off or getting serious. On the last page of the lesson, I have them spell the word to me orally and I write it out. We are working on hand stength, but sometimes they are shot after 1-2 pages of writing.

My dad is 76 and still quite active. He does not like to cook however. He would love this! He would also love a gift of me coming over and doing a good clean of his house -- LOL. He let me have my boys' 3rd party in his backyard 2 years ago and I cleaned his whole upper level so people coming in and using the bathroom wouldn't be appalled. HE LOVED IT!

Hi all! I'm trying to get my Christmas shopping done early :-). Thankfully, my boys' Christmas list isn't very long. They do want Kung Zhu pets though and they are on sale at Toys R Us today and tomorrow. Anyone have a review they can give me? I wanted to just get the pet and one piece of armor for now. They will be able to play with them on the 1st floor (all tile and hardwood). Do I need the "cage" or "battle area" for them to play with them at first? Thanks much! Mendy

Hi all! I need new window treatments for my boys' bedrooms and playroom. I don't want strings (mini-blinds or roman shades). Does anyone still use roller shades anymore? What do you have in your kid's room(s)? They also will not have any long curtains (my one son pulls on them), but I will put up a valence. Thanks much! Mendy

After many attempts elsewhere, Hanes brand at Target -- only $3.99. Nice and long and my super skinny boy keeps them up just fine (no strings).

I have 5 year old fraternal boys. I did 3 rounds of IUI before the 1st (successful) attempt with IVF. I put 2 embryos in and got 2 babies out :-). A great friend of mine put 2 embroys in and got 3 babies out (identical girls and a boy). I went 37 weeks 5 days to a scheduled c-section and the boys and I did great (no preemie issues). I was on bedrest at home for 3 months prior though (not because of complications but to avoid them), which was fine since I wasn't planning to go back to work. The boys were almost 14 lbs combined at birth. I tried breastfeeding for 2 months without success. I had one that had difficulty latching on and staying latched -- the other did fine. I pumped as much as I could also, but my milk prodcution wasn't the greatest. I gave up after 2 months. My friend with triplets pumped/breastfeed hers for 6 months without problems. To be honest, the first year was a blur. These are my only kids and I had them at 38. I woke mine every 3 hours to feed the first few months, but fed them one at a time (unless I had family over to help). I did not wake one to feed the other. As they got older and I became more confident, evertying started getting a little easier. Since these are my only children, I can't speak to just having one at a time, but I would do it over the same way if given the choice. Going through IUI/IVF was very draining and emotional and I don't think I would have gone through it again. I also didn't like all the drugs/hormones that went with the process. Multiples are higher risk and I know I was very fortunate. That is something to consider. I was pretty much confined to the house the first 3 months. I started getting out often (to walk the mall usually) after that. It's easier when they are still carseat/stroller bound. My boys are the best of friends and occupy each other much of the day. They gave me a rough time at age 3, but that started turning around a year later and they just keep getting better and better. I with you luck with your decision and the process!

to re-do their hardwood floors? If so, good or bad experience? We have a whole level of hardwood floors to do and I love the thought of not having so much dust flying around. We are not living in the house right now though so we are more than able to take a few days to do traditional sanding and refinishing if needed. Thanks much! Mendy

Well, it's a not full school. It's a little bit of explode the code (2-4 pages each morning), maze and critical thinking workbooks (my boys LOVE them), lots of reading (brought our science reading, books on Presidents and, of course, Magic Tree House) and games. It's been pouring rain here and looks like it will continue for most of our vacation so I'm very glad I have the stuff. We're heading to the acquarium today and I consider it part of school too. Now when we head to Disney next year, there will be no school coming along :-)!

and loving it! Instead of sitting in public school, my boys are doing their school work throughout the day while playing with mom, dad and Grandpa at the beach. Doesn't get any better than this :D!!!