This often sounds crazy to people but have you considered a pet rat? Well actually two because they're social and like a cage mate. We have had rats for years and they have all been cuddly and fun. They're easy to take care of and my daughter who is 8 can manage most of the care on her own other than the weekly big cage cleaning which she and I do together. The other thing that we like is that the rats have always adapted to our schedule. They go to sleep at night when my daughter goes to sleep. Our hamster used to run on that darn wheel all night long and it would wake up my daughter.

We have had pet rats. The only one that got sick and required some vet care was one that we got from a pet store. After that experience, we get them for reputable rat breeders and have had no issues at all. We currently have 3 boys and they are they most lovable and fun pets that we've ever had in our family. They climb all over us and love to be loved. My 8 year old handles them all and has never even gotten so much as a nip. They are in a large cage in her bedroom and they have adjusted to her sleep schedule. When she goes to bed at night she gives them a snack (usually some carrot), pets them a bit then tells them goodnight. They all manage to snuggle into their hammocks and sleep while she's asleep! Years ago we had a hamster who would run on the darn wheel all night long..I loved her but I have to admit that I wasn't totally sad when she came to the end of her life at age 3.

A lot of the girls at my daughter's dance studio are using the headband curl method when they want curly hair and they seem to be having great success. There are tons of tutorials on youtube..I just searched for "headband curls" and found a ton. My daughter has stick straight hair and wears a sock bun or some variation of a bun for dance often. Her hair is very long and thick and is wavy when we take it out but still damp and doesn't hold at all. She has decided to embrace her straight hair and doesn't want to bother trying to curl it anymore..at least for now!

I just checked and it now says "stock added." I was able to get the deal just now!

Is there a place near you that checks car seats for safety? They may be able to help you get a good install.

We have a single Critter Nation cage for our rat and we like it a lot. It's very spacious and it's easy to clean too!

I pre ordered the iPhone 5 to replace my iPhone 4 and it showed up at my door via UPS yesterday. I am a bit of a tech lover and I was very excited about getting it. I don't spend much money on myself at all but I love my iPhone and it's one thing that I am willing to spend money on for myself. I'm not sure why people care what others buy or whether they post about it on Facebook or not. When I see people post similar things, I just think "gee, they sure are excited. Glad they're happy." I don't automatically assume that they're bragging or trying to keep with any of the Jones family. My daughter has been asking for a newer iPod Touch so after I set up my new phone yesterday, I set up my old iPhone 4 for her as a Touch. She's thrilled and I'm thrilled. My husband rolled his eyes. Guess I can't please all of the people all of the time! :D

I got the iPhone 5 yesterday and grabbed an Otterbox Defender because it's what I could find locally and I wanted something on it right away. I feel like this Defender isn't as bulky as previous versions but I still plan to look at other case options as more become available.

We have a large playset with a very high deck and bar that the swings hang from. We have pea gravel. We have definitely had kids face plant into it when flipping off the trapeze and no scrapes or cuts at all. We're very pleased with the pea gravel! It's smooth to walk on, doesn't get hot and the kids love to dig in with shovels, buckets and trucks.

Verizon is already offering family shared data plans that you can add an ipad to and AT&T has a similar family shared data plan structure coming out in August. If you already have an iPhone with AT&T, I would think that you would want an iPad that is compatible with AT&T.

I asked my husband about this tonight and he highly recommends Konecto. http://www.konectousa.com/

Oh my gosh, hilarious. I was having a really tough morning and really needed a giggle. I have a feeling that this thread will reappear in my mind in November when we're in Mexico to dive and snorkel. :tongue_smilie:

The vinyl plank stuff is getting very popular and for good reason! It's a great product and can be used in many applications. As with any flooring product, there's a wide range of price and quality. The stuff that can be found at the big box store..especially things that seem cheap and are on sale..are often not the best quality. You can often get a better quality product for the same money or in some cases, less money. We own a floor covering business and we're currently using vinyl planking on a large commercial job. It's a very old building that is being converted into loft apartments. Most of the renters will be college students so the contractor was going for durability. We display our business at local home and garden shows and we have been putting our sample racks of the vinyl planking right at the front of our display area. People come up and touch and comment about how "real" it looks for both the tile and the wood look products. I can ask my hubby for a brand recommendation if you'd like.

We did the kids bowl free last summer and loved it! Our bowling alley offered a good price on a shoe rental pass that was for the entire kids bowl free time period. It was $10. I thought that was a great deal since my daughter would probably outgrow any bowling shoes that I would buy before I even got them out of the car!

Thank you all for the information! OhElizabeth, the doctor is in Salem, Ohio. She has gotten wonderful reviews from friends who have used her and I was very impressed with my daughter's first appointment.

My daughter turned 7 in January and we are homeschooling 1st grade. She has always been very interested in books. I would put a little stack of board books in her crib and she would sit there looking through them happily when she woke in the morning. She has always loved being read to and we've read a lot of fantastic books. She was asking from about 3 or so things like "what does that sign say?" and "can you help me read this book?" I worked with her on letter recognition, sounds and writing her upper and lower case letters. She enjoyed it and it seemed to be easy for her. When we started HOD Little Hearts for His Glory, I ordered The Reading Lesson. We did it for a while but it just didn't seem like a good fit. We switched to OPG and she did well with it, at first. We are up to lesson 120. It became clear to me a while back that there was some issue. She can read nearly any word when it's on its own including words with things that we haven't covered yet. She manages to decode it and figure it out. Now that the reading passages in OPG are getting longer and the books that I'm having her read have more on the pages, she's struggling and sometimes ends up in tears. She is able to comprehend anything that I read to her from any level at all. She's able to narrate pretty well and answer questions correctly. I feel sad that she's so frustrated. She wants to read so badly! She had an appointment with a optometrist from the COVD list on Friday and she has an astigmatism that the doctor feels should be corrected so we ordered glasses for close work. She also did a readalyzer and the results showed a significant tracking issue. An average reader would have stopped their eyes something like 115 times but Ava stopped/backed up/shifted over 600 times. i felt terrible as I sat there watching the computer results and could see the black box indicating where her eyes were allll over the paragraph. Why didn't I do this appointment sooner?? She is to start vision therapy in the next two weeks. The doctor has recommended 15 weeks. It's expensive and our insurance does not cover it. I started to research it a bit and it seems that there are varying opinions about whether it actually works or not. My husband and I have decided that we're going to have her do it but I also thought I'd ask here for information from anyone who's child has done vision therapy. Did it help? How long did you continue the therapy? Are you glad that you did the therapy? I know this got long and rambling..yikes!

Fabulous picture! I called my 7 year old tumbling obsessed daughter over to see it and she said "wow! she's good. Look at her toes and how they are pointed!" She smiled then ran off to practice. Isn't it amazing when something to be passionate about?

I don't know how I lived before I had my iPhone. My husband is always teasing me and saying "if our house was on fire I think you'd save that phone first" and I come back with "yes. yes I would" every single time.

I don't use it but I'm not offended if someone else uses it. After reading this thread I'm going to start saying "That sucks lollipops!" because that cracked me up! :D

Ugh, sorry you're having a rough time. I also have autoimmune disorders and it can be so tough at times. Hang in there.

I like the look of glitter. I'm drawn to glittery clothes for my daughter. I buy it for craft projects. I HATE it when it's all over the floor and especially when it's in the grooves of the hardwood.

This is just one of the reasons that I don't shop at Walmart anymore. I'm convinced that it's some sort of meeting place for crazy people. I was there once many years ago when my daughter was a baby. I had her in the cart seat and the cashier asked me about adoption. I talked with her while she rang up our things and she asked if I could write down a website I mentioned about adoption. I stepped aside, wrote it down then handed her the paper. As we got to the parking lot there was an older couple walking by as I put my daughter in the van. I realized that they were the people behind me in the line. The guy looks at his wife and said "oh look honey, she's putting her foreign kid in her foreign car." I was shocked. I buckled my daughter in and sat there for a second watching as they loaded their items into a jacked up pick up truck with a rebel flag on the back window. I was furious and knew I should just chalk it up to ignorance and drive way..but...I couldn't do it. I had to say something. I put my window down and said "hey and I shop in a crappy store where not a **** thing is made in America and so do you" then drove away. He flipped me off. I haven't been back to Walmart much since that day. :001_huh:

I sent about 60 photo cards this year. In the center of the card it said "2011..what amazing year" and around the edge were many pictures of my family but mostly of my 6 year old because my hubby and I aren't nearly as cute! The photos are from different times during the year. We do travel so there are travel photos. We do have fun parties so there are photos from those. My daughter managed to master some tumbling moves this year so there's a shot of her in a backbend. We most certainly are not bragging. We are sharing part of lives with those who want to stay in touch with and those we love. We have friends and family scattered around the world and I love getting their cards and seeing what they have been up to during the year. I mailed them on Saturday. I received 3 phone calls yesterday from friends of my parents who thanked me for sending them a card and giving them an overview of how my daughter is growing. My parents both died before my daughter came home to us and it's important to me..and clearly to some of their friends...that we keep in contact. So what some may as bragging...nice trips, crazy good tumbling skills and some fantastic days...some see as wonderful, beautiful and important. That's what is so fantastic about humans..we're all different and it makes us interesting!

I must live in the racist comment capital because I hear a lot of comments that shock me. I read an article once but I cannot remember where that talked about how it should be called out because silence would indicate agreement. It went on to say that racism when called out into the light was ugly..and it should be made known that such comments are ugly. My hubby and I are white and my daughter, adopted from Guatemala, is Mayan with deep brown skin. The comments we get are often shocking. People sometimes follow it up with things like "oh you know we don't mean her. we mean those other ones" and things like that. My daughter at about age 6 started saying to people "God made every single person beautiful and He loves every single person. If He made us all white that would be boring" That really shuts people up.

I think you should drive the car with the lizard in it.....straight to a dealership where you will trade in the car and get one without a lizard in it! I would be freaked out and probably wouldn't drive until I knew for sure that it was out!