Monday: Corn Chowder or Taco Soup (making both, everyone can chose which one they want. We are making extra to freeze for when newbie arrives) Tuesday: Shrimp Stirfry Wednesday: Spaghetti with vegetarian meat sauce. Thursday: Salmon with sweet potato and apple casserole Friday: Pizza for me and DS, DH and DD are eating at my in-laws Saturday: Eggplant Parmesan Sunday: All of us will be eating at my in-laws

Here and there and everywhere, but they are organized. The big stuff and most of the building toys are in the dedicated playroom. There are 3 or so boxes in the family room, with some blocks, cars and a random box of other toys, and their bedrooms have smaller toys and other toys that they want up there and that I'm trying to keep out of the reach of soon to be newbie.

Anything by Sandra Boynton we are big fans of Moo Ba La La La!, But Not the Hippopotamus, Blue Hat, Green Hat and Hippos go Berserk here. Dr. Seuss is always good can't really go wrong with any of them. We like Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish best at the moment, but it changes easily. Both of mine love If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Moose a Muffin The Usborne Touch and Feel That's Not My XYZ books are a lot of fun too. DS is really enjoying Where the Wild Things Are and Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy as well And you can't forget The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Both DS and DD transitioned between 9 and 11 months. That being said DS was done with naps totally at 2 1/2 and DD was done with naps at 18 months so your normal may vary.

I do the same thing I do with DS, though most of the time DS just lets me chose his clothes for him, I let it go. If it is somewhere that it matter, my Grandmother's 80th birthday party for example I just chose the clothes for them first. Otherwise if DD wants to wear yellow striped leggings with a hot pink flowered dress and a blue tutu, she is welcome too. That being said DD is still young enough that it is easy for me to change her if it is important. Even at almost 2 though she is quite certain of what she wants to wear though, and has been for months now, unlike DS who 95% of the time could care less.

I went with Desktop, but my actual answer is both. I like having a desktop where I can do more complex things like graphics and research and what not. I also like having a laptop which can go places with me and where I can surf the web and check message boards and what not as needed. I currently only have a Desktop and I do miss my laptop. That being said if I had to chose one it would definitely be a desktop where I can sit in my comfy chair and have a big monitor to do all the various things I use my computer for.

I have mine and have since high school when I went to France for a month. DH has had his since he was 18 months or so, since his Dad is from India and all his Dad's family is over there, so they visited occasionally. DS has his because he went to India at 18 months to meet DH's family. DD doesn't have hers yet, but that is more because we've been lazy about getting it for her, and since she hasn't needed it yet it hasn't been a big deal. We'll probably get her and newbie theirs next January or February. I really like having them just in case, they are nice so we can decide to visit Canada, or go on a cruise or what not. DD and newbie will need theirs by 2013 or 2014 anyways since that is when we plan to go back to India to visit and they need them for that, I just would like to get them before that just in case. It is nice knowing I could fly off to somewhere exotic if the chance came up, even though I know it is extremely unlikely that it will.

Oddly enough I have never been to a daytime reception in a church hall with cookies and punch. In fact I think my children have gone to as many evening/nighttime weddings as daytime weddings, and we tend to have at least 1 wedding a year that we are invited to due to a large family and a lot of close family friends. That being said, there was only one wedding I have been invited to where children under 12 or so were not invited and that was because of the bride's family, while we were invited from the groom's side and didn't really know the bride. I really think it is a family and cultural thing. No one I know other then that one wedding has had a wedding without children invited, and that includes friend's children as well as family's children. That being said I don't know of anyone in my direct family, including my cousins who would even think of having a wedding that didn't include children. I really do think it is family and cultural thing, and just generally depends on how your family and friends arrange weddings and what they are use to.

I am almost always INTP, but will sometimes end up as INTJ depending on the day. I have never had the first 3 options vary at all, I am fairly close on the P/J line though.

debt, new car seat for the baby and a new arm chair here. If I had the choice and no debt, we'd be going to Disney World though.

I'm with the hate the taste crowd. I've tried it plain, with milk, with milk and sugar, with flavorings, etc. I still can't stand the taste. I don't even like coffee flavored treats, no coffee ice cream for me! We don't actually own a coffee maker at our house, DH hates the tastes as well, and only my father inlaw regularly drinks coffee. My father will if it is available, but he doesn't drink more then 1 cup a day, and even that is fairly rare. Actually none of my in-laws drink it either. My Mom does have a coffee machine at her lake house for my sister's boyfriend and guests, but no one other then my sister's boyfriend even knows how to work it! That being said I love hot tea (the drink) and hot chocolate. I can't stand the taste of coffee though, and there are a few teas I won't drink because their flavor is fairly close to coffee.

As everyone else said, completely safe, but go for the pat down not the new scanner. I flew at 16ish weeks this pregnancy and will be flying again at 33 weeks. When pregnant with DD I flew to India at 20 weeks pregnant and flew home at 22 weeks pregnant with no issues and then flew around 24 weeks pregnant to my parents for Thanksgiving, again with no issues. Just make sure to get up and walk around every 90 minutes to 2 hours for a few minutes.

Erm I think we have an iron, would have to check with DH or my Mom maybe since I haven't used it once in the last almost 9 years we've lived here, I think we might own one though. The only time I end up with anything ironed is when my Mom does it for me, which is rare seeing as she lives in a different state and I don't buy stuff that needs to be ironed, because it would not be done. If I can't shake it and go or throw it back in the dryer to get out the wrinkles it is not being worn, it is likely not being bought either, but if it was accidentally bought it is normally going in the charity pile for someone who likes to iron!

I had to back carry DD till she was 15 months for naps, and even after that I still put her up on my back to get her to go to sleep, I could just transfer her to the bed once she was asleep at that point. I like using a Soft Structured Carrier or a Mei Tai for back carries, but a Moby should work, I just don't like wraps. Do beware you likely will have your hair played with and pulled on occasion, but having them on your back makes everything else so much easier!

Both of mine have co-slept and both have slept good. They both slept for 12 hours or so from about 2 months to 6 months when they started getting up once a night to nurse again. Since we were co-sleeping it didn't really keep me up though. On the other hand I have been keeping myself up with many sleepless nights without the small ones help. I have insomnia, so often don't fall asleep till late, I also tend to wake at least 2 times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, more now that I am pregnant, but on average when not pregnant it is around 2 times a night. I don't think I have had a solid 8 hours of sleep without waking myself up for over 5 years. The worst part is I really can't blame it on the small ones, because it really is all me, they slept great as infants, even with the occasional wakings, and need to night nurse till 13 months or so. It is all me.

I want/wanted 5. DH would have been happy with 1. Our compromise was 2, with the option for a 3rd. Well number 3, decided he was coming regardless of what we decided, and I am currently pregnant with him. That being said, DH is at his limit, he knows that more then 3 is too many for him and will push him to his breaking point. I am actually okay with that, I wasn't after number 2, I knew I wasn't done then. With this one I just feel done, I would still love another 1 or 2, but newbie feels like he will complete our family. I don't feel like we are missing anyone now that I am pregnant with him, and I did while pregnant with both DS and DD.

Honestly we just make sure every meal has something DS will eat. It is up to him to eat or not. My parents always let us make a peanut butter sandwich or get a yogurt if we didn't like what was for dinner. It worked out fine, yes my two sister who were extremely picky are not necessarily the most adventurous eaters as adults, but they eat a lot more as adults as they did as children, with no issues at all. In fact one of the two is fairly adventurous as far as what she eats now, even though she is a vegetarian, she eats a ton of foods she won't have touched at 8. I figure my role is to put a nutritious meal on the table, it is not my job to make sure either of my children eat it, as long as I know they can and will eat at least some of the meal, it is completely their choice if they eat or not. That being said, we did stop serving bread with meals for now, because if there is bread on the table DS will just eat that and not try anything else.

We have a Wii, 2 Xbox360s, and 3 DSes. We don't have the Kinect yet, but I am thinking we might get it for DH's birthday in July. Honestly if we had to do it over again we would probably skip the Wii, it is a decent system it has some games that are great, the rest though are not as good. We do enjoy the Mario games and Zelda though. That being said we have found a number of games that are kid friends for the Xbox and DS enjoys the Xbox and can play it, while he doesn't quite have the manual dexterity yet for the Wii. They really are different systems and do serve different purposes. We are actually talking about getting a PS3 for the holidays next year as well, because there are a few games that are exclusive to it that we would enjoy as well. They really do have a lot of differences and both can be enjoyed without feeling like you have the same system twice.

I have two different unplanned c-section stories. First mine. I was wheeled in to the OR after pushing for an hour, because DS was not descending and his heart beat was decelerating. I had to be put out under general because local was not working for me I could still feel. So DH wasn't even in the room when they did the operation. Everything went fine, but I didn't wake up until about an hour after the surgery and due to an incompetent nurse didn't see DS for close to 5 hours after birth. If I had had a c-section under the epidural I would have been able to hold DS as soon as he was taken out, unfortunately it did not work that way for me. I went on and had a VBAC with DD with no issues and was able to hold her while birthing the placenta, which was amazing. My sister just had her first. She did not dilate past 4, and her baby was not descending. He had the cord wrapped around his head! The epidural worked for her. She was in a different hospital then I had been in, since she lives 600 miles away. She was able to hold her DS as soon as he was born and while she was being stitched up. Baby was taken after the first half hour or so to be cleaned up, etc, but she was able to hold him and nurse in the OR room while her c-section was being closed. So both emergency c-sections, with completely different results!

Sounds completely normal here. DS is 3 1/2 and stuff like that happens daily. Half the time I don't even fix the couch cushions anymore because they are going to be a slide again before I'm done. I really hate it when he uses the indoor slide to make the couch cushion slide longer too, because seriously kid you have a slide to use. I have found that his trampoline helps some with this, but not completely. I will have him jump while I count to 100 sometimes though if he is getting really bad. One of his favorite things to do is to stand on the nightstand that is about 3 feet from my bed spread his arms and jump onto my bed. Honestly as long as he isn't actually causing a mess or doing something that is likely to hurt himself I tend to ignore it. I am so hoping he gets better eventually. His 21 month old sister loves to follow him and do whatever he is doing too, which is always fun since she is so much smaller then him, that half the time I do stop her because it isn't safe for her. I've heard about these quiet calm children I just haven't had any yet myself. Though to be fair DD is a lot more mellow then DS, but the whole has to do what he is doing doesn't always make it feel that way!

Erm what else do you do with a 1 year old other then carry them or put them in a stroller? It isn't like they are going to be willing to walk for miles, or let's be honest, most of the time I can't deal with them constantly walking anyways, especially if I have somewhere I need to be. So it is either carry them or stick them in a stroller. No one I know looks oddly at a child in a stroller at 1, why would it be different for a carrier, I know it is for some reason, but it shouldn't be. That being said I think I stopped regularly carrying DS in a carrier at 3, though now at almost 4 I would still carry him if he needed it, or to be fair make DH do it since I am 27 weeks pregnant! I still carry DD who is 21 months old in the carrier and don't see stopping any time before she is 3 or so. Yes at 3 I don't carry them as much as I did at 6 months, since they can walk, but there are times when it is nice to be able to throw them on my back and go!

I will admit we used cans of veggies and beans for this, but it can be done fresh as well. Taco Soup (serves a ton, probably around 12) 1 large crockpot. Set the crockpot on low. Saute 1 pound of ground beef/turkey/boca etc in taco sauce like you are making tacos. Dump into the crockpot. Add 1 can of kidney beans, 2 cans of black beans, 2 cans of corn, 1 can of tomato sauce, 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 1 small can of diced chilis, diced onion, another package of taco seasoning and chili powder to taste. Cook for 4 to 6+ hours, serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and corn chips, when done. I love to make this on mornings when the weather is cold and yuck out, quick and easy and no real effort to make.

My Kindle I have hardly put it down since I opened it. I love it!

As has been noted everyone's experiences vary in what they need. I do like the front adjusting car seats to the rear adjusting ones if I do an infant car seat. With newbie we are actually just going with a convertible from the start, but that is because of space and I found with DD it worked just as well for me to use a convertible and sling, she hated the infant seat. All car seats pass the same testing, so the most expensive is not always the best, chose one that fits your budget, your needs, and is front adjustable if at all possible, and buy new, this is one thing you don't want to buy used. I never used a crib, my gorgeous crib was an expensive laundry holder, it isn't even being put together this time. Baby co-sleeps, just makes my life easier. Changing table I found useful for about 2 weeks with DS after my c-section, never used it with DD, donated it so won't be using it with newbie either. Never used stroller before mine were 12 months or so, so I just got a nice umbrella stroller. I do love my baby carriers, I have a Kangaroo Korners pouch for newborn, 2 Mei Tais for when they get a bit bigger, and 4 different Soft Structured carriers for when I start back carrying around 3 or 4 months. DH and I use them daily with our under 12 month babies, heck I still use my regularly with DD and very rarely with DS. I do go for quality and workman ship on these, but I do like the WAHM verisions better then some of the more well known brands. Went with a fairly inexpensive pack and play, I do find it useful to put baby down in on rare occasions. I actually am going to grab the one we have at my in-laws for newbie so I can have one in my bedroom and one in the playroom for newbie. For high chairs, I love the $25 one from IKEA, so easy to clean, baby does need to be able to sit to use it, but since mine don't get solids till 6+ months it hasn't been an issue. It is one piece of molded plastic and so easy to clean! We love our swing, it kept both DS and DD happy when little, I found I do like the type that has a cradle swing (side to side) rather then just the front to back swing. DS enjoyed his bouncy chair, until about 4 months, DD never got to use it because DS kept stealing it when she was little, I am not sure if I am going to pull it out for newbie or not. Really you just need to look at needs, you very rarely need top of the line anything. Figuring out what works for the Mom is the toughest part. I ended up with a ton of extra stuff with DS that I never used, so I gave it to my Mom or my sister or donated it, since it wasn't necessary for us. It really is best to start with the basics, that you think you can't live without and then get other items as you figure out if you need them or not.

My Mom actually reported the lifeguards at one of the pools at her club this summer, they were that bad. They were not paying any attention, talking to each other, one was painting her nails. They were also allowing kids to break a bunch of the pool rules. They did rotate positions every 15 minutes and half a 15 minute break every hour, there were 5 lifeguards and 3 stations, so they weren't being overworked. That being said, I don't trust lifeguards as my main line of defense anyways. They are a backup to me watching my children. I do know what drowning looks like, and know it is a silent killer. I also was a life guard for 9 years, so I still remember a lot of the basics, though I would have to take a refresher course if I wanted to be one these days, since it has been about 8 years since I was last certified.