Today DS1 was taking a walk with his Grandfather, he ran off back to the house and about 5 minutes later his Grandfather got back to the house. DS: "We were racing, and I won." GP: "I can't really run that fast anymore." DS: "That is because you are old." While technically true, my poor FIL!

:iagree: Except my list has grown. We send holiday cards, and I think I am printing out 100 this year. I tend to do holiday card swaps with a number of groups I am in, but I love getting holiday or Christmas cards no matter how well I know you, they are just nice to get. We do a picture card of the kids, I have mine ready I just need to get them printed out and then start addressing the cards.

:iagree: We also like Dominion, but not sure how well it would work for a 6 year old. Another suggestion is Killer Bunnies or their younger age game, Kinderbunnies (which can be mixed in with the Killer Bunnies cards as well). Munchkin is also fun, but you have to sort of already be a gamer (D&D type gamer) to really get it.

We just got a 2005 Kia Sedona this spring, I want to love it, but it has had so many problems in the 7 months we've had it I just can't. Based on what I have spent in repairs on it I could have bought a 2011 used Kia or a 2009 used Toyota, so yes not overly impressed.

For us, pricing it out, it is cheaper, but it ruins the Magic for us. It also isn't that much cheaper. That being said we can still squeeze into one room with 5 (there are 6 people rooms, they are more expensive, actually they can even be more expensive then 2 rooms at some of the value or moderate hotels). We don't like to cook on vacation, we like to eat on property, we are going to bring the car because we don't want to rely on off site transportation, we enjoy the extra hours in the park you get staying at a Disney hotel. That being said, I do try to go when they are doing free dining or one of there buy 3 days get 2 days free type promos (you can stay longer and get more days free etc) or even when they are having one of there 30% off the price of a room deals. We also love going during off season, which helps reduce the costs as well. Honestly last time we went we stayed off site, our room was actually free, when we priced everything out though, including eating off site rather then on site, we didn't actually save that much money (we actually saved a bunch, but only because my parents came with us and paid for all the meals when we went out to eat, not because it was actually cheaper). We also bring snacks and breakfast type food with us so we have them in our Disney hotel room (all Disney hotel rooms have mini-fridges now even the values), so we also don't tend to waste a lot of money on breakfast foods at Disney, or even on a ton of snacks. I also always have a case or two of water delivered to our room (bottled water in the parks is expensive).

Magnatiles? What other interests does she have, trio is a fun building toy for that age as well. Maybe a marble run? Something from here ( http://www.brightkidsworld.com/ )?

I think we're under 300 per child this year for Hanukkah and Christmas gifts, but it might be a bit higher. I have a spreadsheet with gift types for each listed and as I buy I add the name of the actual gift so they all get the same number of gifts. I was trying to keep the costs down some this year, so there are a number of smaller $10 to $20 gifts and under $10 ones this year rather then more expensive ones.

This. I found it really hard to chose between option 3 and 4. Oh and I am not Chrisitan in any shape or form. So I was asuming the Religion/Church, meant whatever religion you are and whatever denomination. :iagree: My DH is not the same religion as me. He is in fact an even less mainstream religion then I am (in the US, in the World I think there are far more Hindus then Jews). Oh and I am Jewish, I lean toward the agnostic side, but we go to a Conservative Temple, I was raised Reformed though.

But no one is coming and policing your car. People are just explaining that yes this is a safer method, now you know, do with it what you will.

I want to point out, that I said MOST diapers are not much thicker then a pair of undies. Not all, and yes cloth is a bit thicker, but it is also compressed and not poofy most of the time. I know I have used cloth diapers (not all brands, that would be insane, but a few different kinds), disposibles, and undies. I do not have to change DD's straps when she is in a disposible diaper vs being in undies. There is no difference and I get those straps tight. I also don't need to loosen the straps when I put DS2 in a cloth diaper, it is the same as when he is in a disposible diaper, which FYI is the same size and type as DD wears the few times she still wears them. I also don't need to tighten the straps when DD goes comando rather then wearing a diaper or undies. Yes some diapers are bulkier then undies, but they are not normally going to affect the carseat straps at all. And I do speak from experience here in using 5 different brands and types of cloth, plus disposible diapers and undies.

FYI the chest clip is just there are a positioner, it is not there for keeping the kid from flying out, in a major accident it likely will break, it is not designed as a safety measure to keep them in the seats, in fact they are illegal in most European countries.

There is a dance messageboard around, I forget the name, but I am sure someone here knows it. I would check there and see if anyone knows of options in your area. It sounds like you are South of DC so I can't help much, if you were on the Maryland side I could probably help a bit more depending on where you are (we are in a casual homeschooling friendly studio right now for my 3 year old, but there are at least 10 studios within our area I found when looking).

I'm shocked that they won't get back to you about boys in ballet. Most ballet studios I know love having boys, since so few are interested. DS has asked a few times, but I don't think he would do well with his current lack of direction following, but the studio DD is at would love to have him if he is actually serious when I think he would be able to follow directions for ballet. Can't help about what to do to train at home, but I do know there are a few people on the boards with boys in ballet.

Oh I didn't realize that the "lap part" of the belt, that is still part of the "arms part" of the belt, and one long piece of belt, that has the buckle slide on it, locked. What car seat are you using that does that? Because I have yet to find one with a seperate "lap belt" that isn't attached to the part that goes over the arms, and just slides through the hole in the buckle where the buckle is attached to the seat/carseat belt.

Because a kid can't fall out of their fat. Yes the fat may compress a bit, but you don't put on a far suit to get into the car. Also diapers are already compressed, even cloth diapers and not in general squishy, if you are putting your kid in the car in a diaper that is that inflated and squishy then change them. Most diapers are not much thicker then a pair of undies.

The thing is, is that most deadly crashes are not at 100mph. They are at modest speeds around 30 to 35mph. You are unlikely to survive a crash at 100mph no matter what you do. Most people have time to at least brake or do some sort of defensive driving though, which reduces the speed of most accidents to around 30 to 35mph. Really you are far more likely to be hit by someone running a red light, then in a high speed chase on the highway.

Technically it applies to adult seat belts as well. I try to do the same as the kids and wear a fleece in the car and put on the bulky coat when we get where we are going.

I have 3 5 and under, this is what we do, our car is not in a garage attached to the house, we have to walk to the car. All my kids even the 18 month old know that you take off heavy coats before getting in the car seat. They will occasionally even insist on taking off their fleece coat (which is allowed to be worn). Two of mine are still rear-facing, only one can get himself buckled on his own. It really isn't a big deal, I never used the car seat poncho, I just have fleece blankets next to the car seats as needed. My kids do not complain, have no issues and it takes us no longer then buckling them in in big heavy coats. I have done it in both a sedan and the minivan, it is far easier in the minivan, but it wasn't a big deal even in the sedan. My kids will not get into their car seats in big bulky coats, they know it is not allowed, it really doesn't take long for them to take off their own heavy coats and get into their seats. We have always done it this way.

I think we'll put ours up this weekend, if not next weekend.

If you don't want to take them out of the coat, and in really cold weather it is understandable not to want to, you can unzip their jacket, buckle under it and then zip it up over the buckle to help at least a little.

It has been a known risk at least as long as I have had kids (which is only 5 1/2 years). I remember reading about it even when pregnant with DS. A big puffy jacket can compress in an accident and allow the child to just slide out of the carseat. We always do fleece coats in the car and put on heavy winter coats when we arrive (even I do this) if we need the heavier coat.

DS' medical bill are over $250K and growing since his accident. There is no way that DH and I would ever be able to pay them off. It is an insane amount, and yes DH makes a decent salary. We were fortunate in that DH has a good job and we have medical insurance, and we were able to afford the deductable that we have to pay for all of DS' expenses. Even that was a large amount, much more afordable but still a lot. I can not imagine how someone without insurance would ever be able to cover the bills of a catastrophic accident. DS will now always have a pre-existing condition, even though he is mostly better, and within 5 to 10 years is unlikely to have any issues due to his accident, he will always be considered pre-existing, and under the insurance system before Obamacare/ACA he would have an extremely hard time ever finding health insurance if he has to get private insurance at some point in his life. I am actually all for Universal Healthcare, I am not a huge fan of ACA/Obamacare, because I don't feel it goes far enough, but anything is better then the system we have now, profits should not be the deciding factor in healthcare.

Magnatiles, I know they are a building toy, but seriously DS who was not and is still not a huge toy kid loves them and has loved them since first being introduced to them at 3. You can also do an event of some sort, Science Museum membership, Children's Museum, Aquarium, Zoo. Or if he likes arts and crafts maybe something like the Kiwi crate?

I agree with this, I am loving GW2 at the moment. I never did get into WoW, I was more an EQ then EQ2 girl, plus a bunch of others since. I am really enjoying GW2 and I love the no subsciption model, it makes it nice if you take a break for a few weeks, since you don't feel like you are wasting your money. One thing about GW2 though, it is a lot more fun with a group once you get into the upper levels, sure you can do a pickup dungeon or World vs World pvp on your own, but it is a lot more fun with the Guild part of Guild Wars. Fortunately there are a lot of casual, family friendly guilds around if you know where to look.

:iagree: Or really just post what they are expecting you to be posting. Since really if they are paranoid to think you are trashing them on a homeschooling board, then they derserve it, and stop worrying about it.