I didn't realize the Bumbo seats were so controversial. Sammypants (7 mos) is starting to arch his back in it though....and it looks like he could practically touch his head to the floor sometimes....Ok, the Bumbo seats will go for sure. I am tryin gto find a superyard off of Craigslist right now to keep them in one area. We have three living areas that open up to each other so there's too much space where they can roam....plus we have two small dogs that like to "steal" the babies binkies and other chew type toys :glare:

Great tip, thank you!!! I think the smaller compact high chairs still have a tray attached so we could still use it for fine motor stuff...but you're right, he absolutely needs that :) I literally laughed out loud when I read that because I could so see dfd9 mos doing this to poor dfs 7mos lol

Oh I love that idea! I like the design on the tray too! The Chicco high chair we have is awesome and I thought it would be perfect considering it has a plastic type cover...but it still holds stink....I even tried cleaning it with bleach to kill off the smell but it didn't work :(

I have been working on clearing clutter from our home in general the last few weeks but the baby gear is the one thing I can't seem to get under control! Dfd is now 9 months and crawling.....and dfs is 7 months and still stays in one spot (he has dev. delays). In our family/living room areas we have *2 high chairs (they drink their bottles in them because they recline) * 1 pack n play (use this to keep them contained when I need to vacuum, etc) * 1 doorway jumper * 1 stationary jumper (kind of like an exersaucer) * 1 changing table (it doesn't fit in our room) * 2 bumbos (which I usually store in the pack n play unless dfs is using it) * 1 large playmat made of those foam letters puzzle thingies with baskets of toys and books (this area is actually really cute and it doesn't bother me at all...it's everything else!) how do you all keep the baby gear to the minimum while still giving them a variety of activities? Anyone use Bumbos instead of high chairs? I hate to give up my high chairs but they are bulky and for some reason I am hard on my baby equipment. They are both constantly getting dirty from food and spilled formula...blechh....I feel like I'm spending my days cleaning baby equipment! Help?

I have a whole lotta weirdness but I'll just share a few. When I go out to eat and I order a salad with ranch, I have to test the temperature of the ranch by dipping the back of my pinky finger in it. if it's not cold, I send it back. I will often, when I'm bored or at other random times, I will count on my hand 1, 3, 5 (using thumb, middle, pinky) Then 2, 4 (using index and ring). I literally chant in my head, 1, 3, 5, 4, 2 over and over......but only with my right hand.....:001_huh:

Wow, thank you all for the great replies! I wanted to multi quote everyone but obviously that isn't practical ;) I like the overriding theme that I (we) need to do what we are going to be able to live with and not have regrets. I spoke with dh this morning and he wants to spend more time with her just because he feels like it's the right thing to do.....however, he refuses to let sil dictate (or guilt) us into anything. MIL rents her house so bil and sil aren't moving in to stake a claim in the estate.....but they are trying to lay claim to martyrdom for sure! Oh I forgot to mention in the op that while sil was lecturing me on family values, her littlest one (3) came out and was calling "mommmyyyy". Sil says "go away, you don't have one (mommy)". :confused:

praying for her family and yours :grouphug:

Thanks Jean :) SIL told me tonight that she thinks that MIL should be surrounded by family 24/7 at this point...and implied that we should be there nearly every day. That is just not possible for us.

Oh this is a long long long story that would take me hours to explain fully so I'll try to keep it simple. My mil is dying of liver cancer. She is at home and has hospice. (We invited her to move in with us but she wanted to stay in her own home which is understandable). She is down to a matter of weeks now (says the hospice nurse). My bil (dh's brother) and his wife and kids have basically now moved into her house with her because they don't want her to be alone. My mil is narcissistic. She has caused MUCH drama in our family. She has played favorites with my kids and her other grandchildren. She was abusive to my husband and his siblings while they were growing up. When we had our dd17 (first grandchild for her), she basically tried to buy her love. She would buy dd tons and tons of toys but none of them could come home...they would all have to stay at her house. She even told dd that she wished "she" was her mommy! We had tons of problems so we basically cut ties. (but not before we helped her through her first round of cancer, her breakdown after fil left, etc) Here is where everything gets complicated. My sil (dh's brother's wife) walked out of our house on Christmas eve (right before MIL was going to tell us about her cancer) because she said "she didn't feel welcome in our home". She got up and made a scene and walked out with bil and their kids. I was hurt and offended. She later told us that she felt like we weren't including her. We were all sitting around my table talking and she was on the couch with bil holding a baby. She could have come sat with us but was mad that we didn't ask her to? I'm still unsure. I apologized for not making her feel welcome but I had talked to her all night and didn't think there was a problem? My kids were playing with her kids ....except for her oldest who was sitting by herself texting her boyfriend the whole time.... Anyway...tonight, sil laid a huge guilt trip on me and told me that my mil has been crying and just wants to see her grandkids. (we went over there tonight and have been going over here and there...but dh is DONE with mil. We had her over for dinner a few weeks ago when she could still get out...and DH went over last weekend for dinner at her house with bil and sil....and then again the other morning when she thought she was dying. The thing is, sil says she doesn't care how much "abuse" or whatever is going on.....that's dh's mother and we should all be there. (this is my bil's wife, mind you...she has been married to bil for 10 years. She hasn't been around to see the cr*p we've had to deal with). She told me "I know your kids don't want to come over but that's their grandma and she's dying. I MADE my kids come because I'm teaching them the value of family". Ok, I just don't know what to think here. I can't force my husband to go spend time with his dying mother. I just can't. Sil also told me "I know you have a big family. I have a big family too. My grandfather died last week and I'm still here....my dd graduated high school and I'm still here....." I just don't know how to respond to that! She told me that they moved in even though mil didn't really want them to. She then told me we can still come any time ...and she doesn't want us to not come just because they are there. (Yet, she told me when I wanted to have a family gathering for mil last month, that she wouldn't come because she didn't feel comfortable in my home!). As you can see there is a lot of drama! There's so much more but I'll stop because I can feel smoke starting to come off of my fingers as I type and my blood pressure is rising! I know it's my MIL. I also know that it's not healthy for my kids, who have gotten nothing but guilt trips from my mil when they do see her, to be forced to go visit her. She is constantly telling dd13 that she should go to "real" school. WWYD? I can't force dh...I don't want to force dc (especially the boys because she has never given them the time of day). Am I being cold? :(

I need to sit and let this soak in ;) I think I am guilty of feeling pity and guilt over people's situation...maybe I'm mistaking that feeling for empathy? I need to turn those feelings into actions of love rather than feelings of sadness and pity. Thank you!!! And thank you again, everyone!

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses :) There are a lot of great points here that I have been thinking over. I also want to look into the books that were suggested :) Part of my problem is that I'm constantly feeling like I need to do more. We have six kiddos currently....the youngest two are foster babies but we are hoping to adopt them. Several of our kids have special needs. I realize that's quite a bit to handle right there....BUT...my heart hurts for the homeless man that is always standing outside of Target.....the many many special needs children on waiting lists in our county, the teeny babies in the NICU at the hospital who will be there for several months until they are finally stable enough to be placed in a foster home, etc..... (There is also this whole other thing going on in our family right now. My MIL, who is toxic, is dying of liver cancer. She lives alone so we are all taking turns helping her out. She has hospice care ...but of course I feel badly for not doing more for her. There is no verse in the bible that talks about helping family who have inflicted years of hurt into your life) But I digress (sorry...I'm sort of all over the map here). I know that I need to spend much more time in prayer. I'm sure that's where my clarity will come from but I do appreciate all of your help here. :grouphug:

My head is spinning right now. DD17 is graduating this year (a year early). She's done. She's completed everything and is ready to move on to community college. The thing is, she was enrolled in two public charter schools and then finally our "private" school (under our PSA). I wasn't going to have her take the CHSPE since she'll be 17 1/2 by the time she starts CC in August but that means she will most likely need to show the college her diploma and transcripts? I know I can issue them myself and have found a few threads here on making my own but do I need to have separate transcripts for each school (do I need to request them from the other public charters?) OR can I make my own and add the names of those schools to her transcript? I'm so confused! OR, should I just have her take the CHSPE so I don't have to worry about the transcripts/diploma? (she's planning on doing CC for two years then transferring using her CC transcripts to transfer). '

I didn't even know what title to give this thread but I hope anyone who has an opinion on this, feels free to post. I have always struggled with knowing that people are starving in other parts of the world, while I'm able to buy little extra things here and there....or more importantly, while I'm drinking my daily cup of Starbucks. Of course I can justify my Starbucks habit as 1. We don't take vacations or buy anything extravagant 2. I have six children and this is my ONLY vice! 3. (See number 2 lol) BUT......today I noticed a FB post from a friend at church who was promoting a ministry she works with that sponsors AIDS orphans in Kenya. These kiddos only need $35 a month for food, clean water, clothes and an elementary education. As a follower of Christ, don't we have a responsibility to these and others in the world who are hungry, poor, etc? How can we justify spending money on expensive clothes, jewelry, vacations, boats, RV's, sports cars, Starbucks (that's me...we can't afford the others lol), or other things that are frivolous, when our money could be used to help these less fortunate? And even if we do give to charity, sponsor a child, etc.....how much is "enough"? Where do we draw the line between our family's needs/wants and the needs of others? Thoughts?

:grouphug: Praying for you and your little peanut. I remember having bad cramps a few weeks after I found out I was pg with dd13. The Dr. told me that cramping was normal and even some bleeding was ok....the little peanuts are burrowing into the uterine lining and it can be irritating to the uterus. Stay positive, drink water, and call your Dr. tomorrow. You can even get some natural progesterone cream to use for now. :grouphug:

I have the vomit phobia too :( It's controlled my life since I was a little girl. It's never gone away or gotten any better. We all had the stomach flu a few months ago and while I didn't throw up, everyone else did and it caused a MASSIVE panic attack in me for several days. Then I have the "normal" dislikes like when someone else is chewing ice.....HATE that sound. Microfiber on dry hands forks stuck together....makes me grind my teeth together!! nuclear war earthquakes I have issues :001_huh:

I keep coming back to check on you...:grouphug:

Oh Nance, I'm so very sorry :( There are just no words of comfort right now :( :grouphug: Keeping you in my prayers today!

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet or not but.....Nance, you may have ovulated a few days later and on top of that, you may not have implanted until later ... Remember, you don't start making hcg until the little squirt implants. I just want to encourage you to stay positive. I know it's hard...I've been there! Praying for you!!! May God give you peace during this waiting time!

Do you start over if you forget the words? :lol: ME TOO!!!!

My vote would be for the monkey experiments as well. As a side note, I love how Sheldon refers to her as "Amy Farrah Fowler"..... Am I the only one who has memorized the theme song and sings it in the shower? :lol:

I think she did a terrific job advocating for AP parenting. I don't understand why people think that attachment parenting equals losing your "me" time or setting your relationship with your spouse aside :confused: Rebecca said it sounded "exhausting".....Welcome to parenting!! Any way you slice it, it's going to be exhausting....unless you hire a gaggle of nannies to raise your kids. DISCLAIMER: Nannies are wonderful. I have no issue with daycare or nannies...I just feel like parents need to be present for their children when they are with them.

:grouphug: I struggled with my now dd17 from age 3-16.....and I'm currently struggling with dd13 (who can be explosive and MOODY). My advice? Work on your relationship with her. Take her shopping with you. Take just her out to dinner. (I'm not saying you should spoil her with things but rather time). It's important for her to know that her reactions to situations need to be appropriate (not throwing or screaming) but punishment for those offenses might only make her more angry. I hope I'm explaining this right. I still struggle with my dc, BELIEVE ME! But the one thing I've found that helped a ton was to just talk to them more. Be silly with them. Ask their opinion on things (not life altering stuff....but things like "hey, I'm thinking of making that chicken dish tomorrow....does that sound good?" Or "Hey, I'm running to the store...do you wanna go with?..."

Hmmmm....I may have to think on this one for a while but my first thought is : How cool that your family has such a great relationship with all of these children and their families :) I'm kind of sort of dealing with this on a much smaller scale right now. Our youngest foster son (although we are praying that we can adopt him :) ) has three bio sibs that live with another foster mom. We met them for the first time yesterday. I always feel like it's a tongue twister when I explain to others about my foster son's bio brothers and sisters and foster mom. DS8 is somewhat confused over our exact relation to dfs's birth family.... Sorry I couldn't be more help but I can relate :) I'll think more and come back.

Thank you, everyone :) We live in So Cal in a densely populated area so I wouldn't worry too much about over saturation. My concern is the artificial ingredients :( I would like something more natural that I can truly endorse. Maybe I need to just make it and sell it myself ;) I think I'll still look into Scentsy and talk to some reps in my area. I'd actually like to see and smell the products too :)

I've recently learned about Scentsy. I've yet to smell their products but I've been doing some research on the company and the products. I like that they don't release yuck into the air like traditional candles. I also like that the company seems pretty earth friendly. I don't like that I can't find the ingredients list anywhere. I could use some extra income right now....but I've done the direct sales thing before (a lot!). Mary Kay, Avon, Partylite, Tupperware.....and while I was somewhat successful with Mary Kay and came close to getting my car....I also HATED the sales aspect of it. I try to be frugal and have a hard time convincing someone to spend money they don't have on products they don't necessarily need. However, if I know the product is made well, is earth friendly, (child friendly), and the company practices are on the up and up, then I'm more inclined to support it and feel better about selling their products. (still not going to push them though) So with all of that in mind, do you think Scentsy would be a good fit for me? Can I do it without having many parties? Can I do it without be pushy? Thanks in advance :)