When the weather gets warmer, I often make main-course salads and pasta salads, and it's easy to do a lot of the prep in advance. Since your kids don't like their foods mixed, I'd go the composed salad route, like a nicoise salad, where the individual components are separate.

Beauty--Robin McKinley (YA, but a lovely re-telling of Beauty and the Beast) A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again--David Foster Wallace (an essay collection I've reread multiple times. A few of the essays are a bit too weird and out there for me, but most of them are great, especially the ones about the cruise ship and the state fair) The Blue Castle--a lesser-known LM Montgomery novel, more adult-oriented GK Chesterton's Fr. Brown mysteries (short stories)

I'm sure the owners love you! I wouldn't worry about going every day they're open; I'd do the same if I had such a store near me.

If you want to pursue getting an exemption from the Catholic school, here is a site that might be helpful: http://www.cogforlife.org/vaccineinfo.htm

My DH's response was the same: "I think it's a great idea! Of course I'd do that!." I had to tell him that, no, he will not do that.

I like that the Kindle is easier on the eyes--no glowing screen. I received one as a gift for Christmas and pretty much only download classics and free books.

I do the pan on the stove method, too. If you're only heating 1-2 portions, just put that amount into the smallest skillet or saucepan you have, and dishwashing isn't a big deal. Honestly, I have a microwave, I often opt for reheating on the stove because I like how evenly things warm up that way.

I guess my question is more along the lines of what would be best if one doesn't have time for stretching, massage, applying oil, etc.? Obviously, I could have a completely different birth experience from my first, but what are the best options if labor is really fast? I was advised to slow down / stop pushing, but trying to stop DS was like trying to stop a freight train--totally beyond my control.

Maybe just in WI, but every kind of sausage is a "brat." I was taken aback seeing Italian sausage labeled as "Italian brats" for the first time.

All this info is really helpful, ladies. I had looked at some internet sites, but I'm never sure if they're pushing an all-natural just to be natural agenda or if there's a good reason in some cases. I was leaning a bit against having one, and I am happy to hear that tearing does not necessarily always happen. With my first, I don't think that I would have had time to stretch or massage because there was no stopping DS, and I didn't push at all. I guess I'm worried about the tearing because he was small (under 6 lb), and I still tore quite a bit. I may look into massaging the area in the weeks before labor, though.

I didn't think to mention that I am petite--about 5 feet tall, 105-110 lbs (I weigh a somewhat more now that I'm pregnant, of course, but that gives you an idea of my frame). Would that have much of an impact on whether or not I'm likely to tear?

Are there cases where it's beneficial to have an episiotomy? Before having my first child (fall 09), I had read that natural tearing healed faster and that few obs do routine episiotomies--so this never came up in my check-ups. I had an extremely fast birth, and I was surprised when the ob (he was on call then but is now my primary ob for this pregnancy) brought it up. He told me the pros, but DS decided that he couldn't wait, and he was born before the ob could tell me the cons. Perhaps because things happened so quickly, I did have a fair amount of tearing, but I ended up healing okay. I like my doctor a lot, and I feel like he's respectful of my decisions. I can bring it up with him, but I'd also like to be better informed in case a different doctor is on call. For context, I am not committed to doing things naturallly. I planned on getting an epidural with my first child but didn't because things happened so quickly. I'd like to have one this time around but am okay with that not working out again. I really like my ob and hospital and trust both to respect my choice. What would be my best choice in terms of pain and recovery if the issue comes up? Thanks, ladies!

My DH does more work with Latin than I do, but he basically uses Bantam New College dictionaries until they fall apart. I pick them up at used book sales whenever I see them :) We also have a Lewis and Short dictionary, which I think is now sold as Latin Dictionary Founded on Andrews' Edition of Freund's Dictionary; it is, however, a bigger investment that you might not need at her level. My understanding is the classicists tend to use the Oxford Latin Dictionary more (there are a number of Oxford ones, but the one I'm referring to is the $329 one on Amazon), while medievalists and Renaissance scholars have more use for Lewis and Short (my DH is a Renaissance guy). Lewis and Short is also available online.

My undergrad experience was like Momling's--small LAC, mostly seminar-type classes where it was obvious if you weren't there or hadn't done the reading. As a graduate student, I went to every class unless I was really sick. My classes were even smaller (often half a dozen people or less), and we were expected to contribute a lot to the discussion. Grades, though, were based only on a final research paper, but it made you look really bad to the faculty if you missed a lot of classes. As a teaching asst. in grad school, it depended on the professor; some wanted me to take attendance, others didn't care. However, the classes still weren't that large, and the students who did best by and large were ones who missed only a few classes. The readings were usually a springboard for the lectures, so it would be hard to pass the classes just through reading. I usually graded papers and exams and had no problems giving out low grades, though I usually ran the final grade distribution by the professor before returning the graded things. I also had office hours and was available to comment on drafts. After my first class, though, I amended my policy to exclude the day before the due date because (surprise!) that was when everyone wanted to see/email me. Overall, I had very few students actually take advantage of my offer, regardless of the class. Teaching on my own, my attendance policy depended on the type of class. For freshmen seminar-style class, I wanted to emphasize the discussion aspect, so participation was a good chunk of the grade. I also made papers due in class each week with no exceptions, since I formulated the paper topics to help get the discussion going (they had to write ten of thirteen topics given, so I think it was reasonable). Teaching more advanced students, I figured that they knew what to expect, so I didn't micro-manage as much, and I didn't have a problem with attendance. As when I was an assistant, few students used my office hours or had me look at drafts.

My undergrad background is a bit different because I went to a small LAC and double-majored in the humanities, but my grades were often not test-based (outside of classes like calculus, intro physics). But I really doubt that someone could guess his or her way through the comprehensive exams I had to take to advance to candidacy. Basically, we had two separate eight-hour sessions to answer questions that could basically be on anything in the field. I did my doctoral work in musicology, so the first day was identifying and discussion seven of ten mystery score exerpts (given a random page or two of each, and you need to identify composer, year, and historical significance). You have to know everything cold in order to pass this because you go into the exam with no idea of what might show up until you open it the day of. Same with the second day of essay questions--I knew that I would have to answer four questions in different historical periods and ethnomusicology, but there's no way of knowing whether you'll be asked to write an analysis of the history of the symphony or sacred music in the eighteenth century--you just have to be prepared for everything. Then you follow up with an oral exam where you defend what you wrote to a committee of professors (my program also required us to do an analytical presentation of a piece that we were given a few days earlier). This was basically a do-or-die exam that everyone had to take 1.5 years in, and the department used it to weed out those it deemed unprepared. Certainly, there are people with PhDs who are not terribly bright (and I know some of them), but an advanced degree can also mean a lot. ETA: I have friends in (or who have finished) doctoral programs in a wide range of subjects, so I know that this type of comprehensive exam was not unique to my department.

For basic math and science, I can see your point. However, I am often quite unhappy at the material that is emphasized in the humanities and find many curricula lacking; knowing my field from a scholarly perspective, I would not use any curricula that I've seen so far. I would argue that in some fields (and, granted, my experience is more in the humanities), one gains this "profound understanding" in advanced study. Also, as a pp poster mentioned, WHERE the degree is obtained matters quite a bit.

It matters to me because I know that I learned so much more about my field in graduate school. Whereas I wrote a few major research papers as a junior/senior in college, I was expected to write 3-4 much more extensive papers each semester while I was in coursework--so my research skills and my knowledge of scholarship in the field dramatically improved. The exams I had to pass in my doctoral program were much, much more demanding than any comprehensive exams I took as an undergrad, and I a) filled in gaps from my undergrad education and b) went more in-depth in a lot of areas where I might have just gotten a lecture or two in college. You need this kind of knowledge to formulate a dissertation--several hundred pages of original research (at least in the humanities, where I was). And, seriously, it takes reading a ton to specialize in an area and really know it. Does it mean that someone with a PhD can write well for a younger audience? Not necessarily, but at the very least, I have a sense that the person knows the field well. Can one attain this kind of knowledge without an advanced degree? It's certainly possible, but most people do not have university libraries (comparatively speaking, public libraries have very few academic volumes) or the guidance of professors, who help you approach scholarly material more critically. Of course, I don't think very highly of some degrees (Ed. doctorates hold much less weight for me than PhDs), and there are certainly people with PhDs who are idiots, not to mention that some currently popular research areas are ones that I consider a total waste of time. Of course, this probably explains why none of the curricula in my area measure up to my expectations (and I'll probably end up doing something on my own).

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I think I read somewhere that the balcony kiss had to be at a certain angle so that it would look right to the cameras and people observing--so I don't think that they could be spontaneous about it.

For the college-bound: laundry bag with a roll of quarters. Maybe with some starter amounts of detergent, dryer sheets, and the like. The second part is probably better for a student who won't be going too far (i.e. flying). (although I don't know if quarters are a precious a commodity now as they were when I was in college. maybe students can pay for laundry by swiping cards nowadays?)

I'm glad someone brought this thread back--I meant to respond the first time around but just never got to it. We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories From Rwanda -- Philip Gourevitch

It might be easier to cook the frittata the night before, since it can be served warm or at room temperature. I agree with the pp about avoiding as many morning-of things as possible.

Looks good to me! This is probably obvious, but I assume that you'll have drinks, like coffee, juice, etc., too? Congratulations to your dd! :)

For a short and handy reference, this is a nice summary from Duke's writing program: http://uwp.duke.edu/uploads/assets/quotations.pdf

I haven't used arrowroot myself, but I know someone who does for vegan ice cream. She recommends making a slurry by mixing 1/4 c. liquid (soy milk, for instance, for ice cream) with arrowroot (2 tbsp--to make 1 quart ice cream). Then heat to a boil whatever it is you want to thicken. Take it off the heat and immediately stir in the arrowroot slurry so that it distributes evenly. You can probably easily adapt this for gravy, etc., though you'll probably have to play around with the amount of arrowroot.