The only way my children get any soda is when we are out to eat...then it's a treat. My oldest is 14 and he's allowed sometimes when we are out for a long ride, and if he asks for it. My children were never allowed any as toddlers. My youngest son, 6, takes sips from mine every now and then...trying to break him of this habit now. :) Easier said than done. I'm a soda drinker....Some have their coffee, I have my soda. I never took to drinking coffee.

I was in a similar situation. My recent child was born by c section, and we have no one up here in SC. All our family was down south, and the c section was not what I had planned...it was emergency. I agree with the other poster, just do what matters, and the rest will be taken care of later. I have to be honest and tell you it's hard. I had 3 other children, ages 14, 11, and 6. My dh worked and was only off for the first four days...unfortunately, my daughter had to stay in the NICU and was there for the first 2 weeks, which helped me heal up. I didn't have to be up and down with her, but I still had no help on household chore...Laundry, dinner and cleaning was still done by me. Where in NC are you?

My last and fourth child is just 5 1/2 months....and was c section, and I'm officially done. After that experience, I never want to do it again. I thought I was brave for birthing 2 of the larger children naturally....Ha! Let's say the c section taught me to shut my mouth. :) I have four and it feels large. I know it's just a season with the baby being young, and there's not enough hours in the day. But going from 3 to 4 has been a rough 6 months!! Some people increase with a flinch, but I'm still shuttering over here! LOL I wouldn't trade it for anything, they are my entire life...But it has been a welcomed challenge. Although, I tease dh about wanting just one more! (My kids ages are 14, 11, 6 and 5 1/2 months!...and it's fun!!)

I think a meet and greet would be awesome! Would love to meet some mamas and get the kids to meet some new friends. I'm just south of Rock Hill in Chester. You can message me here or at rebelmama313@aol.com Let me know if you guys get something together!!! :D

Hey Mamas, I'm about an hour south of Charlotte. I have 4 kids, 14 yr old boy, 11 yr old girl, 6 yr old boy and a 4 month old baby girl. I just seen this post and would love to meet some other mamas. We moved to SC about 6 yrs ago, kinda lonely down here! :)

I'm Lisa..we live in SC, originally from FL. I've posted here a few times, but mostly I lurk and learn from all of you guys! We've been homeschooling for about 3 yrs now. I have a 13 yr old boy, a 10 yr old girl, a soon to be 6 yr old boy, and a baby girl due at the end of July. The oldest kids started in public school, but my oldest begged to be homeschooled after moving here. I'm very happy with our choices and so thankful to have found this board. I've learned so much from everyone here.

I agree to the above! I would recommend the lab. We have one, he'll be 4 in May. He is awesome. I've noticed how he plays differently with each child. I have a 5 yr old, a 10yr old, and a 13 yr old. With the youngest, he's very sweet and easy, doesn't pull him, or knock him down, plays very gently. With my oldest, who's a boy, he's a bit more rough, like he knows he can handle a pull or a jump up, and wrestles with him! LOL He just understands which needs which. They are awesome family dogs. He has a deep bark, and he's a huge dog. He does scared people when they see him. But little do they know he's just another mama's boy!! :) He tends to follow me around the house, and has become my little shadow. So I do feel is someone was to try to hurt me, he would protect me. He doesn't even like dh to get to close to me, and keeps a watchful eye on him! LOL

I have one and I use it all the time. We moved from FL to SC about 4 1/2 yrs ago, so I use it to keep up with my friends and family in FL. I post pics of my kids so everyone can see them grow. I also belong to a few groups and it helps get the information out to others that think like I do, and I like reading the links they share!

I love it. I love seeing the way people use everyday objects. Love getting new ideas. I only found out about it because of this site. Which is another one of time spenders. :)

We have two right now. Bailey is 3 yrs old, a yellow lab. We've had him since he was 8 weeks old, and by far he's the best dog ever. He never had issues with the kids, we have 3 of those! LOL He's loving and well behaved. Since turning 3, he's become very protective of the kids and the yard. He knows who's suppose to be here and who's not, and he's a very good watch dog. When the kids play outside and he hears them scream or cry, he stands at alert and watches them. He usually doesn't quit barking to them until they go by him, he wants to sniff them over and make sure they are ok and not hurt. (Kinda like a second mommy..lol) Also he is awesome with my youngest. Sometimes there's just big kids outside, and no one for him to play with, so my youngest will take his cars outside and play in the dirt next to Bailey. I've seen this with my own eyes, so I'm not crazy...it's like he knows Colton is sad and he will paw at the cars with Colton, like he's playing cars with him!! It's the cutest and sweetest thing in the world. On those days Colton will sit there for hours and play cars with him. Our second dog, Zeus, is a boxer and lab mix, more boxer than lab. He's only 5 months old. He's beautiful and sweet. He's still a pup so he has a lot of puppy antics going on right now. But he's very loyal to the kids and will go to them before coming to me...traitor! LOL I still have to see what he grows into, but he's good with kids and that's what matters to me. He's smart, and follows Bailey's lead on who to bark at and who not to. By far, I have to say that my lab is the best yet. I've had a lot of dogs growing up, and with kids, labs are the best!! :)

I was just thinking about those doors this week. I think we will take our down. Even though we will in a rental, my landlord is awesome. He mentioned before that I could take them off. I think I'll tear it apart soon! Glad to hear every one else dislikes them as well. :)

My oldest son is just now drying up and is out of the itchy stage...man was it HORRIBLE!!! I was trying to find stuff that wasn't so mixed with chemicals. But you really want to wash with the Dawn dish soap, it breaks that oils up and gets it off. And I totally agree with doing it in the shower, you definitely don't want to sit in those oils as a girl!! Then you want to get something that will dry up those blisters. After trying all kinds of things to get him relief, my son decided that white vinegar helped, and aloe vera. Every night while he was itching and blistery, I made him wash with Dawn, and then put on the white vinegar, and then after that soaked in he wanted the cooling feeling that the aloe vera gave him. I don't know...but it helped him. We brought at Walmart the Ivarest (I think that's what is was called), he said it burned him., maybe because of the opened blister, raw skin. Also be careful with things near the eyes, and on the face, because even the scent or chemicals in the product can aggravate and irritate the eyes, which will cause her to want to rub her eyes. Good luck, and I hope she heals quickly!!

Man, where were you when I was thinking about starting!!?? I think that is an awesome idea. It gives her information at her fingertips, where to start researching more, and gives her an idea just how much is out there. Wish I had something like that when I started. :)

I do it all, unless dh is doing a bbq on a Saturday. That may be once or twice in the summer months. I don't cook on the grill. :)

Okay...I'm not a professional. But my dad had a decking business in FL for over 10 yrs and was in the trade for over 15yrs. I don't know what coolcrete is, but I know what he use to work with. If it is cracking and crumbling up then they are going to have to scrape all that up and resurface that area. Sometimes depending on who's doing it, they will check to make sure it all doesn't have to be scrapped. You have to be careful on who's doing this. There's a lot of fly by night companies, who don't do a great job. Everything works in cycles. First they will come out and inspect it, scraping what needs to be taken off and what's crumbling. Then they should pressure wash the entire surface. Depend on the company, they will either put down a skim coat, which then requires drying time, then come back and do the texture on the area that was coming up to match the other areas. That requires a dry time too. Then the next day they can come back and paint the entire area again, this way everything matches and looks uniform again. We use to use 2 coats of paint, allowing drying time between each coat. If they do it right, this process can be done within a 3 day period, also depends on the shade in your pool area with the drying time. It really shouldn't take a long time, especially with the heat. I would also check with the company that did the decking to see if there is still a warranty or guarantee on the decking. This may cut your out of pocket expenses down. Cost should be the area that needs resurfacing, and a new coat of paint, time for pressure washing, most companies price based on the square footage of the job. If you have any more question you can pm me, and I can contact my father if you need more detailed questions answered.