around $2000 for a private, local adoption Adopting locally is the least expensive way to adopt.

Wow... Ok, I would suggest that you equate 'metal' with 'rock'. There is a lot of very loud Christian rock music with appropriate lyrics. (I don't have any desire to listen to it, but it is out there).

I would really suggest that you try to find a church that is more open to the "less than cookie-cutter" Christian. We are out there. Your son shouldn't have to feel isolated and alone b/c he doesn't look like a Duggar. (and I love the Duggars.. just a good example though).

So stinking funny!! :lol: I shared it on FB and then removed it. I don't want to deal with easily offended people. (but I am secretly messaging it to friends! :cool: )

:iagree: Yes, vacuuming is an important key to this!! We have dealt with fleas two different times (once when we moved into a house that had fleas & once from a stray cat). You are supposed to vacuum every day for 2 weeks after the exterminator sprays. The vibrations from the vacuum make the pupae hatch. Until they hatch, they can't be killed. So, just closing the door and ignoring it is not going to get rid of them.

:lol: so funny! I don't know how often I find myself saying: "Sit in your seat like a normal person!"

My son always asks me what I'm going to be, and I always reply with "I'll be the mom." ;) It would be fun to dress up, but it is enough work for me to try to figure out costumes for the 3 kids.

Maybe.. by an hour or two. Could you cut the nap off at two hours? Do you think this could be a growth spurt? ETA - My girls are 'in bed' (maybe not always asleep) for around 11 hours at night, and sometimes sleep up to 2 hours during the day.

I'm going to sleep in. And take naps. And then go out for long walks. :lol: Honestly, it is too far away to even think about, but I'm sure that God will show me what to do with all of that abundant time!

I have a 3 & 4 year old, and they both still nap - almost daily (at least 5x per week). Naps can be anywhere from 1-2 hours, and generally happen right after lunch. I am a strong believer in nap time (and early bed times, but that's another thread)!

I have one, and I love it!

^ I think this is a misunderstanding. I don't expect my children to act that they are excited to pick up their toys, but I do expect them to obey without pouting or complaining.

I love the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD.. Each letter has a cute little song. I says 'ick', and I forget what word they have for 'e'. But both of my girls learned their letter sounds from this DVD (starting at ages 1 & 2).

that is absolutely hilarious!! (I don't think my son would ever draw anything like that for fear of consequences - but it is funny). No, I wouldn't include it in the portfolio. ;)

you totally did the right thing!!

I'm so sorry :(

Opening widows doesn't work here since the neighbors are constantly burning stuff :ack2: . Boiling cinnamon in a pot on the stove works really well!

I grew up in MA (on the southeastern end, near RI), and I can tell you that the winters there cannot compare to the winters in northwest PA!! We moved just an hour south last year (so now we are closer to southwest PA), and we now experience half as much snow. There is nothing quite like that 'lake effect snow'.

We have traveled a lot this past month, and I am completely freaked out by the thought of bed bugs. :eek: We have dealt with fleas before, and that was horrible enough!

No. We have a house that we love (an old red-brick farmhouse with 3 1/2 acres) and I was completely prepared to spend the rest of my life there, and then God called us into church planting about an hour away from our house. So, now we are trying to sell our house. In the meantime, a very kind person is letting us live in a house (near the church) that she is trying to sell. It is SO hard to live in a house that I cannot make into a home (I can't even change the curtains). Next month we will have been living here for a year.

This is what I do too. I wish I could be organized, but with the way life is around here, it's better for my sanity to just 'do the next thing.' :blink:

In our family, we label this behavior as 'not appropriate', and it needs to be changed immediately, or there will be consequences for it. We also encourage them to 'use your words' when they are upset. It's o.k. to be frustrated, but it's not o.k. to have a temper tantrum. I also try to use positive reinforcements through a sticker chart (kids get a sticker when they demonstrate that they are following God's rules - we have a list of 8 - and then when the chart is full they each get $5). And I also think it's really important to use your child's 'currency'. For my 7 year old son it is his video game. He is allowed to play after school is done only if he has worked 1. diligently, & 2. with a good attitude.

Tonight my 7 year old was trying to tell his sisters what time it was, and he couldn't. He completely forgot how to read a clock. We have been doing 'clock work' for years!! We went over it again this summer in his math workbook, and he was a clock reading pro. But, it's been at least a month since we talked about clocks, and he forgot how to 'read' the minute hand. Is that normal? Stuff like this tends to happen a lot. One day the word 'athlete' was in his reading. He didn't understand the word, so we talked about what an athlete is. 3 minutes later it came up again, and he couldn't tell me what an athlete was. :confused: And there are times when he's doing math and will get stuck on something ridiculous (7-1) that I feel should be instinctual at this point. It just seems as though we have to review everything every single day in order for him to retain information. :banghead:

:rofl: love this!

It just seems crazy to me that parents who are unwilling or unable or unfit to care for their children still have the right to decide when their hair gets cut. :eek: I have tremendous respect for those of you who are foster parents!