C'mon October! That sounds wonderful!

We went as a family of 8 and spent just under $2900. That includes gas driving there, renting a 4 bedroom home with a private pool 10 minutes offsite, 5 days of tickets, 2 home cooked meals and 1 in park meal per day, souvenirs(moderate, we did not go crazy but did do pins , some mickey sweets, and a couple plush toys.) It was an amazing holiday, we spent far less than we budgeted for it but still felt incredibly pampered.We are planning to go back in two years and all literally count the months down. http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p341565 Our vacation home was very similar to this one. We went "off season" but did not need to heat the pool. It was really marvelous.

I am just going to toss a couple practical ideas out. It really is a work always in progress thing, and I think most of us with 6+ feel this way at some point or another. Honestly, I think everyone feels that way, even if they have no kids but are juggling anything. The book "Large Family Logistics" has great practical ideas. I don't implement even half of it, but it was fun to read and change things around to work better for us. It deals with all the issues you mentioned. We have 1 pair of dress shoes and one pair of sneakers per kid. They come off the second we are indoors and go in the closet. It is habit now. This ties in...declutter. We live a minimalist lifestyle by choice. If it doesn't serve a purpose or beautify the home environment it doesn't need to be there. I agree with Tricia...baby eats on my lap, or at a small table by 10 months(Montessori style). We co-sleep. With this many arms eager to hold a baby no need for a swing,etc. I read blogs of families bigger than mine and take note of what simplifies their lives. Then I tweak it and use it. Mostly I just want to say you aren't alone.

That is great, I totally swiped it. ;) Thanks for the laugh!

I think it is an offensive question, but I would choose not to be offended. My 3rd child is our only redhead to date. With all my children standing at my side I get asked rather frequently ,"Do they all have the same dad?" My less than desirable response is that I took a break between two and four. I only say it on the inside lol! I usually raise an eyebrow to let them know it is a rude question and make a remark about how interesting genetics can be to give us such an array from the same two parents.(I really do find it fascinating!) I am sorry you have to deal with that, it really is rude.

We only go when public school is in session, so if there is anyone there it will be 18+. (Usually it is empty when we go early in the morning). Language is a concern for us, as is lack of common courtesy regarding ramp etiquette. It makes me just want to build a half pipe in the backyard like a friend of mine did! Instead we will continue going early and will leave if crudeness persists. We really haven't had any major incidents though. I think also that younger kids don't go to the parks as much but hone their skills in parking lots or at home until they are bigger.

Good luck to you, I hope so too!

I am so sorry for your loss and the traumatic way of finding her. :grouphug:

I just took my third pregnancy test for the week and it is bright positive! I had a loss earlier this year so I am trying really hard not to be fear filled. I tested at 8 dpo(just because I tend to be slightly neurotic about waiting) and of course it was negative.I tested yesterday at 10dpo and got an immediate but very faint line. Enough that I knew it was positive but dh would have called it negative. I was going to wait until Sunday to test again, give my numbers time to double and all, but again that waiting thing got me. I tested late evening at 11dpo and got a dark,bright line! This will be my 8th baby, 11th pregnancy. Prayers and good thoughts are much appreciated.

I kept a heating pad with me at all times for the first week. If I was nursing it was most important.I would put the heating pad on my abdomen, put a pillow on it (so the baby wouldn't get too hot), then baby. I also took 800 mg ibuprofin every three hours on the dot or I would be doubled over. I asked my midwife what else to do and she wasn't impressed with the homeopathic that my birth supply company had, so that was it. I think that red raspberry leaf during the last few weeks helped a bit too.I have had afterpains after all but my first that were far worse than labor so I am in total sympathy with you.

I am chiming in with the bake from scratch crowd, and the buy in bulk crowd. Oh, yeah, the limited prepackaged food group,too.I joined a food coop and have fruit delivered in bulk a little above cost. We don't drink anything but water,tea, or cocoa(as a treat).We raise chickens for eggs and meat(free range so feed costs are negligible). We usually raise pigs as well, but didn't this year, so we will buy half a cow. My boys eat like crazy. I try to keep their snacks to hard boiled eggs, apples, or bread. We eat homemade pizza A LOT. Usually that is dough, homemade sauce, cheese, spinach, and sliced tomato. Half a head of cabbage cooked in butter,garlic,and pickle juice then tossed with noodles is cheap and filling. Rice with beans, or rice with a cup of gravy and pound of meat stretches very far. We definitely do not eat the cheapest that we could, but we eat well and are under the $100 per month per person thought.

We met at a coffee shop. A few games of Euchre, some hacky sack, and lots of coffee and music and we were good to go. It took him a few more months than me to realize it was love though.

I love feeling like I sort of know people after these :D . 1. He is a body piercer. (I was that pin cushion.) 2. He plays Bass for church, and at home plays Sublime,Queen,and various other secular bands to try to get better. 3. He was abducted by his mom at age 8. He reunited with his dad at 19. 4. There is not a project he can't/won't tackle. 5. He is a perfectionist, and not easy to work with sometimes, but his work is always top notch. 6. He brews beer and mead, and steeps his own medicines. 7. He has a green thumb. 8. He was a surfer growing up in Cali. 9. He got bumped by a sea lion while surfing. This rates as one of his scariest memories. 10.He will win every time at Trivial Pursuit because he somehow knows all the answers to sports stuff, yet he doesn't ever watch sports. It is baffling!

This is fun! 1. I have dreadlocks. 2. I don't wear pants, even to ride my horse. 3. I am politically liberal and religiously conservative, and that makes absolute sense to me. 4. I have 13 tattoos. 5. I have been pierced over 50 times as my husband learned his trade, but have only my ears pierced now(2gg). 6. I was told I couldn't have children at age 16, got pregnant with my first at 19, and have been pregnant every year since. 7. I am quiverfull, and not accepted by most other qf families due to #1,3,4,5.(But I am ok with that too). 8. I met my DH at 16 and got married as soon as I turned 18. We have been married for 15 years. 9. We have a llama(and a horse,donkey, dogs,cats,chickens,fish,snakes,and usually pigs. The llama is my favorite.) 10. I love the Harry Potter/Twilight books, and despise all the movies except HP 1.

Ugh...Woolybear got it right that this will be a long term problem. They made it through the night with her hiding his car keys and locking herself and the kids in a bedroom. This morning he says he wasn't drunk but that he meant everything he said. :crying: She feels like she could be nicer and he will respond in kind. He agrees. He swears he won't drink ever again. I am so frustrated!!! Classic blame the victim crap, and of course he won't drink again...until he does. I asked her if my nephew can come stay with me for awhile( I raised him until he was 4). She said no...everything is ok now. I will be having my husband talk to him in a firm but non confrontational way I guess, and also asking the pastors to contact them(we sort of go to church together...in that she says it is her church but doesn't go). They both carry guns all the time. The officer who went over last night said he made him unload his, but that was the extent of his help. It really is a "good ole boys club" in some OK towns still. Thank you for all your advice and understanding. I don't know how to be a supportive sister when I think she is completely wrong. My mom died 9 years ago and my dad died earlier this year...I want to be there for her, but just really feel like things don't just "get better" . I so wanted to give an update along the lines of," She used her head and told him to leave until he gets professional help. The kids won't ever have to see or hear him touch her, or see him pace with a gun again." Thanks again, it helps to have somewhere to write it all out and know others see how dangerous and stupid this is.

I am going to her house.I will update tomorrow. Thank you again. My heart is heavy right now.

I called a fellow off duty officer, who is heading over. She is mad at me, afraid this will get them both fired, but I think she is just not thinking right right now. I am on the phone with her, trying to convince her that she should just not engage him. She is trying to talk to him,"to find out why he is acting like this." Thanks for being so supportive...I know I am putting too much out there. Thanks again.

Definitely praying. :grouphug:

My sister got married in May to a fellow police officer.He drank around her once prior to their wedding and it was horrrible, including a suicide threat with a loaded gun. The next day he cried, was contrite, swore not to drink ever again. He didn't, until after they got married. Tonight he pushed her down, emotionally abused her and my (5 yo) nephew, and is walking around with his loaded gun. He made her get off the phone, is trying to get his 3 yo dd to go with him to KS(??? don't know why?) and I am scared silly. All these scenarios are rushing through my head. I want to get in my van and go get her, but she is 2 hrs from me and I doubt he will be there or awake by then. I can't very well call his fellow officers and I don't know about calling hers(they work in different depts). I am literally so sick I am shaking. She was whispering and crying when I talked to her. I know I am rambling, I know this is probably too much personal info to put out on the net, but I am a mess sitting here waiting for her to call me back. I am praying he just leaves with his friend, that she just lets him walk out the door. I guess I am looking for prayer, hugs, good thoughts. She has ptsd from being in two wars , left an abusive first husband...now this. My heart is breaking for her.

We are fortunate enough to be 45 minutes from a large raw dairy. It is the only milk we will drink, not for taste so much as health benefits. The cheese curds are a special bonus!

I adore that movie. It is the only VHS I haven't given away(lot of good that does me, I don't have a VCR, but I still look at the case and sigh).

The first 4 were in the hospital, the last 3 were homebirths.

Very cool, thanks for bringing that to my attention. :001_smile:

Watered down mashed potatoes and formula. I have no idea why the potatoes were a big deal to them, but they fed them starting at birth.

No they haven't.