Clinique burns my skin horribly, but my sister loves it and her skin is generally more sensitive than mine. I use homemade soap, burts bees toner and cream, and mineral makeup. I have also used cetaphil and eucerin products without much trouble.

Oh wow! This is going to be a lovely resource! Thanks for posting.

This is far too common around here. DH is constantly stressed from his job duties and schedule. There is a fine line at our house between giving DH extra space and quiet to make him feel better, and making him feel worse because he feels guilty about forcing us to change our behavior. Or making everyone miserable by trying to force environmental changes. I find that letting DH go out with his buddies for a beer or to work out makes more of a difference than me getting mommy time. Also, a tidy house makes a big difference to my DH. If it's a particularly bad day/stretch, I try to have special quiet activities for the boys that only come out in these situations. And lots of hugs for everyone, especially DS4yo, who feels it all keenly but doesn't entirely understand. The other suggestions of good food, back rubs, and tea help around here too. Good luck!

Adorable! Congrats! :D An 8lb dog might be fine in a cat carrier... :lol: When I've bought crates for my dogs, I just go with the recommended size advertised. It's worked so far. ETA: Lots of people like/use the wire crates you linked to, but I actually prefer the plastic crates. Just to think about.

So sorry. :grouphug:

Anyone in the near-west/southwest suburbs? Brookfield, LaGrange, Lyons, etc?

When we moved to our house, I went church shopping on my own because DH was working Sundays. And I was largely pregnant. I was really shy about it. There was one church that looked great online but turned out to be very not me in person. Now after trying for a year to adjust to some changes at our church, I am pretty sure it's time to move on, and I am contemplating changing denominations. I will second the opinion that attending a RC church is very easy as an outsider. I have attended masses for a variety of reasons at a variety of churches over the years, and never felt self-conscious. Good luck with your search. :grouphug:

Thank you. I am still struggling in my search/decision. I have returned to this thread a few times, and was actually thinking on it this evening.

Keep looking. Sometimes it takes a week, but there are mei tais on thebabywearer for $40 frequently enough. I have sold a few for less than that myself. FWIW, I don't like SSCs, not even the ergo. If you think you'd use hip carries the most, go to the fabric store and buy 2.6-2.9m of osnaberg fabric, or something else that catches your eye. If you are comfortable doind a back carry in a moby, doing a hip carry with non-stretchy fabric will be a cinch. I much prefer wraps for hip carries. Much much prefer. Mei tais are super fantastic for back carries for me, but they're perfectly possible with a short wrap too.

SSC is soft structured carrier, like an ergo.

You can also check on thebabywearer for local bw'ers to try out different carriers. There are sometimes groups with a lending library.

I had a few. One is my fb friend now, and I had a little strange moment once when I linked a book I'd just finished reading, and she commented. My most favorite teacher and I still write, and I send pics of the boys once or twice a year. When I was in school, I gave her a pop-up card of Jemima Puddleduck. One day last year, she sent me that card with a little note. I was so touched. I sent it back again with my next note, as she requested. Imagine. She has beloved grandchildren, etc, and to have kept that card all these years. She was a great teacher to us all, but more than that to me.

Thought of something else - the waist doesn't seem to be padded. Many people prefer padded waists with bigger babies/toddlers.

Also a mei tai lover here. They can be used for hip carries, although I found it awkwrd. The print on the one you linked is cute! but be sure you want minky come warm weather. Also, I checked some of her other listings to look at structure. Glad to see x-box stitching, but would personally prefer the straps to extend farther into the interior than they appear to. Esp since this is for a toddler.

Do not throw that hammer! No it is not Mjolnir. Do not bite the dog! Do not climb the harp! Do not turn your whole body to look around while you pee! Do not throw that shield! I don't care if you're Captain America. Don't give that to the dog. Eewww. Well don't eat it after she licked it. Just give it to her. sigh

:lol: Oh my! That's great! Especially since my 4yo is still claiming he misses nursing when he sees his brother nursing. :tongue_smilie:

It has a chess app too. If you go on youtube & search nook color, there is a two part review by mobile tech gadget. I found this review very helpful when I was considering the NC. There are a few other helpful youtube reviews too. I never would have thought of a video review, but my DH told me to look. Also, I meant to add that I did notice it was harder to see one day when there was bright sun coming in the window at just that angle. So I turned slightly. I don't have the anti-glare screen protector yet. My children are quite small, so my attention really has to be on them outside anyway. One of the drawbacks always mentioned for the NC compared to other ereaders is battery life: 8hrs officially for NnC vs something crazy like a month for others. This hasn't bothered me in the least. And if you want to extend the charge life while not online, you can turn off the wifi.

:grouphug: So frightening and sad. :grouphug:

I'd like to add to Lisa's great review: the extras are awesome! If you aren't familiar with pandora radio, check it out online. NC has the pandora android app, and I love having it play while I read or web browse. I also love the crosswords. I'm not a sudoku gal, but it has them as well. There will be more apps available sometime in the next couple of months. I am genuinely excited to see what they will be. The pdf reader is great too. I am currently knitting a sweater for DS4 from a pdf pattern that I downloaded from a knitting site. I also have bookmarked online recipes and recipes in my nook magazines, and cook from them. I think adobe flash is what it can't do, but you can't always view youtube videos. I think there is a fix update in the works though. I haven't tried uploading pics to the web from the NC, so I'm not sure how that works. Or if it works. I think the magazines are just fabulous! I really love that feature. And I did just type this on my NC. :)

I am a professional harpist. Although I scaled back my schedule a good bit just before my DS18mo's arrival, I still perform occasionally, and still have students. I also play the piano, and have taught piano in the past. And I studied organ, although I haven't played one in many years. I would have had piano lessons anyway, but started when I was 5 after a harpist told me to take piano until I grew a little bigger. I started harp when I'd grown a little bigger. :)

:bigear: I'll be watching this thread too, although I'm visiting a nearby parochial school open house. Just for the sake of thorough research to present to DH, as I'm quite certain about HSing in my heart. I think many questions will be the same for PS & parochial. I wish there was a good way to ask questions about labels placed on the children. And about whether children who aren't always dressed in Hanna Andersson or Gap Kids are looked down on by either classmates or teachers. I was able to look at the school report card online and get some ideas about the school. I noticed there is a big drop-off in enrollment after first grade, for example. :lurk5:

If you go south on LaGrange, there's a nice mall in Orland Park.

I also received a NookColor for Christmas, based on a rec on here. My boys, ages 18mo & 4yo, both love the kids books on it. I've purchased 5, & it came with 2. Some are recorded, some not. Most have zoom in/out on the pictures, and you can usually pop out text so it is easier to read. I like the kids books, but would never replace our physical picture books for nookbooks. My 4yo has even requested that we buy a physical copy of one of them, and I'm sure it's because the illustrations are quite detailed & he wants to look at them on a larger page. (Man Gave Names to All the Animals) It's a really fun feature, and great to have some super-portable stories for trips like doctor offices, etc. You can ask me more questions if you want more info. :)

That's neat! And nice house. I never saw HS mentioned when we were househunting 5 years ago. I wonder if I'd see it now in our area.

I have one, bought about 3 years ago, that is great for the boys to use when I'm using my better cordless. There is a little area rug in their room, so the brushes are helpful. I grab it once in a blue moon, but not as often as I thought I would.