We were given our table by an older cousin,, and my son loves it. I frequently wish we'd not accepted it just because it takes up so much of our very limited space. But the truth is if the track gets set up on the floor, the dog gets overly and unhelpfully involved,, and DH gets super annoyed walking around it. So overall it is a good thing. And it is nice to use for hotwheels, blocks, etc, as well.

I was terrified of other people's dogs as a child even though my family always had them. I loved ours, and would slowly become comfortable with friend's dogs if introduced carefully. Size didn't matter much, although bigger dogs were naturally even scarier. I think pp suggestions of therapy dogs, bottle feeding puppies, etc, are good. If you will be seeing the same dogs every week, talk with the owners about slowly introducing them to your dd. Maybe she could help you make some dog treats to take to the park. If she can have the dogs sit for her treat, she might feel some control. I hope it gets better.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/category.asp?PID=37049

Thanks for the explanations. I sometimes feel so disconnected from our community, I was actually just thinking we might meet people at the local church, maybe even other hs'ers, and be part of the larger community. I would certainly not go to a church I had theological issues with just to be part of the local social life. But I have been having some trouble personally with my church, LCMS, not the least of which is that there are no other children anywhere close in age to DS4. My DH was raised RC, and I've been wondering lately about attending our parish church. I keep adding to and deleting from this post, which I'm going to interpret as me needing to stop typing and go back to pondering.

Sorry - can't edit for some reason. I meant to say, is religious ed required of all age groups, not is the fee for all age groups. Just wanted to clarify.

Sorry to revive this thread if it is trying to fade, but I only just finished reading through it. I have questions. Many questions. :) First, can someone tell me about Christian Ed instead of Sunday School in the Catholic church? And what is the fee for? Is it required only for certain age groups? For anyone, not just RCs, has the role of a particular church in your community influenced your decision on which to attend/join? I'm asking in part because we live in such a heavily RC area, I have been wondering if my family would have a better sense of belonging and support at our local parish. I guess I will start there. Thank you to all pp. This has been a very educational and thought provoking thread.

It was Protecting the Gift. What a scary situation. I also think you should speak to your boys.

The man I spoke to at B&N seemed to think it was legal. The only issue would be the warranty, but if you can get it back to factory settings, that might not be an issue. Personally, I am going to wait for the update & B&N app store. What apps do you think are worth rooting it for? Once rooted, will they work properly since the nook OS was slightly modified from the standard android OS?

I still was wearing my older DS when he was 2.5 and I was largely pregnant. He is 4 and about 50lbs, and he still asks to be wrapped for short snuggles once in a while. My younger son is 17mo and 26lbs and still worn lots. In fact, just today I wore him on my front in a mei tai for a two hour zoo trip. Do what feels good to you and your daughter, nobody else.

Sounds like signs are the weaponn of choice. I don't know if it would work with her - she came by once when I had my jacket and one shoe on, told her we were heading out the door, and she literally pushed me aside saying she'd just be a minute. Worth a try, though. I don't know if I could just not answer the door. It's a small house and hard to not know we're here. I'd feel too guilty since she's elderly.

There is an older lady from my church who drops by every once in a great while without calling first. I realize that this is perfectly fine in many cases, but I have a baby who naps, a husband who works nights and sleeps days, and a dog who (appropriately) barks when someone rings the doorbell and knocks. And I have repeatedly told her I am happy to have her visit, but she should call first. She doesn't. She almost always has some little treats or gifts, and I think she means well although I do think she's pretty nosy too. And maybe the not calling ahead is a generational thing. She dropped by this morning unexpectedly again. Luckily DH and DS1 were both awake, so no problem, but it really really gets on my nerves. I don't want to make her feel unwelcome, and I don't want to be rude. But it is hard to be gracious sometimes. Ok. Vent over.

Yes! about the internet. I am so easily drawn to "just check one thing" far too often. I have gone for long stretches with just checking emails in the morning and then reading blogs, forums, and searching after boys are in bed. It does make a difference. Background tv is quite distracting too.

In my house, we all do soooo much better when we manage to tidy up. Including my DH & our dog. My DH is quite sensitive to feeling his mind is cluttered when his space is cluttered. I am naturally a clutter bug, so I have to work to remain mindful of this. I think the brain clutter of too many distractions is the worst though. Being fully in the now as much/often as possible makes the biggest difference in the character of our days. I am a big fan of rearranging too. Switching the location of the toys helps the boys look at them in new ways. I even like to rearrange some furniture once in a while - changes how we view and use the space. I rearrange the books too. Like many of you, I find books particularly hard to part with.

Mine is a nook color and it does have magazine subscriptions that are in the exact same layout as in print, without the dead trees and accumulation to annoy DH. Loving this feature so far. Thought you might want to know. :)

I have a bumbleride indie that I adore. I've had it for four years, used it tons in lots of environments, and it's still in great shape. It even survived a major flood followed by getting frozen. Love It! The customer service is great too.

I felt the same way a couple years ago when DH gave me a TomTom. I still don't use it tons, but I'm glad to have it. As far as the nook, maybe you will find a friend to use the lend feature. I just got a nook from my DH, and am happily surprised to find out a good friend just got one too. And although there will still be books I prefer to phhysically own, some on the nook are just fine. I am also enjoying browsing the store which right now with the littles is near impossible IRL. I hope you find a happy solution.

I do a really quick cold wash, then a long hot wash, and 1-2 extra rinses. I often squeeze some lime juice in the final rinse. And every so often I strip with dawn. I use store-bought detergent.

I'm considering getting an ereader for Christmas, so I've been checking what books are available. I had to giggle when I saw this title: On the Farm (Bright Baby Touch and Feel Series). :lol:

So scary! Glad your sweetheart is ok. :grouphug:

DS4 very nearly attacked DH once when he tried to change the channel from a Nova episode. We don't watch regularly, but sometimes catch it, especially if animals are involved.

She looks like a real sweetheart. Congrats!

This is the first year in about 15 that I haven't anchored the tree to the wall, and it's only because we have a stand for a huge tree but bought a very small one this year. :D I can tell you how not to decorate a tree when you have a puppy. The first year I had my Newf/Saint pup, I thought it would be cute to tie ribbons on little milkbones and hang them on the lower 3rd of the tree for her to enjoy. :blush5: Was not my best thought out plan. :lol: I like the candy cane idea, but all of my dogs have been candy cane lovers. Maybe have your daughter make paper chains and little snowflakes, or cut out shapes from felt to hang with ribbon.

This is fantastic! Thanks everyone! I tried starting this last winter, but the dog was a pup, the boy was a pup, the baby was a baby, and I wanted to hide myself. :lol: So although I attempted teaching her what "find DS!" meant, we weren't consistent and I gave up. Now that we're back to stuck indoors more, and DS4 is loving hide-and-seek lately anyway, I think this will be a good game for us all. Love the cat story!

I'd like to teach my dog to seek out my DS around the house as an indoor activity for them both. I'm not sure how a scent trail works in this situation since DS is all over the house all the time. Would he need to hold something like a special treat? If you've done this with your dog, could you please explain it to me?

:seeya: