My DS1 has the food allergies related to ragweed, and our ped gave us an epi. I agree - better safe than sorry.

I adore reading cookbooks. I have way too many, but I love browsing through them or sitting down with a few and a cup of tea. These are the ones I use the most, and would have a hard time living without: Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" Randelman's "Memoirs of a Cuban Kitchen" & Lluria de O'Higgins " Taste of Old Cuba" - I tend to read the recipes in each book for the same dish, then choose/combine/improvise "Ultimate Soup Bible" by Sheasby "Vegetable Love" by Kafka and Fannie Farmer for a few standard quick breads and cookies

If your child is starting to recognize words as you read, is one method better than the other? Is it confusing to the child to only learn one sound if he is recognizing words with more than one sound option? Is my question clear? And what about vowel blends? This isn't a big issue here at this point, but it is starting to come up. I'm especially curious as DS's name and my name both start with "a" but have different sounds, and he has asked me a few times recently, "What sound does "a" make again, Mom?" I am not doing formal phonics lessons with him yet, just subtle, or perhaps you'd call it sneaky ;), introductions and information given as requested. So leaning one direction or the other now would be pretty easy.

My grandmother made us a sampler which is hanging in the living room. Whenever DH asks when our wedding date was, I just point. ;) I have a collage frame of 5 photos in the hall, a large photo in our bedroom, and several small photos mixed in on shelves and on the piano. A close family friend took our wedding photos, and she did a great job. I love having them out. The collage photos include group family shots, and my DH has spent lots of time with each baby teaching them the names of all our family members, especially important to him now that his father has passed.

We start our decorating the first Sunday of Advent, which includes getting out Christmas dishes. Every night after dinner, we turn out most lights, light the appropriate Advent candle(s), and sing the corresponding verses of an Advent song. Then we go around the table picking carols to sing. After however many rounds, we light the candles on our angel chimes and sit quietly, listening and watching the shadows on the ceiling. Each Sunday of Advent, there is a small treat on the dinner table for each boy, sometimes including DH. I plan to implement St. Nicholas Day traditions this year. I have a small fake tree that goes in DS's room. He has a few safe ornaments to decorate it with. On Christmas Eve at dinner, we open the little gifts from each other that are in our stockings. Then we put them back up for Santa. I have always wanted to hang cookies or candy canes from the tree for children and adults to help themselves, but the tree would just get mauled by the dog. :lol: Maybe someday when she's old and lazy. Last year I took the boys downtown on the train to the Christkindl Market. I think we will make this a yearly tradition. And we celebrate Three Kings Day. ETA: DS and I also use potato stamps and a roll of brown paper to make our wrapping paper. And we play lots of Christmas CDs and read tons of Christmas books.

Great tute! That's essentially my plan except I'm going to sew the corners to make a wider bottom, and I'm going to line it/make it reversible.

Great! Thank you! Chris in VA, I'd love to see a pic. I had the idea because I have a pair of cargos that I thought would be perfect, and I found a remnant of wide wale corduroy to go with it.

I was thinking of making my DSnearly4 a field bag to carry his binoculars, notebook, pencil, and maybe a field guide. Do your children use one? Or will I end up carrying it?

How much yard space does each have? Years ago when I was a nanny, the mother of the family told me she'd thought she wanted a bigger house when they bought theirs, but that she wished she had a smaller house with a bigger yard. That comment always stuck with me. I agree that the floor plan makes all the difference. We have a very small house, but I love it way more than I could have imagined if just presented with square footage. Another consideration for us was a lower energy bill for a smaller space.

In the kitchen cupboards or on top of the fridge. I don't know why, but this week I've been walking into the kitchen and absent mindedly putting items away that are not actually kitchen items. I've found several books, pieces of pajama sets, and dinosaurs between DS's bed and the wall recently.

He's lovely! What a special story.

Our village has a party in the park up the street from us after the official trick-or-treat hours have ended, so the teens who don't dress up usually make stops on the way to the party. Since we're on the way, we get some. This really doesn't bother me too much since the little kids have already had their go-round, and I've never had any that weren't polite. I usually give them about 30-45 minutes past the official cut-off and close to the start of their party, then I turn off the outside light and blow out the jack-o-lanterns. All the teens we've seen during the official trick-or-treat hours were costumed.

:bigear: My boys adore borscht, but we've never tried it without beets. I'll admit that I almost always buy red beet soup at the Lithuanian place within walking distance. I think I'll try yours this week. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more.

We haven't started Little House here yet, but I would pay good money to play Laura instead of Princess Leia for a day!

Thank you! And to you and yours! :D

Ack! I don't want to ruin them! I'm not 100% sure about the tanning. The label, which is long gone, said to dry clean. I really don't want my babies lying on and breathing in drycleaning chemicals all night. Should I just try to spot handwash it in the bathtub? Yep, the black wool comments made me giggle too.

DH announced tonight at dinner that we are having lechon for Christmas. I told him that's fine by me if he gets the spit and does the cooking. I suspect we may be having a ham made by me.

My boys each have an unshorn sheepskin for their beds which I need to get out now with the cold weather. They need a good washing first though. The sheepskins, not the boys. ;) Apparently I can throw them in the washing machine on gentle? With wool wash? Really? The lanolin won't hurt the machine? The machine won't hurt the sheepskin? And is my dog's slicker brush basically the same as the sheepskin brush? Anyone do this? I got my info here: http://www.sheepskin.com/sheepskincare.asp. Thanks!

Just the one pup, but sometimes she feels like several dogs in one. ;)

You're right. I wonder why my parents, with no Spanish background, adopted that tradition. Anyway, we continue it as my DH is Cuban, and it's fun. Krampusz is scary! Must be effective. :lol:

Thank you everyone! I just love holidays! I found the St. Nicholas site looking for cake recipes but haven't had a chance to explore the site. I'm glad to see it recommended. What a lot of fun ideas! I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want a 4yo boy running around with fire. ;) I think my DS will really love leaving treats for a horse, and pick-up of the Christmas list is a great plan. Another question - I always left out shoes for the three kings. Have I been confusing this tradition with St. Nicholas, or is it for both?

Do you celebrate? What do you like to do? If you make a St. Nicholas cake, what type is it? I was just thinking ahead and wondering what these celebrations look like in other people's homes. :bigear:

"...even convicted felons." For crying out loud. :glare:

I haven't spent any time on this site, but have heard it recommended frequently. It is an AP parenting site, but has homemaking forums as well. http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/

Thanks! Sounds like he might really like them. Adding one to the list.