:iagree: This is how we do it. I put a stop to the running around. I make brunch-ish foods and the kids snack while they open. We eventually take a nap while the kids keep playing. In the evening we eat a simple comfort-food dinner while we watch one of the new movies. We all love it and enjoy Christmas Day so much more. It also gives us more time (and sanity) to savor the meaning of the day.

DSS 15 has to be monitored constantly. He does not learn from natural consequences. DS11s self-monitor and we haven't had an issue, yet anyway.

Another vote for Playtex. I used them with mine and use them with my daycare kids now :)

I would want my friend to tell me. We do not allow explicit music in our house at all.

Gap and OshKosh sell slim, reg and husky jeans in their normal selection of jeans, not always in their specialty ones or ones that match a particular outfit. ETA: We buy the slims at the outlet.

Looks good esp as I have 3 in the same grade! I can't wait to explore it further. :) I "pinned" it to my pinterest page too. I love it when I find something new to pin.

Wish I could help! My DS has this over and over. His allergists have no idea why. It is very frustrating for us. He is also on 3 different daily antihistamines though. Has she had allergy testing? Dust, for instance, is everywhere. Have you checked the pollen levels? They could have been high those days. Is it possible that she is newly allergic to a food. When your body has had enough you can develop allergic reactions to foods you have had many times before without a problem. Here is my favorite fall-back, many viruses can cause hives and if her body was fighting off a virus she could have had hives as a result. Sorry, I know it sucks and your dd is probably miserable! Baking soda baths can help during times when hives are only slowly receding. If your doctor hasn't explored all options I would probably have her assessed though as it can be a sign that she is developing an allergy to something new. (Or to her first something as I see since I read the original post there were more posts and you said she doesn't have known allergies.) :grouphug:

My 11 year old DS went through this when he was younger. I spent two years constantly reassuring him and being there for him as much as humanly possible. We had him draw pictures and/or talk about his feelings when panicking. He didn't want to but he eventually got better at it. He still has a hard time now but he will tell me when he is getting upset and we no longer have hysterical panic attacks. She is older than he was though so I'm not sure that would help. It is also very important that you have breaks at times too. You won't be calm and strong enough to deal with the stress her anxiety puts on you otherwise. I know how emotional it gets dealing with anxious children. This trip may be a much needed break. Who knows, she may learn she will be okay without you for a weekend, even if it is hard. :grouphug::grouphug:

Not the biggest fan of Macys so I vote Amazon!

I have no advice but know that you aren't the only one. I feel that way too whenever DH goes somewhere with his friends/brothers. I know he needs and deserves the time away but I don't want him to go. I usually just hold it inside (if I brought it up I am sure he would stay) until he walks out the door and then my eyes fill with tears. I am pretty sure that is bad advice so I won't give it to you lol but truly :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

I think it is normal, esp if you were close (which it sounds like you were!) My mom died a few years ago when I was 24 and my kids were 5. We all miss her so much. She loved my boys to death. There are still days I cry. I think if you can function than you are "okay." When my mom was dying she told me that she was so sorry for me because she had never "gotten over" her mom dying and she didn't think it was something you ever "get over." :( Her mom had died on my parents' wedding day 25 years earlier and she was still very sad about it. As long as life is going on I don't think you need to worry if you miss the way the past was at times.

We have one but only because (1) we leave our kids home alone and even though they have a cell phone we have children with anxiety and also speech disorders, I want 9-1-1 to be able to trace the address and (2) DH works at Comcast so it is free :D

:lol::lol::lol:

We have 4: 3 boys and 1 girl. 2 boys are mine and the other 2 are my husbands. We plan on having several together though :)

My three littles voted for 2 horses and 1 llama. I couldn't vote twice for horse so +1 horse! :) I never thought of doing this but I think I will in the future because mine always hate that there is only 4 kids for a graph.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: I would un-Friend her just because no one needs that in their life and she is obviously not a true "friend." She knew you could see the status.

I put other because I honestly like it both ways

No and I would love to! My ds11 wants to be a missionary to Nigeria though. I have NO idea what made him pick that country in particular but he reads everything he can on it

I can barely wake up to an alarm so it isn't fair to make them wait on me :lol: Really though, it sometimes goes off for ten minutes before I wake up to it!

Did you use fertility treatments? Mind you, I was 17, pregnant with twins, and look young for my age.

Somewhere in the middle but don't worry I jumped in with a frenzy!

I really like the movies as a child but I don't individually remember them so I said all three :)

1.1 :001_huh: We had a horrible summer so I took a break and now my number is horrible!

No, I think it looks pretty though. :001_smile:

I am a "deplorable" voter. I'm sure there are acceptable schools in the US but the general outcome and the majority of schools horrify me. Thank goodness I had my primary education completely in a private school before I went to HS.