Yes. Receptive is the kink.

I remember people complaining about Carl books. At least baby Madeline has a dog, poor Pippy has nobody.

http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2013/01/21/8-online-stores-to-purchase-sensory-friendly-clothing/

Oh! Pick me! Philip Gulley's Harmony books! They are clever, hilarious, and uplifting. http://www.philipgulley.com/harmony-series-2/

All the best to your husband and family!

http://stores.savers.com/search.php The best little girl dresses for cheap. I checked your general area, and I see a few stores that might not be too far. :)

Living in a small space in a great city would be doable, imo, for the time you are talking. I think it would be challenging financially, but if you could find reasonable rent, it could be a wonderful adventure. ('Reasonable rent' is going to be the greatest challenge.) If you dress warmly (a good investment), you could go out in all but the worst weather. I've spent a great deal of time in NYC with young kids, and in the bitter cold playing in Central Park. The kids didn't care, and I've had to drag them back to my friends apartment. I was freezing, but I wasn't properly clothed the first day. I agree sometimes the air seems/is nasty, and you come home dusty. But there is so much happening. I would have loved for my children to experience living in NYC for a time. My youngest hopes to attend college in NYC, so all those many visits made a positive impression. My oldest has been living in NYC for 4 years (no kids,and lucked out on a great apartment with a spacious kitchen, so it happens) and has no plans to leave anytime soon. If you live near everything (so I wouldn't do Staten Island), you aren't schlepping. You wouldn't be 'grocery shopping' daily, you would get a few items here and there during the week, and once a month or so, you would use a car to do the big haul of detergent, tp etc. I don't think I would want a car because you do have to think about parking/moving it etc. I know folks who rent cars when they travel out of NYC, so they don't have the hassle and expense of owning a car in the city. (My oldest does have a car, but they don't have a parking issue.) Try to get the picture book Knuffle Bunny (there are 3 books, in fact) through your library. :) The Brooklyn neighborhood depicted is great.

I had to visit the hive this morning because of this sad news. What a loss. PS Snape wasn't a bad guy. <3

Having experienced both, I would say NYC, without question. (But only certain parts of Brooklyn or UWS at this point in time. That might change in the future. Ftr, I do not like the cold, but I am able to escape to warmth when needed.) SF is sprawling (although gorgeous!) In many neighborhoods, you absolutely need a car, or Uber etc. NYC feels more intimate to me, depending on your neighborhood. The big draw re SF is being a CA resident for university, although it's not the done deal it used be, as CA desperately needs full- paying students from out of state. NY residents also have excellent state college options. Both SF and New York have many natural attractions as well. (The natural beauty of NY state is incredible!) I would try to visit both for a time (Airbnb, perhaps, in a neighborhood which speaks to you), and then make a decision. Also, don't but anything right away either place. Rent and get a feel of the various areas. As for SF, nobody has mentioned Albany, which borders Berkeley. It's extremely $, just the same as any East Bay community, but Albany is incredibly intimate and walkable. It's 1 square mile, with many Cal families in Village housing. When you look at Zillow, make sure to look beyond asking price, and find what the home actually sold for, as there are incredible bidding wars happening, and that 1100 square foot 600k fixer -upper you looked at ended up selling for 900k - well over a million. I have enjoyed my time in both cities, so it comes down to personal needs/preferences.

Monuments Men (Not sure the rating)

On Schemas and dumping etc. This article is great and to the point. http://www.nature-play.co.uk/blog/schemas-in-childrens-play

I'm a tidy person. I like things to be organized, so I understand messes are difficult for some us. What you're describing with the dumping and climbing into boxes etc is developmentally on target. These are called Schemas in Early Childhood -ease. The climbing into bins has a technical name: Enveloping. Dumping: Trajectory, Transforming, Transporting, Disconnecting. There is a great deal written about these 'urges'. Some children have great urges in some areas, less in other, and children vary wrt these needs. But all developmentally and cognitively normal and necessary. Reggio teachers are especially aware of these and will create classroom space with this in mind. The old joke about children preferring the box over the toy that was in the box. Which is not to say you have to live in a mess all the time. :) Save some of those empty boxes this Christmas. From an NAEYC article: Transporting—Picks things up, moves things, puts things down, or dumps. n Transforming—Uses materials to explore changes in shape, color, consistency, and such. n Trajectory—Explores the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal movement of things and herself. Makes things fly through the air, moves her own body in these ways. n Rotation and circulation—Experiments with things that turn, such as wheels and balls; explores curved lines and circles. n Enclosing and enveloping—Surrounds objects with other things. Moves himself inside a defined area, like a ring of blocks or a box. Hides, covers, or wraps himself and other things. n Connecting—Joins things together and ties things up. n Disconnecting—Takes things apart, scatters pieces and parts (van Wijk 2008). http://www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201309/YC0913_Curtis_Planning_Environments.pdf

I am seeing these! I think it can work. But what the heck do I know? lol Wear cute shoes!

My walk score is in the 80's, which was shocking to me. What does it take to get higher? Lol unless I am leaving town, I do not drive. I can walk to work, to multiple wonderful markets, to local food places, to the dry cleaners, my primary doc, dentist etc . Although... a woman I work with was surprised to find I walk to and from work. We live exactly the same mileage from work. Hers is not a dangerous trek. :) She shared she has never walked to work, and doesn't much walk. She and I are the same age, but she is quite slender (skinny!!) We are the same height, and I probably weigh about 15- 20 lbs more? But she really does eat. And she doesn't walk. Blerg! Lol

Aimee- I wonder if you might like to check out Dr Becky Bailey's YouTube vids for calming difficult tots?

Yeah. Pretty lucky we don't have too much pick pick, and no new ones. I have one kid who won't eat any sort of salad dressing whatsoever. I put hers aside before tossing. That's easy. One 'hates' fish, except when she doesn't. I try to serve fish on her least stressful days. But everyone eats raw veggies and salads. I stick to the basics. Stir fry is always welcome. Without mushrooms for one. ;)

I enjoy cooking for the most part. Sometimes I love it. My kids cook sometimes, as does Dh. Dh almost exclusively makes breakfast for us. I'm working now, and it's a tiring job. By the time I get home I'm pretty much only good for the most simple meals. Grill fish, make a salad , cut up tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cucumbers. A quick sauté of greens. Nothing elaborate. (It's also still hot as heck here, so there is very little of turning on of the oven! ) We eat out , or pick up prepared food about twice a week. we make pretty good choices there. We're lucky to live in a foodie area, with lots of community gardens, farmer markets, and we have a few plants in pots on our patio. Figs, avocados, tomatoes, herbs, lemon tree, lettuces, chard etc. I try to make sure the family gets plenty of veggies (Korean place gets an extra prop for that!) even with delivery or pickup. With school and work, we're not usually home together for lunch, except on weekends. We bring simple sack lunches mostly.

I am so very sorry.

Rabbit. Super cheap protein, easy to raise, perfect city animal. But hardly anyone wants to eat Thumper /bunnies. My mil used to make a delicious rabbit stew. I didn't know I was eating rabbit at first ; thought it was extra -good chicken. Dh won't eat rabbit. Because Bunnies. But it is an option if one can't get other proteins for whatever reason.

lol! Thank you! Good dough, good tomatoes, delicious olive oil, carmalized onions, roasted veggies, cheese - oh! Now I'm thinking goat cheese -dang! now I must make pizza!

I think lots of times Moms just don't know what to do. It might be they do care very much, but have little to no experience, and simply don't have any idea how to handle tricky behaviors. That's why I think it's perfectly fine to model appropriate behavior. It can be done kindly and casually, and directly. This can be done with a smile and a kind tone. Maybe the more experienced mothers can gently lead. Take the tot by the hand gently, bring her to Mom. " She hit the baby. I told her ' gentle hands'. They are so little and just learning. We need to keep each other safe, honey. Here's Mommy." And hand tot over to mom. Would that done kindly and with a soft face seem confrontational?

Headlamp. I keep meaning to get one for all of my kids. So handy. I need to remember this one for myself. lol

What on earth is wrong with good pizza?

If they like to cook, maybe a gadget. Currently, one of mine is enjoying a veggie spiral. It makes 'pasta' out of squashes. Works qurite well. Or ceramic knife, pizza stone, immersion blender? Cookbook/s Water colors, watercolor paper Book about Origami w/ origami paper Dr Who Lego! Star Wars Lego Jurassic World DVD Good, but not outrageously expensive camera ( that's not a phone lol) Electric toothbrush Tickets to something local ( play, musical,concert) A winter night at a hotel with a pool ( Guess that is fairly $, but maybe there are deals somewhere) Trip to nearest city for an afternoon of poking around a museum or aquarium, history trail

Some of the bento boxes I've seen are like masterpieces. lol kids eating seaweed and kale and nori rolls filled will chunks of avocado are part of my world. Also, the activity level in this area of CA is very high. Kids bike and walk everywhere. When I pass various schools on my walks, I'm always pleased to see the bike racks are full. Students also have regular PE and recess. My dd takes her lunch to school most days ( currently on a kick of mason jar salads lol), but will occasionally pick up something at one of the many small indie places near her high school ( open campus, sometimes line too long in cafeteria) Thai, Indian, veggie, Korean etc. there is some good food out there. Much beyond BK KFC and whatnot. I get frustrated by the obvious economic and geographic limitations that exist in our country wrt to food, education, and more. The divides are so great.