We used this exact method with ours. They were PT at 21, 22 and 24 months. The only thing I would add is to give them LOTS of liquid during the training time so that they have lots of opportunity to practice. For mine, it seemed to be about connecting the feeling of needing to pee with what it was. Lots of liquid (and therefore practice) helped them. understand.

Count me in the club. I'd like to get a pedicure, but I've never found someone to go with me. Admittedly, I haven't tried very hard. Every time I get close to just going, I read some news article about some awful fungus or something someone got from a pedicure.

Once on a vacation in Quebec, we ordered ds a 'plain hamburger, nothing on it' and got just a bun. When we took it back to get the meat patty, the woman looked at us like we were the crazy ones that ordered it that way. Seriously, how else would you order a burger with no ketchup, cheese, onions, pickles, etc?

We encourage something akin to courting at our house. Emphasis on waiting until they are closer to being able to decide on a mate (so, closer to 19 than 14), intentional relationships with lots of family involvement (both to make sure they are each showing their real vs. dating selves and to keep communication open with family), and deciding ahead of time what their boundaries are. We talk about the advantages of not leaving a trail of broken hearts through their teens, and how easily our emotions can deceive us and our hormones rule us. As of the first of the year, ds20 is courting a young lady (A) he's known for 6 years. She is finishing a 2-yr degree in photography, and ds is working on his CS degree 8 hrs away. They were friends before they were anything else, and I think it's good that they got to know each other in that context. I don't know what boundaries they've set for themselves, but they both have very strong, very black-and-white moral outlooks and have said they will wait to have sax when they get married. We did ask they if they wanted to court, they needed to talk to the girl's father. I guess we're mostly trying to distinguish between society's norm (date anyone, sleep with everyone, must have a boy/girlfriend or you're lame) and a good way to find a future spouse (get to know people, recognize a potential connection over time, take it slow, get family involved).

I think you just have to start thinking of her as disabled. She obviously has some kind of mental issue going on. You just happen to be the focus of her obsession. Just smile politely and move on. Based on this, I would say, if you must say anything to her when she wants to get friendly, "I'm sorry. The police said I shouldn't speak to you."

Yes, this.

None of my dc have ever asked to go to ps. Ds20 was adament about not going, and I did threaten him with it a few times. Towards the beginning-middle of 10th grade, ds17 decided he wished he had gone to ps starting in 9th grade. But he wanted to be in school with his friends in a neighboring district, so it wouldn't have been what he wanted anyway. He is very glad now that he didn't do it. Dd still says she has no desire ever to go to ps.

Dh and I grew up in VA, moved away 23 years ago (the last 11 in NJ), and are negotiating to buy a house in Blacksburg, VA right now. We are looking forward to, among other things, the southern hospitality and overall politeness, the much lower property taxes, and being near family again (I think!). I would suggest looking at places that have a fair number of transplants. When we lived in Atlanta, it seemed like 90% of the people we met were from somewhere else. I would imagine it would be tougher to be a transplant from the north in a small town.

Dd had two of hers removed two weeks ago--they were shoving into her 12yo molars. She doesn't remember anything between them rubbing a topical anesthetic on her arm and waking up. It was a total non-issue. We bought a huge milkshake on the way home (no straws!) and she lived on that for the rest of the day at least.

Six months ago I would have made a very different selection. At the first of the year, dh and I started doing P90X, so that's about 6 hrs/week. Well, it's our versions of P90X, since neither of us, mostly me, can do every bit of every DVD. But it's definitely very intense. My dc are old enough that they don't factor in to my exercise time.

I agree with this. My dad used to be an owner of an asbestos removal company, and I worked there as a college student. Asbestos is a problem if you breathe in the fine particles that come off, usually when it's old and/or disturbed in some way. Outside, I'd be more concerned if my now-17yo ds was younger and would likely be slamming into the siding or hitting it with a soccer ball as he ran around. In that case, I would cover it with siding.

Pathway Readers go up through 8th grade.

I voted always, but I don't always. More than 'if he needs to know' and less than 'always'. I wouldn't tell him anything that is not important and might make her uncomfortable to know he knows. Or if it were something that might be taken the wrong way without knowing all the context or background or emotion or whatever, I probably wouldn't tell him. There has definitely been some random, unimportant stuff that I told him about. I assume that stuff I tell a friend will be known to her spouse.

I would recommend you go with a breed rescue agency that fosters their dogs. We got ours through Brittany Rescue, and they were very particular that the dog be a match for us and vice versa. We were able to visit her at the foster house and talk to the foster owners to get an idea of her behavior and temperament. Also, they were adament that, if she didn't work out, we were to contact them to get the dog back.

We really enjoyed Belize. We had friends who stopped there on a cruise, and it was as scary as was described above. However the rest of Belize is completely different. We split the week between the beach and the jungle and had a blast. We stayed at Robert's Grove in Placencia on the beach and DuPlooy's Jungle Lodge in the jungle. At the beach, we mostly snorkeled and did a fascinating day trip to the Monkey River. In the jungle, we canoed to San Ignacio, rode horseback, visited Mayan ruins, went to a blue morph butterfly farm, and saw lots of nature. We also enjoyed Cozumel which is less touristy than Cancun but still close enough to do some day trips like the Mayan ruins in Tulum, and Cozumel itself has great snorkeling.

Dd is 13½. We have done and continue to do a lot of talking about our reasons for even caring what she wears and how she looks. We talk about how visual guys are and that she is sending a message about herself in the way she presents herself. We haven't had to be very strict with her about it because she mostly agrees with our thoughts at this point. We continually evaluate our guidelines--we don't want to be legalistic and we do want her to own the choices, but at this point our word goes. Piercings: She had her ears pierced when she showed me that she was ready to take care of them, so at 8 yo. That's probably it for piercings, but another set on her ears is not a hill I'd die on. Makeup: She started wearing a tiny bit of eyeshadow around when she turned 13. For a while I checked it before she left the house, and it's almost always been very light and tasteful. She has dark, long eyelashes so mascara hasn't been discussed. I don't like the heavy eyeliner at all and she thinks it looks trashy, so that's not an issue. Clothing: I don't want to see her cleavage or wonder whether she going to be showing something if she bends over slightly. Dd is pretty modest naturally. She's aksing about wearing a bikini top with swim shorts this summer, so we'll be talking. We'll probably ask her highly visual 17yo brother what he thinks. He'll be honest without being overly big-brotherly. Dating: She has grown up hearing that we discourage (haven't had to do more than that) dating until they are older--like in college maybe. And even then, we encourage a more intentional courting-type relationship vs. recreational dating. Ds20 just started courting a young woman he's been friends with for about 5 years. We do encourage spending lots of time with friends of both genders, just not one-on-one time. I have found that, even if you disagree on the decision, it's is well worth your time to really talk to them about where you're coming from and why and get their perspective on why they might want to do differently. Often, dh and I have decided that the positives of a particular 'rule' were outweighed by the negatives, and I believe changing our stance on occasion has bought us some credibility for the big ones in the future.

No, but we do eat with church friends every Sunday. 1st and 3rd Sundays, we have a potluck at church. The other Sundays, we eat together somewhere. Usually at fast food nearby--cheap and family friendly--but sometimes at someone's house.

Another option to consider: Is there a family near where you are now that might let you live with them M-Th nights? You could 'pay' in chores or babysitting. Heck, even paying them what you'd spend in gas would put you ahead in time commuting.

My thought was that she needs to be getting herself to the bus. If I had had the option of getting driven to the bus stop vs. trudging down the road in the cold and dark, I'd have wanted to be driven too. Maybe there are other valid reasons why you drive her, but it seems that the absolute least she could do is make sure you were awake in time. I think she was just venting about school in general and wanted to shift the blame to you about why she "can't" homeschool.

My 17yo has to be home by 11 pm if he's driving because that's NJ law. If he's not driving, he doesn't have a curfew as long as we know and are okay with where he's with and who he's with. This is a highly trustworthy kid. I thought the curfew for 17yos in VA was midnight. It may not be a legal issue if his license is from another state, but it sounds reasonable.

Dh's college roommate did that with his back-home gf. He'd call and she'd call him back if she was home. Or vice versa. Neither wanted to waste the call to find out the other wasn't home/in the room. I am guessing that most college kids these days don't even hook up their dorm room phone. Ds20 just uses his cell.

Dh has a Kindle. I don't have a desire for one, but it works well for him. He travels a lot and likes that he can have a healthy supply of books with him in one slim space.

If you do it, make sure the deck is properly reinforced to support it. That much water is very heavy!

Definitely not unreasonable. My dc would have lost way more than use of the vehicle for similar behavior. I do think I'd suggest he invite the gf over, even if dh needs to drive over with ds to get her. That way, you're sticking to your guns about using the truck, as well as getting to know the girl.

As long as they don't come looking for college money in a few years! ;)