Oh, you guys are great! I really appreciate all the feedback. One thing that appealed to me about staying on site is that we wouldn't have to rent a car. I have looked at staying off site in a vacation rental, and I think we may do that some time in the future if we go with a bigger group. Now I am totally undecided! I would love to go some time when they have free dining, but I kind of wonder if they will be phasing that out. If we didn't go this year before summer, we probably wouldn't even think about going until 2015, as we already have a disney trip planned next year. So much to think about!

Background: I have always wanted to go to Disney World and stay in a Disney hotel, but have never been. I have been to Disneyland several times, and my husband has been to Disneyland once. We are planning a trip to Disneyland with my parents next year, in January or May. We have 4 kids, and their ages are 7, 4.5, 2.5, and 9 months. In the process of planning our 10th anniversary trip for next year (I like to plan trips) I realized that if we went to Disney World before my 2 year old turns three, we wouldn't have to purchase a ticket for her and we would be able to stay in the Port Orleans-Riverside resort in the rooms with a max occupancy of 5 plus one infant. They currently have a promotion going, and we could get airfare from the pacific northwest, room, and tickets for about 3800. This seems to be a pretty good deal. We can afford it, but of course the money could be used for other things. Do you think it is worth going with such young children? If we don't go now, it will probably be 3 or 4 years before we think about going. I'm pretty thrifty and like to get a lot of bang for my buck. Thoughts?

I've had a blendtec for a little over 4 years. I wish I had gone with a Vitamix. A couple of weeks after we bought our blendtec we were making an avocado smoothie and something happened with the bearing in the jar part. The machine started shaking and jumping and it stopped blending. When I googled the problem it seemed to be rather common. I was only about 15 minutes away from their headquarters and brought the jar in and was able to exchange it. However, I think the warranty is only a year or two for the top part, and two or three for the motor. I can't remember off the top of my head. When I purchased my Blendtec, the Vitamix had a seven year warranty for both parts. I haven't had to replace the jar again, but there are a couple cracks in the bottom of my jar and my machine does get jumpy at times. I also think the stirrer thing would come in handy. I use mine frequently for smoothies and about three times a week to grind wheat for bread. I go through two cycles to grind the wheat so it is not so coarse.

I'm just finishing up my freezer cooking before my baby that's due any day now. I made several things, and I'll link to the recipes, but I usually adjust them a bit to fit our taste and/or make them healthier. Also, I don't think I bake any of these before I freeze them. Black Bean, Brown Rice, and Cheese Burritos Breakfast burritos made with baked eggs (I added spinach, then just cut the eggs into rectangles and added a bit more cheese) Meat Pies White Chicken Chili Real Broccoli and Chicken Casserole Favorite Casserole Lasagna Baked Ziti Spaghetti Pie Creamy Taquitos Beef Goulash (Based off of America's Test Kitchen Recipe) Best Ever Beef Dip Sandwich Meat Crustless Quiche Winter Energy Cookies I'm sure your friend will appreciate the meals!

That must be really hard. Congratulations on the pregnancy! I have told her, but I think she must think that I really do want a shower as she just says that she's going to do it regardless of what I want. I know it sounds completely ridiculous, and it sure feels that way. I'm not sure why she is so insistent.

Thanks for the suggestions! I would really rather have nothing at all, but perhaps a small get together to see the baby and chat would be a good compromise for her.

I am due with my fourth baby this week. I have three girls, and this baby is a boy. There is a very nice lady at my church that wants to have a baby shower for me after the baby is born. I told her that it wasn't really necessary and I really don't need or want one, but she insists that she wants to have one because it is our first boy. I am extremely introverted, and I also don't feel close enough to more than 1 or 2 people to even want to invite them. She wants me to make her a list of people to invite, and I am so uncomfortable with the whole thing. When I tried to talk to her about it yesterday, she insisted that she would have one for me, even if I didn't show up. I think she thinks that I really want one but I just don't want to inconvenience her, but that's not the case at all. Am I being rude in telling her I really don't want one? I don't like showers to begin with, and I think it's especially unnecessary as this is my fourth baby. What should I do?

Thanks you guys! I was hoping it would be fun with just two, since it's sometimes hard to come up with more players. I think we'll try playing with two decks each. It's just really frustrating that it doesn't say anything about it in the rules.

So we got this game for Christmas after I read about it on this board awhile back. My husband and I played a couple of games today, but during both games we got to a point where we were stuck. Neither one of us could play a card. I couldn't see anything in the rules about this, and I tried googling it but couldn't find with a rule for this situation. We ended up just shuffling the cards in our hands, but it seemed kind of lame. Are we doing something wrong? What do you do in this situation?

Growing up my family had a free-for-all. We had 6 kids and we all got quite a few presents. My husband's family opened one at a time with everyone watching. We have decided to take turns opening presents with our kids. I like it.

I like this idea. I would take the dollhouse back. What your daughter is doing is so much better.

As someone else said, you have to go in and ask. They won't automatically give you the difference.

My 3 year old daughter is getting the Playmobil take-along hospital. She plays with my older daughter's Playmobil and loves it. The grandparents are getting the girls Magnatiles. I don't know if you have a boy or girl, but I saw this Little Red Riding Hood doll on a blog today and thought it was really cute. It's just one doll that you turn over. Klutz makes a series of books for younger children called Chicken Socks. You might find something different that your 3 year old would be interested in. What about a huge sticker book, something like this or this from Melissa & Doug? When my oldest was three she got a Bilibo. It has seen a lot of use.

We don't have a microwave. We use the toaster oven a lot for reheating things. The stovetop works well for a lot of things too. I leave a lot of our food in the original pot or pan that I cooked it in, so I just have to take it out of the fridge and plop it on the stove to reheat.

Barnes & Noble doesn't have a ton of Playmobil, but it is 10% off and they have a code for an additional 30% off any one item. They also have a deal for $5 off a toy purchase of $10 or more. You can't use the 30% discount and the $5 off on the same item though. Free shipping for orders over $25, or you can sign up for a free trial membership and get free shipping with no minimum purchase. ETA: I meant to quote the person that was asking about Playmobil deals. I hit quick reply instead. :)

It doesn't really sound like you have a ton of toys to me. I'm not really a minimalist, but I am pretty picky about what toys come into our house. They seem to fall into a few categories: Play kitchen/food/Bowls Legos/Duplos Playmobil Blocks Stuffed Animals Doll/doll clothes A small marble run set I have a small tin of beloved misc. like a ball, wooden baby toys, a few pretty ponies, and few hot wheels, etc. The stuffed animals and dolls each have a basket in my Ikea Expedit. If they don't fit into the basket then we purge some. My girls only have a couple dolls and a couple stuffed animals in their room. The rest of the toys are put away in my closet or up in the loft. They can ask to play with something and I'll get it down, then we put it away before we get out something else. The girls spend most of their time looking at books and playing their own made up games without toys. They really like to play with the boxes that I get at Costco. We have a trampoline outside and we live on a farm, so they spend a lot of time outside when the weather is nice. They also love to play with toys, and I love the toys they have too. I think the key for us is keeping things put away and out of sight most of the time.

Well, it sounds like it really just s personal preference thing for the kids. I might go ahead and get the food for Christmas if I see it at Costco, but I won't worry about making a special trip. I've wanted to make some felt food for years but I never had. That might be fun to do too. Thanks for all the input. I think they would love a pizza set!

Yes, I have wondered if they are just not play kitchen kids. I wasn't a doll house kid growing up, so I can understand. We do have a cucumber, carrot, and lemon that have the velcro so you can cut them up, and they like those. I also like the idea of using stuff from around the house. My three year old was using unifix cubes as cookies the other day.

I always loved the Klutz books growing up. They have tons of different topics. I really loved one with modeling clay when I was about that age. Barnes and Noble has them on sale for 30% off right now.

I keep reading about how kids love their play kitchens and play with them all the time. My husband built our girls an adorable wooden kitchen last year for Christmas, and they love to play ON it, hide in the cupboards, etc. They rarely make food with it. We have some wooden fruits and vegetables, and a wooden breakfast set from Plan Toys. I'm wondering if they would use it more if we had a bunch of plastic food like this set that sells at Costco for $20. I prefer wooden food, but maybe kids just like the plastic stuff better? What kind of play food do your kids love?

Of the girl names I really like Madeleine Arden- As You Like It Amelia Blythe Matilda I really love Madeleine and Matilda but would be afraid of them being nicknamed Maddy, which I really don't like. But you might not have that problem. I love the name Amelia too. I don't really have a strong reaction either way to the boys names. My least favorite is probably Woods and favorites are probably Leo or Theo. I have three girls, Lia, Eden, and Lucy. We are expecting a boy and the top name on our list is Milo. I know what you mean about snarky comments about names. Names are such a personal thing. Have fun choosing!

I really like the book The Baby Name Wizard and babynamewizard.com for researching baby names. I prefer short names, my three girls are Lia, Eden, and Lucy. I'm pregnant with our first boy and the top name on our list is Milo. I'd really recommend checking out The Baby Name Wizard from the library if you haven't seen it before. It's more than just a long list of names with their meanings. Congratulations and good luck!

We don't have a ton of Christmas traditions, but here's a few: *We make gingerbread houses every year with graham crackers. Every kid gets to make his or her own. We did this growing up and often would deliver the houses to different people that needed some holiday cheer. I've done this several years as a grown up with my kids and nieces and nephews and we've had a problem with kids piling on the candy so they can eat it later. I think making them for other people helps to prevent this. *I wrap up 24 Christmas books and the girls open one each night to read for a bedtime story. I have been collecting so we own more than 24 now, but in past years I've wrapped up library books to round out the collection, and just made sure we opened them quickly and returned them to the library within a week or so, so that other people could enjoy them. *My mom often would simmer cinnamon sticks, cloves, and a piece of orange peel on the stove when I was growing up, and I do that now. It smells wonderful. *We also do the ornament every year for the kids. My mom did this for our family and I love my little ornament collection. *My husband's family has oyster stew and meatball soup and an assortment of finger foods on Christmas eve. On Christmas they have prime rib. As we live on their farm now, we have those meals together. *My husband grew up opening all the presents under the tree on Christmas eve, and then Santa would fill stockings for them to open on Christmas morning. In my family, we opened one present from under the tree on Christmas eve, then on Christmas morning we would all get up together and pray, read scriptures, then go into the family room together, youngest to oldest, to a room filled with presents and Christmas music playing. It was really magical. I couldn't imagine just getting a stocking on Christmas morning. Now we open family presents with my in-laws in their home on Christmas eve. On Christmas morning the girls get stockings and 4 presents each. "Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read." *I make cinnamon rolls on Christmas eve, and leave them in the fridge overnight. I take them out early in the morning, and let the sit out for a few hours before baking for breakfast. I think this year I will make cinnamon rolls and some sort of breakfast casserole so there's a savory option to balance out all the sugar. We also listen to lots of Christmas music, bake cookies, make ornaments, etc. I really love this time of year.

We've done this in our family with funny, inexpensive (under $5) gifts and it was always really fun. One year the popular gift was a beat up copy of Othello, another year it was a mechanical chinchilla that sang Kung Fu Fighting...etc. They are all silly little things. It would be totally different if we were playing it with real, thoughtful gifts.

Thanks you guys. Maybe I will just take a break for awhile. Pregnancy does weird things.