A dear friend of my grandparents is named Anneliese. I'm pretty sure that is the spelling and I've always known her as Anna-leese. Although maybe she is from a time when names were more likely to be "Americanized?"

Could you try taking a photo every 6 weeks or so? Sometimes the camera can reveal things that we wouldn't notice otherwise.

Mine didn't talk, but I've had several over the years who knew their names. I'd make sure you get them young, and preferably from a place where they have been handled since birth. I didn't see what kind of dog you have, but if it's a terrier or something else with a high prey drive small animals might not work well.

My grandparents did this when I was growing up, but I think that there were a few other ornaments we were supposed to look for too. I'm not sure if that's actually traditional or if it was a way to make things fair for all the grandchildren.

I think the only time that "heads of the table" mattered when I was growing up was for large family gatherings like Christmas. Unfortunately the two people on the ends were usually both hard of hearing so they needed to shout to make out what the other was saying. It certainly didn't matter for us for everyday eating. Of course, one of the heads of the table was directly in front of a large glass window, and it needed to be replaced more than once because someone backed their chair up into it. That may have had something to do with it. I think for our family this is one of the things that is considered special occasion manners, but not everyday manners. I'd liken it to the fact that you're expected to put your napkin on your lap for a fancy dinner, but you don't need to do that if you're grabbing a PBJ and potato chips. (Eeek, I hope that's not a faux pas too!) It doesn't really matter here because our table is a square.

I was thinking it loudly. I'm used to people using "travellers" instead of gypsies though.

Ladasha. I've never seen a real person with it spelled like that though. I worked with a girl with a very similar name, but it was spelled out.

My name is Kayleigh. It was not at all common when I was in school. Now I can't take my children to a playground without spinning around because I think someone is calling for me. Anyways, I grew up with everyone spelling my name Kaylee. I was called "Kah-lee-ah" a couple times too. My name looks downright simple compared to a lot of names today. I can't pronounce the names of several of the children that do choir with my daughter. My husband and I have a rule for naming our children. If my grandfather couldn't read/spell it, we aren't using it. He passed shortly before our third was born, but I think we will be sticking to the same rule for any future children. (Unfortunately, even this isn't foolproof. Thanks to the typist at the birth certificate office, my son's birth certificate read Christina instead of Christian.)

The Element by Ken Robinson. I have it sitting by the computer with 10 pages left. I haven't liked it from the first chapter, but I am determined to finish it so that no one can tell me it gets better. I am not a "special unique snowflake" kind of gal. I also can't stand when a book includes its own special vocabulary word ("Element" in this case) in almost every single sentence. I've tried to ignore those things and judge the book on its other merits, but I can't get through more than a page without rolling my eyes.

I find that when we eat beans and lentils regularly, as in a couple times a week, it's less of an issue than when we eat them more sporadically. Rinsing the beans well after the first boil helps. Sometimes I rinse them a second time after they've cooked for half an hour. Certain beans are easier on the system than others. I think white northern beans are among the least gaseous. I'd make sure they are well-cooked too. Don't add in any salt or tomatoes until the beans are tender enough. I also find that not eating a ton of them helps too. When I eat smaller, reasonable portions I don't have much trouble. If I eat bowl after bowl, it's a different story. Eating smaller portions is healthier anyways.

That's the first thing that popped into my head too.

Ah, thanks for explaining. Curiosity has been sated and I can die happy.

The curiosity is killing me. What are non-witches teeth? I googled, but all I got was this page, Halloween accessories, and something scary about wiccan love-making. (Eeek.) Mine have been breastmilk only until 5-7 months. I figure when they start wanting to shovel things into their mouths for the purpose of eating, then it's time. They've usually stopped nursing altogether at around 11 months by their own choice. I do all the same things as people who breastfeed for years, without the same results. As a side note, at the delivery of my son, one of the nurses asked how long I'd breastfed the last time around. "Almost a year," was my response. She suggested that maybe this time I'd make it to two years. Yes, let's chase down an uninterested, or even combative, toddler for a quick nursing session. That's going to be a pleasant bonding experience.

5'2" here. Getting children in and out isn't a problem, but changing the sheets might be a nightmare. Actually, getting children in and out was a little bit tough when I had a huge pregnant stomach. By the time that was an issue, they were old enough to understand that unless they wanted to stay in there all day, they needed to come over to me.

Is Rice Chex one of your cereals? How about homemade hash browns? Maybe some kind of hash brown casserole with meat that you can freeze ahead of time and microwave?

I make mine in a 2-quart sauce pot. It just sits on a heating pad with a dish towel on top of the lid to hold some of the heat in. I do have to glance at the heating pad because it will turn itself off every 45 minutes or so, but I'm always in and out of the kitchen anyways for that. It isn't a big deal if I miss it for half an hour or so, as long as the towel is over the top. I have no room for more appliances in this tiny little kitchen! You do lose quite a bit of the whey when you strain it. You can use it in other things though. I usually just mix in homemade jam if I want to sweeten and flavor my yogurt.

All of you folks craving ice-have you checked to see if you have anemia? It might be worth looking at. (Sonic does have good ice, but seriously craving it could be something to look into.)

It may seem silly, but aggressive poultry and small children can be a dangerous combination. I would not hesitate to get rid of any of our birds if I thought they were going after my children. So that's probably what I'd do with this bird. After that I'd make a point of showing the children how to act around the birds to hopefully prevent any new issues, but that's no guarantee either. Life is just too short to deal with aggressive animals.

My husband accompanies his father to homecoming every year at the military boarding (high)school that his father attended. I know that he's been very impressed with the school and with the careers that a lot of the alumni have gone into. I'm not sure what level the classes were at. I don't know about organizational skills specifically. I do know that a few of the kids he's talked to admitted that they had been heading in "the wrong direction" or made some bad friends before and that they'd turned things around at school. Based on that I'd say that a high school probably wouldn't expect incoming students to be flawless. I do think it's also fair to note that some "not very nice" things happened when my husband's father went there. I don't know if that sort of stuff still goes on or if it was a product of the period?

I don't know if it's something I've read here or somewhere else, but I've noticed a lot of people talking about their young (in my mind) students who "won't" need a certain level of a subject. An example would be someone in late middle school or early high school who "will never" be interested in high level math because they are artistic, or someone who "will never" want to read classic literature because they like to tinker with electronics. I notice it in the real world too. A lot of people limit the potential of their children because they see a particular talent and work to develop it. In doing so, sometimes they limit other possibilities because "artsy kids don't like math" or something else silly like that. A child in middle school or early high school has their entire life ahead of them. To limit their exposure to math or science or languages or literature at that age doesn't strike me as a good idea, regardless of what other strengths they may possess. (Obvious exceptions for students with disabilities, parents who don't limit their children, your own particular child, etc, all apply.) I consider how many adults I know who decided to go to school for something they never expected to, and I cringe when I see a parent say that their child will never be interested in a certain topic. But it's not my child.

My 3 year old gets to wash her own plate and cup and light pots most nights. No breakables though! I slit my wrist badly washing a glass popcorn bowl when I was in elementary school. That means I'll probably be doing that stuff until she is about 10. No dishwasher here either. Maybe if we win the lottery...

There have been a few occasions where I wished that I knew what I was supposed to be doing in a formal setting. I've learned how to get through these events by now, but I really wish that someone had explained the "rules" to me when I was younger and less afraid of making some kind of egregious mistake. I'm really not a dress-up kind of person. I rarely leave the house for something other than getting groceries. This is still what I'd consider an important skill to have. You don't need to know everything, but it's nice to know enough that you aren't intimidated.

The Belsnickle leaves a piece of candy or some stickers in each child's shoe in our house. He starts coming tomorrow.

I have a Sierra Margaret and a Morgan Adelaide. And for a fifth, my husband has pushed for Inara (from Firefly) for our next girl name. I've got a whole stack of boy names waiting in the wings that I'd like to use up before that though.

If it's reasonable then I'd just stop by after the other party. I'm the child of divorced parents, so I grew up with around half a dozen different stops for each holiday and annoying sense of duty to appease everyone. (Which explains why I don't mind holidays where I don't leave the house.) If it were me, I'd just say that you'll be going to the SIL's but you'd love to stop by and visit after that.