Evan-Moor "Learning about being a scientist" Incimals (VERY nice c-rods painted with animals on them) an Osborne picture book showing settings in different time periods a collection of world stories

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5:

:lol:

:iagree: Are you sure he has all of them? And there are always the Take-n-play which are smaller, so you have to buy all the trains all over again :001_rolleyes: Does he also have all the Misty Island sets and trains? You could also buy this. You could also buy the movies and shows on dvds. :iagree: Ds 2.75 LOVES little people, and we have all but the most girly ones. (We have the pink roof house 'cause I got it at a garage sale for $5.)

I shouldn't do this right? I never heard that you should do it wrong :confused:

You forgot a once-a-week option! I have a standing "date" for my mother to call at a certain time every Friday. We've got a bad history (she's in jail for child abuse) but I have forgiven her and we now have a nice, careful relationship.

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5:I had to stop several times to wipe the tears out of my eyes and wait for my body to stop shaking! I think I must have burned 100 calories reading this! :D THANK you for sharing!

Ds 5 made his very first "oh, oh, I want that! Get me that!" purchase request right before his birthday (November birthday) but we had already bought him his presents, so I told him he'd get it for Christmas. It's the Tidmoth Shed for the Thomas the Tank Engine Trackmaster track (the new, non-motorized-so-it's-cheaper model.) Ds 2.75 I am getting Inchimals, very nice c-rods sized by inches and painted with animals on them and a stuffed Blue from Blue's Clues. I also got more wood blocks for both of them. Dh and my joint present is going to be a scanner/printer that we need for homeschool. When we get our tax refund check, then we get to buy ourselves something a little more fun. What I really want is the Jane Austin crochet pattern book :001_wub:

:iagree: This is me. Or at least is suppose to be what I'm doing...

I grew up in a cult/church that was VERY anti-Christmas, so I knew Santa wasn't real. I can't rememeber if I ever asked or if I was told preemptively, but I didn't believe in magic either, so I doubt I would have believed it for a minute anyway. I celebrate Christmas now (left that cult/church as soon as I was 18) and I have heard of the children feeling devastated/losing trust in their parents. We are not "doing Santa," and as we don't have many friends with kids, this hasn't been an issue, yet. We are not doing the Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy either. Thankfully, dh's parents are respectful of our choice. I don't have to worry about my side because they all still belong to that cult/church.

I was 18 and 5 months, dh was just turned 20. He was going into the army, so he had a way of supporting us. We were also saving ourselves for marriage. We have been married for 7 years. A lot of people said that we were too young, didn't know what we were doing, we'd be divorced quickly. We're still here :D I know a woman who got married at 16, and they've been married for 18 years, very happily.

Some local counties are so cash-strapped that they've got a list of things to "little" for them to prosecute/investigate/spend time & resources on (that don't seem little to the victims. Domestic assault is on some of the lists in my area of California.) If his county is like that, he might have had no other option, if he ever wanted to see his stuff again. I say good for him.

Dh has a tiny family. Both his parents were only children (his mom discovered 3 half sisters when she was an adult, but they're not really close.) They decided they didn't want their kid to be an only child, so they had 2. Dh's older sister is 31, not married, has never really had a serious boyfriend, and doesn't look like she's going to have one any time soon. They took in a troubled 16yo girl and later adopted her, but she and her husband didn't have any kids, and now they're divorcing. So the in-laws were pretty thrilled when they found out we were expecting :D Dh is the only one to carry on the family's name, so it's a good thing we have two boys; more likely that the family name will survive. (Have you ever meet another Mr. or Mrs. Warde with an "e" at the end?) We want one more kid, though I'm hoping for a girl :001_wub: My family, on the other hand, has PLENTY of people to carry on the family name. My father's mother's father only had one sibling that survived childhood, and that was a sister. And he only had 2 daughters, so his family name died with him; but my grandmother's daughter's illegitimate son (has mother's maiden name instead of father's) is considering changing his last name to Andres to revive the name.

:iagree: If there are practicing pagans who want to be included with the Christmas Tree, then I suppose "Holiday Tree" might be okay, but the objections usually come from the Atheists, not the practicing pagans. Why would Atheists want to be part of a Christmas/Holiday tree? Honestly, I don't see why local governments even bother with the tree anymore. It doesn't seem worth it. Now if they were protesting a CHRISTMAS tree outside a Christian Mayor/Governor's house, THEN I would be...really upset (euphemistic phrase for something I'm not sure I'm allowed to post on here.) I'm more bothered by a supposedly Christian President choosing "Holiday" over "Christmas" on his own front yard. (No, I don't think he's a Muslim, but he's not really a practicing Christian either. He has said numerous times that his own personal salvation is dependent on the collective salvation of the country based on the country's actions, and he has given no indication that he thinks the collective salvation has happened yet.)

The Long Winter is my least favorite, too. They get better after that, though, if you like romance (which I do :D.) But I don't think I would read the First Four Years (did I get the title right?) to kids.

:smilielol5: Fantastic! Thank you for sharing. I don't usually click on the shared links, but I'm so glad I did on this one! American made!:lol:

Is a DS worth it? Most of the time I think my sons are worth it, but ask me again when the mud gets tracked into the house and the toilet seat is up again. :glare:

I have a recipe that I make separately from the rice, and then add on top like a gravy. It's from my mil: chicken breasts (I make 5 for my family of 4) butter flour mushrooms (we use canned, but fresh is fine) onions (optional, I use frozen chopped) spinach (optional) chicken bullion mozzarella cheese onion powder Flour chicken, brown in butter. Take out and saute mushroom (and onions and spinach) in butter (okay, so NOT the healthiest meal out there...) Add bullion, onion powder, and flour to make a gravy/sauce. Boil 1 min or until thickened. Spray baking dish with Pam. Combine all in pan and cook at 375* for 15 minutes. Add cheese on top and cook 5 more minutes. The spinach isn't in the original recipe, but I added it because it tastes good and adds another vegetable, which makes this a complete meal-in-one. My in-laws eat it with salad and no spinach.

I Celebrate the Day by relient k Santa Clause is Thumbing to Town by relient k pretty much the entire relient k Christmas album Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand Little Drummer Boy by Audio Adrenalin

I'll probably be spending about $100 for two boys. Dh and I decided last night that our Christmas present will be a scanner and printer that we need for homeschooling, and we'll get more fun stuff when we file our taxes in February.

Coleslaw :ack2: Liver and all other organ meats (had to eat it as a kid. Never again!) Nuts (I've tried them and didn't like them, though I do like peanut butter.) Eggplant. I actually haven't had eggplant in a very long time, and I would be interested in trying it again, if it was the right recipe. But for the other things, no thank you!

We have a portable dvd player that fits on the back of the front seat headrest. We just got back from driving from past Sacramento CA to Phoenix AZ with a 5yo and a 2.5 year old. VERY worth it to us.

None :( Dh is the youngest of 3 and is the only one married with kids. I'm the oldest of 12 and my first brother (3rd born) is getting married on Wednesday. I really want a niece to spoil :001_wub: I feel bad for my kids, because they won't have any cousins their age, and I grew up with a LOT of cousins. My cousins have kids ds#1's age, so he'll have some kids to play with at Thanksgiving, but ds#2 won't have anyone his age :sad:

In highschool I couldn't hear the difference between "irreverent" and "irrelevant." Dh (boyfriend at the time) loved teasing me about it. I'm not sure which one I wasn't saying, but I couldn't say one of them. He still brings it up sometimes :001_rolleyes: 7 years later.

:iagree: :lol: What I would have said, only better put :D