Off-topic, but something I have to say! I have two sets of dishes- both of which I LOVE. I couldn't make up my mind on which one to use, so I have 1/2 of each set mixed up in my cupboards right now. I had NEVER considered using one set at a time and switching occasionally. What a marvelously simple solution that never even occurred to me! I get such great ideas hanging out on these boards, but I do feel rather stupid sometimes!

We don't have a separate tub/shower....but I would LOVE one. We will (hopefully) be looking for a house soon and for a huge master bath with a separate shower/soaking tub, I'd be willing to overlook a LOT of other things. I LOVE taking baths, but I hate cleaning it all the time. And honestly, my dh is a very hairy man. It needs to be cleaned every.single.time. he showers (not that it gets cleaned every day- it just needs to be) I would LOVE for all that mess to be contained in the shower where I don't have to look at it constantly and I could just take a bath when I felt like it instead of having to scrub it down first.

Sorry this is off-topic, but I gotta ask- SWM, why did you HATE the Siblings Without Rivalry book?

Also wanted to add that I know there are plenty of people who don't want to find out gender prior to birth. I'm so not one of them. I've tried to have them explain it to me so that I could adopt that view, trying to find a way to appreciate the fact that we didn't know. It wasn't working. Finding out gender at an u/s is no less of a surprise than finding out at birth- it's the same surprise at a different time.

Oh, I totally agree that an u/s just for gender discovery shouldn't be covered by insurance. You have no idea how much I would be willing to pay to find out. This was NEVER about what insurance would/would not cover. I didn't ask my ob for an extra ultrasound- she had made it very clear on my first appointment that her office would not authorize a u/s to find out the gender. So, while I understand that what I do during my pregnancy is completely up to me- what tests she will/will not authorize is completely up to her. And I respect that. I had resigned myself to not knowing when this opportunity fell into my lap. I think I am going to take advantage of it. Although it's possible that the child won't cooperate during this u/s either, finding out would make me very, very, VERY happy. And that would make my uterus a more pleasant place to be! In fact, every time I bought a cute little frilly dress or an adorable little baseball player outfit, there would be a surge of "feel-good" chemicals in my bloodstream, and thus, also for the baby!

I need to know what other people would do. My OB-GYN is very against ultrasounds that are not "medically necessary". A couple of weeks ago, we had our ultrasound, but it was inconclusive as to the gender of the baby. I was devastated- I cried off and on for several days, (I had made plans to shop for baby clothes) I finally started to get over it. Well, I mentioned at bible study that I was really, really disappointed that we didn't know the gender and someone said that her friend taught ultrasound techs and that they needed people to practice on. I emailed this person and she says we can get an ultrasound! We'd have another chance to find out gender and someone would get a chance to practice doing an ultrasound. BUT is there a really compelling reason NOT to do this? I have another friend who is diabetic and she had monthly ultrasounds through her pregnancies- her kids are fine. I'm really a planner (like I write out curriculum plans YEARS and YEARS in advance- just to ditch them and write new ones) I like to have a plan, I don't even have a preference for if I'm having a boy or a girl- I just want to buy cute little clothes and soft little blankets, etc. If it's a girl, I want pink stuff! If it's a boy- well, we already have boy stuff! So.....what would you do?

There is a book called Siblings Without Rivalry that I think is really, really good book. I can't think of the author right now, but it's the same people that wrote How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk.

When I was a PS teacher, we had issues on field trips with parental behavior- there was drinking, swearing, separating their kids from the rest of the group, generally being unpleasant to kids that weren't in their kids' clique, and so on. I TOTALLY understand a teacher not wanting parents around. Now- as a parent, I'd be irritated. But, that's why I'm going to homeschool!

FYI- Stride Rite usually has a buy one, get one half off sale close to Easter and just before school starts. It usually lasts a week, I think. I always try to buy shoes those two weeks!

I'm sure that the majority of teachers that serve snacks wash their hands first. At least they'd use hand sanitizer. I used to serve snacks in Sunday School and I always washed my hands.

My 2 year old loves playing in a sink full of water and bubbles! As long as there's not too much water, it's not terribly messy. Just throw in some plastic cups and utensils (he loves to "stir" with a spoon) and he's occupied for at least 30 minutes. Wooden trains/train tracks We had a coloring/sticker book with hundreds of train stickers, I took some of them and put them on a magnetic sheet and cut them out. He really likes to play with those on the refrigerator (and a magnetic cookie sheet would make that a portable activity) I'm hoping to get some realistic-looking fish stickers and do the same thing- he's mildly obsessed with fish! Little plastic animals- these are on sale right now at hobby lobby in their "diorama" section- he really likes these too and they occupy him for quite awhile. HTH

Well, I'm pregnant and eating this because I crave it- but it is sooooo good! I put bread on a cookie sheet and top with sliced tomatoes and a slice of cheddar cheese. Then I melt it in the oven- it is soooooo good! I've been eating it for either lunch or a bedtime snack every day for the last several weeks. Of course, it could just be a pregnancy craving!

I don't think you CAN push her. My parents sure tried- they tried forcing me, bribing me- everything you can think of. Then, one day, I had a friend over and I didn't want to admit to not being able to ride- so I got on and rode. I was probably 10. If riding as a family is important, can you get a bike trailer or one of those tandem things?

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Especially MeganS! I'm also on a laptop and don't have a scroll button! But CTRL + worked!!!!

Somehow I changed the font size on my computer and now it's so small I can barely read it. It only affected this website! Anyone know how I can change it back?!??! Thanks sooo much!

I'm doing a bible study right now based on a book by Kevin Leman. It's not the best stuff I've ever read- but there is NOT a focus on immediate obedience. There is a focus on letting kids learn lessons through real-life consequences. I am only about halfway through the study though. (It's a mom's bible study- but the book sometimes says to pair up with another couple, so I think the book was designed to be used by both parents at the same time.)

LOL! That is soooo me! Down to the not being good at any sports or advanced math! I had NO idea about phonics- I didn't know the difference long vowel sounds and short vowel sounds, until I started teaching! I just picked up reading, I didn't have to be explicitly taught and when I wanted to become a teacher- it was a real effort to understand the 'rules'. Other subjects were the same way. Now, I don't think that that is really a common experience- it certainly wasn't the case with the majority of my students. HOWEVER- I think that it may be likely with your kids- because they could have inherited it from you! It's my opinion that if they can do the work, it's not that important that they understand the 'rules'. For instance, if they are reading fluently- do they need to know that the 'silent e makes the vowel say it's name'? Math may be a different story though- they need to understand the whys to build on future skills. I'm interested to know if other people agree with this.

Thanks for the ideas. I really like the one about him listening to an audiobook version of a book I'm reading- I read a LOT and he's read one book in the 5 years we've been married. He is willing to listen to audiobooks though! I'd love it if we could find a class on video or something like that, I'm going to look into that too. Part of the problem is that we have NO interests in common! I'm a theater/music person and he's a jock all the way. I like history- he likes economics. In our case, opposites definitely attract! I did join a moms group similar to MOPS and a moms bible study- we are actively looking for a church and think we may have actually found one, but we've only been going there for a month. I was in a community theater production right after we moved here and that was really good for me- but it's over now. He plays soccer every week and we go to his games when they aren't too late. I know that this problem is mostly due to my feeling like my brain cells are dying from not doing anything more challenging than baking cookies. I don't feel like I have anything worth saying. I'm rambling again- thanks for the ideas, I've got some things to mull over now.

That thread prompted me to write about something that has been really on my heart lately. We moved in September and that meant that I had to quit my part-time job. We haven't really found a church to attend regularly or gotten very "plugged in" to the community. And really, who knows how long it will take to do that? We live in Michigan where it is freezing cold all the time, so we don't really do much outside. I only have a 2 year old (although there is one on the way!) and one kid doesn't really keep me that busy. Or intellectually stimulated. So.....here's the problem. We spend LOTS of time together as a family. Dh comes home for lunch almost every day, occasionally he works later than five- but more often he's home between 4 and 4:30. But we have nothing to talk about. It takes about 10 min for him to relay the latest crazy thing going on at work and about 10 min for me to tell him what the topic of story time at the library was and for ds to show him the craft project he made. (or whatever thing we did that day) That's it. We have nothing else to talk about. There's nothing for me to tell him that he doesn't already know, lots of stuff for him at work is confidential and he can't talk about it. We go out to eat more than we should just to get out of the house and then we basically just sit and stare at each other. How do we get out of this rut? It was a lot better before the weather got cold- we would go outside and do something practially every evening. Now we have nothing to do. We do play card games a lot and we haven't had TV for a LONG time. (though I want it so badly now I can taste it!) I know once it's warm again I'll regret getting it. Though we do have Netflix and watch that a couple times a week. But that is not helping dh and I connect as a couple. Does anyone else have this problem? I know this kindof rambled here....but I could really use advice on this. Thanks. i

That's hilarious! Our very first rule when my son was around 9 months old, was 'don't put your hands in the poop!' It was almost impossible to try to keep his hands out of the way when changing his diaper!

What time does she go to bed? Does she take a nap?

I'm not to the allowance stage yet- but I read something cool about it the other day in a bible study about parenting by Kevin Leman (sp?) He suggests an allowance for several reasons, most of which have already been mentioned here but one that hasn't. Instead of arguing/nagging about chores, if the chore is not done by whatever time, the chore is done by someone else and that person is paid from the responsible person's allowance! I thought this was genius! His reasoning was that it was a real-world consequence, if you don't something- you have to pay someone else to do it for you! If anyone has experience with this- I'd love to hear about it! ETA: I was so caught up in the discussion I completely forgot the OP! After reading this, dh and I were discussing what we will do, we kindof thought $1/year of age, but we were thinking middle school/high school kids who would want to buy pizza with their friends and go to movies and basketball games. Maybe .50/year of age until 12 or 13, and then $1/year. Younger than 12/13, they wouldn't have nearly as many expenses. I guess I think it would depend on what you want them to be responsible for buying. The more you plan to make their responsibility, the more you should give them.

Thanks for the ideas! I'm definitely going to try the vinegar rinse very soon! (or rather, have dh do it- since I can't get close to her!) We changed her food recently based on a recommendation to help her dry skin. I can't remember what it's called- something like Natural Choice. I didn't notice that it changed the way she smelled. If beagles are the smelliest dogs, that could be the problem! She's a puggle, half pug and half beagle.

Anyone have any advice for this? I'm pregnant and very, very, VERY sensitive to the smell of our dog. We've bathed her- almost too much- her skin is getting dry, but anytime she's within 5 feet of me, I literally feel sick.... this has been going on for weeks and it's only getting worse!!!!! It doesn't help that we've been unable to sell our house after my dh got a job in another state and we're renting a super-small apartment. I feel like the whole house smells like a dog and I'm embarrassed to have anyone over- although I've been assured that other people don't smell it like I do. Help!

I'm so sorry for your loss. I really like anything written by Catherine Coulter- she writes historical romance as well as present-day FBI thrillers. Most of her historical stuff is written in trilogies and there is always an element of suspense. I discovered her one year in college and read everything she'd ever written in one summer! HTH!