The only thing that really irritates me is when dh takes out the trash and doesn't put a trash bag back in....I always end up with a handful of gross trash (or poopy diaper) and then when I open the lid, I realize there's not a bag and I have to find somewhere to set the trash while I get a bag! Arrrgh!

:grouphug: I don't know what else to say. :grouphug:

City Museum is truly awesome!!! So are the zoo and art museum.

Thanks for the ideas! I love the little purse idea, especially. I really love the idea of taking the older child to pick a present for the younger....but I don't think that's my place here. I remember going with my dad to pick something out when my younger siblings were born and still in the hospital. I never would have considered that my sil and bil's would care that I brought a gift for their kids for any or no occasion. Sometimes, I have found good deals on things that I know they'd like and I've picked them up just because! They've never seemed offended! Interestingly enough, I'm not concerned about my own son feeling left out when he has more siblings (which will hopefully be soon!) but..... I don't know.....I think a birth is different than a birthday party. I'm not going to give all the kids presents every time anyone has a birthday!

Hi everybody! I have a nephew due to come any day now! Yay! He has an older sister who is three. I would really like to get her something special, something that would make her feel like it wasn't all about the baby. I also have another niece or nephew due next month who has a 2 year old brother. I'd also like to do something for him. I've been thinking about this and I just haven't come up with anything I really like. Any btdt advice? Thanks so much!

It's good to hear everyone's thoughts. I haven't posted enough to figure out the quote stuff- but there were several interesting points of view- especially Cedarmom. Easier certainly doesn't equal happier, does it? I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling this way!

If you're having to rub hard to get the ink off, you can try writing over it with another marker, when you wipe the new ink off the old goes with it. HTH

Something that was brought up several times in that thread has me thinking....it was mentioned quite a few times that people had grown and changed and were not the people that they were when they married or would be if they hadn't married. My husband is not the person he would have been, if we hadn't met. But....he hasn't changed me much. I'm fairly counter-cultural. When my son is older, we plan on homeschooling. I breastfed until he weaned himself. My version of healthy isn't the same as most people. (In fact, I read this board all. the. time. because it's the only place I know where people make the same decisions that I do.) My husband has been convinced that all of this is good. He could defend these choices and thinks of them as choices that we have made together. Which we have. But....if he hadn't married me, he never would've given homeschooling a thought. He would probably think extended breastfeeding was weird, and might not even be aware of HFCS. Our choices make us the "weird ones" in his family and sometimes I feel bad about that. Would he be happier if he had married someone more mainstream? Of course, when I have brought this up to him he kindof looks at me weird and says "you really think too much". Does anyone else feel that they may have changed their spouse in ways that may not have made their lives easier/happier?

Another thing to try is to sip water before (attempting!) swallowing the pill. I know that if I don't sip water first, the pill sortof gets "stuck" to my tongue.

Thanks so much for all the welcoming messages! I'm feeling at home already! The Kalamazoo promise thing does sound good- but... not good enough to give up homeschooling! (Although, my son is too young to have actually started any kind of schooling- I'm already planning!) I guess I'm just trying to get a feel for the area...houses seem to be much cheaper in Allegan and I wondered if it was somehow a less desirable place to live? We'd only be able to consider living in the part of K-zoo that is close to Plainwell. (I'm tempted to look close to Portage because they have a SONIC- I'm sooooo thrilled to be moving close to a Sonic again!) But, it's really too far from Dh's job. I can't really believe we're moving to MI- I swore up and down for quite awhile that I would never move any farther north than dh has already gotten me....but here we are.

Specifically, the Allegan/Otsego/Plainwell/Kalamazoo area. DH got a new job there and we are currently looking for new house. I'd love any info anyone has about the area- we don't know much about it. I'd really like to know if one town would be better to live in than another, all are close to where dh works. Are there homeschool support groups/co-ops active in the area? I've already looked up MI homeschool laws and it seems like it will be pretty easy. Thanks.

I've been wanting to ask this question and the other thread on co-sleeping positions made me think this was the right time! What do you do when the baby is a little older/weaned and needs to go to bed earlier than you? We started putting my now 21 month old in his own room when he was 14 months. He'd been weaned for a month and wasn't sleeping well with us. Whenever he'd wake slightly in the middle of the night, he'd think "ooh, there's daddy....time to play" when he's alone and he wakes slightly, he rolls over and goes back to sleep. However, he HATES bedtime/sleeping in his crib. As soon as someone says the word 'bedtime' he cries and cries. I hate this. I always said I would never let a child cry themselves to sleep, but (even with the no-cry sleep solution book) I can't figure out what else to do. For the first month and a half that he was in his crib, dh and I would take turns sleeping on an air mattress next to his crib- we made the transition as easy as possible....but....he still cries and cries. And....he needs to go to bed earlier than we do- I still need to do some cleaning and take a shower after he's in bed and before I go to bed. So....I guess this is really two issues- the discrepancy between when you need to sleep and when the baby needs to sleep and how you get them to not think it's playtime at 3 am? Sorry this is so long......thanks for any insight.

Ooooh, I would LOVE something like that!!!!

AMEN!!!!! :iagree::iagree::iagree:

Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did?

I usually just lurk, but I've got to interject that some "flavors" of Baptist churches allow women pastors. I grew up in an American Baptist Church (I'd still go to one if there were any around here) that allowed women to be associate pastors.

My dh is an athletic trainer and he said that the officials in charge of the meet should have been the ones to make everyone get out of the pool. If there is thunder or lightning at any sporting event, everyone is supposed to be off the field (pool/court/etc.) for at least 20 minutes. I would definitely make a stink about it- not just to the coach, but to the league officials, the people who own the pool, everyone I could think of!

I've never used LibraryThing or LibraryElf, but I really like Goodreads - www.goodreads.com You can enter your books, write reviews, rate the books, add friends and read what they are reading and their ratings/reviews. They start you out automatically with 3 "bookshelves" Have Read, Am Reading, and To Read. But you can add as many bookshelves (categories, really) and name them whatever you wish. Just an idea!