I had a 3lb, 4lb 12oz and a 5lb 11oz with the last two being c-section. I have no idea how it would have been had I been able to deliver them all vaginally but I can tell you I expect that it would have been a whole heck of a lot easier than recovering from the c-sections. With my vaginal delivery (and I had a 4th degree tear) I was fully recovered after about 6 weeks. It took me a full year with both of my c-sections to feel completely human again.

I would also put the card on alert. There is also a way of doing this for any credit checks. We had some money stolen from our account and we set it up so that for the following 6 months any time someone ran a credit check or tried to use one of our CC's for a purchase over a certain amount, we had to be called and verbally approve it with our security code.

I HATE wet bread products. I can not even run the disposal in the sink if someone has dropped bread into it and UGH please do not sop up things with your bread while you are eating.:ack2:

Just whatever you do, don't blink.

I messed up. I did not correct my 7 year old while she was learning to form her letters because I was so focused on making sure my leftie had good handwriting. The result has been a leftie with amazing handwriting and a rightie whose writing is barely legible and who has very poor habits such as starting all of her letters from the bottom and so on. I know she CAN do it right, but she is just not in the habit and I feel like I spend a lot of time getting on to her and not getting anywhere with breaking the habits. Can anyone suggest a program or method that will help me? I am actually thinking of starting all the way over with her using the Abeka penmanship program.

Being a parent is fulfilling and by association I find homeschooling fulfilling. I have goals that I would like to attempt later in life but for now I am perfectly content being a wife and SAHM.

I know the crushing feeling myself after 2.5 years of trying with my first. It stinks. I am sorry :(

I would risk losing the friendship if I thought it would save his life. Call someone to go check on him.

I run with a small "tazer". I can hold it in my hand and it doesn't weigh too much. It isn't as strong as some larger ones but it is enough to put someone down if I needed to.

Try grabbing some whole chickens. These can be stretched into 2-3 meals with some planning.

Haha, this book was the one that gave me nightmares. I loved the Helen Keller one though.

Have you tried taking a unit study approach? Maybe doing lapbooks on various Astronomical topics? Or maybe doing a sort of science fair type thing where you buy a poster board and just research online and add to your board? Do they want more hands on or just reading?

I had these as kids. I really regret not asking my mom to keep them. LOVED these books.

We have actually moved onto a bigger piece of land. We had less than an acre and now have 5, but we got it SUPER cheap. I mean beyond words cheap. We also moved to an area with a substantially lower property taxes.

The Dallas Zoo does have the little water area that the kids can cool down in. The Science Place is pretty neat, though I heard they were getting ready to move so be sure to check to be sure it is open before you go. The arboretum and the Heritage Museum are also good, though both outdoors. And of course we have the art museum.

Yes, I do. We have built 4 houses and I logically know this, but this one, because I know it actually is smaller seems to shrink before my eyes LOL

The stuff transition is going to be the hardest for my DH. He is British so grew up in a small house (in comparison to the standard home in Texas) and is accustomed to it, or at least knows what it is like. Now though, he has all these large antique computers he has collected and he is insistent that he will find space for them. It isn't just a matter of me not wanting it in the house, they literally will not fit so I am not sure what he will do. Wasted space was a real issue in our other house. We had a formal dining we never used because we ate at the breakfast table, a big game room and ridiculously wide hallways that served no purpose. I am going to miss my dedicated school room, but this plan is laid out well so we still have 4 bedrooms and 3 baths plus a big screened in porch which we will use OFTEN during the cooler months.

I was hoping to hear experiences of those who have downsized their home dramatically. We just moved out of 3200 sq ft and are building a just over 1700 sq ft home and it is scary looking. The end result (mortgage free) is the only thing that is keeping me sane over the idea of living in a space so much smaller than we are used to. I realize that houses in Texas tend to be larger and that most of the US doesn't live in houses that large, but it is what I am used to so I am going through a bit of shock. So if you did a major downsize what was the hardest part, the easiest part and so on?

My girls LOVE them. They have saved up several hundreds of dollars in birthday and chore money to purchase sets that they put together and keep together. Sometimes we glue the themed sets since those pieces are expensive to replace. I have stepped on my fair share of Lego but honestly they provide hours of great imaginative play in our house and I couldn't imagine not having them. Then again we are not sticklers about messy projects. My rule is just that they clean up what ever they take out. We love Lego, Play-doh, cutting and gluing, Crayons, and all those sorts of things.

For anyone that missed my update, we did finally close and are now done with the whole mess. I am glad that is over.

:iagree: Houston is another one of those for me. Anyways, I have a friend at Ft Bliss and while I am not sure she loves it, she has found some friends there and seems to be OK with it.

I am considering hosting a "movement" class for boys in this age range for our local co-op. I find that my son is not quite ready for things like organized sports but wants to be involved in something. My thought is to do a 30 minute game with them and then just let them have free play with balls and such. I need some ideas as to what sort of games we could play.

Oh, I am :) And my comment was somewhat tounge in cheek as we actually rarely even see them since they own their own business and we are in and out with kids activities. Staying here does amazing things for us as we are attempting to build mortgage free. The money that we save by not renting goes into making that a reality. I have awesome family.

I live in Kaufman county near Dallas so I understand the hysteria but it has been very blown out of proportion http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/west-nile-virus/DS00438/DSECTION=symptoms

After the fiasco of our buyers attempting to back out of their contract and then un-backing out but still wanting to close in 4 days, the appraiser getting upset over being rushed, a delayed closing date, a paper that was missed during signing and the funds being delayed by a day, we are FINALLY done with the sale of our house. I just needed to :party:. Now I need sympathy over having to live with my parents while our new house is built LOL