It does not come naturally to my oldest, so separate lessons, especially cursive, are helpful. I don't think that he will ever have beautiful handwriting, but it's certainly going to take some training if it's ever to be legible. Even he cannot read his writing. I have notebooks upon notebooks of illegible stories. Should I save them? It's kind of sad. If handwriting comes naturally to my younger children, I will re-evaluate.

I've had it happen. Once it took several days for the pain to subside. I now drink lots of water and try to stay upright after a pill. The worst pain I ever had was from a teeny tiny pill that I took right before bed.

I can answer that, but first you have to wait six years.

We live near outlets, I don't know if you have any by you? I make the rounds to Gap, Osh Kosh, Carters, Gymboree and Children's Place. CP usually has the best deals, if your boys fit those sizes. Consignment shops are my first stop, though.

I have prism lenses, but I am switching to regular for a bit. I am terrible about remembering to wear my glasses. I find myself looking at the tv or book from different angles, closing one eye, etc to concentrate and realize it's time to just rest my eyes for a bit.

We don't have AC but yesterday we were playing outside without coats and by dinner the heat was kicking on. So I guess we have a few more months to get the ceiling fan fixed (that's our central air lol)

I first read it when I was maybe 10 and found it really creepy. I've eased up a bit on my hatred of it but I still don't get the appeal. However, the author wrote a book called Alligator Baby which is absolutely fantastic. I say that partly because you can read it super fast in funny voices, which is kind of my calling as a parent :P

I take meds for anxiety & depression. I could probably use a higher dose but I hate the idea of being on something long term. I started taking it after a dark postpartum experience. Now I'm realizing I don't know what it's like to live without anxiety, but when I'm on my meds I almost feel the way I imagine normal people feel.

I think I'm an awesome wife. :closedeyes:

If you end up in NY, Saratoga is nice. It's a bit hoity-toity and gets plenty of winter, but there's culture and good food. People don't typically migrate to NYS, though.

I would shop around and look for payment plans. I think most orthodontists have them because honestly, it's not a one time expensive treatment and you're done. You have to keep going back every couple months for adjustments, so it's pretty easy to keep tabs on the people who owe them money. When my mother got us braces it was basically paid off over the course of every one's treatment. I know that if I couldn't afford braces for my kids, my parents would probably help us make monthly payments. I really wouldn't want the scrutiny that another poster mentioned. Whenever I've accepted money from my family I've felt like I've had to justify every little thing. "Oh, that's a nice blouse, is that new?" "I GOT IT FOR 99 CENTS AT SALVATION ARMY USING CHANGE I FOUND IN THE COUCH!" So stressful. LOL

Btw they do have a device that is basically a rubber band - a little loop around the pencil, a little loop around the wrist. I would buy it if I thought it wouldn't get lost within the first five minutes.

It's why we went from a counter-height table to a shorter table. It was necessary to decrease the time it takes for the kid to get from chair>floor>chair. Because there is a LOT of chair>floor>chair going on. :glare:

I'm not sure if I'd expect them to pay for the test, but I'd definitely expect more than $10/hr.

Schooling year round may be a good option. I work 3 full days each week, used to be full time but I hated being away so much. I assign quite a bit for my son to do with his grandmother, and I do the more hands on stuff on my days off (science projects and First Language Lessons, which is scripted).

They don't have your email address until you respond. So, whether you respond with no or yes, they have what they wanted - an email address that someone checks :)

"If it flys or drives, we'll take it!"

Regarding your original post, I have only ever palpated my own belly, and my anterior babies were a lot easier to figure out than my posterior baby. The baby's bottom is relatively easy to find and then you can kind of feel down the back. With a posterior baby, there are more body parts (knees, hands, feet, elbows) that could be mistaken for something else. I remember asking a friend (when I had only carried anterior babies) how a woman could NOT know the position of her baby. Then I had one of those fun sunny side up newborns and, boy, was he a puzzle.

Yeah, models are normally so healthy looking!!! Well, maybe the ones in the Sears circular. Really, if they are selling clothes in that size, it seems sensible to have models that can wear those sizes. I don't think there's any debate to be had.

If your hormones are a little off, maybe something like Vitex? Just a thought that popped into my head. It evened me out during a frustrating hormone season.

I haven't left a baby that young, but I've never been offered a trip to Italy, either. Have a great time!

I spent about 4 weeks using an all in one curriculum before I started doing things my own way - I think it's natural to do that, as we tailor to our children's interests and their aptitudes across all subjects. If you read the Well Trained Mind book, there are specific curriculum suggestions with suggested schedules. Most science/history/language art programs also have tentative schedules listed, so if you are looking for a little hand holding (and I use that term in a very positive sense) you can still get it using a variety of programs.

I was trying so hard not to use intense... but it really is what fits. Firecracker (as pp mentioned!) and "a little pistol" have been used in our family.

Inflexible?

I have two friends who had shingles at 30 and had the disease as children. Definitely hearing a lot more about shingles these days. But with regard to your DD, maybe it could be some other type of reaction to a viral thing? I had the worst rash when I was pregnant and it was related to a cold sore flareup. My joints swelled and all kinds of weird stuff.