Oh, there are people who say Walmarts. :tongue_smilie:

There is enough in the store to make it worth a trip, but for specific items. I don't usually buy ALL of my groceries there, although when we're flat broke I'm grateful to be able to.

My 7yo will be out of a booster as soon as he can pass the 5 step test, right now he's close, but in the past I've found that "close" can mean another year or more of growth :tongue_smilie: He will be transitioning to a backless soon, as he will be in the middle back seat between two little ones in carseats and that's all that will fit. I don't feel that he'll be any safer in a backless that he doesn't need, than sitting in just the belt if he's tall enough. But I'm not going to rush it. I've mulled my different options, and three across is a pain no matter the configuration.

I have a greenpan (maybe this is the same idea?) and it's held up just as well as any other pan. I think I've had it about 4-5 years.

Our cutoff is December 5th or 6th so summer birthdays are usually not redshirted (maybe an August boy would be) and spring birthdays definitely are not (for either gender). However, the few people I know who've had to make this decision were okay with sending a 4yo girl but not a 4yo boy, unless they were using Kindergarten as free childcare and okay with the kid repeating. edited to add I am talking about very few people so it's all specific anecdotes and I'm not applying it to all parents... to sum it up, redshirting is more for boys with fall birthdays due to our cutoff.

Mine has it, too, because I emailed them and nicely asked them to purchase it. Just a thought for anyone whose library does not have a set... yet ;)

They look like fun. I would wear them if they were comfy and looked good on me.

This doesn't even seem to be talking about young adults, which is a gray area for me, or domestic abuse in a relationship (which is not a gray area). This is your grown child who has started a family. I definitely will keep my opinion to myself. There are a couple of above situations that would involve some long winded, private vents to my husband, but if my kids are not asking for my advice then I will just have to suck it up and respect that.

My son was diagnosed at 2 yrs, 4 mos and the dx was spot on, although we didn't agree with it for a few months. A good developmental pediatrician should be able to assess your son but I agree with getting a second opinion.

They will usually have weight and height listed. I bought a cheapie and it didn't break on me. I used it while pregnant and I was quite a bit more than you are :)

We wait until September. Public schools start in September and there are some really cool summer programs still going on in August - my son has a summer camp next week so it would make no sense to start until that is finished, anyway.

I track my calories. If you meal plan, then it doesn't have to get obsessive; you plan out meals, you input the meals, you eat smaller portions than you used to. I've lost 40 lbs "eating fat." I literally eat a lot of fat in my diet, but I haven't cut out anything I enjoy. Of course, I try to fill up most of my day with nutritious choices.

I am shy, I am introverted, and I am socially awkward to an extent. (I cannot make small talk or mingle.)

That is something I feel bad about. My child DOES need more outside activities, but between our semi-rural location, lack of transportation, my husband and I working opposite shifts, and plain old lack of desire on my part... he's stuck at home a lot.

Yes, I was ignoring it for the most part because I don't have the money to buy the materials I wanted. :nopity: I finally realized I will just have to rework it, bought two inexpensive books I could not get along without, and will probably churn out some lesson plans this weekend.

I have my son's friends restricted to a very small indoor area (or they can go play in the huge yard outside). I can't even let kids in my son's bedroom because they throw things on the ceiling fan and jump off the bunk beds. School supplies definitely have to be put away out of sight, just because they are on a shelf doesn't mean another child won't grab the science kit and just scatter supplies every where. I ended up not doing half of our science experiments last year thanks to our little visitors, although I am still finding the pieces in the strangest places. Being strict is worth it, although I have had a few 6yos yell at me that my house is SO BORING!

We've done SOTW 1 and 2 and are taking a break to do American History. I probably started SOTW1 too early, so this will put him at a more appropriate age for SOTW 4 anyway. There is so much stuff locally about the Revolutionary War that I'm hoping he'll be a little bit more engaged. If history is not his thing, that's fine. He's still going to do it every week. I'm sure he'll get *something* out of it by the time his education is over :) Um, my husband would love that book. But there is no way I am buying it for him, as he already peppers me with poop facts on a regular basis.

I would go on to 2A. You can always spend extra time on a difficult area, and it looks like she had the most difficulty with word problems, not actual concepts. That might be more of a reading comprehension issue or not being focused, like you mentioned, and you can just work that into real life... at the grocery store and running errands.

I think it would be okay to say "maybe a little" and smile. My mom is the pushy person in my life and I am able to be blunt. Sometimes I chicken out and do it in a fb message, when I am afraid that I've reached my limit and don't want to go on a passive aggressive rampage.

Definitely meet with a doula or two, and bring your husband along. I feel like my doula helped me labor in a mostly hands off way, and encouraged my husband so he was able to be supportive in the way I needed :)

Doing that much in the evening could be overload for my kid, since that's his cranky time. I know what you mean by the critical thinking stuff - yes, my kid will blow through that stuff. But after 10 pages of worksheet, if I hand him a coloring page (usually to go along with a lesson) he is just going to scribble the heck out of it to check it off the list and not really get anything out of it. I also will do the writing portion if his brain is working faster than his hands can write :)

They're everywhere - Walmart, Target, and Family Dollar all have them listed as Primary Journals but not with cute covers. I really like that Draw and Write Journal that was linked, though.

You don't need to make trips to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. There are two health food stores within walking distance of the homes you mentioned, and a huge Health Living Market in the mall. http://www.healthylivingmarket.com/saratoga/ ETA Saratoga Springs, the city, is full of fitness oriented, organic loving types of people. And one of the more affluent places north of Albany.

I live in the next county up and it would definitely be a challenge to live in upstate Ny without driving. If you could live right in the city of Saratoga you could walk tons of places. Children's museum, library, pretty sure theres a price chopper, and there is a new bookstore coming to town, I think right on broadway. Also a million places to buy coffee and wine. ;)

It would look that way in my family, but it really has to do with my mom making the big effort to be part of our lives and living in the next town over. The other grandparents are wonderful and loved, just not as close (relationship and geographically).