Wow, what a find!! We've had decent success with using spray-in detangler on the AG dolls' hair, but I think we also need to try the "Downy Dunk" on some of them -- the hair is detangled but still on the dry side. There are some suggestions here: http://www.justmagicdolls.com/articles/article_index.htm

I usually measure several weeks ahead until the third trimester, when it levels off a bit. And I've never gained much weight; I think the most was maybe 30 pounds (that was the nearly 10-pound baby at 41 weeks), and last time, I barely gained ten. (That baby was only 8 pounds and was born at 38.5 weeks, but he was on track to be over 9 pounds like his brothers if he'd waited to be born.) I also only gain in the belly, not the face or anywhere else. I have also read that even in utero, babies can grow at different rates, especially after the first trimester, so maybe your little one has just had a bit of a growth spurt and will grow more slowly in the next few weeks.

I'm not going to talk about it with the kids unless I have to. I'm not going to tell them about it. They still don't know about 9/11, and when the Penn State scandal hit last year (and was very big in our area), DH and I were very careful to keep the kids shielded from it. They have extremely limited internet access, and I'll keep it that way (no social media or news or anything). I don't have a problem with them learning about bad things in age-appropriate ways, but when it involves children, I'm particularly sensitive to keeping it away from them. (My 10yo is not generally sensitive or scared, but she gets really upset about anything that sounds like social injustice or bad things happening to people. She was really upset when she learned about the earthquake in Haiti a while ago; I don't think she needs to know about this unless she happens to get wind of it from somewhere.) Happyhomemaker25, I don't think that sounds dumb; I think that sounds wise.

Anything with tomato sauce. I don't know why, but it's instant wonderfulness. So, meatballs and sauce (which I had for lunch today), or pizza (which I'm considering asking DH to pick up on the way home). We need the comfort food today. I'm also thinking of baking a gingerbread cake for everyone.

I think it's the Tedco that we got last year; it looks exactly like that, anyway. Somehow we ended up with a ton of them. They're very nice, and the kids enjoy playing with them. Some of the marbles seem to have slight flat spots, but that's actually sometimes a positive, because they don't roll away too fast. More pieces seems to be better than fewer. It does look like the Haba has a larger variety of pieces, but my kids have had a lot of fun with the basic pieces.

Ah. I guess time will tell if that's a positive or a negative. Thanks!

Please keep this non-political and give me some real answers. According to this link (though I did not watch the video), Governor Corbett has decided not to create insurance exchanges here in PA: http://www.repwilltallman.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=15867&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fwww.repwilltallman.com%2fNewsItem.aspx%3fNewsID%3d15867&utm_campaign=The+Latest+on+Obamacare I haven't found more information about this yet, but what does it mean for me? Does it mean that PA will not be expanding Medicaid coverage? Does it mean that there will not be a low-cost available health insurance program for adults in PA? (PA used to have something similar to CHIP for adults; they stopped that a few years ago.) Does it mean that I will personally *not* be required to buy health insurance nor face a penalty for not doing so? Can someone enlighten me as to exactly what this means for me?

:grouphug:

That's what I was thinking too -- great to have some new resources to check out, too! Did the survey.

Argh, how incredibly annoying! That kind of stuff happens to me all the time. Soooooo frustrating! (Of course, I'm trying to figure out what TMNT means, LOL.) ETA: Googled it -- I hadn't realized there were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Legos! That cracks me up, and they're so cute! I tried to buy Star Wars Legos at TRU during their BOGO 1/2 off sale, but because they mark things up so much, amazon's deals were better.

Yes, I think this is a big problem. It doesn't encourage people to take a step up, either, if they do get it. I remember back when we had just one child, my DH's coworker had three kids and a wife, and he was right on the line where if he got any kind of raise, his kids would lose their health insurance. If you're able to get WIC, food stamps, healthcare (and in my state, the state healthcare is very good and comprehensive for children), etc., a small raise in income might actually put you further behind. That's a big problem, IMO.

I think they really look like covers for headphones or backpack straps.

DD keeps the Legos that are specifically hers (they're the pink set) separate when she's not using them, and I see specific minifigs separated out, but otherwise, if they're not building the specific set that a piece is for, it's stored in with the rest of the Legos in the big storage bins. If they really get on a tear where they want to build several of the specific sets, I might help them sort all the Legos by color so it's easier to find the specific set pieces. But generally, after the original set is built and then taken apart, all pieces are fair game to be reused in a different way.

Oh, I do too. I do like knowing that if my DH lost his job, at least we would not be hungry. (Actually, we'd eat better; for a family of our size, the allotment for food stamps would be more than our regular grocery budget.) I do think it's reasonable that you should be attempting to do *something* productive if you're getting food stamps, or have a legitimate reason why you can't (whether it's being disabled, caring for a young child, or homeschooling children), but I'm not at all opposed to them. But I think a lot of people are not fans of food stamps because they don't want to face the fact that, through no fault of their own, they could be in need of assistance.

Honestly, I think it's because we want to think that people who are financially disadvantaged are there because of their own choices -- because we want to assure ourselves that that won't happen to us, don't want to confront (for lack of a better phrase) our own financial mortality. Incidentally, I really don't care if people buy the occasional soda or chips or cookies (or even cakes) with food stamps. But it bugs me plenty that my libraries have a lot of computer activities and junky books (poor quality, both physical and literary, based on movies, etc.) -- that use of "my" (because once I pay them, they're not really mine) tax dollars bugs me a lot. ETA: I also think we think of libraries as being for the greater good, to educate and inform people, and they're for everyone, rich or poor. But I personally would rather someone buy fruits, veggies, and proteins via food stamps paid for by "my" tax dollars than someone play computer games and borrow movie-related twaddle paid for by "my" tax dollars.

I'm not sure. It is true that doing the shoeboxes is not too cheap. We would have only done two this year, but someone offered to pay for the shipping, so that I could divert the shipping money for two boxes into gifts for a third -- that person wanted my 4yo to have the experience of doing a shoebox for a boy his age. I know the organization that does the shoeboxes (Samaritan's Purse) has other gift ministries, some of which are pretty inexpensive. I just read about Give Jewelry too, which seems like a neat option. I believe Project Linus and Warm Up America are two charities that take handmade blankets.

The highlight of my children's year so far has been packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. This was DS2's first year to pack a shoebox, and it was so fun to see him so into it and so excited about presents for another little boy. We are all really enjoying reading lots of Christmas books together this year! My 10yo decorated the house (it's not my favorite thing to do), and we have cookies in the freezer. DH will have several days off, and we're all looking forward to a relaxing holiday.

I voted "not so hard -- he has hobbies" and "other." For general presents, yes, my DH is hard to buy for. However, he has a very specific hobby, and if he tells me the supplies he needs for that hobby, he's super easy to buy for (although not inexpensive). I thought about getting him a nice Klean Kanteen insulated mug for coffee (since his tend to get beat up after a while), but honestly, I think he'd rather me put the money toward his hobby, because if he doesn't have the supplies, he can't do it at all, and financial strains have had him cutting back in the past few years. I think this year, since I'm not quite sure what other people are giving him, I'm going to get a gift card to a store that sells the necessary supplies (which he appreciates; he'll know that I took the time to get the card just for him), and then I'll wrap up the rest of his allotment of cash to put wherever he needs later. The downside to all of this is that my DH is an awesome gift giver. It's one of his main love languages. But it is not one of mine. By DH's own admission, he likes having stuff for people to open, including me. I don't honestly care if there's anything for me to open at all, and gifts aren't how I receive love. I'd rather just set aside the cash to use where I need it later. But since it sounds like DH would probably like having something from me to open, that's why I think I'll get the gift card and wrap it up.

My son's doctor (and we later sent him to an allergist, who concurred) put him on a nasal steroid to clear up the postnasal drip. His big symptom was frequent small coughs to clear his throat; the nasal steroid last winter cleared it up, so no more coughing. I noticed the other day that he sounded a bit stuffy and was speaking loudly, so even though he doesn't have a cold, I started the steroid up again for this winter.

I would think sending something that's your specialty, like cookies or cranberry bread or whatever, would be fine, and as you said, they can share it with customers.

DS1 (7.5) got a bunch of origami and paper airplane folding books last year that he was really liked. (Too young for your son? IDK.) The Backyard Ballistics book is also fun, though not necessarily inexpensive when it comes to building the things. I also vote for the remote-control stuff.

Wish you lived closer -- I'd take it for $50! I could use two nice chairs like that and a table for my schoolroom.

If she can find a box for some other very nice, but not asked for, gift, like a doll or CD player or something, that would be great. Not a toaster -- that would be a dead giveaway. I like the idea of a candy box too.

In PA, if you want to receive food stamps, you must show that you are working, are actively applying for work, going to school, or are caring for a child under 5 (and only one of those is allowed per family). (Not sure how disabled works in that.) And I believe there is a lifetime limit for them at all, so it's not like you could just decide to keep having babies so you didn't have to work. I really don't know how one would really game the system in this state (I'm sure someone could; I just don't know how you'd do it easily). And while I generally agree that people should eat healthy food, I also don't really care about the occasional junk food, but more importantly, who is going to decide what's "healthy?" For a diabetic (or just someone who feels better on low carb foods), a lot of whole grains and low fat items just may not be healthy. But other people still hold to the "low fat, high grain" model and feel that eating full fat dairy isn't healthy. Others feel that a vegetarian diet is the healthiest; others lean toward a paleo model. Yeah, there are probably a few things we could all agree on that aren't healthy, but beyond that, I think people should be able to choose for themselves what they feel are the healthiest foods, rather than have the government regulate it for them.

WIC in PA gives each recipient $20 (so $40 if it's a baby and a postpartum mom) in vouchers to use at farmer's markets in the summer. And each month, they give you vouchers to use at the regular grocery stores that will buy fresh, frozen, or canned fruits/veggies too. It's not a ton, but if you shop the sales, you can get a fair amount. Also, to the OP, if you do get the food stamps, see if any of your local farmer's markets have a program like this: around here, if you use your food stamps at the farmer's market, they'll double what you use, up to $10 at a time. So if you swipe your regular debit card and ask for $10 worth of tokens, you get $10 worth of tokens. But if you swipe your EBT (food stamp) card and ask for $10 worth of tokens, you get $20 worth of tokens. (And our farmer's markets, in the summer, are often cheaper for apples, peppers, cucumbers, etc. than the grocery store.) I think that is a fantastic program! People disagree on high-fat vs. low-fat, whole grain vs. low-carb, etc., but everyone agrees that more fresh fruits and veggies are good, so what a great incentive!