My oldest son is prone to headaches -- tired, hungry, thirsty, etc. -- he gets a headache. Zyrtec on high-pollen days and a nasal steroid for the winter seem to have helped a lot. Also, reading glasses helped a lot too. Honestly, though, time helped too. I think a lot of the issue was that he still kind of needed a nap several days a week; even at 5, he'd fall asleep in the car if we were out in the afternoon. I think it was just hard for him to get through a whole day without a nap, and it would show up as a headache. As he's gotten older, there have been many fewer complaints of headaches, and I think that's because he can make it through a whole day without getting tired now (he's almost 8).

Your baby will only need diapers for a couple of years, but you'll still be toting water bottles, extra clothes, papers, and who knows what else for a long time. I think of my diaper bag as being more of a "mom bag" -- I never really liked purses and only carry one when it's just me going out (which is very rare). Most of the time I still need to haul *something* for one of my older kids, or my notebook, or whatever, so I need a big bag, and I think you could justify a more expensive bag that will serve you after the baby's out of diapers. Would anyone get it for you as a Christmas gift for *you* rather than a baby gift?

Actually, an 11mo is probably more likely to fall from the seat part rather than the basket part -- it comes up higher on their bodies. Now, I do put my toddler in the seat part (unless I'm wearing him, which I often do), but that's because I don't generally have room for him in the basket part, nor do I want him getting into all the groceries. Also, I do sometimes let my 4yo ride in the basket part, but the deal is that he keeps his bottom on the bottom of the basket, and if he stands up, he has to walk. Nobody has ever fallen this way.

I have an earlier version of this: http://www.target.co..._1_22&term=skip hop I got it four years ago, and it's still in excellent shape. It looks like they replaced one of the mesh drink pockets from the end with a cell phone pocket, which I wish I had. The two big pockets on the front of the bag each hold two bottles/water bottles, and the interior has a lot of room -- I routinely carry clothes for my 1yo and 4yo, a couple of cloth diapers and a cover and wipes, a few toys, my wallet, random assorted stuff, and sometimes a small knitting project, and I have plenty of room. Also, check ebay for a Lands' End Do It All that is a few years old -- it holds up well too and has a lot of room.

LOL! Feel like making a trip to the mid-Atlantic? :) Do you like it otherwise? Any problems or known recalls?

Due to being rear-ended recently, my van is in need of some repair, and since it's a 2001, repair cost may well exceed its value, and I may need to replace it. It's a Ford Windstar, and I like it fine, but given the serious recall issues with that vintage of Fords, I'm hesitant to buy another one. (We were lucky with this one; we got the recalls done, and the vehicle has been fine, but I'm still hesitant.) Given that I may need to replace it quickly, I'm looking at what's available locally in our price range, and I'm seeing a lot of Kia Sedonas from around 2004-2006. If you have one from around then, I would love to hear what you think of it. I'm also interested in other suggestions for minivans from that same time that are reasonably-priced. (Siennas and Odysseys are too expensive.)

Ah, like Avonlea -- beautiful, and I love the spelling twist too!

While I can see that the drop-down arrow is helpful, I too miss the hover feature!

Oh, she's just lovely! Congratulations! She looks very kissable. :) I love her name -- do you pronounce it with a long 'a' or a short 'a'? (Either way, so pretty!)

You know what? I would just let yourself feel what you feel, without guilt. I agree with a PP about putting pressure on yourself. I definitely understand where you're coming from. Don't stress about it; just acknowledge that yes, no matter how blessed you might be or how you might be better off than others, your personal situation is still lousy and tough for you. No pressure!

I really like the "like" button. So far I am liking the new forum but haven't used it much. It's working faster than it did this morning, though. Thanks to those who have been working so hard and being so patient with us who are anxious to use the board again. :)

I have at times made 10 or 12 kinds, and that's always fun, but it's time-consuming and expensive, so the past couple of years, I've attempted to narrow the list down a bit by having everyone choose a favorite or two. It's still usually about 7 or 8 kinds and may or may not include fudge or candies. I've just started thinking about this year's list -- yum!

PA requires 180 days, and I think they also say that's supposed to be an average of four hours a day. Most people just report days, and that's what I do, whether it takes an hour, four hours, or eight hours. I just check of days on a calendar. For high school, or maybe later middle school, I will probably count specific hours more, but right now, it's just not important -- some days they accomplish a ton in a few minutes, and some days it takes hours to accomplish very little.

Those all look delicious, but I think I'd do either the PB balls OR the Three Musketeers bars OR the turtle bars, not all. I think I'd do one of the above three, the peppermint thumbprints, the almond thumbprints, and either the gumdrops OR the fudge. Or skip one of the thumbprints and go for a slightly different cookie -- a mint cut-out cookie, maybe?

If you go to your brother's, would your ILs understand if you were too tired to see them on Saturday? Could you send just your DH and kids to the ILs'? Or would that create unnecessary drama with your ILs? I think I'd probably opt to take an easy week and skip the cleaning, go to my brother's if I felt up to it at the time, and then take as much time as I needed to rest afterward, even if it meant skipping the celebration at the ILs. But I also have not dealt with a chronic pain condition, and I think it's also well within your rights to say that you aren't able to make it to your brother's.

We keep one set in the pantry in the kitchen, and the other set is just inside the door to the basement steps, which is in the kitchen. But they eat each other's food anyway, LOL.

While I generally think people should pay back what they owe, even a little at a time, I think sometimes things are just out of people's control -- large medical debts, mortgages that were reasonable before huge economic upsets, stuff like that -- and I think this sounds pretty cool, like it could be a modern way of caring for the widows and poor. I don't necessarily think student loan debt should be included, though, but that is just a knee-jerk reaction and not necessarily well-thought-out. :)

We have several of the folding pocketknives from Spyderco, and they're very nice. We have this set: http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=709 They're nice sizes for kids, especially the larger one (the Grasshopper), and they are available separately as well. DD also has a pink-handled one that DH got her; I believe it was from Cabela's.

I labored in water for parts of my first three labors, but I am not much of a bath person, and I wasn't really interested in actually birthing in water. But then people kept raving about them, so I thought maybe I'd try it for #4, but I wasn't sold on it, so we didn't get a pool or anything, just figured maybe we'd try the tub. So my fourth labor was very fast, about half the time of my previous shortest labor, but I didn't know it would be. After about 3 1/2 hours, I was pretty stressed; it was very hard (transition hard), like it was toward the end with #3, but I was sure I still had several more hours to go. And I didn't know what to do. DH suggested that maybe we should try the tub, and I figured it couldn't hurt and might at least help me relax a bit. So he filled it, and I made my way downstairs (between contractions). The water felt SO good! Hot, but not too hot, and nice and deep. I tried a couple of positions and settled on leaning back, like in a recliner. I wanted to see if I could feel the baby's head, since my water had broken a little earlier, and sure enough, I could feel it, *right there.* (I suspect the walk down the stairs, coupled with the water being out of his way, had helped him descend the last little bit.) So I decided to see if I could push a little, and I could. In fact, not only could I push a little, I could push a LOT, and right in the water, only about two minutes after getting into it, one BIG push, I was lifting my baby out of the water and proclaiming, "it's a boy!" So I am a water convert. Next time, I'll get in the water even earlier. I do think it helped me relax quite a bit, enough to get over that last little bit. We ended up draining the tub and refilling it a bit so that the baby and I could sit in the warm water without it being icky. But it was July and the bathroom has no AC, so I got sweaty and wanted to head for my nice air-conditioned bedroom. I had to hand the baby to DH and shower myself off a bit, and then I just wrapped a towel around myself (and tucked one between my legs), because my clean nightgown was still upstairs.

I'm from PA, but I don't have that association with the name Peter. (I could just be clueless, though.) Peter made our short list for DS2, but I thought maybe that was a little too cutesy since DS1 is Andrew. :)

If they don't already have one, a good camera (preferably with a video feature) would be a great choice. We aren't exactly young marrieds anymore (though sometimes I still feel young!), but we always appreciate cash to put towards admission fees, movie rentals/tickets, or even gas (lots of free state parks around here, but sometimes the gas cost is too high), so that we can do things we wouldn't otherwise get to do. Or gift cards for groceries or gas, maybe restaurants.

I was considering getting this for my kids for Christmas, so I'm glad to see a thread on it. What ages would you say it's appropriate for?

I make my kids wait on purchases as well. If they're still asking for something after several days/several trips to that same store, if they have the money to buy it, then I will generally let them do so (I do maintain veto power over anything I really am against). But that really cuts down on impulse purchases.

If you'd consider wool, I have a hooded peacoat (from Kohl's a few years ago), and I really, really like it. It is a great fit for my petite frame, soft, very warm, and great in wet weather. It's still in great shape, so I think it was a good buy.

Yum, moose tracks, especially that you didn't have to go get! I'm obviously not quite at the point of having children who drive, but I am at the point where my oldest can run into a store to get something quickly, or into the library to pick up books, thus saving me from having to park and get everyone out of the car for a thirty second errand. It is wonderful!