I'm sorry your stepsister wasn't appreciative -- those blocks sound lovely and amazing! I think there are people who are definitely handmade-gift-worthy and those who aren't. Find those who are, and bless them with your skills and creativity!

I'm just going to say that so far, our children seem to be exactly what we'd expect for being products of the two of us. Our older two have very complementary strengths and weaknesses, but then again, so do DH and I. (I lament that he works so many hours, because I think I do fairly well educating our children, but together, we'd be a heck of a team.) Our third child is going to go very far in life -- aside from IQ, he's got a very strong EQ, and he has a LOT of drive. And really, we're all a bunch of geeks, anyway. :)

I'd probably feel okay putting her in a TurboBooster at her age, assuming there is a shoulder belt available for it in your DH's truck. Oh, wait, I'd hesitate because of her weight. She meets the TurboBooster's weight requirement, but she may not meet your state's weight requirement. In my state, children have to be a full 40 pounds before using a booster of any type. We have a Maestro and like it a lot. We're actually in a similar discussion about our 4yo -- I need to move his Maestro from DH's car to my van for him very soon so that the 1yo can have the 4yo's current seat -- and I'm not sure what to get the 4yo for DH's car. He's not quite 40 pounds, so a booster might not work for him.

We closed on our first house the week after Thanksgiving. On this house, we closed on the 19th of December and moved in on the 20th. It was a little crazy for Christmas, but it actually worked okay. Our kids were younger then (and half as many), which made it a little easier; now it would be harder, I think. But it wasn't too bad -- we moved, set up a bit (put everything on one room and then unpacked bit by bit), had Christmas, and then DH had a week off between Christmas and New Year's, so we were able to get new licenses and do all the little things that need to be done when you move.

I had that machine for about seven years, and it did serve me well. Usually, the suggestion is to look for a vintage machine with metal parts, but even those are often several hundred dollars and require time to find them. Ideally, yes, a machine should last more than seven years, but if the choice was between nothing and something like that Brother, I'd go for the Brother. It was a very good machine until it just wore out and wouldn't sew properly at all. It has a lot of stitches and features -- most of them I didn't use, but for quilting you would use more. I had two mild complaints about it. One is that it was very lightweight, and on the plastic table I have, it would walk some when sewing fast. Not a big deal, but something to know; a sturdier table would be better, I think. The other mild complaint is that the longest stitch, for gathering, is not all that long. Again, not a big deal. Other than that, I was very pleased with the machine. (Fwiw, I currently have a lower-end Brother that is heavier but has the same issue with the stitch length. I like it pretty well too. The only reason I didn't go for the CS6000 again is cost. I know people say not to get the machines you can get at big box stores, but honestly, they have served me fine, even if they don't last forever.) ETA: I did like the flat-bed attachment; although it's designed for quilting, I found it very useful for sewing clothing as well.

LOL, I think I am glad then, that it wasn't a girl, because Alice Joy would definitely have been on our short list. I've not read the Twilight books, so I didn't know that was a Twilight name. Also, I love Dragoslav! It's way more unusual than I would go for, as we went with all very traditional names (and also, there's no US President or First Lady named Dragoslav, and I wouldn't leave anyone out), but I love it!

:lol: I also vetoed Anakin. Skywalker would have been interesting, though, but I'd have vetoed it if DH had brought it up. However, our middle son's middle name is Luke. We needed a middle name for him, after taking five days to find a first name that fit him, and the option I had first thought of (my dad's name, Steven) didn't work with the first and last name -- too many "n's." I like Luke (and this child is all sunshine, so the meaning works), and DH had always liked Luke (and figured that was a good enough compromise over Anakin), and it fit well with the first name, so that's what we went with.

I loved Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden as a kid. I would be okay with DD reading them; I think she'd like TB and her friends a lot. I'd be okay with her reading the older Nancy Drews too. Formulaic, yes, but nothing particularly objectionable, IMO. She, however, doesn't particularly like mysteries. DH read them (or maybe just the boys, can't remember) one of the Hardy Boys books, and the boys liked that.

I will send a few cards out, mainly to old college friends that we hear from about once a year, when we all send cards at the holidays. Most people have gone to the photo cards, and that's what I do now as well.

That reminds me of when we sold our house a few years ago -- an 1800 sq. ft. 3 BR house, so not terribly huge. The family moving in was a couple with two young children. As they were unloading, the first things they moved in were their TVs. My children were amazed that they brought in four TVs -- a big screen for the living room, a slightly smaller one for the family room downstairs (split-level house), one for the bedroom of one of the kids, and one for the parents' bedroom. We, in contrast, had two children of about the same age and were moving out one fairly old TV that had been in the family room and very rarely used. We did move out a LOT of boxes of books, though. :)

Oh, so beautiful!

We routinely have 100 books out from the library at a time! And that's from ONE library system. It doesn't count the other that we also frequent. I think I have 100 books in my schoolroom alone. And in my living room. And on every shelf of the upstairs library. I don't think we quite have more books than Legos, but sometimes I think it's a toss-up. I think there are probably close to ten stashed on my nightstand or in the bathroom at any given moment.

We're not even going to talk about the boys' names suggestions DH proposed for our younger two boys. DH and I had no trouble agreeing on DD's name -- long before she was even conceived. We have never again agreed on a girl's name. I think, after discussing it through three pregnancies, he might be okay with Katherine. How can you only be "okay" with Katherine?? It's beautiful! Or Abigail?? How can you decline the lovely Julia, or Elizabeth, or Alice, or the myriad of other gorgeous names that I've proposed? Madness. ;)

I've done it before, because one of my child will eat 4 apples for hunger (or for boredom), instead of protein that is more filling, and that also means we run through apples too quickly. Fruit is expensive, especially 4 at a time to fill up a child as much as a good chunk of protein would. Not to mention that we live 10 miles from a grocery store, and it's not as simple as "just go get more," and it's also not cool for one child to eat all the apples and leave none for anyone else for the rest of the week. When told that fruit is limited, this child will choose protein happily. So in theory, no, I wouldn't restrict access to nutritious food, but otoh, it's not a complete free-for-all, either. For the OP, I'd try more fat and protein, but also a journal, to see what and when they are eating. if they're eating out of boredom, for instance, look for ways to address that. If it's just being sneaky because they can, maybe they need to start accompanying you everywhere. (Yes, even the bathroom; have them turn their backs.) If my children aren't behaving properly on their own, then it means they need more supervision, and since I have a lot of stuff that is not optional for me to do, they stay near me for a while.

My kids checked that one out from the library and have gotten a lot of good ideas from it.

I think that's a really good suggestion, too -- get a doula. I have personally not found one to be necessary (my DH is a very good partner, and our midwives, for the births where we've used a MW, have always been enough), but if I was planning a hospital birth, I probably would hire a doula. Especially if I wasn't terribly comfortable with the OB/MW -- that way, even if you got the MW that you didn't like, you'd still have someone to be the comforting presence that you want. Or if you opt for OB care, you'd have the doula to assist in navigating the hospital culture and helping you advocate for your VBAC.

I think I like Charlotte best, especially with your other girls' names, but I also think Harmony flows nicely with them too. Before I finished reading your post, I thought Charlotte Joanne was pretty, as well as Harmony Joanne, or Harmony Joanna. (I love Joanna; if DD's middle name wasn't Anne, I'd strongly suggest Joanna for a future DD.) A friend has a little girl named Jordyn, and I love it too. Even with that spelling, I would pair it with a very feminine first name -- not Harper Jordyn, which I think is more ambiguous. But Charlotte Jordyn is pretty. (Also, I love that you have a "Joy" -- that's my middle name, and I have always loved it so very much.)

I do not think you're being petty or shallow, either -- there is no reason the MW should have been so rough. Bruised, with torn skin -- that does not sound at all right to me! I'd discuss the situation with the first MW, but I think your best bet would be with the second practice. I agree with PP's who said to make multiple plans for caring for your 5yo and to go immediately when labor begins. If you're calm, chances are high that your 5yo will be just fine if you bring her along early in labor. With my second baby, we were well over an hour from the MW because of traffic, and it wasn't fun, but it was worth it (though it was a homebirth, so I wasn't traveling in labor). Perhaps they will be comfortable with not doing every week at the end, so that you don't have to do the drive so often?

Ew! I used to get chickens from a local guy, and one time I asked him for the feet to use in stock. Then I couldn't bring myself to actually use them, because they looked too much like fingers to me.

Since it looks like this got posted twice and created two threads, here's the post that my DH wrote on the other thread, in case one of them gets buried: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showpost.php?p=4468213&postcount=5

I see that my in-house expert weighed in -- hopefully you can get it unstuck, Michelle My Bell!

I'm attempting to send this link to my DH to see if he has a suggestion for you.

Would you mind PMing me and telling me more about the bromelain? I've had an issue with something in my wrist/arm. A brace does help some, but I'm curious about bromelain. Thanks! I think mentioning something once is reasonable. I tend to remember a lot of what I've read, so if I've ever read about someone having good success with XYZ for a condition, chances are high that I will remember something about it and at least want to offer something to look into. It seems that so much about the human body is complicated, and sometimes there are reasonably little things that can make huge differences -- but they're not always well-known. But I think there's a time and place for stuff like that, and some people are too pushy.

That's what I would say as well. Scientifically-speaking, yes, I would call humans mammals. Religiously-speaking, I would say we're different from animals. I do not think those two statements are mutually exclusive.

I agree with all of this. I used to be in charge of a local babywearing group but recently turned it over to some other moms, because I realized that they, being on their first babies, know a lot more about the newer baby carriers on the market; I'm quite adept at using various carriers but am clueless about what's recent. So I am content to let the new moms chat enthusiastically with each other, and I pop in when experience matters. I see it the same with homeschooling discussions too. My mom homeschooled back in the 80s and 90s, and curriculum options were a lot different; she's content with what she used and likes hearing about new stuff but just doesn't know what all is out there now. I also know that my conversations with moms of older children are very different from those with moms of littles.