Starting next week, some Fridays will be co-op days, so we'll go to co-op in the morning, stay for lunch and socializing, and then run errands/do the grocery shopping, and hit the library. We'll also listen to literature and/or music in the car. Friday nights are often family movie nights or poker/board game nights. On non-co-op Fridays, in theory, Fridays are for science, art, and music study. In reality, we haven't quite made that happen yet, and it's usually a catch-up day for other work. Today, I am trying to get ready for an event I'm speaking at tomorrow morning, and it's gorgeous outside, so it was "play outside and enjoy your Legos and free reading" day. Oh, and DD baked blueberry muffins. ;) I really like the idea of scheduling other work four days a week and having a fifth day as a light/different/transitional/catch-up day.

For anyone wondering about cast iron, I do submerge mine in water all the time, and they don't rust unless I leave them in for too long or don't dry them all the way. I usually wipe them with a cloth to dry them. We have a 10" skillet that gets used anywhere from one to three times a day; it's beautiful now. Rarely does anything stick to it, and if something does, it's because we didn't throw in enough fat. It cleans up so nicely too. Our other cast iron is very nice to use, but it's not nearly as non-stick because it's not used nearly as often. The oblong griddle thingy is a bit of a pain to clean, both because it doesn't quite fit in our sink, and because it's not as well-seasoned, but even it is pretty lovely for burgers. The cast iron dutch oven -- marvelous. Sear the meat on the stove, let it slow cook in the oven, and then use the pot to make gravy on the stove again, all without changing pots.

Yes, this -- I remember the sheet that the MWs filled out after our first two babies' births had spots to check off for "small", "average," or "large" for gestational age. I suppose they do it immediately so that it's all pretty level -- baby is what baby is, before any feeding or lack of feeding affects things.

My second did that -- his official weight was 9 lbs. 10 oz., but the MW said I could probably count a couple more ounces, LOL. (My MW totally missed how big he'd be, just like the MW did with the first one. With the first, they said probably no more than 8.5 pounds, even if I went to 42w; I only went to 40w6d, and she was still 8 lbs. 11 oz. The MW thought DS1 would be about the same, and I kept insisting that he felt bigger than DD to me. Clearly, I was right. I was a 6 lb. 5 oz. baby myself, as was my mom, and I'm all of 5' tall; DH is tall but wasn't a big baby either, so we were totally not expecting big babies.) None of mine have been weighed immediately after birth; it's always been at least an hour later, if not more. I think we weighed the two little boys about an hour or so after birth, once they'd nursed a bit and cuddled, because we wanted to see how big they were before calling everyone with the baby news. After DS1, everyone was anxious to see if DS2 would top 10 pounds (he didn't), and then DS3 was early, so we were curious. (He was a full 8 pounds at 38.5 weeks, so he was clearly on track to be the same as his big brothers, who were 41w1d and 40w5d.)

Lodge cast iron here! Well worth the learning curve. When it's well-seasoned, it's fabulous!

I like my Ergo just fine but haven't tried the others. I know some local friends (one of whom is short like me) really like the Boba. Can you try one of them before buying? With a 5-week-old, at least with the Ergo, you will need an infant insert for a few months. Not sure about the other two. The Ergo can be used without the infant insert from about 3 months on the front and about 5-6 months on the back.

Congratulations, and hurray for homebirth!

I love my Ergo and would recommend it (just make sure you're getting a real one and not a fake; there have been a lot of issues with fake Ergos lately), but if you can find a local group so you can try a few different ones, that would probably be good, as the Ergo isn't right for everyone. There is also a Boba that some of my friends like for toddlers, a Patapum, a Tulia or something like that. . . Someone just told me that PaxBaby has a rental program too. A mei tai might also be a good choice, though it doesn't have buckles; I am a fan of the Kozy (which is owned by a homeschooling mom).

LOL, that happened to me yesterday. DH calls me to let me know he's on his way home, like he always does, and I really try to take that call every day (since I'm the one who requested that he call, so I know when he'll be home), but yesterday I was busy. The kids didn't get to it in time, so they attempted to call him back. The 3yo doesn't quite know the difference between DH and his voicemail message. Of course, when he did reach Daddy, he mostly just wanted to know if Daddy could bring home pizza. ;)

He almost always answers it if it's on him, which it is most of the time during the day. I try not to call him during the day unless it's something really important, in case he's in a meeting or otherwise busy. (If I want to talk to him but am not sure if it's a good time, I text him, and he'll call me if it's convenient.) But his clients and coworkers have his cell number and can call him on it if they need him, so he keeps it on him and ready. At home, it's different; he usually charges it when he gets home, so if he's not right next to it, he often doesn't run to get it. He's got a better track record than I do. If mine's in my bag, I rarely get it in time, and I don't keep it on me unless I'm expecting a call.

I had a MW like that with my first baby. I liked two of the MWs a lot, two okay, and I just didn't click with the fifth. And that's who ended up being on call when I gave birth. Honestly, it was fine. It was a great experience. It's possible that it won't matter which MW you get, because both will bring something special to the experience, and it will be okay. I think I'd probably just focus on planning out the things that mattered to me the most (like, do you want DH to catch if possible, etc.), and then I'd probably opt for letting the baby come when she was ready.

I'm kind of interested in an iPad for myself and have been doing some research on them, so I wanted to point out that the Square Trade warranty on refurbished iPads is pretty expensive. IIRC, with a few extra accessories (stylus and case) and the super-duper warranty (at my house that means the extra protection for drops and spills), it was more like $500 for the iPad. They do look handy for a lot of things, though, not just games. I want one mainly to be a backup secondary computer that I can tote around (since I only have a desktop) and something to be an electronic notepad. Fewer pieces of paper/notebooks to misplace -- yes, please! I hear you can use them for schoolwork to eliminate the piles of paper -- I could see that working well for kids too. But yeah, it's a lot of money if it only gets used for games.

Yes to all of this! I think I would opt not to make a big deal one way or the other out of "boyfriend/girlfriend" -- I'd neither squelch them using those terms, nor would I push it. It's likely that they'll drift apart at some point, or find a natural end, but it's also possible that it will become serious. Teen relationships *do* sometimes last; I was in a relationship that became serious quickly, at age 14, with a 16yo boy, and I very much appreciate that my parents didn't put it down as "just a teen thing." Even if it might not have been what they'd have imagined for their 14yo, it was very real (obviously; they got four grandchildren and a son-in-law out of that teen romance). I think you are handling it all very well, and I think you need to keep your focus on your son and his relationships -- are he and this girl acting appropriately for their ages? -- rather than what other people say. ETA: Fwiw, I don't really have a set plan in mind about my kids re: dating, because of my own experiences. I don't want to encourage a lot of casual, serial dating. I think I prefer more of a courtship mindset, in general, but I don't want to push my kids to get serious before they're ready, nor do I want to deny the possibility of that happening. I think I really am going to have to make decisions based on the information I have at the time, and it might be different for each child.

DH and I have matching towels, and we keep them on a towel warmer rack thingy. We always know which is ours. The kids each have their own towels too, which hang on hooks. They also know which towels are theirs. I vote for teaching your children to use their own towels.

I knew who the little Wharvey gals were! Love that movie! And I knew the Sound of Music quote. And I should have recognized the Pirates of the Caribbean one too. Why did I not see this thread last night? LOL.

Is there a local babywearing group or chapter of Babywearing International near you? If not, I think there is a babywearing swap/sale board on Facebook. I'm sure it will get snapped up quickly -- Kozies are awesome mei tais! (Mine is six years old; it gets heavy use, and it is still in great shape.)

I would (and often do) say one of the following things: One, "Daddy always knows where his shoes are so that he can put them on and get to work on time. Yours tend to get lost, and then we can't find them when we're getting ready to go somewhere." I might also mention, if appropriate, that there's a big difference between one person's stuff to find when getting ready to go and five people's stuff (which is how many I'm usually trying to get ready). Two, "Yes, it would be nice if Daddy picked up his shoes, but that's between him and me. We're talking about your shoes right now." Three, "When you are responsible for going to work and paying the bills or maintaining the house, then you can decide whether or not you put away your shoes. Until then, I say you have to put away your shoes."

Sometimes. I only lose at Memory when I choose to do so. I do purposely lose a game, or manipulate a game to help someone, if I feel that there's a gross disparency in the abilities of the people playing. I don't purposely lose if everyone's pretty evenly matched and therefore happy, and I think it's good for kids to learn to be gracious when both winning and not winning. But nobody likes to lose all the time, so I try to avoid games I can't manipulate even a little to help a younger or less experienced player. I will also admit that I intentionally folded a really fantastic hand during a poker game a couple of weeks ago, in order to let one of my children (who hadn't won a single hand all night and who had been dealt a bunch of lousy cards most of the other hands) win. ;)

My kids tend to quote movies a lot as well, even though they don't get a lot of screen time, and even though I'm fairly strict about what they're allowed to watch. (Then again, DH and I frequently quote a handful of movies and TV shows as well, so I'm not surprised that the children do. Lines from books get quoted a lot around here by adults and children too.) I think I'd continue to keep the tight limits on amounts of screen time, and maybe I'd encourage things like musicals or good adaptations of classic novels, things with positive role models, particularly female ones -- Sound of Music (which you already mentioned), Lord of the Rings, Hugo. . . I'm not too bothered when DD quotes and emulates the females from those movies.

We usually have a salad with our meal, plus a green veggie. I occasionally serve a starchy veg like sweet potatoes, but most often, I do not. For things that really go well with a starch, like meatloaf, I often serve mashed cauliflower, which has a similar mouth feel to mashed potatoes.

I think it really depends on the job. At some jobs, the employer would have to pay a substitute, so it seems fair that the employee should have to use his/her own personal/vacation/sick time. At other jobs, there really isn't a substitute, and the employee will have to do the work anyway, at some point -- it seems reasonable not to dock the employee pay or paid time off for that. When I was a nanny, I got a certain amount of vacation days, paid at full pay, and I also got a certain number of sick days, for which I was given half pay. That seemed very fair to me -- my bosses would still have to scramble for childcare if I was sick (either taking off themselves, and since they are doctors, that would mean canceling patients, or they'd have to pay for emergency childcare -- but at the same time, they didn't need me coming to care for their children if I was so sick I should be in bed, and I had bills to pay too). I actually never used a sick day, so when I left, they paid me a nice bonus, but I thought the policy was very reasonable. :) DH doesn't have sick time, so when our baby was born, he took four days off, and that came out of his vacation time, so it was paid. And even still, he did have to field the occasional call from his office, because there isn't really anyone who can substitute for him.

She's beautiful -- congratulations! Saying a prayer for Stacey's recovery, and wow, she and her husband are blessed to have you on their side!

I have heard that before. I think it's nonsense, but apparently there are some people who think that and would be offended by a peace sign. On a slightly different note, DH recently told me that some of his friends, who are military, find the peace sign disrespectful, because it was used heavily in anti-Vietnam protests and can be seen as a lack of support for our troops. So while it's not something I would choose to make a huge deal out of, we also wouldn't be in favor of our young children using it a lot, if that makes sense.

Ugh, for those of you who are stuck with relatives who don't care enough about you or your children's food needs -- it's just wrong, rude, and even bordering on mean and cruel (consistently eating cake that you know kids can't have?? I could see once being an, "oh, shoot, I bought the cake for Suzie's birthday and forgot that Johnny can't eat it," but basic decency would say that you'd remember the next time). Having been on both the receiving end (DD was allergic to dairy for a while, and it meant the world to me that MIL read labels and all carefully and asked about everything) and the giving end (I have, at times, avoided dairy, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, beef, pork, peaches, tomatoes, peanuts, red dye [including in clothing], and citrus in cooking/preparing meals for various relatives because of their sensitivities, plus a few other things for other reasons), I am outraged on your behalfs. It may be occasionally a little tricky and require some extra effort, but most of the time, it isn't that difficult, especially something like GF, where lots is labeled, and there are usually pretty easy alternatives. Seriously, if I knew someone couldn't eat the pretzels, I'd be thrilled to know that Kettle chips or whatever were safe!

Fleas tend to hit ankles as well as waists (waists at night, especially). They don't fly, but they jump far. I think I read that bedbugs tend to bite in lines of about three bites. Vacuum vacuum vacuum. Get the spray I recommended before. Take a shallow bowl or pan and fill it with water and a few drops of dish soap; put it under an outlet, and put a nightlight in the outlet. In the morning, you should see lots of little fleas floating in the water. If you find one on you, drop it in soapy water, or pinch it between your fingernails to kill it. Good luck. The spray *will* get rid of them in a few weeks, and it's worth every penny. Don't bother with the cheaper stuff.