That's what I was going to suggest too. I'm currently wearing a pair of jeans that I love, a pair that fits me very nicely (I'm very petite; it's hard to find pants that fit me), and they came from the thrift store, looking quite new, for all of $2. I could buy a lot of nice-looking clothes there for not much money!

Another who thinks "good for you, mama!" I'd have no problem with a school assigning a small amount of reading material over summer break (especially for AP classes; we had to do that in high school, and it was not that big of a deal, except that Les Miserables is a really long book, sigh), or suggesting a few areas of math where a student could practice over a break (like "spend 5 minutes a day going over multiplication facts" or something), but your DD's school sounds ridiculous. I think you should definitely cc the school board, the newspaper, and anyone else you can. Schools *do* work for the taxpayers, and we do need to remind them of that sometimes.

We had a Honda Civic for a while and liked it. They seem to retain value for a long time and are good used. We're currently driving a 2004 Ford Focus, and we'll drive it into the ground. It's got 170K miles on it and is still doing okay but is at the "replace it or spend serious cash on it" point. Still, it's been a good and reliable car, and it gets about 30 mpg.

Yeah, the rule we give anyone who cares for DD (anaphylactic reaction to bee stings) is "Don't wait; use the Epipen immediately, and then call 911. Use the second Epipen if she starts having breathing trouble before the ambulance arrives." As of yet, it is extremely rare that we leave DD with a non-parent. My parents and ILs have been taught to use the Epipens. All of the co-op teachers have been instructed that if they see bees, they should alert DD so that she can choose to move away from them, but she's allowed to do anything she feels comfortable doing. As of yet, I have remained on-site at all co-op functions, and I have kept the Epipens with me (I'm also not hard to find if I'm needed), but as she gets older, we'll be more comfortable instructing her and other adults on how to use them. (We haven't done camp yet; I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. I'd have to talk to the camp staff carefully first.)

I think it really depends on the location. I've sent DD into the very small library to pick up books when her brothers were sleeping in the car; I've been doing that since she was 6 or 7, I think. The library is pretty much one room, and they know us very well there. If we lived closer, I'd be okay with sending her to that library by herself. I don't think I'd do that at the bigger libraries around here, though, but maybe by her age (almost 10), I could. I have no doubt that she could ride her bike the mile down our (not busy) road to the convenience store/gas station at the end of it, buy something, and come home. That would be no problem for her. However, it's at the bottom of a big hill, emptying onto a busy road, so that makes it a no for us to allow yet, plus it's also a truck stop, and I'm not willing to take a chance there. Could I send her into one of our local grocery stores with a few dollars and instructions? Yep. I haven't done it (mainly because I usually need several things and use a debit card instead of cash), but I absolutely could. Enough people know her at the two local stores that it would almost undoubtedly be fine. In fact, yesterday, as we were driving, the big kids thought they needed the bathroom, so since I was buying gas at the Giant pumps anyway, I told them I could drop them at the Giant door first, get the gas, and come back and be waiting for them in front of the Giant. Especially with them together, and especially knowing that the bathrooms there are single occupancy, and since many people there would recognize them, this would not have been an unreasonable thing to do. They decided they didn't actually need to go then, but it would have been fine. Would I do that at the WalMart or the bigger Giants around here, or send them in to buy things at those stores? No. I'm not comfortable with that yet.

My $200 Brother that I got from WalMart has been going strong for over six years. It is somewhat complex, though (computerized, includes several feet, has a lot of stitches, includes several quilting tools), so I think you could absolutely find a basic one that was pretty good for less. A friend just bought a Babylock for her child for about $100; she wanted a real machine, and this one is not computerized and has just the basic handful of stitches (which, tbh, is all I ever use on mine anyway). So far, her child seems to be pleased, though it hasn't had extensive use yet. I'm seriously considering that one when my current one dies (which is going to be fairly soon; it's got a plastic part on the bobbin case which has chipped). If you have the luxury of time (when I bought the Brother, my old machine had quit in the middle of sewing holiday outfits, so I had little time to research), you could look for reviews on used machines and look for one of those. My mom's old Singer lasted for like 25 years and was a great machine! (She found that it didn't tolerate modern thread very well after a while, so she switched to the Brother as well.)

My hands get very itchy, red, cracked, dry in the winter. Any lotion is better for me than none, especially if I put it on frequently. I particularly like coconut oil, lanolin, and some fairly pricey lotion that has CoQ10 in it. I really glop on the lotion, and it's amazing how quickly it works!

I would consider together to be "girlfriend/boyfriend," "steady dating," "dating exclusively." DH and I went on a date to a school dance, just as friends, not really expecting much to come of it, but we decided a few days later that we really were interested in more, so I say we've been together since then, which is 20 years now. We were definitely "together" even when he was several hours away at college, and I was back home -- we didn't spend much time together in those two years, and we weren't exactly going out on a lot of traditional dates during that time -- but neither of us was dating anyone else either, and we certainly considered ourselves to be exclusive. We were unofficially engaged not too long after we started dating, or at least we considered ourselves to be engaged then. :) We were officially engaged only about 7 months, but when he was finally in a position where he could buy a ring and make a formal proposal, we'd been exclusive, committed to each other, girlfriend/boyfriend for a bit over six years. . . the Sunday our pastor announced from the pulpit, "It is with great joy that I make this next announcement. . . Mr. and Mrs. MyParents announce the engagement of their daughter. . .," I think there was a collective cheer from the congregation. :) (I am usually not one to like being the center of attention, but I sure do enjoy the fanfare of making fun announcements like that!)

5'0" here! I'm the "little" sister to my three younger siblings. :)

We aim for: 6 am -- I get up and get moving for the day. 7 am -- Kids get up, get dressed, make beds, bring down laundry, do two morning tasks each; I dress the little ones, make my bed, start laundry, and make breakfast. 7:30 -- breakfast (plus poetry and Bible reading); then brush teeth and clear breakfast dishes, maybe wash any large pans left from the previous night (DD empties the dishwasher before breakfast, so that makes it easy to clean up the kitchen). Switch laundry. 8:00 -- Schoolwork time. Get 3yo settled with something to do. Depending on the baby's needs, I either start DD on her independent work while I work with DS1, or I do history and other whole-family subjects (some are easier to do when he's nursing vs. sleeping). When DS1 is done, he and DS2 go off to play, and I work with DD. 10:00 -- We finish with whatever schoolwork needs my assistance; DD finishes her reading, writing, math practice, etc. and asks for help as needed. Kids tidy their rooms. I clean, prep dinner, fold laundry, whatever. (This rarely actually happens, but it's my goal.) 12:00 -- Lunch, lunch cleanup. 12:30ish -- I really want to put some more thought into this time for the coming year. I'd like it to include a focus on reading with my 3yo, since so often my readalouds are geared toward the older children. I'd also like to be more intentional about setting up art projects and doing handwork and such with the older children. Kids can do crafts, play, go outside, etc. in the afternoon. I really want to be intentional about planning most outings for the afternoons too, to guard our good schoolwork time in the mornings. Some time for me to work on my projects as well. Put away the laundry, vacuum, etc. 4:00ish -- Kids pick up their toys and projects, and I make dinner (if it didn't get started in the morning). I also want to have my older children more involved in food prep. 5:30ish -- Dinner 6:00 -- Clean up, finish putting away toys and such, baths, outside time when it's light out, etc. 7:00 -- Readaloud time 8:00 -- Kids in bed; quiet reading in their beds. 8:30 -- Lights out for kids. 10:00 -- Lights out for adults. It never, ever looks that good, but at least it's a goal. :)

I can certainly think of worse things than if my sons, at 15 or 16, bring home girls who turn out to be The Ones. Really, as much as I joke that no girls will ever be good enough for my precious boys, it really wouldn't bother me too much if they met their Mrs. Rights when they were pretty young still. My boys are already perfect (:D), but I think the right girl can be a great influence on a young man -- not sowing too many wild oats, keeping his eyes on a good future goal, paying attention to personal hygiene, etc. I know that when we were in college, I thought of things that DH didn't -- like, when he was struggling to graduate, I was the one who took his completed courses and figured out what major they could fit into that would let him graduate the soonest. Someone to attend to those sorts of details if my boys aren't paying attention? Yes, please! (Suddenly I realize that I must have made my MIL's job harder in some ways but much easier in others.) Plus, DH and I met before we had really developed our ideas about marriage, adulthood, and such, so we weren't stuck in our own ways. We are very much interdependent on each other and growing up together really has made us two sides of the same coin. I wouldn't push my children to be committed to someone at a young age, but if it happened, I would not be upset about it.

Technically, I knew DH when we were 12 and 14, but we didn't really meet until we were 14 and 16, and that's when we started dating. I've been his high school sweetheart, hometown honey, college girlfriend, fiancee, wife, and babymama. And always his best friend. We knew it was the real thing after the first date. My brother is also married to his high school sweetheart. I realize that we're fairly unusual.

I'm in PA, and our evaluator likes to see 3-5 examples of work for each of the major subjects. Throw in a worksheet on fire safety, an art project or two, and something (anything) that shows some small bit of PA history, mention taking family walks/hikes or going swimming (for PE), and you should be good. Have your child write a few sentences about some history topics you covered. We do a lot of informal work, so last year, I pulled a few free worksheets off of the internet for things like health.

I have found many of the yarns from KnitPicks to be really good values -- not super expensive but still very nice. I've used quite a bit of their Wool of the Andes yarn and have liked it a lot in several projects. I also really like Cascade 220 yarn and Brown Sheep Nature Spun yarn. Also, for wearing well, Kraemer Yarn's Naturally Nazareth has been quite good, and Peace Fleece is supposed to be good too.

*I* don't empty the trash daily. I don't empty it at all. My 6yo empties the trash every day. He gathers up trash cans from around the house and dumps them into the kitchen trash; then he takes out the kitchen trash (unless it has like two scraps of paper in it). We use small trash bags, so it doesn't sit around.

I really liked Refined to Real as well. Also, some of the South Beach sorts of cookbooks can be helpful. I don't necessarily agree with all of their ideas (they recommend artificial sweeteners, for instance), but their menus can be helpful in assisting you in breaking mindsets like "it's not a meal if it doesn't have pasta/rice/bread/potatoes."

Aww, that's cool! Enjoy shopping for the right charity! My grandparents, a few years ago, decided to ask everyone, instead of giving them gifts, to donate to a favorite charity and let them know what we chose. We had lived here about a year at that point and were really enjoying the abundance of amazing local food options, so we chose to donate to a charity that shares local food with people who need it. My grandparents loved hearing about that. :)

My DH reads incessantly. He reads almost entirely non-fiction, usually history (particularly military history) or travel memoir types of books. He's always got at least one big, thick book going, often more than one.

We announce to family and a few close friends right away. We figure they deserve the chance to be excited with us. My parents have, unfortunately, already had the worst happen (a grandbaby being stillborn), so we like to give them the opportunity to be joyful and excited, even if it only ends up being for a short time. (They were as excited about grandbaby number nine as they were about number one; a new BABY to love is always opportune, in their minds. They were like that before the stillbirth, but losing my niece made them even more certain that LIFE is something to celebrate.) We're a little more cautious about other friends, coworkers, etc. Usually somewhere around 12-20 weeks. I think I was about 20w with number four before DH mentioned it to his boss. ETA: We've done the formal announcement thing, with our first; we told both sets of parents in front of our siblings, in a fun way, on Father's Day weekend. That was exciting! We told about number two in person too, although our siblings got called later. With our third and fourth, we told the grandparents over the phone, because we weren't going to see them soon and didn't want to hold it in. I called my sister about number four but emailed my brothers.

Congratulations!!! We were in somewhat similar circumstances a year ago when we discovered we were expecting number four. We weren't living with parents, but we weren't exactly financially stable. Well, we still aren't financially stable, but we don't regret our sweet baby boy one little bit. Money will come and go, but we can't imagine not having this little guy -- he adds so very much sweetness and joy to our lives!

I personally use an old version of Quicken that I got from ebay for a few dollars, and I love it. :)

If anyone in your family is asthmatic, stock up on the albuterol as much as the pharmacy will allow, or other prescription drugs. Sometimes insurance will only let you get a certain amount of a drug at a time, but maybe you can get more if you pay for it using your set-aside money instead of insurance coverage.

There's on the slower side, and then there's delayed. She sounds like she is beyond "on the slower side." Some of mine have been on the slower side of certain milestones. . . DS2 crawled at 9 months but didn't walk until 15 months and didn't talk much until 2. I'd have been concerned if those were not accompanied by a ridiculously early excellent pincer grasp and fine motor control and by large amounts of signing. We could tell that he could hear, and he could communicate just fine; he just wasn't interested in developing walking or speaking skills. I'm mildly concerned because my 5.5 month old is not interested in rolling. But he plays with toys and reaches for things and is almost sitting on his own, so I think I have another couple of months before I should really be concerned. I think the worrisome thing is when there are delays in multiple areas and not obvious progressions in others. I would be very concerned about this baby. She sounds like a very sweet baby (and some babies just are very content to be cuddled; my DS1 was like that and still is, really), but if she was my baby, I would probably want someone to evaluate her, just to be sure she's got all the advantages she can. The fact that she feels like dead weight in your arms is worrisome to me. Even my content DS1 and my slower-to-walk DS2 would hold up their upper bodies and push up to stand on my lap and would grab toys if placed in front of them. I think I would tell your MIL that you are concerned, because her areas of delay seem to be multiple, and really encourage her to have them take her to a different doctor or a specialist or something. If I noticed that about one of my nieces or nephews, I'd mention it to my mom or MIL, rather than to my brother/SIL directly.

I vote for keeping it and enjoying it. My DH loves to give gifts and would buy something like that if we could afford it, just so he could surprise me and make me smile. I'd wrestle with the "it's so expensive" thing too, but after the past couple of years, where DH and I couldn't afford to spend much on each other, I've decided that if we're ever in a better financial place, and he wants to buy me something semi-frivolous, if I like it, I'm going to let him. Use it, enjoy it, and know that he loves you. :)

Yeah, I'd not worry about it for a couple more years. Our littlest guy didn't get a lot this year, mainly because we have plenty of infant boy clothes and toys already. And when we got pumpkins, for instance, each of the older three kids picked one out, but we didn't get a fourth one for the baby. NBD yet.