Mama is the mama, not the maid. Pick up after your own self, or mama will remind you to do it, even if that means she interrupts whatever fun thing you're doing. My 6yo: -makes his bed -brings down his laundry -cleans his room -empties the trash cans from around the house into a big trash bag -takes out the trash, recycling, and compost bucket -occasionally puts away laundry -cleans up toys or whatever he gets out -clears his own dishes after breakfast and lunch -occasionally vacuums, as requested My 9yo does those same things, except that she feeds the cats and empties the dishwasher instead of doing the trash and taking stuff outside. They both have the option to vacuum, sweep, fold laundry, or clean a bathroom in order to earn extra privileges. I want to get them more involved in helping with dinner prep and cleanup, though. They are also both great at helping with the small boys (hold the baby while I shower, get the 3yo's shoes and sweatshirt on him if we're going out, etc.). The single biggest thing about keeping the house tidied and the kids' stuff picked up: do it daily. One day's mess is not so much, and when they can see it easily, even the 3yo can do a decent job of tidying. If stuff's been sitting for several days or a week, it's way harder to keep tidy.

I would have the OB/GYN send the bloodwork to the endo and have the endo make the call. 1.81 is in good range, but if you're borderline, the increased demands on your body during pregnancy might make it go up (the lower the TSH, the better -- when it goes high, it means your body is having to put out a larger "signal" to make your thyroid do its job), so you might need a bit of supplementation. The endo may also want to check you postpartum.

I'm a little more self-conscious about letting the kids play outside at our house during the school day, especially if I'm inside, than I am about actually taking them somewhere during the day. But I really don't worry about it much at all. We have a fair number of homeschoolers around here, and it's generally a MYOB sort of place. We go to the grocery store, library, eye doctor, etc., and I don't even think about it. I do feel pressure, otoh, to make sure the children are especially well-behaved when we go places, because they're conspicuously homeschoolers, and I want homeschoolers to be represented well.

I have still been spotting (very lightly, a tiny bit every couple of days) at 6w with two of my babies, even though the uterus was small and everything was fine, but actual bleeding, even like a light period, would be concerning, especially if the uterus has not shrunk. I do think methergine is pretty safe to take, even while nursing; it's typically what they do instead of pitocin if you're not contracting properly post-delivery. This says it's a category L2 drug (for short-term use), according to Hale: http://forums.ivillage.com/t5/Mom-s-Questions/question-about-lactation-and-m-c/td-p/19553725 However, I'd want to know if there was a clot that needed to pass, or a piece of retained placenta; the methergine could be effective in making that happen, but at 6w, I think I'd want to have a look to be sure.

My almost 7yo boy would like dress-up stuff -- cape, knight's tunic, vest (great for being a colonial boy or a pirate), eyepatch, hat, sheath for a sword. Or a knapsack for collecting treasures. If your son likes being outside, maybe a backpack, pencil roll, and/or notebook cover for nature outings would be a good idea. I love the idea of a play tent or fort too! PS -- When emailing her with ideas, I'd play up the idea that they would love something that only Grandma could provide -- a favorite cookbook (or possibly a collection of her favorite recipes), or something that she sewed for them.

I was just over 21 when we got married, DH just over 23. We're successfully married thus far (celebrated 13 years in August). The only reason we didn't get married sooner was because we had no way to support ourselves; we'd have gotten married at 18 and 20 if we could have. (By the time we got married, we'd been together almost 7 years. Shoot, if we'd met when we were older, we totally would have wanted to get married on the first date -- that's how sure we were!) My parents were 20 and 23 when they got married, and they've been married 36 years; they'd only known each other for a couple of years before they got married, but obviously it's worked for them. My ILs got married at 21 and 24 and have been married 40 years. My brother was almost 22 when he got married, but his wife was only 19, and they'd been together, IIRC, five years. They just celebrated their tenth anniversary. I know way too many people who have gotten divorced in the past few years, regardless of their ages. I don't think age has a lot to do with it, nor even maturity.

She should practice putting the wrap/sling on by herself, but if they make her take it off completely, I understand that she'll need somewhere to set her baby so she can retie it. The only carrier I can put on completely while actually holding the baby is a ring sling, so that's what I'd use for the airport. (I love an Ergo for a toddler, but I actually hate it for front carries, and at 4m, he might be just a wee bit little for a back carry.) I think she could do it without a stroller if you wanted to; put the baby in the sling, check a suitcase, and carry the empty carseat and a small bag/backpack. When she needs to take the baby out of the wrap/sling (if she does), she can set him in the carseat if she needs two hands to put the wrap/sling back on. If she's not bringing the carseat on the plane, she can gate-check it. (Alternately, if she checks the carseat early, she could have a small blanket in her bag on which to lay him while she puts the wrap back on.) She could also consider renting one of those luggage carts at the airport; I have used them when flying solo with 1 and 4yo's, and they were great!

DH and I both pretty much just picked up reading; so did DD, and she was reading chapter books before she turned five. My DS1, otoh, is 6 1/2 and just now learning to read; he really wasn't ready before. He has benefited very well from doing 100 Easy Lessons with me. In his case, he might have just picked it up at some point, but I think actively teaching him worked perfectly (and it would not have a year ago; he was just not ready then).

When you finish The Long Winter, then you get to read my personal favorites, Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years! LTotP had such a joyful, happy feel to it after TLW and was so fun!

We do French from Nallenart and Latin from Getting Started With Latin and are considering Getting Started With Spanish as well.

Oh, she's a cutie! I agree with the PP that said she looks like she could be a Lily. (Our kitten is Molly, fwiw, officially "Molly Pitcher Fuzzball Lastname.")

We have both, and I'd get the kitchen, especially if the playhouse would be outdoors. Kids can toss a blanket over a table or something to make a playhouse, but they really seem to like the more realistic setting of the kitchen, and its little doors and everything. (You might look for a pop-up tent or something that they could play with and then fold down and tuck away, so it doesn't take up room permanently.)

Okay, next year it sounds like we'll have to get one of the Lego ones -- they sound hilarious! My kids wanted the Lego Star Wars one; Santa Yoda sounded pretty good to them. We were given the Playmobil castle one this year; I had to assemble it, so I saw the pieces, and they are really cute. My 3yo has asked me about eighty billion times when we can open the next one.

Congratulations!

I think you need to discuss with your DH his specific reasons about not wanting your 4yo to sleep with you. IMO, "I just don't think you should" isn't really acceptable, and I'd be inclined to ignore it. If he has some concrete concerns, like, "I don't sleep well when she's in the bed," I'd give more weight to those. Perhaps you can find a compromise, like your daughter sleeping on the foot of your bed instead of directly in your sleeping space (this works for toddlers and preschoolers at our house because I'm short), or perhaps putting a toddler bed or sleeping bag next to your bed would work, or maybe limiting it to one or two special nights a month would be okay. If he's worried about what people will think, well, I think more people have young children sleeping with them than is commonly mentioned. (We've had at least one child sleeping with us almost every night for almost the past decade, sometimes two.)

:iagree: Congratulations!! (I know friends who have just simply not told the grandparents until very close to the birth, because they knew they'd be negative. Really, though, the people who are negative are the ones who lose. A baby is something to celebrate!)

I am sure I felt my DS1 that early. And congratulations!

I cleaned my house last week before we left, and it was so nice to come home to that!

I did chicken and peaches picante for a potluck last summer, and it would work well in a crockpot (with rice in a separate dish). Cut chicken breast and red bell peppers into chunks, and saute until mostly cooked. Add salsa (whatever kind you like), peach juice (if using canned sliced peaches, and orange juice (enough to make a good sauce -- more if you use frozen peaches); bring to a boil, and then simmer until chicken is cooked through. Add sliced peaches and a sprinkling of cilantro; heat through, and serve over rice. My friend said she thought pineapple would also go well with it.

I had the same question a few months ago and ended up going with the Canon Powershot SX30 IS, and I've been very pleased with it. A DSLR was way out of my budget. We had a Fuji Finepix S5000 for years, and we absolutely loved it (until it died and was so old that Fuji couldn't find parts to fix it), so maybe the S4000 is good too, not sure.

I think I'd see exactly why the sister who is a nurse isn't working more. Could she pick up more hours? If so, then I'd help minimally, if at all, paying a specific bill or two, or providing grocery gift cards. But I'd ask her, to be sure. Maybe you'd think she should be able to pick up more hours, but in reality, maybe the area isn't hiring for more hours or something. If that's the case, and they're just waiting for a couple of months until the BIL's job starts, I'd be more inclined to give them a bit of cash now and then a bit in a month, rather than a larger chunk right now. Help them learn to budget.

This looks about like the one that DH has for his hair and the two older boys' hair: http://www.amazon.com/Wahl-79300-1001-26-Piece-Color-Coded-Haircutting/dp/B00006IVEN/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1322676901&sr=8-13 I think he's on his third set; they last about 6 or 7 years for him, I think. He has thick hair and trims it frequently. I want to say he paid about $15 for the first set (actually, I think I got it for him back when we were in college), and I'm thinking he paid about $25-30 for this set. So really only about $5 a year, and if he does about three haircuts a month, each cut is costing about 15 or 20 cents a cut -- not bad!

I took DD when she was 7, and I took both DD and DS1 last fall when they were 8 1/2 and 5 1/2. Of course, I also had DS2 (then 2) along, and HE insisted on an exam too. The eye doctor is really great with the kids and did tests that were appropriate to each of them, and he was happy to take a few minutes to check DS2 as well. (Their insurance does cover eye exams; if it didn't, I'd have waited on DS2.) I have excellent vision (and see the same eye doctor every two years), but DH, DH's sister, two of my siblings, both of my parents, and both of my ILs wear glasses/contacts and have for years, most of them as kids/teens. And without my kids being in a classroom setting, I don't have a basis for comparison (like complaining of not being able to see the board), and I'm clueless as to what to look for, so I prefer to take them to see the eye doctor about once a year.

I do hope my children choose to wait until they're married to have s*x (DH and I did and are glad we did). There's something sweet about figuring it out together and finding that it just gets better and better. :) If they choose to wait until they're married to kiss, that's up to them. However, methinks DH and I should make it a point to kiss in front of them, so that they know what a good kiss looks like. :)

I think if I'd met the doctor before and felt okay with him/her, I'd be okay if my teen requested a solo doctor visit. If I felt that my teen was asking about sexually-related things, I might discuss that with the doctor ahead of time, maybe ask that he/she respect our personal family's beliefs and see what the doctor would relay to me afterward. However, I would absolutely insist that another doctor or a nurse be present in the room at all times that I wasn't, and I would probably also insist that one of the two medical professionals in the room be of the same sex as my child. Perhaps a reasonable compromise would be for me to be in the room for the initial general discussion, and then for me to leave (and be replaced by a nurse) for the actual exam.