My DH has been gone 11 hours a day for work for most of the past several years. I would seriously love if he was able to work at home (and hope he'll someday be able to do that, at least some of the time). We'd manage. It would work in our house fairly well, I think, maybe with a few adjustments. We have a two-room suite sort of thing that is our bedroom and our office/sewing room. A few adjustments (bringing a sewing machine and printer downstairs, probably, and using somewhere downstairs for folding laundry and napping toddlers) would make it work pretty well so that we weren't needing to come in here very often. DH does have his own little "man cave" areas elsewhere in the house, and we're also fairly flexible -- there's a computer downstairs, there are comfy reading spots all over the place, etc., so we would not have to feel like we were all on top of each other all the time. The children would adjust; it would probably be hard for a few days, because they'd want to see Daddy all the time, but we'd all learn to respect and not distract each other. And the benefits would be great.

Yes, and I am so glad for your input -- thank you! This is just the sort of thing I wanted! (For the benefit of anyone who might ever search for similar things, sheppardsoftware.com has some very nice geography games on it, for several levels. I think they will be very useful to us in reviewing geographical features.)

So glad she felt the baby move! I've had days like that, and it's so very scary. If it makes your daughter feel better, you can get a fetoscope from ebay; I got mine three years ago, but it was only about $15, IIRC. At her stage, she would probably be able to hear the baby, and it's safe to use -- no waves going to the baby like with a Doppler. It's just a stethoscope that is designed for hearing an in utero baby. Maybe that would bring her peace of mind for the next few weeks, until she's feeling lots of regular movement.

My DD just finished third grade too, and she took the CAT this year as well. It said that the level she took was given to students finishing third, fourth, and fifth -- the younger students aren't expected to have seen some of the stuff, much less finish the test or get everything right. My DD was a little freaked out that there were things she had never seen, but she ended up doing very well. Also, if allowed in your state, you might try Christian Liberty Press -- they have the CAT available for taking online, and the results come to your email within minutes of finishing.

We had intended to start back this past week, but we had a lot of great stuff going on, so I am planning to start back this coming Monday. I am excited!

Yes, something like juice gets my babies moving, as well as pushing on the baby a bit. My MWs said they didn't worry about consistent movement until about 24 weeks, but if she's been feeling movement pretty regularly for a while, I would suggest getting checked out. I hope the baby has just been sleeping because of your daughter's busy day (that does tend to make my babies fall asleep)!

6yo DS voted blue (but his true favorite color is brown; blue is the second favorite).

Yes! Good, thank you! I live in the land of forests; deserts completely slipped my mind. :)

I think you just have to keep your opinion of the nickname to yourself and call her what the parents want her to be called, until and unless she herself expresses a different opinion. Think of it as a chance to have a new association with the name!

What things do you think are important for a fourth grader to know, regarding US Geography? I want her to know enough that she can picture where a lot of things are when she hears/reads about them, but not so much detail that things get overly tedious. So far, we have on the list: -location of all 50 states and DC, plus knowledge of all the state capitals -general US regions (New England, southeast, etc.) and their general climates -Rockies and Appalachians -Mississippi and Rio Grande Rivers (and several of the PA rivers) -Great Lakes -Great Salt Lake -Lake Okeechobee -Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard -Delmarva Peninsula, Chesapeake Bay (these are personally important to us) -Gulf of Mexico -Long Island -Outer Banks -Yellowstone -Mt. St. Helen's -Mt. McKinley -FL Keys -George's Bank -Continental Shelf -Caribbean islands -Puerto Rico -Pike's Peak -Mount Rushmore -Mount Washington (because we've been there) -Erie Canal I'm mostly familiar with the east coast, specifically the middle and northern parts, so I'd particularly like to hear from those in other parts of the country. What do you feel are the important geographical features of your area?

I prefer a family doctor, or a family doctor practice, anyway. We've just gotten signed up with a family practice. DH knows one of the male doctors, so he chose that one as his; I am currently listed with one of the other male doctors (because that's who had availability at the time), as are our children, but they are adding another female to the practice soon, so when they do, the children and I will switch to her. (We also see the female PA sometimes.) I do use a MW for pregnancy stuff and would prefer to use her for well woman stuff as well, but it depends on what my insurance covers; I'll be due for a Pap test after this baby is born, but I think my insurance will only cover it from the PCP, not the MW. I also use the MW for initial well baby checks, but if she suspected a problem, I'd take the baby to the family doctor (or, depending on the concern, directly to a specialist if the insurance allowed it -- my MW is extremely well-educated and well-qualified, so I'd rank her up there with a Physician's Assistant in terms of knowledge/skill -- if she suspected something, it might not even be worth the stop at the PCP, but maybe better to right to the specialist). I don't necessarily see a need for a specific pediatric practice if the family doctor can handle it all. (Otoh, I LOVED the pediatrician we had before we moved here. DH and I saw a male family practice doc, and he was fine, didn't love nor hate him, but he added a young female pediatrician to his staff right before we had DS1, so we switched both children there from the pediatric-only practice we'd been using for DD. She was so fantastic. The kids saw her, and DH and I saw the male doc, and so the office staff knew our whole family, but they covered for each other for emergencies/weekends/sick visits. That seemed like the best of both worlds.)

I've found that I have had to be very consistent with my older son's name, but he always goes by his full name. I like Andy just fine as a nickname, but I do prefer Andrew, so that's what I've always called him. He is always Andrew, and when he got old enough to have a preference, he insisted that he is Andrew and not Andy. Only Daddy calls him Andy occasionally (and usually in reference to him, not directly to him -- he scowls if DH calls him Andy directly); DH's parents took the cue from DH and called him Andy a few times, but Andrew politely said that he really preferred Andrew, and so that's what they call him now. (Which amuses me, because DH is Samuel; he is always Sam, except for his parents, who usually call him Samuel.) Otoh, our second son is Benjamin, and usually we call him Ben. I guess, IMO, Ben and Sam are just short forms, but Andy is a different name. Of course, DD is Laura, and we've had a few people think that it's Lauren. Some people say it more like Lora, which isn't really how we pronounce it. DH's sister is Rebecca, but most people call her Becca; their grandfather was the only one who ever got away with calling her Becky. He's the only person who would have gotten away with calling our DD Laurie -- for the chance to go fishing with him (he died before she was born), he could have called her anything he wanted. :)

We haven't taken a full vacation (as in, a full week away somewhere) in five years. We've done a couple of small trips in that time, like 3-4 days, but that's all. Haven't had the money, nor the vacation time for DH. This year, even if we had the money, DH is using most of his vacation time for a week after the baby arrives. So no, you're not alone!

Awww, that is adorable! I am so sorry you've had such a hard time lately. If it makes you feel any better, we've been in very similar situations during this pregnancy; it has definitely been stressful, and while I generally like being pregnant, it's definitely not been nearly as carefree and easy as my first one was. It is possible to do your own prenatal care and maybe just limit visits with a MW to a handful, rather than the usual bunch. A fetoscope is pretty inexpensive off of ebay, and you could monitor your own blood pressure and blood sugars if you wanted. I have done more limited MW care with my third and fourth pregnancies than I did with my first two, and while I obviously haven't seen #4 to make sure he/she is healthy, my third baby was super healthy, gorgeous, amazing placenta, etc. And it was a really enjoyable pregnancy. Without the frequent MW visits, I found that I really paid attention to my body and my baby (and the Lord's promptings to my heart as well), and focused on the particular issues that were most important to our situation, so it was a real blessing. Also, if you qualify, and if it will help you with a healthy/more comfortable pregnancy, I do not think you should feel badly if you use things like WIC or other help for food, even if you have not used them in the past. (I don't know your personal feelings on such things.) :grouphug:

I have an extremely limited budget, but I do have a fantastic library system and am good at finding stuff online. This is how I get the most for my money: -Watch amazon for sales, and get free shipping. I do this with a very few items. -Our co-op has a lending library that any member can use. Our math texts for next year came from there. -I've had excellent success with watching homeschoolclassifieds.com and have gotten some fabulous deals there. -Local e-mail lists. I just scored a like-new copy of SOTW 1 AND its very good condition activity guide for a total of $5 for both! -I don't use much pre-packaged curricula; I generally put together my own. A few blocks of time usually gets the bulk of it done, so my DH will take the children to do something special on a weekend while I work -- win-win for everyone! -Many items are available free online -- mainlesson.com provided many of our history and literature selections last year (for the cost of printing, though if you read directly from your computer or from an e-reader, even better), and we often download audio books from librivox.org. -Grandparents give books and other supplies as gifts or donations. -I have learned very well how to use my library's inter-library loan program. My card is coded for three counties' systems, plus I can have my home library branch order stuff from anywhere else in the state. -I have a Staples teacher's card, and I stock up on the spiral notebooks and three-prong folders when they go for a penny each. I use them to create my own record books -- no tracking software needed.

My SIL (who is 6' tall and was like an 11 pound baby herself) had her first baby -- 10 pounds even, at about 38.5 weeks (induced). Then because her second was a stillbirth (cord issue) at 36 weeks, they induced her at about 37 weeks for her third, after keeping SIL on a gestational diabetes diet (even though she hadn't tested positive for GD), in hopes that the baby wouldn't be quite as large as her first. Baby ended up being a bit over 8 pounds, so yes, even though she was earlier than baby #1, she was quite a bit smaller, so the GD diet did apparently help. Otoh, I have a friend who stuck to a low-carb diet, in hopes that her baby would be smaller than a previous one; she apparently didn't gain much weight herself, but the baby was born a few weeks earlier than the older one, but was on track to be the same size if he'd waited until the same gestational age. So who knows? My MW says there is a difference between babies who are big because that's how Mom grows them and babies who are big because of too much sugar in Mom's diet. I have no idea though. I feel your pain. I am barely 5' tall (and was a 37-38 week 6 lb. 5 oz. baby myself -- all of my mom's and MIL's babies were early without induction and were pretty tiny) and have tested negative for gestational diabetes in two pregnancies (and skipped the testing for #3 and #4). My first three all came 5-8 days after their official due dates, and my smallest (#1) was 8 lbs. 11 oz. DS1 was just under 10 pounds, and he and DD were 21" long, with 14+" heads and chests. I am anxiously waiting to see if this baby matches the others in terms of gestational age and size!

Yes, that. My 2.5 and 6yo boys turn everything into toy weapons, run around making sound effects, etc. But there's a difference, IMO, between fighting pretend bad guys/defending the castle/saving the princess/etc. and pretending to shoot someone who annoys you -- the first is fine, the second definitely not.

I would talk to the doctor about what he/she feels is most crucial for *your* particular child. One of our peds felt that DTaP was most important for our child but that it was fine to skip the chicken pox and MMR, for instance (though both of those are given later). She didn't feel that he was at great risk for Hep B either. At the time, I was concerned about meningitis, so I wanted to do Hib and Prevnar. We ended up doing those three at a slow pace -- like Hib and Prevnar at one visit, Hib and DTaP at the next, DTaP and Prevnar at the one after that, and so on. But it really depends on what is most risky for your child, given your particular lifestyle, location, etc. If you live in an area prone to outbreaks of something, you might do certain vaccines, or if you have other children prone to ear infections, maybe Prevnar is applicable to you, etc. Also, some of the vaccinations are (or at least were, at the time) cultured in human fetal tissue, with no other alternative, and that didn't sit well with my pro-life stance, so we did not do those vaccines. I want to say the MMR was one of them, but I honestly don't remember.

Anywhere for pastries in the North End -- get the cannoli! Filippo's, also in the North End, has delicious Italian food, especially the gnocchi. If you like Indian food, Bukhara, Jamaican Plain, I think, was fantastic. (It's been a decade though.) Yum, have a great time! (We lived in Boston for the first two years we were married, and I still have such fond memories of it.)

For my 2yo, if he has stuff in a box like his big brother's, it doesn't matter so much *what* stuff, just that he can match. Some of the things I have for him: -puzzles -crayons/pens and paper; my kids have never cared much for coloring books, but since my older kids like their workbooks, maybe DS2 would go for those and call it his workbook. -magnetic animals to stick on an old whiteboard -chalk for a chalkboard (especially since DD likes to work her math problems on a slate) -beanbags -activity bags -- I've had mixed success with those; some are good, some not so interesting, but there are things to match and stuff. -lacing cards -big beads to string -cups and things to sort (I haven't really tried these with him yet, because it's stuff that shouldn't go in his mouth, but I think he could do them pretty soon.) -magnetic wooden dress-up set (it has a little guy and outfits like cowboy, fireman, etc. you can put on him) -memory game -- I give him a few of the cards and have him find the matches, everything face up. -books -- he has a couple of bins of board books in the schoolroom, but Richard Scarry books keep him occupied for long periods of time. All of my children have really LOVED the Cars and Trucks and Things That Go one. -books on tape (we have some that my mom recorded, of herself reading, so that's particularly cool -- I haven't really tried those during school time, though, so it could be too distracting for the older kids). -math manipulatives -- DS2 likes the Cuisenaire rods and fraction squares/circles that the big kids use. -pattern blocks -Lauri makes a set called a "Fit A Space" -- foam circles with different shapes cut out of them, and then you can string the shapes or try to match them to the foam circles. -the "design your own" scenes from places like Oriental Trading -- like, one is a pet shop scene, where the background is drawn for you, and then you add the shoppers, pets, etc., which are stickers. Well, stickers in general are a hit with my 2yo. -stamps -latch board -dressing skills board/doll

We school year-round but take breaks when necessary, so this year, May and June were "school lite" months. We just did a few subjects, so it didn't take very long, and I had more of the day to work on stuff around the house and to plan for school next year. I spent most of a week or so planning stuff. It was a nice time of year, after a long and rainy winter/spring, so the kids were happy to play outside, but generally they're pretty good at entertaining themselves, whether they're right next to me or not. If I get in a crunch, DH will take them to do something on the weekend or will do the evening routine. I didn't make up a specific daily schedule. Some of our subjects are pretty easy -- I can just glance at the book the weekend before and see what we'll be doing, but it's pretty self-explanatory, no real prep needed (French, Latin, Bible. . . ). For others, I need to print out some sheets still, like for handwriting. The bulk of the history and science is done, though, and that's what took the most time. I made up lessons, and we'll do them as we get to them; if a lesson takes multiple days to finish, that is okay too. Periodically throughout the year, we'll take a break of a day or a week so I can catch up, plan for the next several weeks, order library books, get craft materials, etc.

Yep, what everyone else said. Wash it like a finger. Don't retract it. There is a huge variation of normal as to when they will be able to retract on their own -- for some it's pretty young, and for others it's not until closer to puberty. Typically it's around 3-5, but the only one who should ever retract is the boy himself. He'll figure it out. :) (Once he can retract it, he can retract it in the bath, swish it around, shake it off, and put the foreskin back, but until it's retractable on its own, it will keep stuff out of it itself.) Your doctor does not need to retract in order to check on your son. Our ped would just do a quick look in the diaper area, occasionally lifting the p*nis to check for any concerns about the scr*tum, but she never retracted the p*nis at all. At every appointment, you should be ready to stop the doctor/nurse if he/she even tries to retract, because some of them are quick. If for some reason your son ever needs a catheter, they may tell you that they need to retract, and that's just not true. They may need to find someone who is able to do it without retracting, but it is possible to do it.

Yes, 18" girl dolls, but they're also not the slimmer 18" dolls; their tummies are bigger. I think it's Carpatina dolls that are 18" but slimmer in the tummy. If you're sewing clothes for the AG dolls, you just need to know which size you want.

It is a lot like a crustless quiche. It originally came from a slow cooker book and included flour mixed into it. I omit the flour to make it lower-carb and haven't missed it, and I bake it in a regular oven instead of the slow cooker. It also reheats very well; I often make it for dinner, and DH reheats it for lunch the next day, or we have it for breakfast.

I liked The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls, by American Girl. I thought it was pretty gentle, and I liked that it included the stuff about periods and breasts and such along with less intimate stuff like pimples and deodorant. DD really liked it as well. I remember looking at the Nancy LaRue one and for some reason rejected it for DD. I appreciated the Biblical perspective, but maybe it had more discussion about love and s3x than I wanted? I can't remember. My DD is only 9, and I'm not interested in discussions about love and s3x for her yet (unless she starts asking questions); I just don't really want those thoughts in her head yet. But she needs the information about physical changes, and she's the kind of kid who doesn't want me to sit her down for a talk. I thought it would be best for her to have a book that was simple and explained the facts, so that she could digest them on her schedule, and then she can ask me questions if she has them. (This is a kid who has been surprisingly non-curious about how babies are made. She knows how they grow and has watched births and everything, but she's never asked for more explanation than the one I gave her several years ago of "a part from the mom and a part from the dad." And I've been pregnant and/or nursing, which affects my own cycles heavily, for the past decade, so her chances of walking in on me dealing with AF have been slim.)