:iagree: If it were her groom, and she didn't care for the facial hair, that might be a different story. But her dad? That seems over the top to me (assuming it's tidy and well-kept, which I'm sure it is; my DH has a goatee and moustache and keeps them very tidy, and for a special occasion like a wedding, he'd definitely have them freshly trimmed and very nice). Besides, if he shaves it for her, it won't really be *him* in her pics, y'know? Not a picture of who *he* was at the time.

Mine used to be more like that, but that was pre-kids/breastfeeding. Also, you might look into things like a Diva Cup, as I have heard that the chemicals in pads and tampons actually can cause us to bleed more heavily.

Not my thing, and I definitely think it's inappropriate (and just plain weird), but that's not necessarily why I'd discourage my child from applying there (I'd far prefer them to go to our BigTen alma mater instead). If that sort of thing was seen frequently at a college, that would make me not want my child to apply there, but weird stuff is everywhere, and if it's not terribly prevalent, it should be avoidable, especially for an otherwise high-quality school.

The Excursion is much bigger than the Expedition but has more cargo room. I had an Expedition for a while and LOVED it. It could seat eight and had a LOT of foot room for the middle row. We could put two carseats in the third row, with room for a third person in between. The only problem was that with the third row in use, we had little cargo room -- enough for groceries and such but not enough for a large family's full week of luggage. It did handle beautifully, though, and was really comfortable for both my tall DH and my very short self to drive, even while hugely pregnant. (That was largely due to the movable pedals, though, which I think was a feature of the Eddie Bauer options package, so ymmv.) Explorers seem nice too, but with the ones with the third row, I can't imagine that they have much foot room in the rear rows. Gas mileage was fairly lousy, about 13 mpg (this was for a 2000 that was ten years old). I loved the Expedition, and had it not been irreversibly damaged in a rollover accident last winter (in which the vehicle was toast, but the passengers were completely unharmed, and the airbags didn't deploy), I would still be driving it. It was at around 130,000 miles, IIRC, and we hadn't had to do a whole lot of work to it. Some minor work, like repairing the air conditioning system, but not transmission or engine yet. (In all fairness, though, we have several Fords and have been really pleased with them. DH finds it pretty easy to do most repairs at home on them, anyway.)

In theory, we could hook up an antenna to the TV and get one or two channels, badly. In reality, we don't bother, and we just watch a show or two on the computer. We watch movies sometimes as well.

Lead leaches out of the body fairly quickly once exposure is stopped; if you figure it out, his levels will go down rapidly. Use cold water to wash his hands, and you might want to look for some of the special soap that shooters use as well. Warm water opens up the pores and lets the lead soak in, hence the cold water. Obviously, check your pipes and soil, in addition to the paint. You might also test toys and any keys to older vehicles that he might touch. I have also heard that if you live near a highway, you can have higher lead levels.

Even *I* find the number thing to be motivating, LOL! My 6yo can't reliably count to 50 or 100 yet, but he can count to ten, so I'll say "five tens" or whatever (the number varies depending on the mess), and as they reach ten items, they'll call it out to me, and I'll mark it for them. They can see their progress.

Assuming that the 9 and 5yo are splitting those chores, that sounds fairly reasonable to me. The only thing I would suggest is that instead of putting "clean for 15 minutes in basement," you put something like, "each clean up 50 items in basement." They might theoretically be in there for 15 minutes but work very slowly and only put away a handful of things each, but a specific number works really well for my kids, especially if there's a huge scattered mess. And/or, you might give them a list like, "put away all trucks; put away all books; pick up all the crayons," and so on, so that if there's a lot out, they have somewhere to start.

I've never been to any homeschool conferences. I live close enough to attend CHAP and could probably share a ride to save on gas/parking, and part of me thinks I ought to go this year, just because I could, without needing to tote a baby along. But I'm not much into listening to speakers, and I use mostly free or used curriculum or my library, so I'm not really sure what the purpose of CHAP would be for me.

We're required to keep a portfolio here. I am anticipating putting the following into mine: -calendar with school days checked off -3-5 samples of work for each required subject -list of books and other resources (magazines, CDs/DVDs where appropriate) for each subject -any certificates of completion/participation for various classes (like one for dance class, to include in the "Health/Physical Education/Safety" section) -a paragraph or two describing our main topics for each subject, which will also mention field trips and such. -photographs as appropriate -- of artwork, of DD in period costume for history, etc. -standardized test scores -letter from our evaluator

Normally, we don't take the summer off; we school year round so that we can take breaks whenever it's convenient, which is usually a few days in each season. In fact, July is usually a pretty heavy school month for us -- it's the start of our official school year (and we usually end up with the last couple of weeks in June off, or very light, as it's right after a busy week with DD's dance recital), and we change the books over, etc. This year, we will probably take a good month or so off in the summer whenever the baby arrives.

I'm close, but with a newborn expected right in the time she'd be here, it's not something we could do this year. However, I believe students from DD's ballet studio have attended the CPYB summer program before, and it's possible one of them is again this summer, or that one of the other families would be able to host her. I would be happy to put you in touch with our studio's director; shoot me a PM, and I'll give you her contact info.

Skipped the purees and spoon-feeding here too! I just give them whatever foods they can handle at the age they're demanding food, holding off as long as possible (earliest so far has been almost 8 months). Bananas, avocadoes, small chunks of chicken or beef, steamed veggies, etc.

You can see a fair amount without a pass. You can talk to and see the interpreters, and you can observe the buildings and such, as well as go in shops. You can't go in any of the buildings that have a guided tour, and you can't go in the trades buildings, like the carpenter's shop or the milliner's shop. And I think after a certain point in the day (3:30?), you will not be allowed past the barriers to Revolutionary City (which is the end of town near the Capitol building). If you just have a day, you might consider going to the museums down on the southwest side of the city, as their admission rates are not too high, IIRC, and then you could spend some time just walking around the town.

Regarding hair coloring (to no one in particular, just my thoughts): I would be the first to say that hair does grow out, and coloring or perming one's hair really would be small potatoes, no big deal in the end, other hills I'd far rather die on, etc. Except that while I asked to perm my hair a few times as a preteen/teen, my parents steadfastly refused to allow it (and probably would have done the same wrt coloring it too). I always thought that to be terribly unfair, but now I am really, really grateful to them. I know so many women my age who have really damaged their hair with chemicals. I'm almost 34 and still have really nice hair; not a single grey hair yet (and my mom is almost 56 and has very few grey hairs; she never has permed or colored hers either), and when I wear it down (which is well past my rear end), I get frequent compliments. No expensive shampoos/conditioners needed, just the basic stuff. I don't know if it's just genetics and luck, or if treating it nicely in my younger years has helped, but I am thankful that my parents were strict on that topic, and it's always in the back of my mind when I think about what I'd let my kids do.

Provocative clothing -- not while under my roof. I would encourage DD to aim for attractive and classic, but not super-trendy or immodest. (Even aside from issues of modesty, I'm not a huge fan of faddish sorts of clothes, especially ones that change frequently.) Currently, my DD (9 soon) prefers long dresses/skirts, but with knee-length ones, she often wears tights or capris or leggings. Dating -- no idea. We'd really like to encourage more of a courtship sort of thing, rather than casual dating. I think we're really going to have to decide this one when the time comes, rather than making a blanket statement. Makeup -- not sure yet. 13 doesn't seem unreasonable for a little makeup experimentation, but I'd say a few years older for much more than that. (I have allowed extremely small amounts for dance recitals for the last couple of years, mainly because DD felt envious that the other girls her age were allowed. I think I did a little blush on her, but definitely nowhere near what the other girls her age were wearing. She understands that that was just for a very specific and special occasion though.) Ears pierced -- I wasn't allowed until age 12, so that's striking me as a good age for DD as well.

One, change the bedtime routine completely -- take a shower or otherwise be unavailable, and have your husband put her to bed. Sometimes my toddlers will more readily accept Daddy-who-never-had-the-milk as opposed to Mommy-who-has-it-and-won't-share (in their opinion). Two, you could nurse until a certain count -- 10, or 20, or whatever, and gradually cut that down. I'm currently nursing my 2yo while pregnant, and it's pretty uncomfortable, but tolerable for a few seconds. He seems to be okay with that but responds well to being given the choice between unlatching himself or having me unlatch him (he prefers to do it himself).

Look for a product called LemiShine, sold at Target and Wal*Mart, maybe other places as well. Put it in the bottom of the dishwasher, or in the extra soap dispenser, and use it alongside your detergent. It cuts down on the hard water deposits that cloud your dishes and make the detergent not work properly. Also, make sure the dishwasher arms are not clogged; otherwise they won't spin, and junk gets deposited back on the dishes. But the LemiShine is the most important thing, in our experience.

Ten years ago, we bought our first house, a foreclosure that needed a bunch of cosmetic work but which was generally structurally just fine. It turned out to be a great deal; we did most of the work ourselves and saved a ton, and it was a comfortable home for us and our first child and in a pleasant neighborhood/area. Every time you buy a home, you're taking advantage of something happening to someone else, whether that something was good or bad, none of which is under your control, and if the home is something that you can handle (ie price, whatever work it might need, etc.), then I vote for going for it! I suggest having all houses inspected thoroughly before buying (and putting that contingency in your offer, so you are able to walk away if the inspection reveals more damage than you want), but especially a foreclosure, in case the previous owners were disgruntled and trashed the place. (I've heard of cement in the pipes and such.) It may also help to have an agent/lawyer who is familiar with foreclosures and who can help you deal with the selling bank as well.

Probably not too much longer, and it may depend on your younger son's temperament. My boys are 3y8m apart, but they enjoyed the same sorts of toys and such fairly early, maybe by the time DS2 was a bit over a year or so? (Like, they'd both play with trucks or trains, even if slightly differently.) Though not for books and such yet; that has only happened recently, and DS2 is 28 months. DS2 is very much a "I'm going to keep up with my big brother" sort of child, though, so ymmv. (DS1, otoh, was not like that; it didn't really bother him that his older sister would do different things than he did.)

The Governor's Palace is very pretty, but it's a pretty long tour, so it might not be great for very young children, though the grounds are pretty cool. (However, if your children are into weapons, they have a pretty impressive firearms display.) Same with the Capitol Building. The Peyton Randolph House and Bassett Hall were two of our favorite places to visit. If you have time, the Abby Aldridge Rockefeller Museum of folk art was cool, lots of neat stuff to see. The boys like the gaol too. Definitely visit Great Hopes Plantation; it's a good thing to do first thing, since it's close to the visitor's center (and then just a little walk to the rest of the stuff). There's a lot of stuff for the kids to do there. If you haven't been there before, the visitor's center has a pretty good video that sets the stage for what was happening in Williamsburg in the 1770s. When we were there last fall, they gave the kids a little map that had specific places marked on it; each place you visited gave you a little punch, and when you had a certain number of punches, you got a little pin. My children spent a lot of time in the craft buildings, such as the milliner's shop; especially during homeschool week, feel free to ask if you can try things. DD didn't know you could try on the stays in the milliner's shop and was absolutely thrilled when she got to. We found that the tour guides were great at answering questions, so ask! If you can swing it, dinner at one of the taverns is a lot of fun. We really liked the King's Arms for dinner, but IIRC, it was Christiana Campbell's tavern where we had lunch last fall, and it was really nice too. There are often special events and things going on in the evenings (like, DD and DH attended a dance demonstration at the Capitol), so look in the brochure to see what's happening and when. We got to take a carriage ride one of the visits, and the kids liked that. Also, check the map carefully for days and times when the various attractions are open. Some of them are closed in the afternoons, or certain days of the week.

3-4 on average. During the week (M-F for us), I like it to be just one day for co-op, groceries, library, etc. One evening a week, I also know I'll need to go out to take DD to dance class, but that usually is just her and me (and come the fall, the baby). Then we usually go out once, sometimes twice, on the weekend. Some weeks are busier than others; next week, I have a co-op meeting one evening, need to meet a friend another evening, dance is one evening, and DH will be out a fourth evening (and no, none of those can be combined). And the one day next week that we don't have an evening event is co-op day (and actually, a birthday for one of our children). It will be a busy week!

I'd be annoyed at the last minute as well; when you've got your budget planned, even an extra $5 or $10 at the last minute can be really hard, whereas it would have been easier if they'd let you know a few weeks ago. If you ask anyone about this, ask if you're also going to be asked to chip in for a gift for the director or anything. I don't think the $5 tickets are unreasonable (DD's ballet recital costs a lot more than that!), but that should have been disclosed earlier. Also, for people telling the OP that she should go with her husband, what's she going to do with the younger children? Either she has to pay for them to go to, which make it a lot more than just "another $5 for the DH," or she has to pay a sitter. Unfortunately, for some people, this would be out of the question and is one of the unfortunate sacrifices that has to be made in order for the participating child to participate. ETA: And for us, asking for a six-pack of soda and some cookies would not have been unreasonable if asked for a few days earlier, but we live in the country, and with the cost of gas these days (not to mention my time), I would not be dashing out to the store to buy those items last minute! (Not to mention that $10 for dinner plus those things is a bit excessive, unless it's to cover multiple nights.) I might be able to bake some cookies (but wouldn't be pleased about the lack of notice), but I wouldn't have the soda on hand.

I'm so sorry -- what a horrible thing to have happen! I agree that he was absolutely a hero and may well have saved a human life, but it's still heartbreaking for your family. :grouphug:

In my state, testing is required in certain grades, but since you set your child's grade, there are people who mysteriously never seem to have kids in the testing grades (3, 5, and 8); their kids go right from grade 2 to grade 4. So putting your child in a lower grade would give you room to skip (on paper) a testing grade without running out of grades too soon.