I'm not game savvy. I know enough to read about ratings on packages, that's about it. My nearly 13yob wants to play this. Can you give me the skinny? The low down? The whatever it's called that I need to know? Any suggestion re: other games are also appreciated. TYVVVVVVM. :D

ever had an OT eval? It sounds to me like one of those things that would set off the gritchy mama gut in me and lots of other moms, but unless your specialty is funky behavioral/sensory stuff and you're seeing/training in the field regularly, you wouldn't know what to do with it to help the poor kid. Or he could just be oblivious. Like some people I know who shall remain nameless. Okay, it was me. I lived in my head much more than most kids my age. That might be his thing, which may or may not benefit from intervention. I can tell you, though, that if I'd known then what I know now, I think I might have walked myself to some office for some help. Living inside that brain can be really cool and/or utterly miserable. Good luck, whatever you do. :)

from the kids' AND their dad -- really from him, 'cause they weren't old enough, was the biggest, baddest (at the time) ipod they made. It has our 10yr anniversary trip to Tahiti pics on it, plus much of the music we had. He was very good at gift giving, generous to a fault. The first year alone (with the tiny baby who was at the time getting all the scary diagnoses), my attorney's office sent me roses. I bawled. My mom makes sure my kids get me cards and chocolates. Which would explain the hips, TYVM. :tongue_smilie: Her kindness makes me wanna do things like remodel her kitchen for her, or buy her a diamond mine. You know, little stuff. :D Happy Mother's Day to you all -- to the daddies too! In case you need reminding, you're precious, not just to your kids, and you rock for putting yourself out there every day, more than you might absolutely have to, to make sure that your families get what they need and that they have the best of you. Blessings.

Layers on a plate, bottom to top: smashed chips/fritos, any kind of beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato/salsa, sour cream, guacamole/ chopped avocado, green/diced onion, sliced olives, cilantro, hot/green sauce. It's kinda whatever sounds good, all piled up like a haystack. It's great potluck-type food: It's pretty cheap and everyone brings something and everyone makes their plates the way they want to (less whining - heh). It's one of my favorite ways to eat beans. :D

Do you have The Enchanted Broccoli Forest or... what's the other Moosewood cookbook? Anyway, she's got a great recipe in there for something like baked beans. If I remember correctly, it's a little involved as far as start to finish time, but most of it is hands off cooking hours. What we do: Rinse beans, soak if you want, then cover in water and cook at a simmer until done to your liking. Add: something tomato-based (1T tomato paste or whatever -- to cut down on tummy difficulties), some cumin, salt, pepper, sometimes onion or garlic powder. Then they're ready for anything -- cheese, burritos, haystacks, whatever. Now I'm hungry for beans. :001_smile:

Do get his vision checked. Med school requires vast amts of reading -- the kids' dad is a reluctant reader w/ untreated vision issues and this complicated things for him, though a determined person (he was) can still get through well and rank high in their class. I can't tell you how much he (and I) wished that his parents had just taken his vision seriously instead of ignoring the recs made by people who knew what they were talking about. If his vision checks out, go for the speed reading thing -- it can only help him. Blessings to you and yours. :)

Go, Kay! :D

I bet your dh loved it. :lol:

Lemon and Honey in hot water? Gargling with warm salt water? Don't talk at all unless you're in front of the group?? Sending you lots of "good clear voice" wishes. :)

to offer a giggle -- I'm not sure if it worked or not. ;) Awhile back the kids' dad was trying to work out plane reservations for visitation. These things can go really well, or really not, usually depending entirely on the level of involvement of the OW. The 7:30 pm phone call was fine, the 11something call was fine, though I've asked him not to call after nine (I answered because I thought it was someone else), and it woke Q just enough to make him twitchy and require further settling. Fine. All done. Off to bed just after midnight, a near record for me. (The child has sleep issues, thus I don't get much.) I resist doing a happy dance as I slip between the covers. At 1:30 am my cell phone rings. He wants to know if we can wiggle dates around because of expense of tickets, though it takes him a while to phrase it so I get it. Okay. The OW is sitting there-- trying to whisper "helpful" things to him, very quietly, but she's not really good at that so her presence is painfully obvious. I slooooowly wake up enough to respond calmly, kindly, and effectively and the conversation eventually ends, at about 2am. I'm headed back to bed, now alert enough to be ticked off instead of merely stunned. 1:30am? Seriously?? I don't get back to sleep easily when awakened early in the night, he knows this, or did. He's well aware of how difficult Q's nights are. Rowr. "Okay," I think to myself, "We know how to do this. We will read for a little while. We are very tired. We will fall asleep quickly." Right. I'd like to sleep, but, geez Louise, man. First I wanna smack somebody. (Not that I actually would.) I open my book, by now seriously mad. The first thing my eyes fall on in the book is this (paraphrased): "If there's something you're thinking about doing that scares you, evaluate whether or not it lines up with your overall goals [getting some respect for appropriate boundaries], then just do it." I called him back and said: The next time you wake me at 1:30 in the morning, you'd better be naked and in my bed. The chick lost her mind. I'm still blushing.

If so, tell me all about it. I'm here, chin in hands, elbows on the table, waiting impatiently. :D I need something to use for Q's food -- puree, rinse/wash, put away, repeat. It must be tough and easy to clean as it'll be used at least twice a day. TIA! :)

Once you've transitioned from 2-3, you've got the experience you need. As someone once put it: "Once you've moved from man-to-man to zone defense, it's not much different." Having a little space between 3 and 4 will help too. Congrats, you!!! :D

This made me laugh -- it describes me well. This used to really bug me, but I delight in it more and more. The perks of getting older, perhaps? :D

My mom is looking at these. If you have some or have done research on them, please discuss Kleen Kanteen, Sigg, New Wave brands. My brother has done enough work with international steel companies that he feels confident in saying that not all stainless is equal. So, what does this mean? How are we supposed to pick what we use? Ack!? :bigear: Thanks, all you smart people. :D

eggs and flour and make spinach pasta. It's yummy. :)

Daniel Smith has carried these, though it's been years since I shopped there. They have a store in Seattle and do plenty of mail-order as well. Jerry's Artarama usually has the best prices on Prismacolors. I don't recall if they carry Caran d'Ache, but if they do that's probably the best price there as well. I resisted ordering from these guys for years because of the name (what a snob!) but finally overcame that little issue :tongue_smilie: and have been thrilled with their service, availability and prices.

She sounds like she's maybe just more visual -- many children are at this age, being still firmly rooted in the concrete, not yet really able to do the abstract. Are there any other little quirks she has? If so, perhaps you just keep an eye on things -- often when something comes to a mama's attention it's for a good reason. The "gritchy mama gut" keeps us on track and alert to the kiddoes' individual personalities. If the gritchy mama gut won't leave you alone, ask your pediatrician for a referral for some sort of therapy eval. Things get ruled out or in and on you go with your toolbox updated for your particular child's needs. However, truly, I think she's probably just too young yet. It'll come. I remember how annoyed I was with my then 3yo for bouncing around while we were reading Little House books -- we've since completed the set a few times as RAs and done much more besides. That child is now nearly eleven and while I'd like to think I'm more patient overall as a result of those experiences, it may not actually be the case. :D

I am so terribly sorry. I'm thinking of and praying for you and yours, all of you.

No help, but if you find one could you get two? I need one for my almost 11yodd. I'll keep my eyes peeled and snap up two if I find any -- we could always use an excuse to meet in the middle, IYKWIM. ;) I have seen the bikinis at Target that come with the swim shirt (or rash guard, for surfers). I'd be fine with this, but I'm not sure how it would fit this child. May I just veer from your question and say how much I detest this part of having girls? Bikinis for kids this age creep me out and are thus off the table. I find myself mentally unprepared for these issues, given the influence which comes from elsewhere (OW has named some of her body parts, thinks anything that's not a thong = "granny panties," etc. ad nauseum -- and why is it important that my 6-10yo girls know that she thinks/is these things?). I mean really. Isn't this age/stage enough all by itself without the influence of a pathetic juvenile in the body of a grown up??? Sorry. Rant over. Seriously though, about the suits -- have you seen the ones at Target? Do you know anyone who has one? I'd like to know how they actually fit and perform as swimwear.

May I confess to just a smidge of envy? ;) I'm having baby lust (how nutty is that?).:001_huh:

And how are you all doing now that the situation has passed? Is your adrenaline subsiding a little? I remember sprinting shoeless and in the dark to the neighbor's house when she came over asking for help because her 19 mo old, a child I frequently babysat, was choking on a peanut m & m. He was dusky when I got there but was breathing okay (after I hung him upside down and thwacked him) by the time my mother's 911 call was transferred from our house to the family's house. I was 17 at the time and have always wondered how parents don't have this kind of training. Now that I'm older, I wonder why everyone doesn't have it. It's been about eight years since I last certified. I think it's time for me to go sign up and take my two older children along -- my littlest is well-controlled on seizure meds but about a year ago we witnessed a teenager having his first seizure in a store. It's stuck with them all. Thanks for the timely reminder. Hugs to you, prayers for your family and for the person you helped.

Rolling, laughing, rolling..... :lol:

I'm so happy to hear such great news, Jenne!

As the daughter of an accountant :D I'll just point out that this is de rigeur. It's frustrating, yes, but not just for you. The volume of clients most CPAs see this time of year is astounding. The fact that an extension was filed on your behalf protects you from say, the traffic jam your husband may have encountered on his way over. You can sign and mail the return as soon as you have it in your possession. My dad (who has just gotten home at 10pm. local time), points out that often extensions are filed as a courtesy. I can tell you that there have been a few clients who earned the right to be charged because they were so rotten to work with -- nasty to the office staff (including me, at the time), uncommunicative in pertinent matters, swearing, yelling, etc. On a personal level, yup, it does more harm than good to get worked up. Not every last iota of your response is under your control, but when you maintain composure under duress, you remain in control of both your personal self and the situation. You're more able to quickly and appropriately respond to whatever's coming next, which always benefits you both short and long term. Some of this is about thinking on your feet, some of it is about knowing, deep down to the center of your being that you're okay, whatever the outcome of your current situation. This means that you're not threatened by uncertainty, fear, or change -- foreseen or not. It's a bit of a job :tongue_smilie: but it's one of those things that, whatever else you're doing, you're getting older anyway, so why not use some energy in that direction? And when you hit Nirvana, let me know -- I'm back here in my hip waders. But I'm still moving. :D

LNC -- Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm going to need to make sure that, whenever we have our own place, we're on one floor and situated differently. Q's still nursing and sleeps in a crib in my room. I'm going to have to convert it because getting him in and out is tough, as I'm sure you can imagine. We're on the verge of coordinating new things for new stages and it's both exciting and overwhelming. Thank you again for your post -- y'all are indeed providing a new way of thinking about this. It means a lot.