We've made gingergread houses with melted white chocolate instead of frosting. Doesn't take long to set up and is very sturdy once it does.

I've not a fan of carpet and we've been slowly replacing flooring in our house over the past couple years....we're down to 2 rooms of carpeting. I vastly prefer a solid flooring. We've installed hardwood/bamboo and tile floors ourselves. I love them all. I did not love laminate (we had that in our old house before we replaced it with tile and hardwood.) Perhaps ours was poor quality or installed incorrectly, but it sometimes "clicked" when you walked on it, and any moisture made the seams buckle. Very unattractive. I do know that laminate has come a long way and is better than it used to be. Currently, we have tile floors (my favorite for keeping things clean, but kind of cold and hard) and bamboo in our house right now. When we had a flood and needed to replace carpet, the cost of having 3 rooms of carpet installed was more expensive than installing bamboo floors ourselves. We choose bamboo for the bedrooms and have been very happy with it. They are lighter in color, so dust doesn't show (which was a big issue with our old brazilian cherry floors.) No scratches at this point except where I had an accident with dropping a hammer while standing on a ladder. I do have 3 extremely active boys but no pets.

:iagree:

Since having my first kiddo, I have worked full-time, part-time, and stayed home and various points in time. Currently, I work 2 nights a week on the weekend (I'm an RN) and am home during the week with the kids. We are homeschooling the oldest and plan to continue with the other 2 as they get older. I love being at home. I love spending time with my kids. I feel fortunate that I've never had them in daycare. I like to be at home, but I have plenty of friends if I need to "get out" and do something. I also love having a part-time job. Two main reasons I like to work. One, I enjoy the added income. I feel more secure with the additional money each month, plus it allows us to do some things we might not otherwise do, like travel. Two, I feel more secure knowing that if DH lost his job, I would be able to support our family. I've kept my skill set up to date and could easily transition to full time work if needed. Staying at home is no sacrifice for me. I sacrifice more by going to work - I do miss being away from home (mostly miss time with DH on the weekends as I don't see him much during the week) plus that is my "me-time" and it is hardly relaxing or rejuvenating to be at work.

Come over to the other side of PA! We live in PA north of Baltimore. I work in a hospital (large, trauma center) and there are others nearby. Easy drive to Philly, Baltimore, or DC and many historic sites. Decent weather. Lots of our friends live on 10+ acres. We have 3 large lakes and a great river nearby (we love to canoe) and several beautiful state parks close by. FWIW, I love Pittsburgh and envy you a little right now. I'd love to live there again someday!

Oh, I always get violet gum in my stocking! My absolute favorite! We do many of the same things as above. So far the only departure from the norm this year is mittens/gloves for the older 2. Growing up, we had to buy a stocking stuffer for everyone and it had to cost $1 or less. Later, as we got older, we upped the price to $5 or less. We still buy stocking stuffers for everyone on my side - we often enjoy opening those more than the main gifts.

DH and I were 22 and 20, respectively, when we were married. That was nearly 12 years ago. We were in college at that point, we both were working and we finished (and paid for ) our degrees. Neither of us feel that marrying young has deprived us of any life experience (except maybe dating more, but I can't say I enjoyed dating much.) Yes, it can work, and it has worked very well for us. I do know that having families that were supportive of our decision was helpful to us. I think our personalities/habits worked in our favor as well.

DS#1 started going when he was under 2 as his eyes started crossing (accomodative esotropia due to being far-sighted.) He is still in glasses and per the ophthalmologist, he will always need them. We've had DS#2 and 3 checked at a year old and every other year. So far they are fine.

Well, looks like I need to tweak my Christmas list a bit. The bid is pretty reasonable....not like "wow, DH would be convinced that was a good idea" reasonable or anything, but in my mind it is....

I've only ever used them in cookies. Yum!

We have 13 for dinner this year. Our menu, which never varies from year to year.... Turkey Apple sausage stuffing Mashed potatoes Sweet potato casserole Butternut squash Green bean casserole Cranberry sauce (homemade, whole berry) Creamed pearl onions Roasted brussel sprouts Lion house rolls (if you're from UT you know what I mean) Pumpkin, apple, and apple-cranberry pies The best part of Thanksgiving, for me, is eating a sandwich in the evening, which is why we eat early. My favorite, favorite sandwich of the year.....white bread, with iceberg lettuce, mayo, turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. I wait for it all year!

We have several big sets and many smaller ones....way too may in general....but my kids play with EVERYTHING. And they mix and match. (The Vikings and the Egyptians got along really well for a while.) I don't think you can go wrong with playmobil.

DS#1 did preschool for one year than public school for K and 1st. He started HS this year for 2nd. DS#2 and 3 will attend or are attending the same preschool but will be homeschooled after that for K+.

We keep our butter out in a covered butter dish.....and sometimes the cover is left off. Freaks my DH out as he came from a strictly refrigerated butter family, but he's getting used to it.

We're dipping our toes into the world of horses. DS#1 just started taking lessons and we're looking at a few "free lease" ponies in our area this weekend. We have a great barn near us (where my parents board) that has an available stall, we'd like to find a pony to use to see how the kids like it. (DS#1 has been using my mom's horse for lessons, and though he is doing great, we'd like a pony so that my middle DS could take lessons as well.) The only thing that worries me is the expense. Short-term, we can handle that, no problem. But if this is something they really love and want to do long-term? Woo, scary!

I don't do black Friday. I don't like fighting crowds, I don't like that Thanksgiving has become a prelude to shopping. I don't leave my house that day except to go to work in the evening.

Of course you would be welcome. I hope to be there, come sit by me!

I send cards to everybody. Most of our extended families live far away, so we make sure that at least every year they get a photo Christmas card. I also send cards to people close by, friends and such. I send cards to people who don't send one in return. I don't care, I enjoy it, and to me it is worth the time and expense.

I work on the weekends, so DH is home with the kids Friday evening and all day Saturday by himself. He usually does some chores around the house or yard and then tries to find something fun to do with the kids (park, movie, library, minigolf, etc.) He's getting a lot better at managing....there used to be a time when, if the kids were clothed, fed, and clean, he had had a good weekend. He's a lot more productive now. :tongue_smilie: I am home on Sundays, we all go to church and usually spend the rest of the day with extended family.

I've been with ING for 6 or 7 years so far and I love them. Their customer service is fantastic. I love their online bill pay and we've never had any problems with it. The only downside is that you have to mail checks to deposit them. Instead, we keep a local CU account (free through work) that we use to deposit checks. It's linked to the ING account so we can transfer funds easily.

Woohoo! Another reason to love Prime! More ammo to convince DH that the yearly fee is worth it. I've become completely addicted.

I'm happykiddos but I haven't posted in ages. Maybe I should udpate things....

I'm a total amateur, but I recently got a Nikon D3100 and I'm enjoying it! Simple to use but has more advanced features if I need them. My pictures are great.

I found it here. I'll eat cheesesteak flavored anything (well, almost. Within reason and all.)

My married name is fairly common....at least several other people pop up with the same name when I googled it. (I had never googled myself before. Weird.) My maiden name (first, middle, last) is almost entirely unique, as far as I could tell. (I'm the only person that came up on my google search. Never googled my maiden name, either.) My maiden name is really different - think Ellis Island spelling screw-up of an eastern European name and you'll get an idea. My sister-in-law has the same first/last name now that she married my brother. Of course, I don't use that name now, and she takes good care of it, so we're good.