Our 4th has been a major blessing, and not a major life change other than mentioned above about needing an extra hotel room, etc. What was surprising is how much having him helped with DS1, who is seven years older. They really got close last year when I was homeschooling DS1…and it helped with DS1's behavior. Everybody loves #4…..and he's really a sweet funny guy. Very blessed to have him. I think it's totally fine to wait, though. While spaced close together can be nice, it can also be helpful to have a larger gap, so that other kids don't see the little one as a threat.

Not sure how people got the assumption that we have 5 kids, we do not. I think one poster misread something. We have four kids, thus two per bedroom. I realize that 6 people is a large family in many parts of the US. Four kids is two more than "normal" for many. We know that. But most housing codes have no issues with two people who are related sharing a room, or a family of six sharing a 3 bedroom home. It was an 1800 square foot house. Not huge, but I believe close to the average of around 2000. But…we've moved on.

If you can afford it, it can be nice to plan at least one meal/treat out. This might help: http://www.urbanspoon.com/pr/98/1/Branson/Cheap-Eats.html If you bring an empty washed 2 L bottle and some drink mixes, you should be able to store it on its side and have beverages other than water. The Ultra Pasteurized milk that you can find near evaporated/canned milk will stay fine until opened. They are smaller containers, so will fit in a mini fridge easier. Another option is to buy the Organic single serving milks for lunch boxes at Sam's Club or Costco to have milk available. East Coast Subs is well reviewed…buy a large and split into four or five sandwiches. Bring your own chips/drinks. http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/98/1588614/restaurant/East-Coast-Sub-Shop-Branson Call the hotel and see if they can give you an extra fridge because you have an infant. (Say it's for formula or breast milk whether it is or not.) A friend has one of those Turbo Cookers and I've been amazed what she can cook in it…. chicken nuggets, waffles, you name it. I thought it was just a hoax, but she loves hers. My kids love the Jimmy Dean French Toast Turkey Sausage sandwiches. Sam's Club gives you 12 for $9.99. They nuke very easily… and are a nice change for breakfast. With a good cooler and hotel ice supply, it's almost like having another 'fridge. I'd bring two coolers, if you can….and count on those to supplement the hotel fridge if you can't get another one. if you have access to a microwave, don't forget to pack some microwave popcorn for a snack. We like to dress ours up with M&Ms. Good luck and have a great trip! :)

Here in FL, he would not be alone in his clothing preference for church. :)

Back in business school, I did a speech on Milton Hershey. Fascinating guy, really. He and his wife couldn't have children so they set up a residential school for orphans. The school inherited Milton's share of the company. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Hershey_School While Hershey would definitely make a good candidate, I would also support Ben & Jerry if they would promise a flavor for each state. Georgia could have peach cobbler ice cream, Michigan could have something with Mackinac Island Fudge and cherries…etc. Sadly, I think that McDonald's, Walmart, or Koch Industries would win, though. Maybe Google or Amazon on a long shot.

Thing is…we have the worst poverty rate of any developed country. Why? Because our safety net sucks…and we tend to demonize the poor. We have a feeling that if everybody really worked hard, there would be no poverty. We don't see the very real barriers and obstacles that exist to trying to climb out from poverty. Schools are still very much dependent on local property taxes (about half of their budget)…which means poorer school districts have crappier schools. Back when Clinton was President, we limited "welfare" to five years. Ronnie Reagan's myth of the welfare queen lives on….so it's OK to cut food stamps, WIC, housing allowance….you name it. Many like to pretend that we're a "Christian" nation…or a "moral" nation...but when one looks at how we treat our most vulnerable, it's really hard to believe that. http://www.epi.org/publication/ib339-us-poverty-higher-safety-net-weaker/ "Another useful way to look at the extent of child poverty in the United States relative to other countries is to examine the child poverty gap: the distance between the poverty line (defined here as half of median household income) and the median household income of children below the poverty line, expressed as a percentage of the poverty line. A smaller value means that the median household income of children below the poverty line is relatively close to the poverty line, while a larger number means their median income is further below the poverty line, i.e., that they are relatively more poor. Figure E shows that the child poverty gap in the United States is 37.5 percent, the highest among peer countries. Therefore, not only is the incidence of child poverty greater in the United States (Figure D), but U.S. children living in poverty also face higher relative deprivation than impoverished children in other developed countries."

Re: cremation and memorial services…where I live at least, the trend seems to be cremation right after death (so no need for embalming)…and then a memorial service in a month or so, to give the family time to process some grief and make it more positive (celebration of their life). As for clothes, I think your outfits sound fine. Things are more relaxed these days, but we tend to stick to darker colors or at least more "formal" wear.

As to not being rude to my face, I've found that people are rarely rude to your face (other than some stares), but that doesn't mean that they're not prejudiced. It is the rare person who will say something to my face….but it still happens. Usually it's just looks, though. Heck, my DH has no idea what my parents really think about Muslims…what they've let loose sometimes…and hopefully he never will. Re: painting….most of the leases we've had have said that tenants are not supposed to paint, put up wallpaper, etc. So we never do. We did do those vinyl stickers when DS1 was little…I think it was Thomas the Tank Engine…but haven't really tried to use them with the other kids. Hopefully, there's just one more temporary move and then we'll finally be in our own home. Keeping my fingers crossed, at least. :)

My husband wants to send some treats to relatives of a friend who live in Canada. I'd love to use a Canadian bakery, rather than an American one, to make things easier. Does anybody have any recommendations?

If you don't have insurance and need to get bloodwork, I've had good luck with http://www.accesalabs.com Basically you pay them, and then everything is done through LabCorp.

Think this is the least of their concerns…but… I would think that this would be viewed as a public health issue, and of course they can be vaccinated…and it's in everybody's best interest if they are. Look at the polio cases being seen in refugees from Syria. Refugee situations are infectious disease playgrounds.

DP. Sorry. :)

No we offered to meet with the realtor at any time, but she couldn't meet until 6 p.m. that night. We were the first application in…and there were no others at that time. When we dropped off everything, the realtor told my husband she would call when we could pick up the keys and come back to sign the lease. That's why I'm so surprised. We've faced not getting a rental because of other families being first in line…or even a…"well, we'd prefer a smaller family size"… but the whole "we can't tell you the reason" after everything seemed fine is the strange thing. I can file a complaint, if I want to based on what I've read of the local housing laws. The owner may/may not be fined up to $10k if this is the first offense. I don't want to do that, actually. I don't think that accomplishes anything esp. if he was biased against Muslims (other than making him hate us more). I'm just bummed.

I guess I'm willing to let it go…but it just annoys me. It sounds dorky, but we've moved a lot because of DH's career/schooling, and I was psyched that they had one room painted purple for DD and her younger sibling, and one room painted blue for the older boys. I feel bad that they've always had basically neutral beige/white rooms their entire lives because of all of our moving. We found a new place…which is fine…advantage of being closer to the beach....but we're back to neutrals.

Well, it was a 3 bedroom, so I don't think it's that unusual to have two kids share a bedroom? I don't know. It could be something else….but we did have people tell us in other locals that the fire code wouldn't permit so many people in a building or what not. The "I can't tell you the reason" just seems so bizarre.

Wow. I didn't know you could nuke it! Learn something new every day. :)

So, I've been stewing about this for about a day. Wednesday, DH and I went to drive by a house we were considering renting, as we couldn't meet the realtor until later…and only DH was going to go. When we got there, we noticed a truck outside, and it turned out it was the owner. He seemed like a very nice guy… we talked a lot…everything seemed great. We liked the house, it was small but would work for our needs. We filled out the application, credit report, etc.. including providing a letter from our bank, stellar references from former landlords, etc., as well as a heft deposit (first month, last month, and one month security.) This was maybe 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. Thursday at 2:30 p.m. the realtor called and said that she couldn't tell me the reason, but the tenant had decided not to rent to us. There was nothing wrong on our application or any issues…and she hung up. Did I mention I was wearing a hijab when we met him? I mean that's the only thing that comes to mind, especially as the agent said there were no issues with our application and she couldn't tell me the reason. DH is a physician. Usually people like to rent to doctors. I know it's illegal to discriminate based on faith…. but I'm not sure if I want to do anything or not. It's not like we would want to rent his house anyway, but it kind of pisses me off that he is getting away with this? Do I just let it go….do something…. write a letter to him…. what?

I can't imagine feeling that things are so bad that my best solution was to send my child to another country. Yet, we're not the only country facing this. Because of the Syrian war and Iraqi wars, we now have more refugees that at any time since WWII. It's actually both heartbreaking and humbling. I'm very grateful that I had the luck to be born in a country which has not had a war on its land during my lifetime…nor had a dictator (regardless of what some pundits say ;))… or any droughts, genocides, or severe economic crises. I'm just very grateful. I can't imagine how scared those children must be…. and how vulnerable to abuse as well. I pray for their safety and for a good outcome for them, and for all the children in the world.

Get a diagnosis, or at least try to. It may be a different autoimmune disease which has better treatments, too. Was this an internist/family practice guy or a rheumatologist? Either way, try on some of the patient forums for recommendations for doctors in your area. Usually, there will be at least one that everybody raves about. It's worth the wait, usually. Have a friend who has lived with lupus 25+ years…since college at least (when I met her). She's had her ups and downs, but mostly ups. it did not affect her decision to go to med school and become an OB. It's good to know, but don't assume that it's all doom and gloom. :)

Not really dead….just not a lot of people. :) Although as my 3 year old is terrified by people in costume, he would have been happy if Chuck E. met with an early demise. ;)

So the big hit of the party were the bangles from World Market. Everybody liked the Goody Bags (crayons, big box of skittles, and a punching balloon plus bangles for the girls. We had three people who didn't show. One had RSVPd that she was coming and bringing her three sons as well, so I ended up paying for four additional kids. That bugged me, but I realize things happen. Just let me know before the party starts, OK? Two never RSVPd. Not sure what is worse. Not RSVPing or RSVPing and not showing. Real pet peeve of mine. Still, DD had a great party. Chuck E. Cheese was dead, so she had it almost to herself and her friends. It was a good party, and she said it was the best party ever because her best friend showed up. :)

The copper in the IUD is toxic to sperm. It's not about implantation. My issue with the HL case is not even the sincerely held religious beliefs, it's: 1) Those beliefs are changeable…as evidenced by their long-held investments and previous coverage 2) Those sudden beliefs are based on bad science. From the ACOG and others in their amicus brief to the Supreme Court: "Abortifacient has a precise meaning in the medical and scientific community and it refers to the termination of a pregnancy. Contraceptives that prevent fertilization from occurring, or even prevent implantation, are simply not abortifacients regardless of an individual’s personal or religious beliefs or mores." http://www.popcouncil.org/uploads/pdfs/Sivin.pdf "The critical elements in the concept that IUDs are abortifacients operating only at the uterine level are that the fertilized egg, after a brief embryonic development in the human oviduct, passes into a hostile uterine (endometrial) cavity, where it is phagocytized, destroyed by toxic products, or withers because it is unable to implant in the markedly altered endometrium. This view implies an ability to find frequent traces of fertilization in IUD users, traces that would be found with similar and high frequency in very early pregnancy among women who are not using contraceptives. One such trace would be a marker of early pregnancy released by the developing embryo. This marker would be detected by a sensitive assay of the woman's blood or urine. No unequivocal, well characterized biochemical marker of pregnancy in the first week following fertilization is available."

Hate to break it to you, but Rid and Nix usually don't work on the current crop. They are resistant. Do you have a good comb? A metal one like Fairytales? If so, just recomb her. Put some hair conditioner in….and go to town. You can also google Cetaphil cure. It's actually been proven to work in journal articles. You coat the hair with cetaphil. Comb it out as much as you can. Then blow dry. Wash the next day. Repeat in one week. Wash sheets/clothes and put in the dryer. Put pillows, stuffed animals, in the dryer for at least 30 minutes.

RE: the changing the fasting times because of the length of the days. I found this, which I thought was well-written/referenced. http://unity1.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/fatwa-on-fasting-in-ramadan-during-the-uk-summer/ "5. To reduce the fasting length, note that some of the Sahaba (Prophet’s Companions), including Hudhayfa bin al-Yaman, and Successors ate until sunrise or just before. Tabari and Ibn Kathir mention numerous narrations proving this under Qur’an 2:187, although both of them reject the practice based on a literalist reading of the verse (they lived in moderate climes). Ibn Hazm also approves the practice in his Al-Muhalla. 6. The jurists have discussed this matter for high latitudes. As Sheikh Muhammad Abduh, Grand Mufti of Egypt, mentions in Tafsir al-Manar, classically they mentioned two possibilities to follow more moderate timings: a) follow timings of the lands of revelation, viz. Mecca and Medina (Hijaz) – throughout the year, the dawn-sunset fast here is 12-15 hours b) follow timings of the nearest “moderate land†Abduh adds, “Both of these are valid, since it is a matter of judgment (ijtihad), and there is no unequivocal text (nass) about it.†7. Note that following timings of the nearest “moderate land†is similar to following timings of the nearest “moderate time†in your own land, e.g. spring or autumn timings, when the days and nights are approximately of equal length. 8. Abduh is not alone in the above fatwa: he is quoting from centuries of earlier jurists. After him, his fatwa has been echoed by Muhammad Hamidullah, Mustafa Zarqa, Sayyid Tantawi, Jad al-Haqq, and Ali Gomaa amongst others. Texts and discussions of these fatwas may be found on the internet, e.g. see http://alrukn.com/long-fasts-fiqh/ 9. The above fatwa implies partially decoupling fasting from dawn/sunset."

So, went to Target and got the crayons (as previously mentioned) as well as one of the $1.00 big boxes of Skittles. Will tape together. Goodie Bag solved. I also got some nice bangles from World Market to hand out for the girls. They are not plastic, but the normal metal Indian/Pakistani ones. I got them in a light ice blue and silver, so they kind of go with the Frozen cake. $3.99 for 10 or 12 bangles.