Thanks everybody. Yes, I know about Chuck E. Cheese's…but as far as a no-hassle, no effort on my part birthday, it works. We're doing it on 4th of July early, which should (crossing fingers) be uncrowded. I thought about just doing the party is your goodie bag. That might be what happens. :) Still, some really good ideas. My Mom suggested giving out the $2 bills as a keepsake or a $5 gift card to Barnes & Noble…but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to the bank or B&N in time. I like the idea of a less throw-away thing, though.

So, we're having DD's 7th bday party tomorrow at Chuck E. Cheese's as well as moving this weekend. I'm super frazzled, which is why I chose Chuck E. Cheese's. What's one thing I can give out in lieu of a Goodie Bag? Or should I just buy the Chuck E. Cheese ones? Help. Her cake is a Frozen cake…but honestly, there is no theme. There will be boys and girls at the party. I was thinking of a package of those fun Crayola crayons at Target that have different themes, like Rock Star or Princess….but I really don't know. For one of my sons, we did bags of Big League Chew and sports themed pencils. I need something cheap and easy, people…but preferably not a throw-away.

SWFL near Naples/Ft. Myers. :) I've made the actual beans from scratch using a pressure cooker, but I recommend using canned. :) I make two versions…one with tomatoes, one without. (Just ignore the tomato bit if doing the without.) My method is saute an onion in olive oil (be generous) until soft and slightly golden, and then add in one chopped tomato. I usually deseed it as too much juice makes things too liquify, but it's up to you. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top, and let the onion and tomato mixture cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add in 2-3 cloves of garlic minced finely. Cook for a minute or so, and then add in your canned fuul. Let it cook/heat for a few minutes, and then mash about 1/2 of the beans with a fork. Add in a generous blob of tahini (be sure to mix your tahini first)…. some cumin…. salt and pepper to taste….and usually I finish with another glug of olive oil. Sprinkle with chopped flat leaf parsley, if you have some. Serve with pita bread, hard boiled eggs, green onions, cucumber/tomato salad, etc. You can also add some lemon juice to the fuul while cooking or just use some in your salad. If you don't like tahini, then you can omit it. In that case, I'd probably add a little more olive oil and be more generous with the lemon.

Cake. I like hand pies….and pies involving chocolate or non-fruit ingredients, but that's about it.

Where I live in FL, adult tricycles are very popular. They're about $250 or so at Wal-Mart/Sam's Club. They have a nice basket in the back for groceries. :) I think you can put a bike trailer behind them, but I'm not sure.

My Mom used to attend a megachurch in Orlando. While it was humongous (they also had satellite locations), they really encouraged a lot of small groups/bible studies, etc. They had so much going on…..even car care for single Moms. She no longer goes there, but I just checked, and you can see their newsletter online. This is the weekly church bulletin http://www.northlandchurch.net/newspaper/ It's a giant step away from the mimeographed one page thing that the Presbyterian church I went to growing up had. ;) So while they can be impersonal if you want, you can also really develop some close friendships.

Sounds yummy. :) For a game, you could do the whole toilet paper dress thing….or make teams and see who can entomb their partner in ice (tp) the fastest.

Assalamu Alaikum and Ramadan Mubarak. Well, here in FL, Fajr is around 5:30 or so….and Maghrib is around 8:30 p.m. It's a long day. It was already 85 degrees when I took the kids to camp today at 8 in the a.m. It's been in the high 90s. Right now, i'm ready to move to Australia…and I'm secretly envying the Baha'is who always fast the same days in March. Brilliant! ;) Watermelon is super popular….both at suhoor and iftar. My kids love the Egyptian dish of fuul (lava beans), but it just seems too hot for that. Still, I'll make it this weekend for them. Our community has a community iftar every night which is really nice. Usually it's pot luck, but families will sponsor the food usually on the weekends. For some reason, I live in a sushi loving Muslim group (first time that's happened), so twice or three times there will be this giant sushi spread. I'm not a fan, but they also provide pizza. :) I woke up to cook suhoor for the family on Sunday and it was that time of the month. I'm glad I'm getting it over with in the beginning, but I'm worried about Eid. I know some Muslim mamas regulate things with bc pills, but I have a clotting disorder, so that's out. Was proud of my 10 and 8 year old, who fasted all day Sunday. DD fasted from 9:30 a.m. until maghrib, which surprised me. ALl of the my books are packed for moving, but I'm trying to read a bit online. Are you guys familiar with Rabata (rabata.org) or Anse Tamara Gray?

Badia sometimes has it in their spice rack (if your store carries them.) A lot of times you can substitute turmeric for the yellow color, but it's not the same flavor.

I'd mix it up a bit with the chocolate…so not just Hershey bars, but maybe Reese's, Cookies n Cream, etc. Could buy one box of the chocolate grahams too. There are no bad s'mores in the world. Check your local store for sales. I was somewhere this week that had s'more fixins on sale. :)

Wow, I never realized that they were all Catholic. I knew a few were, but I didn't know it was all. Imagine if it were five Muslim men on the Supreme Court who ruled such a thing. There'd be a constitutional amendment to limit terms or change the make-up pronto.

DP.

Muslim stepping in. Yes, we have our fair share of extremists, but saying that Islam forbids birth control is completely not true. One of the most fundamentalist Muslim countries, Iran, reduced its per-child birth rate from around 6 per woman during the Shah's time to around 2 after the Iranian revolution. It's a Muslim theocracy, baby….and yet they promote birth control. There is a strong desire among many other Muslim countries to reduce birth rates as well. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/contraception.shtml "There is no single attitude to contraception within Islam; however eight of the nine classic schools of Islamic law permit it." Also, historically abortions have been fine and dandy in Islam as it was believed the soul didn't enter the body until 120 days after conception. More on abortion in Islam http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/abortion_1.shtml I will say that sadly many Muslims these days like to take a page out of the Christian right's book and pretend that Islam is against these things, but it's a revisionist position. You also find a fear in Muslim countries that teaching about birth control is like condoning premarital sex. Sigh. :rolleyes:

Depends on the age. They tried an expander with me but it was too late….so I had four removed. All of my kids inherited my tiny jaws, so the orthodontist says all will need expanders. We go to one every 4-6 months and she monitors them so we can time the expander/braces together, rather than two different times. DS1 is likely getting his expander this fall. DS2 has awhile to wait….as does DD1. DS3….not even on her radar yet. :) Note: We've been told by three different pediatric dentists, in two different states…basically since they were little…that this was coming up. It's not a surprise in any way, shape, or form. :)

Need to address this. I believe you're referring to the right to commit suicide, also known as voluntary euthanasia. Involuntary euthanasia is illegal in every country in the world. Assisted suicide is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Estonia, Albania, and the US states of Washington, Oregon and Montana. It will be legal in Quebec in 2015. None of those are Scandinavian countries.

I remember way back when the series started, Mady was labeled as the trouble maker or difficult one. I wonder if it was true, a self-fulfilling prophecy, or just a "role" she was given by the producers. It really bothers me that they did that to a young real-life child. (Re: Kate…I found her controlling and difficult to watch. I do not think she would be raising the kids so much by herself if she did not want to. I think she "needs" to be in control so badly, that it's hard for Jon (or anybody else) to co-parent with her.)

When I was in my teens, I regularly babysat for a young couple until 3 or 4 a.m. during the summer. The father's family owned a famous nightclub in the area…and they were often out that late. They lived across the street. My parents never said anything about it. I would regularly walk home in the middle of the night or early morning. By today's standards, it sounds crazy….back then, not so much. (Early 80s).

This is so evil and wonderful. LOL :) http://lockerdome.com/tre/6170042811288129/6734269309664020 I would never do this to my daughter…. but I love the commercial.

If you were a Costcoian, the governor could promise a free hotdog and drink to all! Edited to add.. S/he could also proclaim Sample Sunday and businesses everywhere would have to give out free samples. Surely s/he would ban plastic bags too. Forget Disney World, I'm moving to the Kirkland Utopia! I'm a WorldFuelian…which I've never heard of, and I've lived on and off in Florida for 20+ years. I assumed Disney won the state. Silly me. :)

Interesting. I agree single payer is not the only way. I like the German model as well. However, I'm a fan of single payer because DH is a physician in an area where we get a lot of snowbirds from Canada and the UK. We know how well their systems work via talking to actual patients, and also helping Canadians get reimbursed by their local provincial health insurance plans. I also have see how well Medicare (not Medicaid) works as a government run, single payer solution. Expanding it (rather than Medicaid (which has horrible reimbursement, physician acceptance, etc.) makes a lot of sense. Plus, it's an 80/20 plan, which gives the option for private insurers to still function via supplementary insurance.

Heard this on NPR this afternoon. Was surprised actually and sad for the families. No parent should bury their child… but a violent, unexpected death is all the worse. I worry about the repercussions. Five Palestinians were killed before they found the bodies. 500 imprisoned. How many more parents will grieve a death of a child or loved one? "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." (Which I've read can be attributed to various sources.)

You need to add the ® symbol after. We also need to © the American flag and flag design so that we can sue for royalties from people all over the world who use it.

I'm sorry you and your DH are going through this right now. Happy Anniversary. :) I would call them regarding the money and all the time the project took. I think that if you don't, that will weigh on the friendship anyway….so better to be up front about it.

Was extremely sad, but not surprised, by the decision. Another reason why universal coverage makes the most sense. Take insurance out of the hands of employers completely.

My Mom cut my hair off when I was 5 or 6, because it kept getting tangled and she was tired of the struggles. This was the early 70s, and it was ear length. Everybody thought I was a boy, which mortified me. I did grow it a little longer (usually around jaw length), but soon realized that when it got below a certain length, that's when the troubles started. My hair is very thick and course, and it does tend to tangle. Still, I wouldn't want to put any girl through that, even if her hair was a problem. I'd work on a trim….and I'd also work on teaching her self-care of her hair. Maybe there's a stylist which could help? Or an older girl with similar length hair?