I cannot even fathom only needing to actively "parent" for 3 hours a day. It is a full time job for me (4 kids) and I'm a single parent, so I also work for pay (mostly at night when kids are in be, as I work from home). The only true free time I get is if I stay up too late after kids are in bed or on the 3 days per month that their dad has them, but even then I'm usually cleaning or running errands. To the op: my former (married) situation was much like yours, but I am divorced now. I feel for you and have no advice (because, divorced). I hope you and your dh are able to find the right balance for all involved. ETA: I mean zero offense to those able to do it in 3 hours each day. I truly envy you.

When we were a family of 6, I drove a 7 passenger Suburban. It was fine. It got the job done. After the divorce, we became a family of 5. I got rid of the gigantic, gas guzzling Suburban and bought a 7 passenger Infiniti QX60. If it had slightly more trunk space, it would be perfect. Packing for long trips is a challenge. I really like my car, but we rarely have 7 people in it....7 are a tight squeeze. The Suburban was definitely a roomier 7 seater vehicle.

Sorry to hijack :).

Let me know if you'd like to sell 4 & 5. We are finishing up 3 now and will start 4 after the holidays.

OhE, do you have level 4, by chance?

No, but I struggle with anxiety so it is a conscious effort to not allow fear to take over. The thoughts of staying home are there, I just choose not to give into them.

I'm going to estimate around $8000+/yr for 4 kids. My parents help some, and I don't always stick 100% to my budget, hence the estimate.

I've been following along and just wanted to say that none of The Code books did a darn thing for my dd who sounds like the exact replica of your dd (I too believe mine has either APD or dyslexia with ADHD). For us, it simply took a lot of time, practice, and patience to master letter sounds and names. She just might have an easier time recalling letter sounds than names. It has to do with word retrieval.

I would almost always answer toss in all of these types of threads. This time I would definitely eat them. No qualms (and I'm usually full of qualms).

Thank you. Mine are both recalled. 2 new fire extinguishers on their way to my house!

I can't say what I'd like to say without stooping to your level (and getting kicked off of these boards). But I will say that this is not the first time I've thought it.

I have 4. If I weren't divorced I would absolutely have more. I have no idea what I would consider my personal age cut off, but since I'm almost 40 and not even dating I doubt I will have to worry about it.

I don't know that I ever thought about deal breakers prior to the downfall of my marriage. Once the clock was ticking and we were in counseling and he had been diagnosed I made it very clear that the deal breakers for continuing to work on the marriage were that he stay in therapy and on meds. He faltered, very deliberately, on both. I have been divorced for 2 years now. Many of the things others have listed led to the demise of our marriage, but they were not deal breakers in and of themselves (perhaps they should have been?).

How about this: I stopped having parties for my kids because nobody ever honored my no gifts request. I have 4 children. We don't need more junk (and I'm sorry, but most of the gifts tend to be junk). Even if they weren't mostly just "stuff", we don't have space for 10 gifts per kid per year. Plus, my kids have plenty. So guess what? Now no parties at all. It's sad, really. I sincerely wish that people would just respect the no gift request. My kids liked having parties.

My 7 yo is likely dyslexic. She is incredibly inconsistent and always has been. One minute she knows something and the next it is gone. I guarantee that she is not faking. I am quite certain that she would give her right arm to not struggle. And I would give both of mine to take the struggles for her. This woman's posts made me angrier than I recall being in quite some time.

In Missouri: My license plate tags were ~$30 for a 1 year renewal. I pay property taxes every year though. I expect to pay over $300 (maybe even close to $400) this year for my 1 vehicle.

That it is mine and I can live here with my children in relative peace.

I'm doing it right now. I have decent child support, no debt, and a work at home job that allows me to put in my hours however suits me. Kids are 7th, 4th, 1st, and 3 yo. I realize this is probably an exception to the rule, but it is doable. We've been at it for over 2 years now. Good luck to all who might see this path in their future!

I was able to continue homeschooling while working from home. I'll admit to just being lucky in that my mom had already been working from home for many years and the company happily found a position for me. It has still been a huge adjustment.

This rings so true to me. I was raised christian. My family is still very faithful. I began having significant doubts nearly 10 years ago (i might have always had doubts, but denied them). I did a lot of studying, researching, praying, searching. I BEGGED for God to help me find him...nothing. It was soul crushing and painful, like you say. I can't remember a more agonizing period of my life than that. I'm still not really "okay". I am beginning to accept my beliefs, but it has definitely not been easy. Yet there is not even a tiny spec of God. And it's not for lack of looking, I can promise you that. I tend to be very skeptical of these miracle stories. Perhaps out of jealousy? I'm still unsure, but I too would love to hear any that people are willing to share.

Big congrats! She's darling. Just FYI, your real name shows up on the first link.

I am a skeptic as well, so really never have known what to make of this: I used to work on the surgical floor of a hospital (prior to having any children). We would sometimes get patients who were just being monitored as they were passing away, who weren't expected to ever make it back home, or even who ended up passing away unexpectedly (though these particular instances always involve the elderly). On several occasions (probably less than a handful) I had some of these patients comment to me about the little girls with me (there were, of course, no children with me). The comments varied, but they were always little girls, never little boys. I brushed it off back them as delirium or other such things. I now have 4 little girls. It could be, and probably is, just coincidence, but there were certainly other instances that were equally as strange. I was never creeped out, just always felt in awe of how little we truly know about the human brain, psyche, etc.

1. My own conscience acts as my ultimate authority. 2. The benefit is self worth, self fulfillment, being a positive influence to others, contributing positively to society, etc, etc ,etc. Really no different than a theist, other than I'm not abiding in order to guarantee my eternal soul. 3. Again, my own conscience. 4. Because I wish to be a good person; really everything I already stated in #2.

vic·tim ˈviktəm/ noun a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action. synonyms: sufferer, injured party, casualty; More a person who is tricked or duped. "the victim of a hoax" synonyms: loser, prey, stooge, dupe, sucker, quarry, fool, fall guy, chump; More a living creature killed as a religious sacrifice. synonyms: sacrifice, offering, burnt offering, scapegoat "he offered himself as a victim" I'll just leave that right here for educational purposes. She's being being blamed for not knowing better. She's the victim of an accident. I.E. victim blaming. Defend your and the other poster's insensitive comments all you want. Split vocab hairs all you want. These types of comments are just not necessary when a child has died.

Just because they know (and have been educated in the dangers) doesn't mean they will heed the warning. Teens are notorious for "it won't happen to me" syndrome. Victim blaming at its finest right here.