Oh my. I'm sorry for you. I do not like stomach viruses.

I once worked with a guy who spelled his name "Darien." It was pronounced like "Darren." I was clearly confused as to why his mom didn't know how to spell her own kid's name. Another co-worker said to me, "You know, if your mom spells your name D-O-G and says it's pronounced 'CAT', then your name is 'CAT.'" Ha ha ha! So true.

They are funny. But, honestly, I am so sick of hearing the judgmental comments from people about this product. I totally want to buy one just to take a picture of my kid on it and post it to my Facebook wall! Ha ha!

Very strange! The only thing I could think of is that she didn't want to say anything in front of the man. Even if that's the case, do you want to get involved in that scenario?

We wanted a Farmhouse look in our regular old suburban kitchen. We went with open shelves in the kitchen instead of cabinets. My dh was skeptical at first, but I showed him a lot of different pictures. (Check Pinterest.) I really like it. We have beadboard on the wall behind the shelves.

I've nursed through 3 pregnancies. It's certainly possible to nurse throughout a pregnancy. It's not the most fun thing I've ever done though. :-) The first one was the worst. The nursling was also the oldest, so I don't know if there's a correlation. As others mentioned, many factors come into play with nursing during pregnancy. It is quite likely your milk will decline. So, you will need to discuss with your ped. what to feed your baby if that happens before he's a year. Milk production tends to slow at the start of the second trimester. Also, it is important to get the baby to maintain a good latch. It can be super uncomfortable to nurse while pregnant, sometimes correcting a lazy latch can help. Good luck!

I am so sick of seeing the hype that all moms are wonderful just because they are your mom. I'm sorry, but it's just not true! Some moms suck. They are selfish... They are not nice... They abandon their kids... They are idiots... They just plain suck... Where did this idea come from that you are an amazing mother just because you give birth??? Fathers certainly don't get the same label. It's great if you had a nice mom. I don't begrudge you that fortune. I am also trying to be a great mom myself. But, I hate this general sentiment that all moms are self- sacricing, wonderful people. Rant over.

I'm sorry, but that totally made me laugh. I'm sure you didn't find it nearly as funny, though. :-( My problem is that when my kid does something like that, I picture him in 20 years yelling it at his boss. Then I feel like a total failure. If you're not the catastophizing type, you're probably better off. ;-)

I'm not a huge snacker, but my kids ask for snacks about 15 times a day... I can't tell if you want something sweet or not from your post, but I did get that you want something crunchy. What about raw veggies with a dip like hummus? Or pretzels - with or without dip? Or for something sweet, have you tried Belvita biscuits? They are meant for breakfast, but to me they are a cookie. They come 4 to a pack, but I just eat 1 as a snack.

Ooooh, finally a topic I feel like I am an expert at... ;-) After 10 trips pre-kids and 10 trips since having kids... (Those are my credentials. :-) I recommend you buy the subscription at touringplans.com to check the crowd calendar and to get their touring plans for each park. They will recommend which park to go to each day based on a predicted crowd level. You should do one park each day. If it's your first time, you'll want to get a taste of everything. The only day that would end very early would be the Animal Kingdom day. They close around 5ish in the low season. You could always go to Downtown Disney in the evening if you needed something to do. I would skip the park hopper. But I would carefully plan out which park to go to each day according to the schedule for parades, fireworks, etc., so as to maximize the time each day. You will be able to see each park in a day with only 1 kiddo in tow during the low season. Have fun!

I have one and love it, but I do love carbonated drinks. I guess it depends if you think you'll drink a lot of carbonated drinks. I often mix juice with carbonated water. I do make my own cream soda syrup as well. I haven't delved too much into other homemade syrups, but there are recipes out there.

We spend 5 minutes straightening up before bed each night. On Saturday, they are expected to actually clean the room. It takes 15-30 minutes depending on how messy they let it get. I will usually help them once every few weeks, because it does tend to get out of control. This process has allowed me to stop complaining about the room during the week, because I know it will get clean on Saturday - even though it's often a mess again by Sunday. :-)

I hate to tell you this, but I'm laughing right now. I hope your life isn't that ridiculous all the time. But, it does kind of remind me of my life. So, it's nice to laugh at someone else's crazy for a change. :-)

I think she meant "traditional support system" as in the help that would have been provided traditionally by people's families, neighbors, churches, etc. Once they moved away from this "support system" they needed other help.

Oh my goodness. I do not have words... I hope your son is okay.

I think the fact that someone is getting the boy professional help is the best thing possible. IMO depression can be a genetic issue that is triggered by environmental factors. He needs to learn coping mechanisms that can take him through his life regardless of what is going on.

If you actually close a credit account, it can affect your credit score because you have less available credit versus the credit you are using. For example, if you have a $1000 outstanding balance on a credit card with a $5000 limit and you have another card with a $5000 limit and no balance, you are only using $1000 out of a total available of $10,000. If you close the card with no balance, you are now using $1000 out of $5000 balance. That looks a lot worse in terms of credit rating.

I'm not sure how old your kids are, but I'm getting that there are a few of them. So, that Air Hockey table sounds like an awesome idea. I'd add a few small presents for each kid. If you are looking for ideas for each kid, try Pinterest. I know people can get bogged down with that site. But, it can be helpful if you're specific. Try searching for gifts for a 12 yo girl who likes horses or something like that.

Girl Legos, a Diary, more bands if she already has a rainbow loom, some other kind of craft kit, art supplies, a puzzle, a book, paper dolls, Lalaloopsies, littlest pet shops, my little ponies, doll clothes or accessories, nail polish... I find my 9 yo dd to be the easiest one to shop for. :-)

Grits are best served with butter and salt imnsho. Adding some cheese really amps it up, though. ;-)

I definitely thought about posting this on the unpopular opinion thread. :-) I am completely perplexed by people who do this. It just seems mean. You know your kid is extremely unhappy or scared, but somehow that's funny???

Um, no. I think I might just have a nervous breakdown. But, it sounds like an awesome Christmas gift for you and your family!

How about a game everyone can play together?

Nintendo makes the Wii. Sony makes Playstation. And Microsoft makes Xbox. They are the 3 big names in video game systems. Wii is marketed to kids and families. Playstation is heavy on sports and shooting type of games. It's not very kid-friendly IMO. Xbox is kind of in-between. All of the systems have older and newer versions. You could consider getting a used system from GameStop if you're not sure how it might go over. The initial investment of the gaming system isn't that big of a deal to me. It's the fact that you have to buy games to play on it. But, again, you can buy older, used games to save some money.

I'm sorry if this is totally ignorant, but do you have watermelon or something similar? We served my ds a watermelon "cake" for his birthday. You can google it. It's pretty common. It's just about cutting the top, bottom, and sides off of a melon. You can then decorate it with other fruits or put candles in it if you like.