Not OP, but this is a great idea. Thanks!

My daughter was at a slumber party for 6th graders last weekend. At one point early in the evening she and another girl felt left out because the other 12 girls were all on phones or iPads. I said if we ever had a party I'd collect all devices at the door!

Thank you for sharing! What a wonderful story!

Thanks!

Me!!! We have the best relationship. I am so thankful for her.

ds8 has been gluten-free for 4 months. I drastically changed his diet at that time to test for sensitivities due to some very bad behavior issues. He went gluten-free and food dye free at the same time. I know for a fact that food dyes cause horrible behavior in him (he has accidentally ingested food dyes 4 times in the last 4 months and each time it caused 1 week of bad behavior). I'm not sure if the gluten is also an issue since I stopped at the same time as the food dye. I would like to try him on gluten again to find out, but am not quite sure how to go about it or if I should expect it to cause stomach aches or anything like that. If you have any experience with this please let me know!

The same breakfast I have every morning and love.... Steel cut oats with blueberries, peanut butter, and brown sugar.

Cheesecake Factory!

Good to know! Thanks!!

ds13: feed me less broccoli dd15: disciple me more so we can encourage one another. (She really took the question seriously and thought for a few minutes) I'm glad I asked!!

Yes! I am at a very normal weight for my height, but the pants they make today don't fit me at all and it's the most frustrating experience. After the big dress thread over the summer I started wearing dresses and skirts and I am loving it! So easy and comfortable and I have zero desire to go on a search for pants this fall/winter. So I bought some cute and comfy boots to wear with with them. I do have my last year's jeans I can wear, but don't think I'll be trying for new this year.

Yes! This year. I had some horrible anxiety the past spring/early summer. I decided to quit the charter school we've been a part of for 8 years. All the testing, work samples, pressures galore were weighing me down. Now I'm filing on my own and feel so free! Also I'm just overall more relaxed this year with our schooling. Basically slowing down and not feeling guilty. We just had our annual pumpkin-carving party and instead of schooling all day and being completely rushed and stressed trying to get ready, we took the day off to prepare. Such a better way to live. This is the year I focus on the things that caused my anxiety and bringing peace back to the home.

I never saw Top Gun. I think I was in jr. High when it was out.

I am by no means an expert and I hope others chime in, but I do have some experience with EFT. I heard about it here as well as I was searching threads about anxiety earlier this summer. I went through some horrible anxiety (hadn't ever dealt with it before) and am now so thankful that I found tapping. I watched one quick video online then read The Tapping Solution. The author does talk a lot about getting to the root of the problem for best results, but I don't think it's necessary. If you don't know the root you can't tap on it, but you can tap on your feelings and emotions. I've really only tapped on my anxiety and although I am now out of the worst of it, occasionally some anxious feelings will pop up. Tapping is now like my Xanax... It really does help! It also helps for me to go back and read through sections of the book. I find myself nodding my head over and over. I have also used tapping with ds8 who has been having anxiety issues of his own and it's been like a miracle for him! Hope that helps. Have to get back to school...

I second this! Your ds7 sounds just like my ds8. I have radically changed his diet over the past 7 weeks and the results have been amazing. I read Dr. Sears' "The N.D.D. Book" after hearing about it here. Has helped me so much!