I store the 'off season' clothes in boxes in the kid's closets. My kids actually enjoy going through the clothes and trying them on...it's like getting new clothes and they love to get new clothes. I keep two boxes oer child, and we do one box one day and the other on a different day. That way they're not overwhelmed.

We have a family games night and eat junk food....no trick or treating, or even answering the door.

No dancing here, but we did have a couple sing "Always" by Atlantic Starr. I suppose that was our wedding song. That was in 1987.

My dd says everything is 'random'...it drives me nuts! We have a three parter too...if someone says "too bad", someone else will chime in "so sad" and that's inevitably followed up with "your dad". Not sure why...it just is.

We went in early Feb and it was awesome. There were no lineups (never waited more than about 10 minutes) and it was still warm enough for us to swim at our hotel and even hit a water park. That may not be the case if you're from somewhere warm though...the staff were wearing heavy coats. It was mid 70's the whole time we were there. I would go again at this time in a heartbeat. I couldn't imagine having to spend most of the trip standing in line!

Ditto here!

Love this!

It's a hard age when you don't want them reading certain types of books...it seems like that's what most of the books are geared towards for this age. My dd12 has been reading a lot of the older classics and historical fiction novels. Also, she's really gotten into good old fashioned mysteries.

You can add chocolate syrup to milk and warm it up in the microwave. Then make a cup of strong instant coffee and add the hot milk. Works for me!

Mine is my hobbit name. I thought it was pretty, so I use it everywhere now.

Our kids are old enough now that we can go out and leave them on their own. We go out once a week, just for coffee, but it's a great (and important) time on our own, just to hang out and talk. When the kids were younger, we'd either swap babysitting or hire a sitter, but just for an hour or so. It kept costs down. We still just went out for coffee then too. We can't afford to do dinner all the time.

We do...not just for school, we review chores and rules as well. It's our annual 'house rules' meeting. It's always light hearted and we ask for input from the kids, which they appreciate. It helps bring them on board with any changes.

You go Mom!! Just stick with it and don't forget to balance the strictness with lots of love.

I was having this exact issue with my dd and my dh pointed out that I shouldn't be arguing with her. I should just tell her what was expected and that was it. If it wasn't done without arguments, there would be consequences, period. We sat her down and explained what was expected, from this moment forward. We even made a written statement of consequences (so there'd be no misinterpretations) and hung it right on the fridge. Nothing long, just short and simple. It was so freeing for me! I was free to stop arguing. I just cut her off, reminded her of the consequences, and if she continued, I handed them out. Period. That was it. If she still continued, I sent her to her room until she was ready to comply. If her work wasn't getting done, she'd have to do it at night with Dad. She really hated that because the rest of us were free while she had to continue working. She'd have to sit there until it was done. We would be very pleasant during the evening 'sessions', we were available if she needed help and we wouldn't argue. If she started we'd just walk away. It took about a week and a half, but she realized that I just wasn't going to argue with her anymore and she stopped. That was the year before last, and she just does her work now, now problem. Our consequences were extra math drill, housework, no screen time and early bed. But that would really depend on what hits home for your child.