I think it's totally crazy, and I would definitely try to get my friend to talk through it with me as much as she was willing to. Like Puddles, I have a friend who did something similarly crazy in her mid twenties. She met a guy on line from Bulgaria. They really clicked, after a very short time of communicating on line (I don't remember exactly. A few months I want to say) flew to Bulgaria WITH her sister's wedding dress just in case. They totally hit it off and got married there. I felt like maybe there was enough time before the wedding for her mother to fly over for it, but not more than a month or so. He's an awesome guy, he converted to her religion, and they've been married now for eight or nine years. However, my friend had lived in that country, understood the culture, and was fluent in the language. And even so, while their relationship is strong, it has been rough trying to establish a life in the States together. His English was very limited at first, finding a good job for him has been very challenging. There are MIL issues. So even while they were both sincere and compatible, it hasn't been easy. I'm sure your friend hasn't had time to think ahead that much, so hopefully you can throw some ideas out for her to consider even though you probably can't change her mind.

Down East has great camis that are long, but also cover me enough on top. You're right that it's really hard to find that balance.

Congratulations! Love her name (I'm a Sara Jane😊).

I prefer to use my land line at home. It's more comfortable, and in a weird way I feel more secure on it. Not secure as in safety, but maybe there's less extraneous noise and I can hear more clearly. However, most people that aren't telemarketers call my cell. DH isn't consistent in which phone he calls.

Probably, but their gross. I've had that happen. 😢 So sorry!

Oh man, Kleenex. My overly emotional 11 year old does not understand how to efficiently use a Kleenex nor how to dispose of it properly.

. They can share everything but the theory book. If I were doing this, actually, I'd use the lesson and technique for everybody (you could maybe pick a specific colored pencil for each child to use to mark who is on what). I'd get each child their own theory workbook, and then pick out several of the supplementary books (fun time, classical melodies, I can't remember the names of all of them) so that each child could have one book that was just for them.

Start off with the Lesson, Technique and Theory. Add performance if you want or need more review. The regular primer (purple) is good for ages about 5-10. With a older student I'd use the Later Beginner set. You can add in any supplementary books you want, but stick with those three or four core books for your main focus.

DH drives a Honda Fit. We love it! It's zippy and fun compared to my van, though it does not, in fact, "fit" our whole family. 😉

Great view here! The kids lasted until midnight before they went in. By then it was mostly shadowed and some color was appearing.

DD takes Singulair with her Zyrtech, too. Works well for her.

I generally use Claritin, but none of them do all that much for me besides take the edge off a little.

This has happened to me several times. It usually means the vents in the back of the freezer are blocked. Check out how full your freezer is and make sure the vents have space around them. I've had Sears out a couple of times to defrost and clear that out.

I teach piano lessons. I encourage all my students to participate in the annual evaluation program our state music teacher's association runs. I would love it if all of them would, but sometimes I have students that just don't like that kind of pressure or have other reasons for not participating. I've given my children the choice. Right now they're scrambling because the exam is coming up. But they committed in the fall when I signed them up and paid for it. So they're going to do it. Piano is their second instrument, though, and often takes a back burner to their strings. We haven't come across any kind of exam program for strings. I would probably encourage but not force if we did have the option.

I think you're on the right track with encopresis. The sooner she can figure it out, the better. We had a long, tough, road with that with my oldest DD. My other two potty trained children never had those kind of issues. (And they were both on the late side...I'd say by 4 they were solid.) Occasional accidents because a child is engrossed in an activity or distracted I'd say are normal. But what you describe sounds worth checking into.

I'm getting over a cold and did sleep a fair bit. I remember really liking Elder Bednar's talk today. I'm looking forward to digging into it more. Elder Ballards talk about growing up with all his family around spoke to me today, but I don't remember anything else he said after that opening story. I'm glad everything is so immediately available these days that I can start focusing on them one at a time...

I've heard and enjoyed Todd Wilson's "Lies". don't know anything about the other guy, though.

Yes, this was one that stood out for me so far, too.

Awe, in that case, I think you should use Ruth. But I'm pretty sentimental when it comes to naming kids. I love knowing that I was named after my mother's grandmother who died right after my parents got married. I was due on her birthday. I also love that my children's names give them some sort of connection to past/present generations of family. My youngest DD's first name is in honor of my youngest sister. My sister and I share a special connection, and their birthdays are a day apart. But we had a hard time picking the middle name. My aunt who is very dear to me really wanted us to use her name (she has never had any children of her own) but we just couldn't bring ourselves to use Sharlene anywhere. Sorry to any Shar's out there! We ended up going with DH's grandmother's name, Maude. I think that's up there on the old lady list, for sure. But it felt right to in some way pass on the memory of this woman who died way before DH was ever born and, from all I have learned, was a quiet, unassuming, and somewhat marginalized woman in her lifetime. Good luck!

Welcome back to the valley! We're in Tempe, so I'm probably not much help. My kids love being part of the Chandler Children's Choir, but that's way too far for you to drive. I am a piano teacher (not currently accepting students), but I may be able to connect you with some options in your part of town. There's another program like Eagleridge isn't there? I want to say it's in Ahwatukee. Am I making that up? Wouldn't be quite as bad a drive. I third or fourth the SportsKidz recommendation.

I know several little Mabel's, including my niece, Mabel Ellen (she is named after a great, great, great grandma, though, to be fair). I vaguely remember being a little surprised when all these Mabel's were being born because it did sound a little bit old lady. But, I guess we're post Mabel now where I live. It just sounds like a cute baby name to me now. I like Mabel Ruth. Oh, and my daughters are Sarah Elizabeth, Hannah Maria, and Rebecca Maude.

I did a little research on ketones yesterday because DD, who is Type 1 diabetic, had super high glucose and was spilling moderate ketones. It's my understanding that ketones in the urine for anyone, non diabetics included, could be a sign of infection. That would jive with your son's cold and ear infection. But I've got nothing about specific gravity or the rest I the situation. Hope you get it figured out!

Yeah, this. Someone please tell me how they keep all of their children from watching each other play Minecraft. It's a constant battle here.

My two youngest daughters are really close, as well, and I had a hard time with the opening, too. I cried tears several times imaging my girls never playing together again! I did end up liking the movie, though. Listening to those girls sing all the songs together is a delight.

Most string stores offer some percentage of store credit toward the eventual purchase of a rental instrument. It would be better quality than something you got off the Internet for under $100. I don't know the age of your daughter, but definitely make sure you know the correct size before you buy. Playing on instruments that are too big is the pet peeve of our violin teacher. 😉