Thank goodness the concensus is no Dr..... no time for that right now!!!!:lol::lol: Thanks!!!!!!

Epiglottis? Uvula? Whatever it is, it is swollen (and see it with flashlight and mirror), hurts, and sticks to my tongue every time I breathe. It hurts to swallow, but is feeling TONS better than it did when I woke up this morning. This morning it was AWFUL. Do I need to go to the Dr?

I should have added....my son reads all the time. He needs to be reminded not to take the book into the shower, that he can't read while walking on a nature hike, things like that. If we didn't have that situation, I would have DEFINATELY waited until he was older. Especially since really he'll just have it on dark car rides so they are not running down my phone battery to avoid being in the dark. :tongue_smilie:I know it's a hard choice. If she has not previously had any hand-held electronics, I bet she'd be thrilled with a leapster (helped my friend find one for her DD and the cheapest place we found was walmart, YMMV). :001_smile:

:iagree:Amen. I could have written this same exact post. Seriously. Right down to the broken can opener!!!!!!!!! :glare:

My 7 yr old has really outgrown his leapster in the past year. Yes, the games are educational, but it doesn't help if he doesn't want to play them. :glare: He is getting a DS for Christmas because we have some late nights driving home from activities where the backseat folks don't like being in the dark. My 4 year old LOOOOOOOVES her leapster. :)

Good grief, so many families are under attack right now! :grouphug: My prayers are with all of you.

Thanks, Amber!!!!!! Oh mygoodness -- adding caramels sounds AMAZING!!!! Then I might not part with any of it, though! ;) Thanks!

I'm making apple butter (first time) and canning it (first time for that, too). Is it ok to put the first batch in the fridge for the day and do the canning tonight? Does the apple butter need to be warm when I put it in the jars? I'm making several batches and wanted to do the canning all at once. Thank you so much!!!! :)

I do mine in very small increments in for a very short amount of time in microwave (30 secs at a time) stirring each time. They are very fickle as previous poster said. :glare:

Skip Latin and drive on down. You know you want to! ;)

GREAT IDEAS! I hadn't thought of the almond bark, but I use that all the time and it makes perfect sense! Thanks!!!!!:D

WOW! Jann in TX, THANKS! Great, helpful ideas! :D

OOOH! GREAT idea. Especially now that I have a million pounds of Cub Scout popcorn waiting to be used. :D

Soooooooooo, we are hosting our first -ever gingerbread house decorating party for a bunch of children (and moms). I'm going to pre-make the houses out of gingerbread graham crackers and royal icing, then when they get here they can decorate the houses without the stress of "building it." We will have ages newborn - highschool. I'd like the gathering to be a lovely time for the mothers, as well as for the children, and I'm trying not to spend a fortune doing this. Right now, we're looking at between 5-10 families. This is a 2-hour shindig, in the afternoon, so I'm planning on having bottled water and somewhat healthy snacks to offset the nibbles of candy and icing that will definately take place. We'd like to do some games or something, also. What great ideas do you have for me????:bigear: I have wanted to have a party for my kids every holiday for the past 3 years and this year I bit the bullet and sent the invites before I could look back! :lol: We're excited!

We are going through this exact same scenario. YES, the regular leapster games will work, however, I've found that my son has outgrown most of them. We're switching to a DS. Check craigslist, GameStop, and other avenues before paying full price. HTH!

I also read the original post and was going to reply "I'll need to save my QUARTERS" after the part where it said "you may want to save your pennies for next year" :D But I need a shower and a Diet Coke before I'm able to type. :tongue_smilie:

:iagree:We had a bowling party when DS turned 7 and it was verrrrrrry inexpensive! Like $3.25 per child, didn't serve lunch or dinner, made and took the cake. OOOOOOOH! Each child decorated a brown paper lunch bag when they arrived, then, after they bowled thier turn each time, they chose "something" from a big bowl I had on the table....bowl was filled with pencils (these went first...homeschool friends!!!! :D), stickers, tootsie rolls, individual starbursts, etc. They made thier own goody bag AND filled some of the time between turns bowling. It was the most brilliant thing I've ever done. :lol:

how horrible!

Thanks, Oakmom, that's a good tip! I do my fair share of dressing Polly Pockets, so an "independant" activity would be good. :)

SCHOOL IS OFFICIALLY CANCELLED TODAY!!!!!!! :grouphug:

Where can I find a cute baby doll with lots of additional clothes? I'm not ready to pay Bitty Baby prices yet. :tongue_smilie: Thanks!!!!!

I'm getting my son something similar, only you create racecars! :auto: http://www.amazon.com/ARTLAB-Design-Frank-M-Young/dp/193285598X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260491731&sr=8-1

Can anyone reccommend a good magic set for a 7yr old boy? Maybe one that has a teaching DVD? I am looking at the Melissa and Doug sets right now. TIA!

OOOH!! I just found a "Mommy and Me" set of matching cupcake ones for me and DD. :party:I don't get out much. Is that obvious from my excitement about this? :D