I know I have a picture somewhere, but I can't fine it. My kitchen has a layout I really like. It is U-shaped with lots of counter space. If you face my kitchen, the fridge is on the left, the stove is straight ahead, and the sink is on the right with the dishwasher next to it. In the middle is an island. It's great, I take stuff out of the fridge and pop it on the island. Then I can grab it when I'm by the stove or when I'm by the sink, depending on what is needed. The only thing I don't like about it is that there are only 2 outlets for my island, and they are on the side and pretty much a bad spot to use them. If I were to redo my kitchen, I'd put in a raised breakfast bar on the island with outlets that were more accessible.

I live east of Seattle in the suburbs. I LOVE it here! I grew up down in Kent. The weather is not as bad as you would think. Yes, we get rain, mostly in the winter. I lived on the east coast (well, sort of, Pittsburgh) for college and the difference I found was that there is not snow to deal with, and bitter cold that keeps you inside. Just rain, which you can wear boots and rain gear and go out in without freezing. The summers are GORGEOUS! This summer it's been nice pretty much every day, with a few scattered days or rain. Highs tend to be between 70 and 80. Occasionally over. Sunny, beautiful, but not humid or unbearably hot. If my husband worked in Renton I would live in Newport/South Bellevue or Fairwood (providing I was homeschooling). Issaquah is nice too, but a bit further depending on where in Renton he is working. If he's downtown Renton, you could look at the nicer areas of Kent (Scenic Hill is nice - but not the public schools). Homeschooling here is really easy. File your declaration of intent. Test or have an evaluation yearly, but you don't have to show it to anyone. That's it. There are lots of homeschool groups in the area and some classes too.

Yeah, you can do it if you practice. I always practice standing on my bed so if I drop the child, no biggie, nice soft mattress. I do the thing where I wiggle them from my hip to the back and put them in the carrier. Or I did when they were small enough to still be worn like that. They grow so fast! :crying: Here is the wiggle way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPPZ2uWbnxg Or with a 16 month old, you can sometimes have them do this since they can hold on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2JdRQWsxZo And as he gets older, then you can havehim grab on to you piggy back style (start with him on the floor and you crouching down or with him standing on a bed or chair) and then lean forward and bring the ergo up around the child and put your arms through.

Plastic bowls. :)

Ergo baby carrier and putting baby on your back. Saved my sanity and kept baby feeling secure. I could get stuff done, baby just tagged along, and I got a good workout in the process.

In our case, WAY before boarding, the announcement was made that the flight was full, so to expedite boarding they were asking anyone who wanted to to come check their luggage for free. We've had this happen several times. Always a way before boarding, never while boarding. I believe we've done this on United, Delta, and Continental.

I flew alone for the first time at 15 1/2. I did have a direct flight, but I don't think a connection would be an issue. An airport is a very safe place overall (high level of security) and there are plenty of people to ask. When I went to college at 18 I always had a connection and it wasn't an issue, and I wasn't THAT much more savvy at 18 then I was at 15.

I should add we've often been able to check luggage for free at the gate when the flight is full. And they check it through to our final destination (we usually have a connection). We always take advantage of this and then laugh at the people who paid to check luggage at the counter! If you have a connecting flight, it's really nice to not have to lug luggage around in the connecting airport.

I didn't know they did homeschool days at WDW! We're already planning to go either 2nd full or 4th full week in January (either before or after our cruise), so I hope the dates line up with that!

There is at least one brand of gps that will not get you to our house correctly. For years and years it tells people to turn on a dead end road. I have a Garmin and it tells me the right turns to get to my house (I refused to buy a gps that did not). The only issue I've ever had was when I was going to a friend's house that was on a new road - as in built within the last 6 months. I do update my maps at least yearly...I bought a gps with lifetime maps for that reason.

When you check in, it will ask you who is checking bags. If you are checking luggage, make sure you put each bag under a different person. So for example, if you want to check 2 bags, if you put down 2 for you you will pay $25 for the first and $35 for the second. If you put one down under you and one under your dh then you will pay $25 each and save yourself $10. My kids are older (youngest is 4), so now we travel with 1 back pack per person and one carry on per person. Dh and I have rolling suitcases in carry on sizes and the kids all have rolling duffles. When we go to get on the plane, sometimes dh or I are carrying/rolling one of the kids bags for them if they're tired. So to a person who doesn't know us and sees me with 3 bags, they may think I'm breaking the rules. When really, it's still 2 bags per person, I'm just carrying my dd's rolling bag, etc. For security, we always remind our kids to stay quiet and listen to directions. We also talk to them a lot about not joking around in the airport about things like guns (I have boys, they like to play "guns" with their fingers, etc) because the airport police might take them seriously. So that is also something to think about. For liquids you can have 1 one quart bag per person full as long as each container is 3oz or less. I usually put all the liquids in a bag in my suitcase so there is just one to pull out (as long as it fits). Snack wise, I usually pick up some go picnic packs at Target (or other stores) and put one per person in everyone's backpacks. They are great little shelf stable snacks, and my kids think it's fun to have all this prepackaged stuff.

I'm with you on the Legos. Ds was just old enough to read Harry Potter this past year. We managed to snag some sets before they were discontinued, but he wants more of them and they re just so much $$$$ on ebay...

It is WAY more important that you teach your children your religious beliefs at home and live a life of conviction then it is for them to go on Wednesdays. Take this from someone who was forced go Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night all of my childhood, but had parents who didn't always act like Christians outside of that. Faith in the home trumps time in church, every single time.

I would treat everyone the same. Don't come around if you've been sick in the last 24-48 hours. Wash hands before holding baby, etc. FWIW, there was a baby in my state a couple of years ago who caught pertussis from someone who was fully vaxed and the baby died. You never know who the vaccine will and will not work for. So it is best to treat all the same. Also, if any of your friends get the inhaled flu vaccine, it can shed for up to a month, so I would be super careful. They won't have symptoms of being sick either, but they can still get your baby sick.

How wonderful! "Giving" is never truer then when it is not done out of abundance.

Bags and mason jars here too. With the mason jars, I freeze for 24 hours with the lids off and then cap them. Sometimes if they are capped the pressure can build inside and they break.

http://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/04/23/no-bake-macaroons/ or http://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/03/05/almond-joy-energy-bites/ . Delicious and healthy/paleo. You do need a food processor, but you could bring that, right?

Strep usually presents without cold symptoms. Since he is congested, it most likely is a cold and not strep.

I agree with laundry mat. Plus you'll get it all done in about 90 minutes.

We've done 1/4 cow for several years. The way my farm/butcher do it is that you essentially "split" half a cow with someone else. So they cut all the ribeye steaks from that half, and then divide them in half (so if there are 12 ribeyes, I get 6). Same with roasts, ground beef, soup bones, etc. Sometimes if other people getting cows butchered from the same farm don't want parts of theirs (i.e. soup bones) I can get extra for free. We pay per pound hanging weight, then a flat kill fee and then a small per pound processing fee.

If you can make summer work, he would most likely LOVE Alaska. You can do the coastal areas and then move inland to the national forest and such. Lots of different plants/animals and there are things like glaciers, bear watching trips, great hiking trails, etc. Crater Lake in Oregon is also a great area (and you could do the coast and then drive inland to CL), but again, summer or fall, not spring.

How fun! I love Juneau, my grandmother lives there. Been wanting to go back, but it would cost over 2k just to fly my family of 5 there!

Yes, living without is very allergy friendly. Other than cheese, most dairy is easy to sub out as well.

If you're not sure about gifts, could you do something cheap like making a batch of her favorite cookies (or what might be her favorite). There is nothing wrong with saying you can't make it, though. You don't have to share the why.

I would do bloodwork as well. Though it can be wrong too. Lab error showed low hcg levels with my 2nd pregnancy. He's going to be 6 at the end of this month! Fortunately for us, an u/s showed a heartbeat (after the bloodwork was done).