I don't notice that we have to go to any special lengths to make sure the doors are shut on mine. But the fridge does have a nice feature or sounding a quiet alarm if one of us forgets to close the door all the way for some reason. I have the Samsung, 28.5 ft3 one. I did opt for the water/ice in the door. It takes up a little space but is worth it. I have two huge produce drawers, and a huge deli/meat/cheese drawer. I love, love, love my refrigerator, and hope to never have the old kinds again. We waste so much less food. I can see where everything is. It is wonderful.

Nope, not a ten year old.

DD6 and I are currently reading/listening to: Black Beauty Peter Pan and the Starcatchers Prince Caspian Red Wall She enjoys hearing the same ones over and over again sometimes.

This!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is amazing. I would totally make that choice. I rode the dueling dragons roller coaster a few times w/ dh, and it was a blast. You must eat breakfast at the Three Broomsticks (w/ reservations, this gets you into the park early). I think 2 days at Universal is sufficient, and recommend staying in a condo or resort offsite. We got amazing deals at the resort we stayed. Then, if you have time, jet over to Tampa for Busch Gardens for a third day.

It would be has, because the subject of the sentence is "either". "You" is the object of the preposition.

We are also in FL and have endless troubles with our mortgage holder regarding handling of our escrow. Who is your lender?

I have a B.S. in chemistry, w/ an unofficial minor in engineering (was double major, but opted to complete the BS and go to grad school for the engineering), an MS in polymer science and engineering, and also have quite a bit of classes and work done toward my PhD in Materials science and engineering.

They are so good for you! I plan to start adding them to smoothies.

Oh, we probably spend about 50-75/week on fruits and vegetables. we are a family of 3, and our total weekly food expenditure is budgeted at $175/week. I prefer to come in lower, soI can save for bulk beef and butter buys, but often we go over. Most weeks, we buy some or most of the following: Organic kale, organic spinach, organic salad greens, 1 bag organic apples, 3 pounds organic bananas, 2-3 organic sweet potatoes, conventional onions, conventional peppers, organic blueberies or raspberries if in season, garlic, organic carrots, organic celery, organic mangoes, organic kiwi, organic avocadoes. The balance of the money is for meats, goat milk, organic dairy, local eggs, bread, nuts, nut butter, rice or quinoa, sugar, coffee, and spices or sauces if we need them. I buy gluten free oats by the case from Amazon.

I hate it that we have a few months off dd taking forever to fall asleep, and time with my dh gets more limited because of that. (and dh gets grumpy)

That is kind of what we do as well. Also, I write lots of funny sentences or stories for dd to read, as she finds that entertaining. Or - I let her dictate to me, and then let her work on sounding it out herself. The OPG is great for teaching the "how it works" in a systematic manner, but for practice it seems to work better for many kids to do work elsewhere.

My hope is to return to the workforce at some point when dd is a teen, at which time I will be attempting to stockpile for retirement, as well as contribute to my her college education. I would also like to have money to be help her out as needed when she is an adult (down payment for a home, things like that).

I did. I feel it was best for our family, but I don't deny it is sometimes painful.

I stay with my daughter, but I have to say, the idea of an aide who could handle her would be a Godsend. I haven't been able to go to the sanctuary and just worship or relax in years.

Thank you all for helping me to think outside of the box. I can't drive several hours each way multiple times per week, which is why I thought we would not be able to do this. But, my in-laws live near one large city and my folks live near another. This might make it feasible for us to travel to one of their homes, stay overnight if needed, and then drive to an office. If we could do that once per month or every other month, and do exercises at home, that would be a great solution. Our OT also has plans for things to do at our therapy appointments to work on visual motor skills. ( I look forward to hearing the results of the evaluation we did with her for this). Now to get over my unfortunate phobia of driving long distances on the interstate.

DD has SPD, and we are pretty sure she is having visual motor/visual sensory problems. I worry particularly about how it may be slowing down her learning to read. We just did an extended evaluation with our OT for this, and are awaiting the results, but it was clear she was having trouble from the way she was doing the test. Sadly, there are no doctors or developmental optometrists in our town who do Vision therapy. I have read of the fantastic results many of you have had with this, and I am so upset that it is not available here. What would you suggest as alternatives if you could not do VT? Brain Gym, OT?

We have a mini-trampoline in the living room. We do wheel-barrow trips throughout the house (where I hold her legs, and she walks on her hands - great for core and propioreceptive input). We swing. We spin in the office chair. We roll her up in a blanket and make her a Pupa (occoon). We give her lots of squeezes while in there, then help her emerge from her cocoon. Wall-push ups are great. Shaving cream in the bath tub. Beans or rice in a big plastic tub to touch and feel. Crab walks or snake slithers across the floor. The trick is to do these activities, but to follow-up or do "organizing" activities in between. (Something that requires coordination or fine motor or calming skills).

Oh my goodness. That would have been a seriously traumatic experience for me. I am glad you didn't have a bad reaction. My neighbor has had scorpions in her house, but so far we haven't seen any. Black widows abound outside on the exterior of our house (and love the front door), and wolf spiders love to come inside.

I use one called the Chiro pillow. It is a water pillow and has been a real life saver for me.