I also just bought this one and it is amazing! I bought it because it was recommended here:

Karen, thanks so much for this blog post! It brought tears to my eyes as my middle son is 8 and is just like your son. How encouraging!

Mother's Day has always been about my MIL and GMILs. My husband is wonderfully sweet and usually gets me chocolate in the morning before church and the kids make me wonderful cards. But we HAVE to always go to MILs or there will be hell to pay. Thankfully we don't have to go to restaurants but just their house. But I agree with you that I want to be a completely different MIL and I love your idea of taking the kids and giving the day off.

Amanda, Could you invite me again too? I was a part of the old group too and can't access it. Thank you for doing this!

I am sorry as I didn't mean to be vague. I didn't quite know how to word it. My ILs are just really difficult and we are trying very hard to be loving and make this relationship work. They just seem to have some big unrealistic expectations and I wanted to be sure it was not my husband and I being unreasonable. They are youngish and are in good health and still have a teen at home. We have six kids nine and under and try to visit them at least once a month but many times it is more than that. Every visit is so hard but we really love them and want to make an effort. Anyway, they just complained that we hate them because we do not do enough things with them. But we have our own lives too and my husband can't just drop his work to do something and I have homeschooling and regular life and feel like I already have a lot on my plate to try and add in random visits at their whim. They are not safe to babysit or anything. I have tried so many things that they wanted over the past years and they are never satisfied. I do want to be reasonable however and thought I would ask to see if perhaps my idea of reasonable is truly not reasonable.

What do you think is reasonable for how much a loving child and their family should visit the in-laws if you live about 45 minutes away and want to try to have a good relationship. Could you elaborate on your answer? I would like to know if my husband and I are being reasonable or not. I would appreciate your response so much! ETA: Visits are 3-4 hours each

We are just starting the process of selling our third house in the last five years due to job relocation. We have learned a lot with the last three houses! First of all, look on Zillow or Realtor.com and look at the listings the agent already has. See how many houses they have sold in the past year, what the text of the description is like, what the pictures are like, how the price compares to the Zillow Zestimate, etc. - How many house have they sold in the last year? This will show you how experienced they are. Is this their second home they have sold? Are they a realtor were this is their hobby and sell only one or two homes a year? Or is this their business and sell 150 homes a year? - What are the pictures like? Are they nice? Do they show off the house for the best? Their most inexpensive listings will show this the most so be sure to check those. You are basically selling your house with the pictures they will take so they had better be good. Our first realtor was a friend and we were selling a hard to sell house (built in 40s, lots of weird and outdated features but still clean and well-kept, lots of land, etc.). She said she was going to have nice pictures taken but then just took a few horrible ones of the outside with her cell phone. I ended up going and taking pictures myself (which I am not a professional) and we had so much more interest. It could be that there was actually pictures of the inside! :) Also, do you like their sign? One of the realtors for our home basically had a sign that promoted herself and not the fact that the house was for sale. It really bugged us as it kindof looked like the realtor lived there rather than the home being for sale. - How are the prices compared to the Zillow Zestimate? This is just a rough guide to show you how well priced the homes are. If they are way above or way below the Zestimate, the house might not be priced right. The best is if you do some more research yourself. Look for yourself on Zillow and see what the prices are for homes that are similar to you- in size, land, improvements, etc. This will give you an idea what would be a good price and you can see what the realtor says. If it is way higher or lower, you might want to find someone else. Other questions that might be helpful: - Do they have a plan for updates? Our last realtor sent weekly updates on the activity and showings of our home. Our first realtor sent us nothing. It was really nice to have the weekly updates. - What is their pricing? Do they have different levels of pricing or charge a flat percentage? - Do they have any suggestions for work you need to do on your home? - Do they recommend getting inspections done before your home is listed? Why or why not? - What information will they have available for potential buyers? Flyers, Youtube videos, advertisements, signs, etc? - What about staging? Is that included with their pricing? How do they feel about that and what should you do? (Speaking of which, staging the home yourself is such a good idea and sold all of our homes relatively quickly. Pinterest was great for ideas) - Do they regularly represent both buyer and seller?

Thank you so very much!

So I have one child- my 1st grader- who cannot for the life of him remember to hold his pencil the right way. He writes well and his letter formation is solid. I have tried everything and now just remind him every time he goes to write something. So, do those rubber things you stick on the pencil really work? If so, which one should I choose as there are so many options?

I purchased two wingback upholstered chairs from Wayfair for a steal in one of their sales. Obviously I knew that they would not be the highest quality given their pricepoint- they come in essentially two pieces and were a little hard at first. But they had relatively good reveiws and the few bad ones just had too high of expectations (Seriously, you paid $150 for this chair and can't expect it to be Hickory Chair quality). But after owning them for a year and a half, I am really pleasantly surprised. They still are like brand new- despite five kids and a move in a Penske across country. And they have done well with being stain resistant. I always get compliments on them and they look much more expensive than they are. A good tip is to look at the measurements carefully. When I got out my measuring tape I was surprised by how small the back was on some of the chairs. My husband is 6ft so I knew I wanted a taller back which allowed me to find and purchase the two chairs I have. Some of the negative reveiws on chairs were people unhappy with the sizes because they did not measure first. I really like Wayfair. I purchased tons of stuff for our last house and our new house- lighting, hardware, decoration stuff, ironing board, etc. If things arrive broken they are quick to fix it. I have always been pleased!

My husband has a Unibrow. He just shaves it when he shaves his face in the shower and over the years it has gotten less.

I am petite too and have been trying to look more put together and ladylike. I found this Youtube channel helpful: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR28x4kMV_tHjQuMIiup5rw I also like Busbee Style even though she is more trendy than I am. Her videos on staples was great. And there was this one: Finally, I love the Daily Connoisseur as she is classy and her ten item wardrobe is something I can do.

We bought our amazing piano on Craigslist. Maybe you could find an inexpensive keyboard there? Hoffman Academy has been really wonderful for us!

We had one in our old house and I loved it. It was amazing for stairs. I have a Miele vacuum for our current house that I really love but I thought the central vacuum in our last house was easier to use. Definitely don't rip it out!

I make it myself and it is wonderful toasted with butter.

Thank you all so much!

Hi Bill, In the other thread on vacuums you posted this: Would you mind sharing what iron or system your wife has now that she uses and likes? My beautiful iron was broken by guests and I would like to purchase another one but I don't really know which. Do you have any recommendations? If you are not Bill, do you have any recommendations for iron or clothes steamers that you love? I would appreciate any advice so much! Thank you!

My husband bought me a Miele for my birthday and Christmas because I had been through so many vacuums and they were recommended so highly. It is the best gift! I love vacuuming with it and it has changed my life. I don't have to deal with endless vacuum problems now but just whip it out and vacuum and put it away. It is so easy to use and I really, really love it. Anyway, we have this one and it works like a dream. (I think it was a little cheaper before Christmas and Amazon was way cheaper than my local vacuum store.) I have carpet so I needed the powered head otherwise we probably would have picked out a cheaper one. I find it amazingly light and easy to use. It works wonderfully and has incredible suction. I love it! :)

I love Harney and Sons. They have great prices (plus coupons and sales too), their tea is the best I have ever had (and I have tried a ton including some mentioned above), and their customer service is incredible. I like buying their tins even though they are not the cheapest option because I like having a variety of tea and the tins are so very nice for keeping the tea fresh. The best option is to buy the big bulk bag if you find a kind you really like. But our family likes quite a few of them so I just buy the tins. Here are some of our favorites (in no particular order): Hot Cinnamon Spice (spicey and yummy- kind of like Good Earth only better) Chai English Breakfast Earl Grey with Tips Lapsang Souchong (a lovely smoked tea) Jane's Garden (green tea and a lovely floral taste) Scottish Morn (for those days when you want a strong cup of tea) Elaine's Blend (the quintessentially perfect cup of black tea and my all time favorite) Peppermint (really strong lovely Peppermint- great for kids and upset stomachs) Peach Fruit Tea (a universal favorite with guests and children alike) Raspberry (my kids love this one) Matcha Also, you might want to try a Finum tea strainer. The fine mesh is lovely as not of the tea leaf bits get through if you like a clean cuppa. Harney has them cheaper than Amazon.

Oh goodness I hear you! Last year seven of DH's relatives came for a two week visit. It was miserable- the complained about everything and completely trashed my house. I was pulling my hair out and crying in my closet everyday. It took me two full weeks to clean and put things back into some semblance of order. And the cost of replacing all the things they broke was huge. I did have the benefit of knowing when they were leaving so I am hoping you might be able to have a leave date soon! The bright side was that when they left we appreciated our clean, comfortable, and peaceful home even more.

Oh I am so very very sorry. Love to you and your family!

I had Pyrex but one just suddenly exploded for no reason as all and the second one I bought shattered when I dropped it. Then I decided to try stoneware since they were so pretty and I loved my Pampered Chef mini loaf pans. So, I looked around and decided to purchase Sur la Table's stoneware. I bought two because I have a lot of kids. And they are so pretty- perfect from stove to table- and they actually work a little better than the glass. The bottom and sides of anything baked in stoneware just seem to come out really crisp and nice which I love. They call it their Stoneware Baker 3 qt. but I think I might have purchased the 4 qt. but am not sure. I just saw they had this one! How pretty: https://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-3711264/Floral+Baker?cat=TCA-257932_Bakers+%26+Casseroles

Maybe you could try something new? Here are a bunch of ideas: - Go to Home Depot or Lowes or something and buy yourself some flower pots and have a lovely time picking out which flowers to fill your pots with - Try some art- find something you would like and get some new materials- watercolors, pastels, a fountain pen and sealing wax, Prismacolors and a coloring book, etc. - Explore a new place- Google nature center or preserve or botanical garden or hiking trails and try something new - Go to the grocery store and buy supplies for a picnic- try some new fancy cheese, and a lovely crusty bread, some fruit, and a bottle of Martinellis or some other fancy drink then go to a special place and enjoy your lunch - Try a new coffeehouse or bakery - Go to a fancy kitchen store (like William Sonoma or Sur la Table) and buy yourself a new item to make your life easier or try a new recipe. Wander around and explore the different gadgets and try something new ETA: I was cross posting with GardenMom5! Sorry!

In our last house I painted my boys room a similar color (Quiet Moments by BM) and everyone who came said it was the most soothing and lovely color. I also painted my master a lighter color in the same family (Healing Aloe by BM) and people went crazy for that color and I loved it too. I painted my current master bedroom the Healing Aloe again and it is so, so restful and nice. Our carpet is a brown and the two go together so well. The previous color was a salmon, orangey beige which I really did not like. P.S. I loved the fact that you took pictures of the things around your house for your listing. What a great idea! The pizza and bakery looked so inviting and your apartment was so clean and cozy. And the little details like a basket of bathroom supplies and lovely folded towels were brilliant. It just makes me want to stay there!

I have also been interested in this since the posts on the Blue Zones here and I appreciate you posting this. I can add 3.8 more years by drinking alcohol, being less anxious, and eating more fruit and fish. I don't really eat fish because it is soooo expensive but I take fish oil pills. Does that count? :) I guess I could eat more tuna. I eat fruit every morning for breakfast but that must not be enough.