We've been to Britain (multiple times), France (multiple times), Spain, Morocco, Costa Rica, and Mexico (multiple times). DH has also been to Thailand, Tunisia, Guatemala, and Honduras. We've never used a travel agent. I second the Rick Steves and Lonely Planet recommendations.

The first time it did freak me out, but it was *weeks* and another mucus plug or two before I delivered. I'd mention it to the midwife/doctor, but I wouldn't worry.

When my son first broke his leg, we felt so guilty and bad for him that we carried him everywhere. (He was nine.) Then we realized he was scared to use his crutches and that it would be a looong six weeks if he had to depend on us to move around. (Not to mention that he was in ps and needed to be mobile.) So we hardened our hearts and forced him to use his crutches. Fast forward six weeks. The cast came off. The doctor pronounced the leg fully healed . . . and ds wouldn't walk without the crutches. He just didn't believe that his leg would hold him up. Once again, we had to implement tough love and hide the crutches. The first two weeks, he walked like he'd had a stroke. Literally. We went on vacation, and I remember people starting at him as we walked through the airport. But he got stronger and more confident and his gait became closer to normal. It took several months for the last of the limp to go away, but by the end of the summer (he broke his leg in March) he was back to normal. I don't remember much about the cast, other than thinking showers were a lot easier once it finally came off. Oh, and having a step stool in the bathroom so he could rest his leg on it while he was sitting on the toilet helped.

Although I don't know if she is as young as you are looking for. I also liked Anne Hathaway in Devil Wears Prada and Becoming Jane.

Dana, it's always good to hear from an Oregonian! I grew up in Oregon. Got the webbed feet and everything. ;-)

First, I agree with the poster who said that the sooner you start speech therapy the quicker your child can get catch up. Second, the problem with receptive speech raises a red flag for me, and I'd want that evaluated as soon as possible. I don't think that will improve on its own.

Just some random thoughts: First, I thought his sending the notes was a little odd too. But it occurs to me that perhaps he was pre-emptively providing evidence that they were expecting you. Your willingness to pay is not, in my experience, the norm. It's much more common for guests to argue that they should not have to pay. It's possible that he has recently had a bad experience with a no-show guest and he is bracing himself for a similar fight with you. Second, is it possible that your husband's message did not come off as apologetic and responsibility-laden as your post here? If it came off more as "oops, our plans changed and we forgot to call, see you next year" the innkeeper might be worried that you won't be respectful of the policies in the future. Third, no-shows are annoying to innkeepers. They might have stayed up later than they wanted to, waiting for you, before finally going to bed worried that you would arrive in the middle of the night. They might have turned away a three-night reservation because they were full. They may not have received your husband's message in time to book the room for the second night. I know you know that, but they might not know that you know. ;) As to what to do now, I think I would call and talk to the innkeeper in person. I would apologize for the communication lapse and offer to pay for the second night if they weren't able to book your room. I wouldn't mention how his note made you feel. If you have received good service in the past, I would extend grace here. When you book your reservation next year, I wouldn't mention this incident. I would, a week or so before you are to arrive, send an email or call just to "confirm" and let them know you are in fact coming. During your stay, don't bring up what happened this year. If you feel comfortable next year, it should be smooth sailing. If the innkeeper brings it up or makes you feel awkward, then find another place to stay in the future. Of course, if the note makes you uncomfortable enough that you don't want to go back, that's understandable too.

The principal wanted to stay friends with everyone, so the VPs (we had more than one) who meted out the punishments. I got sent to the VP once, because they wanted us to pull an editorial we were planning to publish in the school newspaper. I was so mad, I cried, which made me even more angry. It was a pattern I repeated in college, when I was sent to the dean's office over an essay we were planning to publish in the honor's magazine.

She broke it very thoroughly, and needed three pins put in under general. In our case, what comforted her was hearing how good she had it compared to her twin brother, who spent two days in a hospital in Costa Rica just 6 weeks before she broke her arm. Hospitals in America have TVs and much better food! And we speak the language. :) I hope your daughter is able to be calm and that all goes well. Our doctors were great (they even let her bring her ratty stuffed animal into the surgery).

Personally, I think any of these four would be a *huge* improvement over the last eight years. I like them all for that alone. ;) (Ducking, and hoping the current board rules allow this. I did read them.)

I feel the need to elaborate. I resented my mom always telling me to sit up straight and pull my shoulders back because it was uncomfortable and I thought it was all about appearances. I didn't care about how it looked enough to be uncomfortable. :o I think I would have been much more responsive to the argument that my bad posture was encouraging my muscles to be weak and that weak muscles would eventually cause discomfort and problems of their own. It's not about looks. It's about strength and long-term health.

About "Just be yourself." Really, that's what you want her to be too. You just want her to be the strongest, healthiest her she can be.;)

I'm not a freelance writer, but I am the wife of a writer who isn't (yet) making money at it. Not exactly the perspective you're looking for, but hopefully some of what I say will be helpful. I think the critical thing is for you to view your writing as important. Everyone else in the family is going to take their cue from you. I know DH's writing is important because he writes every. single. day. Christmas, Easter, when he's sick. Every day. You have to be willing to sacrifice for your dreams before you can expect your family to sacrifice. In our case, that means that DH's writing time often comes at the expense of, for example, his World of Warcraft time. Or his surfing time. Not that it's not important for him to get some of that too, but I can't be the only one giving stuff up so he can write. It also means (in our case) that writing is not a substitute for contributing to the family income. He has written several novels while holding down a full-time job. Now we own an inn, so he has a little more flexibility with his time, but he still has a lot of work to do here on top of his writing. And it means that when my writing job (part-time telecommuting) and his collide (one of us has to watch the toddler, after all) mine wins. Because it pays the bills. However, we try as much as possible to arrange our schedule to minimize those conflicts. Giving him time to write in the morning, which is his high-energy time, is a priority for us. And we work every day to help ensure that he gets that time. He has found that often his most productive time is when he knows he doesn't have a lot. On a day when he has all day to write, he frequently finds it hard to focus. Days where he knows that after 10 he is on toddler duty, he is often able to focus more quickly and stay on task. Anyway, just my two cents worth, learned from 14 years of living with a writer.

The best piece of driving advice I ever received was something my grandpa said that my father passed along to me: Driving in snow is easy as long as you don't speed up, slow down, or change directions. My grandpa died 20 years ago, but I think of him almost every time I drive in the snow. And given where I live, that's often.:)

Yes, this is how we use it. We pause the video or use the commercial breaks to answer those questions that otherwise would nag at us all through the show.

Essentially Mormons believe that when you are baptized into the Mormon church, you are adopted into the House of Israel. I always took it to mean that I was now part of God's people and had a responsibility to spread God's word.

DH and I really enjoyed it too--and he's a tough one to please.

There's a joke told in/about Utah: "Utah is the only place where a Jew is a Gentile." I don't really hear the term used much these days, but I did know what you meant.

I did it the other way around--I homeschooled first and then afterschoooled.

I was diagnosed at 12 (not a good year for me--braces, glasses, curved spine, a weird bronchial infection that lasted for months). I had two visits with a PT and got instructions on exercises, which I never did. I sure wish I had. If I could do it over again, I would do as much as I could to strengthen my core muscles (abs and lower back) and I would take yoga or do exercises to open up my chest and shoulder muscles. This is pretty much what I'm doing now, but it took me until my 30s before I made it a priority.

Disclaimer--I only homeschooled for one year, but we didn't stop homeschooling because it wasn't working but because we wanted to take advantage of our great local school. I homeschooled a 2nd grader while caring for 4 yo twins and taking over a new business (an inn) which my husband and I ran without any other employees. It was crazy, but one of the things that helped me was to get the hardest/most tempting to let slide subject done first thing in the morning. For us, that was math. It was a great comfort to me to know that no matter what chaos the rest of the day brought, we had math done. On even the craziest days, my son had a math lesson and spent lots of time reading. We could read SOTW and the scientific encyclopedia later in the day when my energy was low, and I felt like I was making progress on all fronts. Another thing that helped was to pick realistic curriculum and set realistic expectations. We read SOTW and checked out supplemental books, but I didn't even try to do any activities. Bad mom. But I knew my limits. As for the toddler/bickering issue, I highly recommend setting up a schedule ala Managers of the Home. I did this for the summer and it worked great. The older kids all had time to play in pairs, as a group, and with the toddler. Time inside and out. Time reading. Time summer schooling. It kept the toddler occupied so I could work, and by switching activities every half hour, the kids didn't get bored enough to fight. You can do this!

I've had great luck with a massage therapist. It might be quicker to get in to see one than to see a chiropractor.

I'm so happy for both of you!

To say I loved it might be an exaggeration, but I really liked it. In fact, I followed up the movie by reading the book on which it was based--Becoming Jane Austen.

Plus a 12 yo boy and a 2 yo boy. We are afterschoolers now, but after teaching the twins to read, I have some understanding of the challenges of homeschooling twins.