I do what I do with my children because, basically, I enjoyed participating in extracurricular activities as a child. I definitely found that those experiences helped shape and develop my interests into adulthood. Even in my professional career, there were things I did that still benefit me in my occupation. My own children have been in and out of various activities over the years, but they aren't allowed to quit an activity mid-season. They've done everything from gymnastics to swim team to ice-skating to soccer to volleyball. Currently, DD14 participates in HS marching band, youth group, and volunteers. DD12 participates in youth group, choir and has music lessons. DS 7 is in scouts, swim team, and youth group. The only areas where I have trouble scheduling are the groups that do require volunteer hours. I'm a team parent for the swim team, den leader for scouts, (infrequent) booster member for band, and help with the youth group. I love, love, love being involved with the groups, getting to know the different families, and just generally helping... but this does add to the craziness of our schedules where I have to actually be physically present and can't just drop and run.

I work in HR and have a communications degree. It really depends on the area he wants to work in, as 'working in HR' is pretty broad. Is he interested in benefits, payroll, recruiting, employee effectiveness/engagement, consulting? I'd also recommend he look into a PHR/SPHR certification, too. More often than not, individuals with those credentials are looked on more favourably.

Vanquisher Jr here, too. I usually keep an eye on them on Amazon and order when they drop to a reasonable price. (DS noticed that Missy Franklin wore Vanquishers during the Olympics. He thinks his goggles are now going to transform him into Mr. Missy Franklin. :))

Yup -- there is a pale grey downward facing arrow to the right of their name. You can select this and a drop down appears, so you can choose all updates, most updates, or only important updates. I do this with people who insist on updating their status with every single conversation they've had with someone during the day.

I love it, honestly. I refer to it as my brain. I have a different calendar for each kid and can see on my 'main' calendar. Each of my children have different extracurricular activities, and this allows me to just look and focus on their individual calendar ("okay, DS has swimming on XX -- this means he can't go to YY") or compare two calendars against each other ("yep, DD14's recital changed to a different day -- I'm now available to take DD12 to the dentist"). I probably make this more confusing than it should be, but if it involves me and being a taxi driver, I copy those to my calendar so I'm not double-booked when it comes to driving duties. The other benefit is that DD14 and DD12 now have access to their respective calendars. They use theirs to see when they are available or use as check-step reminders for projects, or if they have appointments come up.

This is our newest favourite game -- Spot It: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039S7NO6/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00 It's fast and quick and small enough to pop in your purse.

I use the Good Reads app, and honestly, I basically scan most of the books in with my iPhone. It's a novelty factor for the kids, too, so they are more apt to remind me or ask if they can do the scanning.

The rule I think of in situations like this is "assume positive intentions". While the message content came across a little rude and condescending, his intention is one of care and concern for your health and well-being. So, file it away in your brain and know that you are both loved, and don't say anything else.

There are benefits to both. I like the audiobooks for the convenience while in the car, to save my voice, and also when there might be challenging pronunciations. What I love about reading to my children is changing my tone to reflect the text. The kids know what my normal voice is, but reading aloud allows them to hear my odd Harry Potter accent, my Owl and the Pussycat sing-song voice, or my attempt at Sir Lancelot... so, basically, the different expressive aspects of speech compared to my standard voice/intonations.

DD12's name is the Slavic version of Lydia -- she is constantly addressed as Lu-DEE-jah. DS7 is a Camden -- and like a previous commenter, he also gets the gamut of Cameron, Caleb, Callum, you name it.

My best friend is a Paula. I call her Paula-Bear (like, polar bear.) I guess you might have to have an Aussie accent to get away with it, though. :)

I'm an Aussie expat. What parts of Australian history is she interested in? Indigenous (ancient) history? Colonisation? 20th Century involvement in WW1, WW2, The Depression, etc? Modern history, like the Stolen Generation? Even though Australia is a relatively "young" country, there is still a lot of information she could cover.

Yes, we try to be proper. DD will say, "Can I use your phone?" and I'll hold it up and say, "yes, you can" and wait for him to say, "may I use your phone." I think it goes back to reading a Baby Sitter Club book in the late 80s/early 90s. Claudia's older sister was a stickler for language, and I am pretty sure that's where I learned the difference between can and may. :) But, I digress.

I actually find a lot of good deals on amazon. My dd14 wears a size 12 (gulp!) shoe. I have found great winter boots and sneakers for about $20 to $30. I add the items to my cart that I like and kind of sit and wait to see if they drop in price over the next few days. Because the shoes are often the last stock left (clearance prices, high reviews) they seem to drop faster than most other products. The sneakers I referenced above were originally $80. It probably helps that her shoe size is not incredibly common but I've also found great shoes for me (size ten) this way.

I use camelcamelcamel, but also just add a bunch of things to my cart and look at it on a daily basis. When I go back to my cart, I can see price increases and decreases. (Embarrassingly, I have about 50 items on my 'saved to buy' list just for this purpose.)