My almost 13 y/o dd is also very skinny. She is 5'2" and about 95 lbs. We found these two swimsuit tops at Kohls: http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1551488/nike-striped-racerback-tankini-top-womens.jsp and http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1605139/so-bandeaukini-top-juniors.jsp She bought the Nike one in a cute coral and grey stripe (not shown onthe website) and the polka dot one in black/white with hot pink trim. She paired the nike one with the matching bottoms and the polka dot one with a swim mini. The suits are very stylish and modest but didn't break my budget. The suits have held up well in the water (no riding up, etc) The Nike runs really small in the top. Good luck! Swim suit shopping with this age is so stressful. It is hard to find something that is either too babyish or is a string bikini. I would also suggest Academy Sports if Kohls doesn't work. They have a great selection. Our store unfortunately was out of the extra smalls. Robin

My family and I are attending the Veneration of the Cross tonight at our parish. Then tomorrow night, DH and I will be entering the church at Easter Vigil. I'm so excited. I can't wait for my first Communion. We will all attend Easter morning service together on Sunday. I'm looking forward to my first mass as a Catholic. Have a blessed weekend! Robin

You will survive this. With my twins things got much better between 4 - 6 months. Just be prepared that it got worse again from about 12 - 21 months when they started walking and getting into everything. Now they are 2 and are truly a delight. Lots of fun and actually very well behaved. The best advice I have for you is to take it easy on yourself. The house will not be as clean as you want it, dinners may not be as nutritious as they once were, but it will be OK. Get your older kids to help you as much as possible. They should be able to handle laundry, dishes, basic cleaning. You need to take time to rest and snuggle your babies. Robin

Congratulations! She is beautiful. Robin

Congratulations and lots of hugs. In October, I found myself faced with a surprise pregnancy (#6 as well). I cried for about a day straight and was scared that I wouldn't be able to handle a new baby and my 2 year old twins. Thankfully my husband was super supportive. Give yourself sometime to process the news. For me, seeing that first flicker of a heartbeat on the ultrasound screen made the baby so real to me. I began to really treasure the secret news that I was carrying around. We waited to tell anyone until I was over 12 weeks. By that time I had grown excited enough about the baby to be able to handle the negative comments. My twins have grown tremendously over the last 7 months. I am really no longer scared to integrate this new family member and my 3 older dds (11,8 and almost 5) can't wait to get their hands on him. We are now all so excited to meet our new baby boy! Take care of yourself and get lots of rest! Robin

For those of you who may not remember, my dh and I are planning to enter the church at Easter Vigil. A few weeks ago we met with one of the deacons at our parish to discuss the steps we needed to take to baptise our newest upcoming baby and to find out if there was anything we needed to do regarding our marriage. The deacon assured us that even though we were married as protestants, in a protestant church, by a protestant minister, that the Catholic church still recognized our marriage as sacramental so no additional steps were needed. However, last night the associate priest at our parish visited our RCIA class to discuss the sacrament of marriage. During that talk, he said that all protestant marriages must be convalidated. In fact, according to this priest the church is bending the rules a little by allowing us to receive the Eucharist at Easter Vigil. He told me that dh and I must have our marriage blessed during the week after Easter Vigil. I've done a little reading on my own, and everything I've read agrees with the deacon - our marriage is sacramental and does not need to be convalidated. Do you ladies have any insight into this subject? I really don't mind having the marriage convalidated, to be honest I'm more bothered by the fact that maybe I shouldn't be receiving the Eucharist at Easter. Thank you for your help. Oh and by the way this is the only marriage for dh and I. Robin

I LOVE my Naot sandals. They are super comfy. I had never bought a pair of shoes that expensive, but I haven't regretted it once. My foot and leg pain is so much better when I'm wearing my Naots. My only advice is that the style I picked tends to run a little small (I'm not sure if this is true of all Naots). I had to order a size bigger in Naot than I typically wear. Robin

I'm so sorry for your loss. My prayers are with you. I've had 5 losses and I know how hard they are to endure. What a blessing that your baby was treated so respectfully. Robin

That's hilarious! Robin

As Easter Vigil gets closer, it is time for me to start thinking about my first Reconciliation. The RCIA director recommends that for the first time we make an appointment with the priest and do it face to face. However, to be honest I'm a little nervous about this. I've spoken to a deacon and he said it is perfectly fine and acceptable to choose one of their scheduled reconciliation times where I can be anonymous. According to the deacon, as long as I let the priest know this is my first time, he will guide me through the process. Does anyone have any advice? Do you prefer anonymous or face to face confession? Any tips or encouragement are welcome. As an ex-protestant the sacrament of reconciliation is a little intimidating to me. Thanks, Robin

My dh and I are enrolled in RCIA now and are planning to join the church this year at Easter Vigil. I will try to pm you, but honestly I don't quite know how to use that function ( I have 5 kids with #6 on the way and am not on the boards too much), so if you don't get a message from me, please feel free to send me one and I'll respond. Robin

My son (also a twin) still was showing signs of jaundice at his 2 month checkup. His skin still had a slight yellowish tint. When they checked his levels they were 9.6. The dr. said it was not worrisome as long as it was under 15. Sometimes exclusively breastfed babies can take longer to clear up. My second born daughter had jaundice bad enough to require a bililbed and light therapy at home. Her jaundice was gone in about 2 weeks. Robin

We are planning to enter the church this year. I have never been to Easter Vigil. I really can't wait to go. I have a feeling I'm going to cry a good bit of the time. I can be a bit of an emotional person, plus these darn pregnancy hormones are working a number on me right now. Robin

Since no one in the real world will understand,I wanted to share with you ladies.DH and I had the opportunity to attend the Stations of the Cross last night.We really did not know anything about it,but since our RCIA leader asked,we decided to give it a try.It was one of the most amazing and powerful hours. I have never experienced anything like this in the protestant world.I'm getting so excited for Easter Vigil. Robin

Thanks for sharing your story. My dh and I are also entering the church at Easter Vigil. I love hearing other people's conversion stories. Welcome back to the boards. Robin