$3000 seems like a lot....are the tickets included in that price? We mostly always stay on Disney property. We just love to be there "in the magic." We've stayed offsite several times and to us, we dont like to leave the magic and go back to an "ordinary" hotel. We like the themes that Disney hotels have to offer. Some people do not care about that though.

We just returned from my daughter's first homeschool group. In their gym time they did an obstacle course, played duck duck goose, and played mother may I. My daughter was thrilled to death because she's never gotten the opportunity to play duck duck goose because she's never been in a classroom setting with very many kids before.

I do not remember the details, but I remember that I liked the movie. Here ya go: http://www.kids-in-mind.com/t/tuckeverlasting.htm

I'd take her in. My mom has diabetes and I worry with all this swine flu going around....they say diabetics are one of the highest risk categories.

I hadn't thought about using gum. I wonder if that's allowed there? If so, I think I will try that. What about that icky tasting stuff for nail biting? I wonder if I put some of that on her fingertips if it would work? I'm not familiar with the stuff so I do not know if it leaves a residue on the fingers or anything. However, I'm sure she'll be washing her hands during art/lunch and stuff so it would probably wash right off. And I'll definitely send a bottle of hand sanitizer with her....we usually use that. But I dont know that she'll actually remember to use it though. Thanks for the suggestions!! Tracey, it's a pretty neat place. We go to the one in Clay County. We were members when DD#1 was three years old and DD#2 was an infant....but we ended up quitting due to the cost. It is kind of pricey and we were about to have to start paying for DD#2 when she hit a year old. But I'm very interested in their homeschool group. They let us do a free trail tomorrow so I'm excited to see it. It lasts from 10 AM till 1:45 PM and every thirty minutes they go to a new activity room (art, science, book club, PE, etc) with a 45 minute lunch. DD is looking forward to it!

My 5 year old DD goes through "quirks" or something of the like. I'm quite sure she has some degree OCD. She's always worried about germs and things getting dirty, yet she continues to do this annoying habit.....putting her hands and fingers into her mouth and licking them. She also licks her arms sometimes. Well....with all this H1N1 stuff, I do not want her licking her hands! Especailly when we go out in public. Tomorrow we attend our first homeschool group. It's at O2B Kids (not sure if anyone has heard of it) but it's a place that does playgroups, has gymnastics, art classes, PE classes, science classes, etc. They also run a preschool there as well. So there's kids all over the place. I'm very concerned about her putting her hands into her mouth and licking them all over after touching everything at the homeschool group. Would it be totally weird or crazy to send her in gloves? It's Florida for pete's sake and it was like 90 degrees today. And then I worry that people will ask her about the gloves. She is extremely shy and has speech problems so she already refuses to talk to people....and this will just give her a reason to be the center of attention. I will not be in the room, the kids all go in together and go to different activities over the course of several hours....so I will not be there to speak for her. Plus, I dont know how she will do art stuff and eat lunch and stuff like that with the gloves on. What should I do? I really do not want her licking her hands out in public like that. I dont want her doing it at any time, much less with all this H1N1 stuff going around (though I have not heard of any cases in our area so far). We've talked over and over and over about stopping it, but she just can't. I dont even think she realizes she is doing it. Plus, it is one of her "quirks" and I'm not even sure she really CAN do anything about it.

So how do you guys go about getting your vitamin D levels checked? Do you go to the doctor and they refer you to the lab? So you pay the copay just to be referred to the lab? I dont think we can just outright go to the lab.

Love it! I'm all for unique names.

Personally, I think that at 14 years old you should still be limiting their computer time. I feel that at that age they are still living in the moment and cannot see into the future about how video games will effect them. I currently see the effect of video games on my little sister in real life. She's 15 years old and plays video games ALL. THE. TIME. My mom supposedly homeschools her but I never see her doing any work and my other sister (she's 25 and still lives with my parents and 15 year old sister) says our youngest sister plays all the time....even while doing school work. :glare: In the past year since she's gotten addicted to XBox, she's gained about 15 or 20 pounds, never goes outside, has increased social anxieties, and feels bad and tired all the time (probably from lack of sunshine and pysical activity, combined with an unhealthy diet). I point this stuff out to my mom all to no avail. So I'm pretty anti-video game addiction right about now.

Wow, I have not been thinking hard enough LOL! I like quite a few of those!

We love our Dyson....it'll suck your toe right off!

I really like Storm as a middle name! That would go well with Rain and Skye. I might would even be convinced to overlook the fact that it is 5 letters instead of 4. It would still be one syllable and naturish. I also think that Mist and Moon is interesting. I'll definitely have to write these down....thanks so much!!

You just described me exactly!!! When DD took dance, I'd sit in the lobby reading a book or surfing the net on my iPhone while everyone else chattered away. I always ask DH to make phone calls for me if he is available. I can do it with no problem, but I just prefer him to. I cringe when someone IM's me on Facebook. And I loooove being active on message boards because I can come, I can go, I can answer a thread, or I do not have to answer a thread, I can PM if I need to talk to someone, etc.

Not exactly a theme....more like a method LOL. We picked Paisley Rain for our first DD. For our second DD, we wanted to stick with a unique two syllable first name, followed by a four letter "naturish" middle name that was one syllable. So DD#2 is Sailor Skye. I'd like to stick with that method for future children as well. However, I cant seem to think of many one syllable, four letter "naturish" middle names for boys if we ever had one.

Astrid, do greyhounds shed a lot? Our Jack Russell sheds short little white hairs EVERYWHERE. If he lies down somewhere, you can guarantee there will be about 100 little white hairs when he gets up. Drives me nuts LOL. Just wondering if greyhounds did the same thing?

No advice and I do not have one....but I want to get one some day! Our little Jack Russell is 10 years old...so we will probably wait until he passes away one day and our kids are a bit older. But I really want to get them. I know people who have them and they are just the absolute sweetest dogs. They call them the fastest couch potatoes and that is so right!

My DD is 2.5. I still nurse her so she falls asleep that way every night. Then I go and lie her in our bed. Did the same thing with DD#1 as well when she was that age.

I have a 5 year old little girl....and a 2.5 year old little girl as well. You would not believe (or maybe you would) the drama that surrounds the 5 year old ALL. THE. TIME. Drama all day every day. I'm telling ya, if the girl was not so shy around people she does not know, she could star in a movie and win an Oscar at this very moment. Drama, drama, drama. You should see when her little sister takes a toy from her (purposely, just to see the drama that follows). She gasps and has a look of horror on her face like she just witnessed her dog being run over by a car. Then the exaggerated emotions that follow are just crazy. If she wasn't my child and I wasn't having to deal with the drama, I'd be laughing at the sheer exaggeration of her emotions. The 2.5 year old is as sweet as can be though LOL. When she's not trying to entice her big sister.

Why can't I think up witty things like that on the spur of the moment?

Glad to know there are others like me! I literally have no friends. I really do not have aquaintances either. I'm very shy, I never know what to say during a conversation with people I do not know well. People may think I'm stuck up, but I'm far from that. I had friends when I was a kid and teenager. I was not a social butterfly by any means. I had a few close friends and a few aquaintances. I'm not afraid to go into group situations. I love to go out and I have no anxiety about it. I just do not have any friends because I do not know what to say. And honestly, I'm very different from most women that I know. I've always been a tomboy and I still am today. I do not dress girly and frilly. I'm more comfy in jeans, a polo shirt, and indoor soccer shoes. You'll never find me in a dress or high heels. I dont care about manicures, pedicures, hair do's, spas, and painted nails. You'll find me much happier jumping in the bouncy things with my kids, going camping, etc. I'm pretty crunchy....homeschool, baby wearing, no CIO, doesn't leave kids with sitter often, eating a lot of organic....those things set me apart from others, as does the fact that I'm a tomboy. I hang out with my husband, my kids, my parents, my two sisters, I go shopping with my two Nana's sometimes. However, my two sisters are very different from me as well. My middle sister is a lesbian, so we'll never really have the whole "family aspect" in common....but we still do hang out sometimes. And my youngest sister is only 15, so of course we are at different stages in life. So I'm pretty shy and introverted. I'm not anxious, I just do not know what to say to people. Sometimes I wish I had friends to go off with, but then again, sometimes I think it's more trouble than it's worth. And you know what? The people who know my true self, they think that I'm the nuttiest, loudest, craziest person in the world LOL. I'll be walking through the room and just scream for no reason just to see their reaction. So I'm introverted but extroverted around people I know well. It's strange, really.

I REALLY want to tear up the carpet in the front portion of our house (livig, kitchen, foyer, laundry, and school room) and put down wood laminate!

We did this for my DD last year when she was four. I tried out and returned several of the "kid" cameras. But the quality was absolutely horrible. So I searched eBay and craigslist for a used camera in the price range you are looking for. Found one and she loves it. Of course, these cameras are not as durable as a kid camera, but the quality is much better....plus, the kid cameras are very expensive.

We are Disney addicts, but I do not know much about the dining plan since we do not use it. If you do not get answers here, you can check out www.disboards.com and go to the dining board. They know their stuff about the dining plan!

Oooh, I like this! I'm always looking for new ideas for gifts. DD, 5 years old - just getting into video games, wants DS games, maybe a Leapster game, likes arts and crafts type of things, likes DVD's. This is the child who cannot entertain herself AT ALL....so when her sister is playing with her, or someone else, then she loves things like Playmobil, Little Pony, Pet Shop, etc. But only if others are playing with her. And she loves board games as well....Trouble, Mancala, Candy Land, Uno, etc. DD, 2 years old - This kid is a Little People freak! She plays with them non stop every single day. She's just discovering Playmobil as well and likes those. She'll also occasionally play with toy animals, Little Ponies, etc, but she by far prefers Little People, and now Playmobil as well. She also loves to look at books. She likes Diego DVD's. They both love those Melissa and Doug cube puzzles. We have two of those that get played with often. Both kids love stuffed animals as well, especially Webkinz.

I'm pretty overprotective and have no problem admitting it. If something ever happened to my child that I could have easily prevented, I could never live with myself. That being said, I do instruct my children on safety often....while they are with me. It's my job to parent them and give them the necessary tools while they are still children. When they reach 18 years old, it is time for them to try out those skills in their own worlds. My 5 year old is a safety nut and knows more about safety than I do LOL.