Vicks on the bottom of the feet with a double layer of socks. I have no idea why this works, but it works every time for my kids.

Wow, DD5 would go nuts over those shelves. She's the only Nutella lover in our house!

Quick and easy. My 8 year old dd was going to have a cavity filled on a baby tooth. Well, she totally freaked when the procedure began. I'm talking like trying to get up off the chair. We were holding her down. The dentist looked at me and asked if he could just pull it. I was like heck yes! It was that bad. Literally 10 seconds later it was over. She held gauze on it for 10 minutes and ate soft food that night and the next morning. No pain meds. It was simple.

Yesterday it was high 70's....the kids were playing outside in shorts and short sleeves. I had the windows open. Today the high is 54... And that's this morning. It will be dropping into the 40's. Downright chilly for us Florida people!

We got a cheap, metal swing set when oldest DD was about 3 (she's 8 now). The slide fell off long ago. The beams have rusted through in some places. And yet, both of my older kids (8 and 5) still love to use it. Then, of course, I have DD#3 who is 14 months who hasn't begun using it yet. As a combined birthday gift, I'm thinking of getting the girls a swing set in the spring (DD#2's birthday is in early March, so we would get it then or right before). However, I have no idea what to get. The price and quality seems to be so varied. We do NOT want metal, unless it is something like the playground quality you would find at a school or something....so no more cheap walmart sets. My girls favorite part of our current swing set it something like this: (the left swing...it's sort of like a two person glider) http://www.mrtoys.co... Set;Item;1080. They definitely want something similar on their next set. They are on it constantly. Also, my oldest is currently 8 years old and will be turning 9 in early spring. So I'd want something she could enjoy for a few years as well. We don't need a fort on the top....honestly, that's something that would just draw wasp nests, palmetto bugs, and spider webs down here in our Florida summers. Actually, we'd prefer NOT to have a fort for this very reason. Does anyone have any ideas to what will fit our needs/wants? I've looked around but the variance in prices/quality seems overwhelming! ETA: Honestly, a really nice swing beam with a variety of types of swings/gliders would be great for us! A slide would also be a plus. We already have a jungle gym (this one: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lifetime-Dome-Climber-Earth-Tones/16560787) so a climbing feature is not mandatory.

No idea what the answer is but I commiserate LOL. I don't want to have to get up at the crack of dawn. Even if I do, the baby will probably wake when I do anyways (we co-sleep). Plus, whenever I get up that early to exercise, DH thinks that I am up and can just do whatever, so he usually asks me to make his lunch. I don't like wearing exercise clothese or pajamas all day because I usually feel crummy and like I never really got moving that day. Afternoons we usually have places to go or activities to do. Plus, we never really finish school at a decent time. Then evenings bring cooking dinner. church, American Heritage Girl meetings, or some other type of issue. I have no idea how to work this whole exerise deal out.

Those shy kids would have been my older two girls, ages 5 and 8. They are very shy and a socially "agressive" child will turn them completely off, no matter what the age. My 5 year old is *still* somewhat shy around my grandparents and she's seen them consistently (several times a month) for 5 years now! The only people she is 100% herself around are her immediate family (me, DH, her two sisters, and our 16 year old nephew), my parents, and my two sisters (and their husbands). That's all. It takes lots of people to make the world go round.....outgoing, "never-meet-a-stranger" type people, as well as painfully shy ones as well. And to the person who mentioned "manners" when talking to others, we work on that. You must not have a painfully shy child, obviously. Nor one that was diagnosed with selective mutism as a preschooler. It's not always as easy as just telling the child they need to "speak up and say something when someone is addressing you." You never know what the parents may be working on at home. If my painfully shy child didn't speak when spoken to, I would not jump all over them and address the issue in the company of everyone within earshot (that would just make the situation worse). It's something we would address in private.

My sister is a vet tech (for 10 years now) and she's always told me that for a young, healthy animal is not usually necessary. For older pets, absolutely. I don't do it on young animals. That's not saying something couldn't go wrong, it's just less likely.

Poor Mommy!! You must have been so terrified. I'm so glad your little one is okay now. Can you sleep with him at night? I co-sleep with all my babies/toddlers and it gives great peace of mind. If I were you, I might would be pushing for an EEG.

Wow, I never knew that FB was this big thing to get rid of. I keep in touch with family and friends....share pics of the kids. No drama because I wouldn't be friends on there with anyone who showed a lot of drama. Never knew it was such a big deal!

Wear what you have. No one will mind...it sounds dressy to me! I don't do dresses either, so I'd be in a pants/blouse as well. As long as you are not in jeans, I'd say you are fine. I don't like if/when people dictate that I must wear a dress because I'm a female. Not all females like dresses!

DD#1 (now 8.5 years old) got her first AG doll for her 7th birthday. She wanted Kit and I figured that she was old enough to take care of one. Since then she's gotten four more (Kaya, McKenna, Ruthie, and Kanani) with various birthday, Christmas, and chore money over the past year and a half. She just got Kaya the other day for Christmas. DD#2 (now 5.5 years old) just got her first AG doll the other day for Christmas. She's been eyeing Caroline since she came out. She loves dolls with long curly hair and blue eyes. She's a few years younger than DD#1 when she got one, but I figured that she wanted one because her big sister has one. She's had a Target doll for a few years, as well as some Disney dolls that she really enjoys. So I figured Santa could bring Caroline this year.

This summer (or maybe early fall when it is not quite as hot) I'm possibly thinking of taking a trip towards the Atlanta area. It's not too long of a road trip (about 6 hours) but not too short either (I really hate road trips....I get car sick as well as DD5). It's been years, but I've been to Stone Mountain and Callaway Gardens....we'll probably want to hit both of those while in the area. I also definitely want to take my girls to the American Girl store, as they've never been to one. Other than that, I'm not sure what there is to do! Anything neat? Interesting? Unique? We've been to the Atlanta Zoo about 8 years ago and I didn't think it's anything too spectacular, so we won't be going there.

My 16 year old nephew (who lives with us) got one of those today....he loves it!!! I crashed it and promised never to fly it again though LOL!

No. Just no. 70's down here....sure would LOVE a white Christmas though! Never had one! Probably never will here!

I don't expect a house to be toddler proof at all if toddlers do not live there....except maybe to remove dog water/food bowls and put precious breakables up higher. But gosh, it is SO helpful when people go above and beyond to toddler proof. This is why I dread going to people's houses. My baby has been mobile since 5 months. She is now 13 months and is into EVERYTHING. It is exhausting to go to someone's house that is not toddler proofed. I spend the entire time walking around after my baby, taking things out of her hands, which in turn leads to her falling down crying. I've tried bringing a playpen but this just leads to her crying because she's confined. So either way, I'm either chasing a baby around or listening to her crying so I'm not able to converse with the people having us over really at all. I'm frustrated and exhausted by the end of our time there LOL. So while I don't expect it, I'm forever grateful! ETA: We went over to my husband's aunts house for Thanksgiving and she had the whole living room gated so that the babies could only stay in there.....and all non-baby safe things were put away. I could actually talk to people without following the baby constantly. It was SO helpful!

YOU did the right thing....I'd be thanking you!!!

I could have written your post....exactly. im constantly cleaning and purging, trying to figure out new ways to organize the playroom. I'm a fairly minimalist person.... The sheer number of toys grates on my nerves. The list of who gives gifts to our kids is as follows: 2 aunts/uncles 2 great aunts/uncles 3 sets of grandparents 2 sets of great grandparents Us 3 different cousins And a few random people If they only got one gift per person then that would be 15 gifts per kid (times three kids...that's 45 gifts). But it's not just one gift per kid....usually it's about two or three. So that could be over 100 new things entering our house. That's freaking insane. Now some are big, some are small....some are clothes or a blanket, but most are toys. I purge all.the.time. But I just try to see that my kids have many people who love them. And I'm thankful for that (but not the mess).

As they are wrapped....which meant that I already had some gifts wrapped at the end of November when our tree went up, so the pile has been growing since then.

Fever doesn't always equal contagious. It all depends on what's causing the illness. I've had a bad sinus infection before and I had a fever but wasn't contagious. You can't catch a sinus infection. Now, you can catch a cold and for certain people, it could develop into a sinus infection.

Nope, he takes them out of his sleigh and puts them in front of the fireplace. No gift wrapping for Santa!

I know everyone is saying to just go without one.....but I'm sorry, I'd be right there with ya. Sometimes convenience just wins. And microwaves are convenient. Just duck and run into WalMart, grab the first one you see, and pray the check out lines are short LOL. :laugh:

Wow, I wholeheartedly and completely disagree with what she said. I honestly believe just the opposite. Staying home with your kids is the most important thing a mom can do. They are shaping the futures of the next generation! If more moms stayed home with their kids, I believe that children these days wouldn't be so out of control.

Here's what my 5 year old DD is getting: several bean bags (ordered from Etsy.com) license plate and wheel lights for her bike My Little Pony small container of M&M's Disney princess book Hisss Game iTunes card blank miniature tea set for her to paint DVD movie new pajamas another book Sticker Dolly Dress book (my girls LOVE these) (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sticker+dolly+dressing) And I still need to get her two more things.

You can totally just wing it UNLESS you want some "sit down" (aka table service) meals. If you are fine with just quick, counter service, "fast food" type meals, then you can just go with no planning needed. The table service meals can fill up fast reservations are needed for that. If you are certain you want to see certain things (fireworks shows, parades, etc) some basic planning of which parks to do on which days will suffice. Of course, going on the off season is highly recommended.