My 8 year old runs her mile runs in Fila Skeletoes. Seems to work well for her as she can run through muddy obstacles or whatever and the shoes are okay.

Steps are made to completely exhaust people. <_< Seriously, when I was in the best shape of my life in my early 20's, jogging 3 miles every day and doing other exercises on top of that, a few flights of stairs could still leave me huffing and puffing. I never understood that!

I love my iPhone. I'm on my 4th one (upgrade each new genearation). I'm a little familiar with the Android platform after using it with the Kindle Fire. After two months of using the Fire, I promptly sent it back because I couldn't get a feel for the lack of apps. Yes, the Android market will continue to grow, but right now, I don't feel that they are up there with Apple yet.

I think I'm about to lose my mind. I need something.....schedules....advice...creative ideas...anything!! Between the three of my little girls, they are about to send me to the funny farm. The 8 year old still throws tantrums. I'm talking falling on the floor, hollaring at the top of her lungs type of tantrums. Is this normal at 8???? I thought she'd be past this! And she is just plain mean to her 5 year old sister most of the time. She's selfish, always worried about whether she's being treated fairly, always worried that the 5 year old is going to get something that she doesn't, always worried she's getting the short end of the stick in some way. She's extremely jealous....no idea why. We've always stressed being the complete opposite of jealous to our children. But this child is insanely jealous. The 5 year old poops in her underwear about 85% of the time. I'm so tired of cleaning a 5 year old poopy booty. Yes, we've seen the doctor and there's no medical issues. We've tried rewards, punishments, bribes, talking, begging, and everything else under the sun. Also.....she's usually my kind one but has been awfully whiny lately.Over the top whiny. And quite contrary at times, in her own little 5 year old way. The two of them together....they argue. They used to just argue sporadically. Now they argue CONSTANTLY. It it literally all day long, constant bickering about every single little thing. And I can't tell who is at fault! They run to me and expect me to know who to punish. I haven't a clue! My 8 year old is probably usually at fault, however, my 5 year old knows how to push her buttons! This bickering in and of itself is just about enough to push a sane person over the edge. They fight while playing. They fight while cleaning the playroom every time. They fight about who does what. Throw in the pooping 5 year old and the tantruming 8 year old and we've got a barrell of fun over here. And I haven't even mentioned the 1 year old yet. She is the 1 year old from another planet. A cage full of hyenas would be easier to handle than her. If the National Weather Service is taking suggestions for new names for tropical storms and hurricanes next year, then they should definitely consider using my daughter's name! She can destroy a house in ten seconds flat. I have more gates, baby proofing items, and cabinet locks for her than I used for both other kids combined. And I'm homeschooling.....just barely. We've been doing "school lite" for months now. Throw in all of our activities and I'm done for. Actually, the activities themselves I don't mind. It's the stress of getting everyone out of the house. Meltdowns ensue from every kid when we are trying to get out the door. We have American Heritage Girls every Monday (8 and 5 year old), art every Tuesday (8 year old), ballet every Wednesday (5 year old), AWANA on Wednesday nights (8 and 5 year old), and winter soccer will be starting soon for the 8 year old (which will be on Saturdays). Plus, we're beginning an American Girl book club, but that only meets once a month. Then, of course, we have church on Sundays. Not to mention, other activies in life such as birthday parties, family dinners, special events, dates for DH and I, etc. And I also have my 16 year old nephew who lives with us! He's doing the virtual school so he's here every day. He's no trouble except when he takes breaks from school and comes out to play with the girls.....balls start flying around the living room, light saber battles ensue, things are knocked off the shelves, the kids start running, and the noise level of the house goes up about ten notches. They are just having a good time, but this is not good for an already stressed out mama. And bedtime....oh, bedtime. This has been an issue for YEARS. My 8 and 5 year old cry every. single. night. when it is time for bed. Why???? Cause they don't want to go to bed! They cry, they fall on the ground, they whine, they delay, they delay more, they get out of bed, they call for us....it is NEVER ENDING. I have no idea why they do this. They get in trouble every time. It's like they don't care. And we've tried reward systems, punishements, bribes, the works. Everything works for about three of four days and then it is back to the same old stuff. I just NEED my "me time" at night without the kids. DH puts them to bed, but our house is small so I hear everything, they call for me, they come out of the room to me. Lately my heart has been beating fast and I've been so incredibly stressed by the end of each day. I've not been a fun mommy and that's just not me. I've never been this stressed. I'm always the fun one. And DH just doesn't seem to get it. So I'm asking.....what works for you in this stage of life? The stage of tantruming, fighting siblings and destructive babies? What are your creative secrets? Do you have a good schedule? I'm wondering if I'll be more or less stressed with trying to stick to a schedule. Our days are varied due to activities so I'm not sure how well a schedule would work. I'm wondering if we should drop activities? I'm very selective about our activities and each of the ones we are doing is something I've been awaiting a space to get the kids in. I wonder if I should keep my 8 and 5 year old separated for most of the day? I'm wondering if I should let my 13 month old watch TV to occupy her at times? I didn't let my older ones watch TV till they were over two years old. Will her brain rot from the inside out? I just know that it will.....or will it save my sanity if she will watch a baby educational video for 30 minutes? I just know that something has *got* to change before I drop a few kids off at the local elementary school one morning. I love them, I really do.....but they really know how to push Mommy's buttons here lately. And they totally know I'd never drop them off at the elementary school....but I have threatened it.

Definitely a HIDA scan. My sister is going through this now and I went through it back in January. An ultrasound of the gallbladder will only pick up stones. You can have a non functioning gallbladder with no stones. And make sure a COMPETENT doctor is reading it. Two doctors told my sister her HIDA scan was normal, even while she was still experiencing excruciating pain and nausea. Then two specialists told her the numbers were functioning way low and it's definitely her gallbladder. So it seems that not all can read the scan results.

My girls are getting the new Skylanders Giants game. They got the first Skylanders last year and love it.

It drives me crazy that no ones hair seems to grow lol!

I'm so confused on these new boards! I don't recognize very many people due to the change and I feel like I'm in a new place and meeting people for the first time!

At DD5's yearly check up back in March, I asked her doctor about the fact that DD seems to cough a lot. She'll run around and then begin to cough. She'll get to laughing a lot and then cough. She's have a crying meltdown and then cough. The doctor said it was a slight form of asthma and gave us an inhaler and a spacer. She's usually a very good doctor, but she explained nothing about it nor told us how/when to use it. Since then, there's been several instances where I've wondered if I should have given it to DD. When DD got to laughing and playing rough at my parents house, she began to cough. Every time she'd laugh, it would be followed by a cough. And twice now when DD has gotten very upset and had a meltdown, it would end up being cry, cough, cry, cough, cry, cough (the second instance of this just occured tonight, which prompted this post). Each time, I've gotten DD to sit down and rest for a few minutes. After the laughing, excitement, or crying subsided, the coughing would significantly ease up. She never seemed to be distressed or concerned about being unable to take a full breath or anything like that. Should I be giving her the inhaler in these circumstances? I know that the inhalers themselves can have side effects (jittery, rapid heartbeat, etc), so I don't want to give it if it's not needed, of course. How do you determine when to give your child their inhaler? We've never used it. Nor has she been "officially" diagnosed with asthma.....just what the doctor mentioned at her appointment.

We go geocaching! My kids love it! They don't like finding the "micro" containers....they like the ones with the "treasure" in it LOL! We keep a little bag of "treasure" in our car so that if we are out and find a cache, we always have something to switch out with. I also have the geocaching app on my iPhone. It's AWESOME!

Definitely do not panic right now. He's only five. I have a five year old and I don't even do school with her every day. She can sound out CVC words right now and I'm totally fine with that! I do have a child who was a struggling reader. She was diagnosed with mild dyslexia. She didn't start reading until nearly 8 years old. Now she's over 8.5 and doing well! Kids learn to read at different times. No stress!

We're doing it this year for the first time! Of the more than 30 times I've been to Disney, I have NEVER seen the Candlelight Processional. I am SOOO excited! We booked the dinner package to be sure that we get seats. I didn't book till about two weeks ago. I was really surprised that I got one.

I'm not seeing any Cyber Monday deals that are great. I did manage to snag something at Target.com yesterday afternoon for half price, so that really helped. I was hoping that American Girl would have better deals, but there's nothing interesting there. I grabbed a few Kindle books for DD8 (not for Christmas though). I was hoping to finish up my Christmas shopping today but I'm not sure that's going to happen.

Thanks....I think LOL! I only spent $5 though. I bought all of the Buddy Files mystery books for DD8. Those seem right up her alley. Great deals!

My 8 year old DD is in a Britax Parkway and my 5 year old DD is in a Britax Regent (harnessed). We harness as long as possible here. DD8 was harnessed until she was 7.75 years old....and even then I was hesitant to move her from it but we needed a smaller carseat since baby came akong. She sits well in it though.

I've never had any nice, neat kitchen items. So I think I'm putting some on my Chrismtas list this year. I've got nice, silicone oven mitts (I've always just had the two dollar WalMart ones LOL). Also, some collapsible measuring spoons. What else should I put on my list? I thought about a collapsible colander but I just recently bought a non-collapsible one that sits over the sink....so I think I'm good there. Anything to add? Neat storage? Something really helpful? Etc?

We saw Wreck It Ralph the night before Thanksgiving....we all enjoyed it! Well, except when I had to take my one year old out of the theater LOL. But the parts that I saw were good!

Hmm...let's see if I can remember what I got: DD5: paint your own miniature tea set, iTunes card, a My Little Pony, new jammies, card game Hisss, sticker book, license plate and light for her bike, princess book, bean bags to toss, pack of M&M's, and I still need to find her two more things. DD8: new jammies, pack of M&M's, Star Wars book, iTunes card, Star Wars card game, Fashion Designer stencils, sticker book, license plate and light for her bike, paracord bracelet, bean bags to toss, and a My LIttle Pony. Nephew16: pack of Reese's Pieces, book about Zombies, lounge pants, iTunes card, Walking Dead calendar, Nanoblocks guitar, NFL pennant, yoyo, NFL mini helment and pens, a Star Wars shirt, and a military MRE. DD1: Not really doing her much of a stocking.....I do have a cloth book and a Little People camel figure to put in there. I may pick up one or two more things, but she really doesn't need them (or care about them).

Hmm...let's see if I can remember what I got: DD5: paint your own miniature tea set, iTunes card, a My Little Pony, new jammies, card game Hisss, sticker book, license plate and light for her bike, princess book, bean bags to toss, pack of M&M's, and I still need to find her two more things. DD8: new jammies, pack of M&M's, Star Wars book, iTunes card, Star Wars card game, Fashion Designer stencils, sticker book, license plate and light for her bike, paracord bracelet, bean bags to toss, and a My LIttle Pony. Nephew16: pack of Reese's Pieces, book about Zombies, lounge pants, iTunes card, Walking Dead calendar, Nanoblocks guitar, NFL pennant, yoyo, NFL mini helment and pens, a Star Wars shirt, and a military MRE. DD1: Not really doing her much of a stocking.....I do have a cloth book and a Little People camel figure to put in there. I may pick up one or two more things, but she really doesn't need them (or care about them).

We have season passes and go to Disney often. That said, they couldn't pay ME to go on that day/weekend. The wait times will be horrible and your chances of finding a table service restaurant with availability are pretty slim to none at this point. I refuse to do Disney on holidays.

Yes, this! I check Zulily almost daily since they list new deals each day. I just found matching Christmas dresses in size 8, 6x, and 18 months for my three girls!

I've stopped eating all fast food except for Chick Fil A. No one else seems to compare. All the chick fil a's that I've been in are exceptionally clean, with a friendly and helpful staff. Places like McDonald's are such a far cry from Chick Fil A.

I'm not good at planning. We get through grammar, phonics, reading, math, cursive, etc just fine. It always seems to be history and science that are lacking. I know my kids are still fairly young (3rd grade and K), but I do feel that the 3rd grader should be getting more than she is. I'm having a hard time keeping up with housework, planning, homeschooling, activities, meal planning, two older kids, and a baby who is into everything. Is there a science and history curriculum that requires very little planning? Should we just read lots of different books?

My older two daughters got their iPod Touches when they were 2 and 5 years old. So they've had them for about 3 years now. We recently upgraded them to the current version too since they previously had the 2nd generation ones. They are THE BEST gifts that we've ever given to them. I load them up with educational apps to do during "school" time when waiting on the other child to finish their work....they take photos on vacation....they take silly videos of each other.....they watch Netflix or shows from iTunes...I put all of their kid music on it.....I've even loaded home movies onto them. Then, of course, they can play games as well. They facetime their aunts and grandparents. I can text them on the Voxer app when I'm away from them and they are at home with their dad or with my mom. The kids love them and they are great bargaining tools as well. Also taking them away is an effective discipline strategy. iTunes gift cards are always great things to stuff into stockings or Easter baskets. Letting them download a .99 cent app is a great incentive for getting schoolwork done that week. Seriously....best gift we've ever given them. Get a decent case and dropping them will do no damage. My middle daughter has had one since she was two years old....never damaged it.

Good to know! Sounds like my DD could be on her way to just being small, as your DD is. But it's strange because her Daddy is 6 foot 4, so I never imagined a small child LOL!