Yes, I breastfeed my babies for several years, and exclusively for the first 6 months. Glad to hear it helps!

I agree, especially for my 4 year old. She doesn't do well with ever changing teachers. My 7 year old probably wouldn't love it, but she would be fine. I'm sure they are doing it because they cannot find consistency in teachers though.

I just started a sticker chart for DD7 for reading. When she fills the chart (it's about 25 spaces) she gets to pick out of our treasure box. It has small toys, dollar bills, sticker sheets, coloring books, etc. She's a very struggling reader so I wanted to give her incentive for reading (to me).

Yikes! I'm so sorry you guys are going through this! Whooping Cough freaks me out. I don't vaccinate my kids for the most part....but I will be vaccinating the new baby for WC.

Sweets....chocolate....caramel.....Mmmm. :D

I just can't get over the whole "cowboys vs aliens" just sounding waaay too cheesy for me LOL.

Oh, and I use Photoshop CS to make my pages. I don't like the pre-made scrapbooking programs.

I'm a digital scrapbooker. Like one of the posters above, I buy all of my things from online stores. It's just like paper scrapbooking but on the computer....there are stores full of digital scrapping items just waiting to be purchased! A few of my favorites are Sweet Shoppe Designs, Scrap Orchard, and The Lilypad. I make them in 12x12 format and keep them in a folder on my computer called "waiting to be printed." For my birthday each year, FIL sends me a $100 check. I use this and add some money to it to get a book printed that's about 70 - 80 pages. Usually around that time they are running a special...this year it was 20% off of photo books and free shipping. I order mine from Shutterfly...love their quality....and I only order when I can get a percentage off, as well as free shipping. After they are printed, I file them into folders on my computer by year.

I'm currently 27 weeks. About a month ago I stopped at a consignment store and saw a swing and I got that. And I stopped at a few garage sales and found a changing pad, extra covers, and a floor gym for a very good price. I didn't want to pass those up for that price so I went ahead and bought them. Earlier this week, I ordered the infant car seat....it just arrived from Amazon yesterday. Yesterday we had a girl's day out and went shopping. JC Penny has some great mark downs on newborn clothing so I spent about $50 and got 10 outfits and 2 pair of shoes. About a month ago, I saw the *perfect* diaper bag with so many pockets, so I went ahead and bought that. I really don't have a time schedule or anything....if I see a great deal, I jump on it. I'm not purchasing too many clothes though because I will get some at my shower.

Not sure whats the issue with DD7 but she as horrible breath at times too. Back a few months ago when I had really bad morning sickness, I couldn't stand to have her near me in the mornings....she made me gag. She even made me vomit once. :ack2: I began having her use a mouth wash each morning. It seems to have made somewhat of a difference.

If you get a loud bird....be sure it won't drive you insane. My sister had a loud bird that screeched and squawked and it about drove her out of her mind. Our friends have a bird that screeches at the top of its lungs whenever we are over there. I would go bonkers.

And don't forget. Me: Eat your dinner. DD: How many bites?

I've only heard great things about HomeLife! I don't personally use it (but probably will in the future) but I know several people who do and they really like it.

I think a change in diet can effect a lot of things, whether it's been officially "proven" or not. I was diagnosed as being glucose intolerant a little over a month ago....it's really just pre-gestational diabetes. So I started watching my carbs. I try to stick with about 20 carbs for breakfast, 30 for lunch, and 40 for dinner, plus 2 15 carb snacks. That's basically what I found the "gestational diabetic diet" to be. For the first few weeks, my gastrointestinal tract didn't know what the heck to make of that change. TMI, but it went from constipation to the complete opposite several times. It happened right about the time that I made the diet change, so it can't be a coincidence. So yes, I believe diet can effect mood as well.

I have NEVER understood why those empire waist shirts are so popular. My 17 year old sister wore them a lot for a while. When I see them, it just screams pregnant to me. I won't touch them with a 10 foot pole when not pregnant LOL. I'm sorry you had a rough day! Glad you are ditching the shirt LOL!

I was wondering this about DD4 just yesterday LOL. I let DD7 begin washing her own hair at 6 years old....but hers is short. As I was bathing DD4 yesterday, I was thinking that I'll probably be washing her long hair for a long time LOL.

I'm curious why the doctor said you didn't need to get rid of the cats and dogs? I tested positive for a cat allergy and we got rid of our cats....it took a few months for the dander to get out of our house, but I felt SO much better after they were gone. I'm allergic to everything your DD is, except for dogs. Some months of the year are definitely more difficult than others. I don't take any meds though.

My first grader wasn't able to do any independent book. And now that she's going into 2nd grade and not reading well, she still can't really do any independent work.

Yeah, I wouldn't give it at the actual shower.

When they have money, I talk to them about how to spend it wisely. DD7 is very willing to listen and has always been like that. DD4 does not listen to my advice quite as well. I will try to steer them away from particular things.

I'll be in this boat in October. Honestly, I'm preparing myself to be completely stressed out lol!

DD had EXACTLY the same thing. I began noticing it when she was 2, but I thought I was seeing things because no one else ever saw it! Finally, right after she turned 3, I decided that I was not crazy and took her to the ped, who referred us to a pediatric opthamologist. Sure enough, her eye was turning outward at times! She had Strabismu. It can happen because of weak eye muscles, but thankfully that wasn't the cause for us. DD just needed a very large prescription for glasses. Her eye muscles were getting weak from straining too much too focus. But there was not an actual issue with her eye muscles that needed surgery or anything. After a year of patching and wearing her glasses, her eye stopped turning outwards. We just got cleared last month to quit patching. Definitely take her to the ped to have it looked at. If caught early, it's very easily correctable.

In our house, DH usually isn't home until 6:30 or 7 and then we have to eat dinner and I have to clean up. That doesn't leave much time for us to school in the evenings. So for us it wouldn't work. It does sound interesting though! With homeschooling, I'm game for anything that will work. You could give it a shot....at least a few days a week.

We schooled at Chick Fil A earlier this summer. It was great! We need to do it again sometime soon. We sat in the back, got lemonades, and worked for a little while. Then the kids ran to play in the play area for about 15 minutes. Then we did a few more subjects and the kids ran off to play while I ordered lunch. After lunch we schooled the last bit, the kids ran off to play, and we went home. They thought it was the best school day ever!

We usually get started around 10. I'd love to be started by 8, but that just wouldn't work for us. My kids are late sleepers.