We have a 10' box Jayco pop-up. I've had it for about ten years and bought it used. We sleep one adult and two kids on the front wing (queen), one adult on the booth that converts to a twin, and one adult and child on the back wing (full). There is another seating area that could also convert to a twin. My kids are a lot smaller than yours and they like to sleep in a heap. We are expecting another child and are looking to upgrade to a 12' box in a couple of years. Features that I like: an awning, being able to store my camper in our garage, it is easy to tow with a minivan, furnace, a layout that let's us access the fridge when the camper is closed, and my portable potty. I believe the other camper you are asking about is what is known as a 'Hybrid.' Several manufacturers make them. We've seriously considered one, but are reluctant to have to upgrade our tow vehicle and have to pay for storage. Hybrid manufacturers often downplay the weight of their campers. I wouldn't try it with a minivan. Gas mileage also takes a hit because of the vehicle and the greater surface area you are dragging into the wind.

I love our BAL Leveler. It stabilizes our pop-up so it doesn't rock and it is very easy to level. Most of the sites we go to have electricity, so we have a ceramic heater to augment our furnace. In the summer, we also carry a fan.

I have a question about large family dynamics. Where did you experience the tipping point where more kids was not necessarily more work. I've often heard that once you have three, additional kids just slip right in. My husband and I joke that we are already well broken-in.

A lot of our storage has already been talked about. Additionally, I like coat closets by the front and back doors. I also love having a 2.5 car garage. We have enough room for bikes, sleds, mowers, blowers, and *super essentials* like a cement mixer.

We love our Honda Fit. It gets good mileage, handles well, and fits two in booster seats surprisingly well.

I've struggled with finding a spelling program that my son likes. R&S has done the trick for us. He likes being able to do the pages independently and he appreciates the short lists. The words have been easy for him, but I like that. His confidence is returning and he no longer despises spelling.

For my second grader, Once a week: art, bible, life of Fred Twice a week: history, science Three times a week: language Four times a week: Singapore math, writing, cursive, reading, spelling

My brother was in his early 20's when we went on a family cruise. He ate two breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinners, and snacked at a midnight buffet. He's said it was the first time in almost a decade where he wasn't hungry.

I think Mabel Ruth sounds lovely. So called "old lady" names sound strong to me. It makes me think she is named after a beloved female relative. I would a billion times prefer one of these names to a top ten or a uniquely spelled name. Then again, my bias might be showing because my two girls have first and middle names from my grandmothers, great aunt, and great grandmother.

I so wanted All About Spelling to work for us, but my son hated the letter tiles. We made it half-way through two and I couldn't take the struggle. Biggest didn't want to do it and the younger kids wanted to steal/eat the tiles. Retention wasn't great, he was ready to mutiny, and I felt like there was not a great return on my time investment. Then we tried Spalding. I read three versions of the text, I made a complete spelling notebook, my son memorized all the phonograms. I loved the program and it made spelling click for me. The kid started crying about having so many words each week and the writing. And now, my oldest is loving R & S spelling level 2. He loves doing the worksheet pages independently. He loves having so few words each week. He likes doing the pretest on a whiteboard and checking it himself. At this point, I'm glad spelling isn't causing tears. I'm hopeful that one of my other kids likes one of my fancy spelling programs.

My daughter was breech and delivered by c-section. She was my third child I nursed and her latch was terrible. At the recommendation of several friends, I took her in to a chiro when she was a couple of days old. Neither my husband or I had ever received chiropractic care and I was incredibly skeptical. The chiro performed cranial sacral therapy. She gently smoothed the plates in my daughter's head and explained that the reason why she was sucking so hard was because she was trying to align the plates in her skull. Since my daughter was born by c-section, the plates were not pushed back as she descended the birth canal. She showed me some movements to do at home and that was it. The difference in my daughter's latch was amazing. It went from being super painful to tolerable. I was used to pumping and her latch felt like someone dialed the suction from one extreme to the other.

Where is the best place to get a Proclick? Any coupon deals for B&M or advice for when the price goes down on Amazon? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the $72 Amazon currently wants. I think I'm at the tipping point where it makes more sense to print and buy my own curriculum, but it seems pricey.

The purpose is to torture parents of small kids.

I've done long hair to pixie and then back to long hair twice. I love my hair short, but regular expensive cuts, daily washing, and some sort of hair goo is necessary. At this point in my life, long hair is significantly easier and much cheaper. Growing out a pixie is pretty horrible. The mullet phase lasts a long time and I dislike my hair as it grows through all sorts of unflattering lengths. I love my hair super short and long enough tow to least pull into a bun. Chin to shoulder length hair on me whirls and flips and requires a lot of styling so I don't look demented. Even while pregnant and nursing, I was mistaken for a boy with my short hair. There are many people who just rely on hair length to figure out sex. Usually, they'd be pretty embarrassed when they realized their error. My brother went through the same thing when his hair was shoulder length. If you've never gone so short before, I really recommend trying it. There are very few things you can do in half an hour that so radically change your appearance. I love the weightless feeling after a huge chop. Washing your hair for the first time and realizing how little there is actually there is also a unique experience.

I usually do a half an hour on the elliptical after dinner. My husband runs bath time and I can zone out by watching trash TV I'd never watch any other time. I find I sleep better when I'm regularly exercising and I haven't run into any difficulties.

My MIL is an excellent grandmother. She takes my 3 kids for a couple of hours every Saturday. That time has been such a blessing for my husband and I to reconnect, peruse our own hobbies, and we did a ton of grieving when our daughter died. It is such a gift that she is in our family. When horrible things have happened, it is such a gift to know my MIL can seamlessly step in and care for my family. When my first was born, my MIL really supported me as a new mother and taught me a ton about infant care. She did so in a way that always affirmed that I was a good mom. It still makes me tear up today. That was such a hard time and I feel like my own mom dropped the ball. My MIL lives 5 minutes away and I hope to have her live with us somewhere down the line. After having two boys, I went all in with my MIL. Someday, I'm probably going to have a DIL and I want my sons and daughter growing up seeing how it is done. Relationships require work, but they are also rewarding and important.

We just finished the first book. I stretched it out over two years for first and second grade. We spent a week on each chapter. My younger son tagged along at 3 and 4 by listening to the books and participating in experiments. Prepping each week involved ordering recommended books from the library and reading the chapter myself. It was absolutely not open and go, but it really was not that rough. The only extra materials we bought were a set or rocks and a set of magnets. Neither was absolutely necessary, but my kids enjoyed exploring the a me I feel like they added to their understanding.

We do one or two chapters a week, read a slew of recommended books, color, do the map work, and do dictations for every heading. However, we do not do any activities. I'd probably poke my eyes out if I had to plan, set-up, and then store all the output.

Our home was custom built 40 years ago and the plans are rolled up in the basement. There are a lot of thoughtful features that I don't see in a lot of other homes I visit. Our garage is a 2.5 car garage. It looks like a normal size from the front, but there is extra space along the width in the back. This means that we can fit two cars and a ton of other things in our garage. We have an attached sunporch that has an indoor grill and vent. We can girl year-round despite weather. There are two full closets on either side of our front door. We always have space to hang-up guests' coats. There is a full closet by our back door so there is a place for our coats and winter gear. We have a laundry chute that goes from the master bath to to first floor laundry room. Our laundry room has extra cabinets and a long stretch of counter for folding clothes. We have built-ins in several rooms of the house. Additional storage and bookcases make our home look clean and less cluttered. We have a finished basement which means my kids have an enormous room to play in. Toys are kept downstairs and out of everywhere else. When they are older, the basement will function as an additonal living room for entertaining. We have a lot of closets and every bathroom has storage. I love my home and I feel like the original owners carefully thought out what kind of space they wanted for their large family. Forty plus years later, it is working well for mine.

I've had a larger range of birth experiences than most women. One of my sons was born in a tub at home. The other was induced in a hospital. On the other end of the spectrum, I passed out at 27 weeks pregnant with my first daughter and woke up hours later after having a classical incision under general anesthesia. Neither my husband or I were there at her birth. My youngest was a planned section.

We live in the Western Springs, Hinsdale, and Clarendon Hills area. The Hinsdale schools are excellent, but you pay a premium to be in their district. If we knew we were going to be homeschooling, we would have seriously considered living somewhere else. We pay around 10k a year in property tax. My kids are relatively young, but we are traveling north and further west for homeschooling groups. It is normal to spend an hour in the car round-trip. Naperville has an active homeschooling group and we've recently started going up to Schaumberg as well. The Chicago suburbs are very much made up of smaller communities. Proximity to the train and the quality of local schools determine property values. School districting can mean a substantial difference in real estate prices even within a general area.

My mother had an antique business when I was growing up. Both of my parents learned how to strip, repair, and refinish furniture. She never made a fortune, but she considered it a hobby and enjoyed it enormously.

I never open my door. I look to see who is there and then tell them we are not interested through the glass. I will never buy anything someone is selling at my door. I live in a safe area, but I worked in victim advocacy for several years and I don't trust most people.

I wore my mom's dress, but did have the neckline altered. My mom's approval was very important to me and our taste is similar.

My cycle has returned at 18 months, 16 months, and my youngest is currently 16 months and I'm still waiting. Every time, I've felt my body gearing up for a month or two before the return. It is almost like my body is just waiting for the baby to delay that night feeding j-u-s-t enough to launch the ovulation sequence. Since I've gotten pregnant before my first post-partum period, I know that my body goes right into full fertility. I've heard of women who get their period back much more quickly often have a few anovulatory cycles.