I would consider that a handheld video game or an electronic game. I think of something played on a computer (desktop or laptop) as a computer game. I don't consider my kids playing apps on their Fires to be playing computer games, either.

No, but when school request no peanuts and peanut butter, they are not usually asking for allergen-free. Things that "may contain" because of where they are made are usually allowed.

Quaker Granola Bars I just picked a random non-peanut flavor (S'More) http://www.quakeroats.com/products/oat-snacks/chewy-granola/smores.aspx It says it may contain traces of peanuts and other tree nuts (like many things do that are made in factories where they made stuff with those ingredients), but nuts are not an ingredient. Other flavors don't have nuts as well.

If someone is trying to make something gluten free that my daughter or I can eat, I'm going to question you thoroughly to determine if it's a risk we're willing to take. Someone who has a family member (or themselves) who has Celiac and makes something that they tell me is gluten free I will trust. Someone who tells me their pie filling is gluten free and I can just scrape it out of the very obviously wheat-based crust and eat it, well, no, I'm not going to eat it. (These two scenarios both happened at a church potluck a week and a half ago.) I love prepackaged stuff because I can trust the label AND know that there wasn't a risk of cross contamination in their kitchen. It's not that I'm trying to be annoying or ungrateful - trust me, if someone is making the effort I am very grateful whether I eat it or not. It is that I don't want to get sick and don't want my daughter to get sick. Cross contamination is a very real risk.

That's how my daughter and I are (we both have Celiac). I suppose we do have extreme reactions in that we can't leave the bathroom and feel miserable for a few days and our joints swell up and what not, but it's definitely not anaphylactic extreme.

Actually, I happen to know that peanut-free flights DO exist! We flew JetBlue to NYC on the way to Ireland and they announced right at the beginning that it was a peanut-free flight due to a life threatening allergy on board and instead we would be give a choice of x or y for a snack. I don't think anyone was upset or put out by no peanuts on the flight. I read somewhere that a lot of airlines no longer do peanuts automatically.

Sounds very similar to the woman I know. We even got a specific type of birthday cake for my middle son from a specific bakery that does no dairy? eggs? I don't remember now which it was now since it was last summer to accommodate her son since he was a guest at the party. But then I've seen him at other things eating obvious dairy and things with eggs in them without problems. Since she has now admitted none of her kids have actually been tested for allergies I figure there was really no need for us to do that, but it wasn't a big deal really. It was just going to one bakery instead of another. The cake would've cost the same at both. I'm guessing the peanut-free label on the table was to appease the mother, but not telling any of the parents that the table was labeled peanut-free during their lunchtime was because they had been dealing with her and her kids "allergies" for years and knew it wasn't documented and probably wasn't really an allergy. A question I did think of for those who have allergic children, what if a kid eats something with peanuts/peanut butter for breakfast and then comes to school? Kids aren't necessarily the best at hygiene and handwashing. Or what if peanut is banned at lunch, but a kid has, say, peanut M&Ms on the playground? If they do a peanut-free table only during the lunch when the allergic kid is having lunch, could it be a problem if it's not labeled peanut-free during other lunches and kids eat peanuts/peanut butter at other times sitting at the table?

This morning I was reminded why I get dressed all the way to my shoes every single day. I got dressed, but I hadn't put on my shoes yet because I was upstairs and the shoes were downstairs. I had a load of folded laundry to put away so I was doing that when I slammed my pinky toe into my closet door. I am such a klutz. I broke it. Again. It started bruising immediately and was at a weird angle. I've broken pinky toes so many times! I immediately went downstairs and put on my shoes. I can feel the toe is all swollen. It hurts. Stupid not wearing shoes lol

Yes, my kids can read them. I have never noticed my kids being affected by the way characters in a book act. TV and movies, however, are a different story. I think it just affects them differently when they are like real life vs. words on a page and what you "see" in your head.

Yes, it's because for some kids, just being near those things is deadly. I did have an odd experience with peanut not being allowed, though, when Adrian was in kindergarten. They never mentioned not sending kids with peanut butter and jelly and I never thought about. He won't eat lunchmeat so I had been sending PB&J sandwiches most days. In December I happened to be volunteering and walked into the cafeteria for the first time while lunch was going on and Adrian was sitting at a table labeled "peanut free." So I asked his teacher about it and told her I had no idea and he'd been eating PB&J at lunch almost daily. She said not to worry about it because the one child in the school (I am amazed it was only one child) who was peanut-allergic was in his class, but it wasn't a bad allergy. I never did figure out why the table said peanut-free, but they didn't inform the parents at all. Of course, I did figure out later who the child was. He's actually in my church. And his mom claims a lot of of allergies for her kids and then we'll see the kids eating those things they are "allergic" to with no problems (including this particular child eating something my daughter had made that I very specifically told his mom has peanut butter in it) and if the mom is questioned she always has some reason why that particular food was okay, but at the same time she throws a fit if we don't customize snacks for her kids. She admits her kids have never been tested for any allergies. I really think she's doing a disservice to people with actual allergies.

Now I'm never going to be able to use our tub again! I clean ours about every six months with bleach. I fill it, pour in some bleach, and run the jet for a few minutes.

Yes! A million times yes! When I was trying to decide if we want to use Spelling You See next year, everything I found reviewing it was TOS reviews. They literally used it two weeks. Well, we used the samples one week so we knew as much as the reviews told us. I wanted to know about after they had done halfway through or the whole thing. I found maybe two reviews that used it more than a couple weeks.

We have some Thrive products. My parents used to be members and, yes, it was worth it. We have been happy with everything we've tried. My parents only stopped their membership because they are going to be moving here and that would be x number of pounds more every month to bring with them.

I occasionally review things we've used on my blog, but they aren't in-depth. I suppose I could talk at length about why I hate Sonlight or Math Mammoth or whatever, and maybe I should because I do often go on at length sometimes about the things I do like, but I'm not a very negative person. Anything I write on my blog, though, is completely honest because I've never been given anything to try so there's nothing like a freebie to influence my decision. I always take the reviews where something was given with a grain of salt. ETA: Mostly I just wrote a sentence or two, but at the end of the school year I did go over everything we used this year with my final thoughts. https://thefamilywho.wordpress.com/2015/06/06/final-thoughts-on-what-we-used/

They are a bit of a pain to keep really nice (dry cycle doesn't always work) and we don't use it much, but it is nice to have, especially when the kids have been doing a lot of serious workouts at taekwondo. My oldest son just used it last night. Even just using the tub without the jets is nice because it's a really big tub. I wouldn't buy a house because it has one and I wouldn't not buy a house because it doesn't. It's just there and is a nice perk, but not necessary.

7 days post ovulation that happened to me. Scared the crap out of me (we were trying). 10 days post ovulation I took a test and it was positive. Still had bleeding for a while longer off and on. She's 15 now.

Funny tipping story: We always tip in the 19-21% range (I round so it varies a little) and then less if the service was exceptionally bad (rarely happens, but it does) and more, sometimes much more, if the service was exceptionally good. When we moved to Texas, we were routinely so impressed with the service that we always tipped 25-30%. It took us a while to realize it wasn't really just really great service we were getting, it was the way Texans are compared to Marylanders. Super friendly, super attentive, happy, and upbeat is just *normal* here for servers. FWIW, the servers in Ireland were very similar to the ones in Texas. My British MIL (ETA: who has lived in the Republic of Ireland for 13 years) kept telling us to stop tipping and the servers themselves were always confused by tips, but then seemed to get it when they realized we were American tourists. She even seemed to think it might offend the servers (I can't figure out how extra money would offend someone, but I am not from there, she is, and she could be right). Tipping habits die hard!

Most of my ebooks were "bought" for free. I can't even do that at a library stuff your bad sale (best so far: 4 cents/book). I occasionally buy a deal of the day for $1.99. I rarely even do the $2.99 ones because they are just too expensive lol The only expensive ebooks I buy are new releases and I would buy the paper book brand new as well if I didn't have a Kindle. ebooks are usually at least a couple dollars cheaper for those and then we all can read at the same time instead of trying to share around a book (or having to buy more than one). I was surprised to discover that in practice ebooks ended up cheaper overall for me.

My Kindle Keyboard has no lights at all so I don't know how the LEDs on the PWs and Voyages work.

We call Pharr the border ;) Based on the regions of Texas they teach in TX History, San Antonio is the northern edge of South Texas and just below the Hill Country. It has something to do with the climate and some other things apparently.

Do you mean Fire? Because the Kindle ereaders are not backlit and are not in the same grouping as cell phones and iPads. Some have no lights at all. The Paperwhite and Voyage have LED lights to light up the screen from the edge, but they aren't shining in your eyes. I'm not sure if you can turn them off or not.

MD has around the same, maybe slightly higher but only by a few sense, minimum for wait staff as TX. Having moved from MD (not in a city) to TX (in a city) I can tell you the COL is VERY different. It's *much* cheaper here. Minimum wage for wait staff has nothing to do with COL and everything to do with expecting tips to make up the difference.

I'd still tip just because I am so used to it. However, when we were in Ireland we kept being reminded to not tip because they pay regular wages to servers there. Tipping is not part of their culture. I think it should be that way here, too.

It's because SA is the southernmost major city in Texas and if you look at the map, SA is in the southern part of the state. We are just over 4 hours from South Padre Island (just under 4 hours to Brownsville) which is pretty much as far south as you can go in Texas. That is driving time which includes a bit at a southeast angle. From border cities, San Antonio is about 3 1/2 hours from McAllen, 2 1/2 hours from Laredo, 2 1/2 from Del Rio (actually, we are pretty much straight to the west of Del Rio, the other two are more or less south). We are at least 6 hours from the border of TX/OK driving pretty much due north. Living in San Antonio, I am closer to the country of Mexico than I am to any other state in the US.

I am from southern MD, born and raised. I have never heard anyone at all say downy ocean. Nor does anyone, except possibly the watermen, say down the ocean. People in southern MD say they are going to the ocean, or to the Eastern Shore or Virginia Beach more likely.