Dental is offered at my DH's work. We declined it even though I'll need braces. Benefits minus premiums came out to be the same as us saving for it ourselves. Make sure you run your numbers to see if its worthwhile!

Lots to think about, thank you! I definitely hadn't thought about the birds. :/ I guess my biggest fear about the sun is leaving it out too long because I *can't* get to it in a timely manner. I guess that's what a kitchen timer is for? ;)

DH is totally on board with having the clothesline, we're just trying to decide where to put it. :)

DH and I are ready to put a clothesline in our backyard. We live in Middle GA, so the sun and heat can be INTENSE in the summer. We live on a corner lot, and we have a small, 3.5 foot fence. There's no good way to completely hide our clothing. I would like to put the line in the shade so our clothes won't get scorched/bleached. DH would like to put it where it is less visible, which happens to be where there is very minimal shade. I don't really care if cars can see our clothes from the road. No one has to stop in front of our house, so it'd just be a quick drive by anyway. Do you think the shade issue is valid? Where have ya'll put your clotheslines?

I like Mary Anne too. My baby is Annemarie. What great names to pick from!

I've used it since it was barely more than Excel worksheet way back in 2007. I've stuck with it and have never had any problems (with the program or with money!). That said, I do not use any automatic features and enter every receipt myself.

If you hadn't moved until this time next year, you wouldn't have pushed him forward a grade. Keep him where he is.

This. My dad died a year ago in an accident. My mom had a great church family to support her, but after a few weeks to a month, the offers of help and food decreased dramatically. If you're up to it, consider contacting her in a few weeks to offer a meal, help with yard work, that sort of thing.

Can you please suggest any blogs or sites that help a novice understand these concepts?

Yep! Amazon used to sell shoes and handbags through endless.com. That free return shipping is amazing!

Answer: depends. :/ My dad died last year. DS was 2.5 and DD was 5 mo. My amazing MIL and not-local BFF drove 6 hours (separately) to support me and watch my kids. Had they not done so, DH would have watched them, and I would not have had him for support (and he wanted to be there anyway, he liked my dad). There's no way my kids would have done well sitting in the funeral, which was also a full Catholic Mass. But had they been older, say 5 and 7, I would have expected them to be there. I attended my grandfather's funeral at 7 and my grandmother's at 11.

This may not be for everyone, but it worked for my friend. She told her DS3 that, since he was such a big boy, the store wouldn't let her buy diapers anymore. She found it easier to place the blame/authority elsewhere. I agree with the PPs who said to get rid of diapers (and pull ups!) cold turkey.

NFP/FAM with barriers would indeed be the least invasive. I'd get a copy of Taking Charge of your Fertility if you don't already have one.

I know the feeling. Prayers for you too.

I'd go with two, as long as I knew one was still big enough for a turkey.

I wore my DD in a Boba wrap for almost all her naps until she was 6 months. She also had sensitivities to what I passed on through breastmilk.

If I feel like my coffee consumption is getting out of control, I first force myself to drink one glass of water before each cup of coffee. That easily cuts my number of cups in half (from 3ish to 1.5ish, sometimes I just don't get around to finishing it like you mentioned.)

For me, 2x per day = once every 12 hours.

Mom for eldest - 23 Mom for me - 30 Mom for youngest - 42 Me for DS (the first grandchild) - 24 So my mom was 54 when her first grandchild was born, even though she "could have" had one through my brother 7 years prior, if he was at the same stage in life, putting her at 47.

I've been to 3 in Middle GA, and they've all been top notch.

Yes! I saw that. But there's a lot of acronyms I'm unfamiliar with, so I figured I'd get the book first. Thanks for the tip!

Yeah umm I'm 17+ months pp right now with NO cycles yet. We had been using Sympto Thermal, but my temps are still all over the place. My SIL does Billings, so I borrowed her book and have been doing that, but I still feel like I'm winging it. I just ordered TCOYF to get some more perspective, so we'll see. Hopefully things will change when we night wean... ETA: I'm considering a fertility monitor to take the guess work out of it. If that's not working then I'm not sure what to do...? How many months pp is your friend?

Ugh!

How long does it normally take?

So exciting!! Will he have his pope name already chosen?