My sympathies. We've been driving the big ones for nine years and there's nothjng like having to park a mile away and park with five little kids under the age of 7, lol. Our lives are going to be so crazy easy in 15 years!!!

IF you are eating well and healthily? We've been eating THM for 15 days now. Eating plenty, lots of healthy food, but the pounds are coming off really fast. I'm glad but I didn't think weight should come off so fast. I feel fantastic but I do wonder about this. DH -8lbs DD -9lbs Me - 12 lbs

My baby. sister spent last weekend at my mom and dad's because she was sick and wanted to be taken care of. She's almost thirty. ;) Judging by my parents it seems like they spend more time with us kids as adults than they did when we were little. Speaking from my own experience I think it's far more important to be available for your teens than littles. I think they seem more independent around 7-11 but then need you to be available on their time frame for long talks, etc when they are 13+.

We made a move a year and a half ago. DH is 42. Would we do it again? Not out of state anymore at our kids' ages but if our youngest was in college? I think so. We worry about aging parents. If that wasn't a factor and kids were in school then yes. Our moves are usually about 3-4 years and the company does all the moving for us though.

It gets better. In the meantime, look to nuts and seeds. They are healthy, easy to snack on, and remarkably filling.

My knee jerk reaction was, "No dog poo," so meh. :P Don't rule out a tree house. You can always build a platform 1/2 (or less) up a large tree. My parents built us a platform playhouse with no tree at all. But I'll tell you a secret, we had a tree house, a really cool tree house, and yet the kids didn't really play in it that much. Do you have outdoor equipment (balls, frisbees, bikes, scooters) and / or building materials like sticks to build forts? That's what my kids like.

I think, in general, you just lack experience and perspective. :) Perspective because you're too close to the situation and because you keep telling yourself, "I don't like toddlers" and experience because if you had oodles, you'd know the above was really quite normal. If you knew, really knew, it was normal and he was actually a great kid, then you'd have more perspective - you'd rise above it, look down, smile, and say, "This too shall pass." I think that's the biggest bonus of having experience -the knowledge that "big" things are little things and they pass. So, to give perspective, - the "no, no, no" you're hearing or stating the rule - is him thinking aloud. He's learning boundaries. He's repeating what you want him to do. This isn't defiance, disobedience, naughtiness, or really even mischievousness, if I am thinking of the scenario correctly. This is him reinforcing the message he's getting from you. He's simply firming up the rules and double checking them. You say, "That's right! No." Or, "That's right! We only throw balls! Good boy. Go get me a ball and we'll throw balls." He's looking for confirmation. As far as dressing, the best thing to do is have him be an active participant. "William, come. Let's put on your shirt. Put in your head." (He participates.) "Okay, now one arm. GOOD! Now the other arm. Nope, not that. Stop wiggling. Give mama that other arm." Know that active TEACHING and perseverance will result in this phase passing. Toddlers are not mind readers and even when they understand, they really NEED affirmation of what they think they understand. My guess is that your love language is not words of affirmation but the little stinkers really need to have ongoing feedback.

DD knew she was going to school to work with language and educational issues with kids. Last week she made the official switch to Clinical Psychology. Her goal is to diagnose, assess, and work with kids like her brother. She plans on specializing with dyslexia and impaired working memory. (She was my Barton tutor for a year and we've seen Susan speak twice now. ) Having her in the family might be a little like hitting the lottery, yeah? ;). Two years down, two to go, then onto grad school. Then we'll be apprised of all the research the Unicersity is working on in this area. Who is hoping to be their kid can be a guinea pig for programs? This girl.

Canned veggies. Meh. We have smoothies in the AM, kale, spinach, fruit, with yogurt, chia, and protein powder. Snacks are ONLY fruit or veggies. Lunch - salad with raw veg (cabbage, broccoli, carrots, onions, peppers, etc.) Supper - veggies on half the plate, minimum. Keep in mind this is a new habit for you. It will take about three weeks for it to feel remotely normal. Also, things probably won't taste great yet. I think there is a study out there that says you have to be introduced to a food about seven times before it isn't foreign.

I would definitely think twice about following someone's advice to go deep into debt over education that I didn't know well, no matter what lecture they were giving. The Army was nice enough to pay off 65k of our student loans but we have another 55k sitting out there. You do NOT want to do that to your kids. Our oldest has heard us talk about student loan debt since birth.... It's a heavy weight to place on a kid, especially when you know they want to some day get married, (probably to someone with debt as well) and have children, buy a house, and have a life. It's great advice, "Go to the best school" but at the end of the day a graduate degree from a solid school with no debt is darn near it's weight in gold IMO.

School is a false environment. Never again in his adult life will he be forced to be surrounded by jackasses and there it is. In the workplace unruly non-conforming people are fired. Now what I am *not* saying is that public school kids are braying donkeys. Please do not misread me. My beautiful nieces are in high school right now and they are truly lovely young women. I'm addressing the "problem" children in your son's high school. What you're saying is that your kid is having serious health implications and problems because of the environment and because these kids are out of control. Please tell me an adult situation in which your child will be present that he'll need to be prepared for this? He won't. My oldest attends a very large "party" school. True story. And, yet, in college, young adults are allowed to find their own tribe. In adulthood there is a code of conduct. No, your child won't be scarred from missing out on anxiety attacks. I won't address academics. With 5,000+ posts that shouldn't be a concern for you. ;)

I know I've been floored by the difference. Ana decided to live at home her first year of college. She applied to the two state universities within driving distance. One offered her a $2k renewable scholarship each year for four years. The other gave her $10k+. It covered her tuition fully plus books. What in the world?! I have no explanation EXCEPT we've found that the financial aid office at the state flagship has a point system in which it determines awards and in that is class rank. We put Ana down as ranked 1 of 1. Did that have an impact? No idea. But we just got her award letter for next year and they actually increased her award. It will be $12k+. It will cover her tuition, her books, her commute expenses, food. I know this is pennies when some of you are looking at $60k in tuition. :( But maybe it's helpful to someone. So she went to the better state school. I had really wanted her to have a private Christian education at a small school. She *really* wanted to stay out of debt. Whatever happened, I'm pretty grateful. ;) (As an OT aside, she switched her major to clinical psychology and this school is an excellent fit so it worked out well.) All this to say, if I was going to emphasize anything, it would be that homeschoolers apply to a few schools because the difference is drastic.

Grandpa, but yes, that's what I was thinking. She's my only dd that is also tends to be curvy and have dramatic weight fluctuations.

LOL! This is EXACTLY how she found out. She's been denied four times (out of 7) so far because of her resting pulse. It's freaking me out to be honest.

YES! Didn't think of this one. This is my 13yo and younger group's favorite. Even DS (16) enjoys this game. Good fun. :)

Carcassone is my favorite game. Ever. We play it every Sunday morning over coffee. HOWEVER, my kids (except Abbie) do not appreciate its simple beauty. DH and I play it as a two person game. I don't love it as a 3 person game and like it far less as a 4 person game. Agricola had a wicked learning curve for me. HOWEVER, now that we have it down, I love the game. Friends just sent us Galaxy Trucker. We just sat down to it for the first time this week. I like the premise. I need to play it a few more times before the comfort level is there so I can recommend it but it is HIGHLY recommended on Boardgame Geek. If ya'all are golfers and if you REALLY like card games, my kids are in love with Play Nine. (Not a board game.) I've heard good things about Puerto Rico and I think that's *my* next game.

Definitely stop for lunch - maybe dessert. I love early quiet mornings! It's such a nice way to start a morning. You might want to pencil in a nap though. I'll take your day please and thank you!! Sounds great! I wanted to say something positive about your day but you have accountant and doctor on the same list. I have nothing. :D :thumbup1: My list for today: My in-laws are HOME!!!!! :party: They've been in Florida all winter, FIL had a major health crisis while there and we're so stinking GRATEFUL to have them home finally that it's crazy. They got back last night, he has a dr. appt. this morning, then they are spending the afternoon with us! We have missed them terribly. To Do: Speak words of encouragment Write a friend an email Clean the house because, currently, it looks like I haven't cleaned since they left for Florida. (Sigh) Find a physician for Ana and make a dr. appointment for the heart rate thing Make my checkbook magically balance Go to the bank Print Handwriting sheets for Tim, Abbie, and Sarah Print coloring sheets for Ella, Liv, and Cate Barton x 3 Go outside and do yard work!! :) (My folks stopped by with an EXCAVATOR :scared: this weekend. My brother was driving, he brought a friend. What do four guys do with heavy equipment? Tear stuff up. They also removed something like fifteen stumps so I'm VERY glad :wub: and my sidewalk (less glad) and so now we have to rake and smooth everything.) And tonight? Drywall. "Buy the house," we said. "We can do renovations," we said. "It needs a lot of work," we said. "It'll be fun," we said. :p

I have the final line crossing: Amazon switched up their website for the day. Oh, seriously? Sigh.

I'm not fond of it this year. My baby sister has been fighting infertility for years and unfortunately it seems like everyone's idea of funny is pregnancy announcements. :(

19yodd. DH's dad just got out of the hospital with, essentially, an adrenal shutdown. His adrenal hands were working at 5%. He also has hypothyroidism. Adrenals and thyroid issues are also indicated with fast heart rate. I think I'll make sure she mentions this to the doctor. Ugh. This adult thing is annoying. I'd rather take her in there and be there than send her.

DD has a fast heartbeat -115+ We've been aware of it now for a couple of weeks. It fluctuates from 90s to a high of 126 so far. I'm going to call and make her a physical appointment tomorrow. But how concerning is this because Google is freaking me out.

I predict: You will LOVE it. I've been to warm places. I've even lived in SoCal. Yet I keep coming back to the Midwest. Why? Four seasons!!!! It's so under appreciated. You can now have: Awesome mugs reserved for snow days Hot cocoa after building with snow Snow Jack Frost visit your windows Snow days Rainy cookie days in the fall A real harvest season Hot apple cider Warm mittens Funky hats Wool socks All these things were pointless in Texas and they are some of my greatest tiny joys. Congratulations!!!

Incredibly weird.

Actually it's probably because you have a better brain than the rest of us and about 10% larger to boot. ;) 1 in 5 people have dyslexic brains and the gifts that go with them.... Spelling skills aren't one of those gifts though. If more people realized what they were mocking they'd be ashamed of their arrogance. Just sayin'. (Oh, and it really IS genetic, dominant in fact.)

Scarlet Letter was one of my favorite books so perhaps she'll like one of my other favorites - Silas Marner?