I wasn't impressed. The taste was off on the berry and just not interesting on the lime. I am glad I got a sample because it was unlikely I would buy one to try and now I avoided a massive disappointment.

I was and probably still am a mom that wouldn't have the kids over. I am just not that big a fan of kids. I like mine fine but am pretty uncomfortable around others still. They would play outside if they did come over because our inside space is very small and barely fits us as is. And i prefer kids outdoor primarily and if i felt like they were often indoors at their friends', i would push more outdoor time. Plus I get very overwhelmed at increased noise and activity. Again, with my kids it is fine but it would bother me quickly if it increased. I hope to get over it soon though and do push myself often. But it is a slow process.

I was excited but my littlest one has an upset tummy. So much for our grand plans.

Would a physical reminder system help them keep on track? I saw this system: http://www.accountablekids.com/ and made one that was more suited to my home. The kids are responsible for their own chores and you can also put in routine reminders so they know what is next. Chores also have to be completed before anything fun is done as well. I like that it puts the responsibility on them and also makes it easier for me to keep track as well because I'm distractable and a little forgetful. And then you also have a clear reminder that can't be misheard or overlooked. Just a thought.

I really liked MBF for the first several weeks, I don't know that I kept using it for months but it was a must for those first few weeks. Being a bit plus side and busty, the Boppy was never an option, and pillow never stacked well. I loved having a pillow be the perfect companion for a good position. Even though I only used it for a few weeks, it is still an essential for me.

I would also doubt an affordable option between the two. There would. E public transport options that would probably include combinations of bus metro and rail but it will take a while to complete the entire trip. Finding out what the other drop off points might be would probably be easier first step. Even if there is something directly at a metro stop could ease some travel time.

I keep meaning to try this. As for premade sandwiches, a tip I read somewhere if that if you butter the bread before assembling, it won't be damp or soggy. I know I've used that for daily packed lunches but haven't tried it on longer sitting lunches. I would love to make this a consistent part of our week but getting started just hasn't happened just yet. :)

I am generally distrusting of the medical establishment and we turn to natural remedies when sick. But I like and respect out ped and like to keep it as a good relationship. We go in approx every 6 months for well baby visits. Sometimes it is further apart. That is also the only time we go too since no other reason to go ever comes up.

I find this discussion quite interesting from the perspective of a mother with a teen that we're struggling with some things. I think that staking would be a big plus for us because I really do want to pull dd back into the family routine of things. She has been breaking off alone almost 100% of the time and is also dealing with self harm issues. Now clearly this indicates there is a lot going on, but the constant freedom to be alone in her room and absorbing herself in friendships where that kind of drama/concern is a source of energy for the relationship, I feel that pulling her away from that and into our home life more to be a better choice. It's not a punishment but simply a reaction to how I am hoping to help the situation (in addition to counseling as well). However, I'm finding it to be more challenging than I expected. I have two small children as well and the teen has no interest in spending time with them if she doesn't have to, but due to their age and needs, my daily activities pretty much revolve around their care. I'm trying to figure in more balance so that the teen and I have better opportunities to interact beyond making snacks, heading to the park, playing outside, etc, but there really isn't much left in my day - so I'm struggling to incorporate more staking in a way that is helpful and not harmful. I don't spend my days working on endless domestic tasks (it's an area that needs improvement, I'll admit) and do have a fair amount of time where I'm simply existing while keeping small children alive and safe and it feels so awkward to require her presence in those moments. So really, I just consider the staking at this age being more a commitment to keeping your children present in your company and routine instead of just allowing complete self-directed time when that time isn't being directed in a positive manner. I was really hoping to use this summer to work on this more, but I need some inspiration as well because I certainly don't need any additional wedges in our relationship either.

Even better: freeze them whole and thaw under running warm water and the skins often peel off easily then, or so I am told. I use my blender and keep the skins on. :)

Much sympathy and support on your venture. I am not a pet person or a dog person either. I am in the boat of considering getting a dog for the family as our younger children get older and when we're sure we're done having babies too, the idea of a puppy or young dog and a baby isn't something I'd voluntarily sign up for. Our timeline is like 2 years or 3 from now but I'm already thinking and mentally prepping for this because I'm not a pet person and because to take this step means that I'm committing 110% to raising an animal and caring for it for a very long time. Training and such would be a big part of it and we're not even going to pretend the dog would belong to the kids, it would be our dog. I prefer really big dogs, in my non-dog-person preference, but that probably won't happen. DH really loves Shelties because that is what he had growing up, that just seems like a little high strung to me. I'm a bit partial to the Bernese Mountain Dog. I know I could not stand a small dog personally, they just seem a little too.... something. But figuring out a good breed and size and also matching up energy needs seems like a good step - that and being ridiculously committed to good training too. Good luck! And I too realize that while I'm not a pet person, that I would still manage to fall in love with whichever pet we decide to get. Kinda like I'm also not a kid person, but I managed to fall in love with my three girls too. ;)

I don't know if this will help, but it might. My dd, now almost 4, started with night terrors - waking up wailing in the night when she was maybe 2 I think and still has them occasionally. But my dh had read somewhere about in some cases being a faulty need-to-pee signal and that if you take them to the bathroom and they go, that can end the terror. So he tried it and sure enough it has worked for us. She is crying/wailing all the way being carried to the bathroom, while helped with her clothes, while she goes and gets wiped, and on the way back to bed but as soon as her head hits the pillow she is right asleep. It's the strangest thing to watch but I am very thankful that we found something that works for us, otherwise the crying would go on for quite some time. Maybe that will be helpful to someone.

1) where do you live? Maryland (not legal to sell here) 2) what do you pay for a gallon of milk? $6/gallon plus delivery fee 3) how often do you pick it up? weekly 4) how far do you have to drive to get your milk? 8 miles to drop-off location, farm is actually about 80 miles away Store bought milk runs $2.50 a Costco to $3.50-4.00 at the store - it's varied a lot in recent years but the price seems to be a little lower these days. This is for grass fed, btw. For a while I was driving about 45-50 miles one-way to pick up milk in PA but it wasn't grass fed and I think it was closer to $4.50 or $5.00 a gallon.

My husband says he has 3 daughters (one is through marriage). He really doesn't get the whole blended family concept but mostly because I'm the only divorced person he really knows, so all those "strange titles" make no sense to him or his family. To call her anything else would be strange to him and his family. Honestly, I am really bothered when I have friends that constantly refer to their "step" children especially in situations where they've been part of their life for many many years. I just don't see it being relevant. But then, the frustration is usually because using 'step' is only really oblivious when complaining about children and having a child that has a step-parent, I'm a little overly sensitive to that. Sure there are lots of dynamics involved in blended families, I grew up with remarried parents and siblings by marriage as well. I always called them 'step' parents/siblings because it was so often said to me. But my stepmom would always call me her daughter and I always appreciated it though I never said so to her. I never really saw anything as an attempt to replace my mom, instead, just accepted that I was loved just as much as her children were.

I agree, myself included. And with the most recent re-watching, I'm seeing where some of my odd fashion ideals came from as well. It's all about the clothing in the movie oh and I ended up with a green and white farmhouse as well, totally due to the show I'm sure. Sadly, I'm only now, this summer, actually reading the books. I hadn't as a child and I loved the show so much, I didn't want it spoiled by reading the books. I've been pleasantly surprised with the story (well maybe not so much the windy poplars book) and also see why and how it was adapted for television as well.

Oh how I love that series and can't imagine it redone at this point. I watched it this month in fact. I am sure I will end up watching it but I so adore the original series, it will be hard to give it a fair chance.

I prefer low stress vacations so I said beach since it seemed the easiest. Car trip sounds good too but not many weekend trips because that would get stressful and weekends are when DH gets stuff done. I skip staying with others cause that just hasn't worked well for me so far. Train sounds neat too but it would be a higher stress trip to me, maybe you're family is more laid back.

Oooh Hi back !! :) I agree that it is a moody time for sure at that age. Don't worry you're going to screw them up, probably not a problem. We basically did unschooling with actually little schooling for the two years she was home and yet she was still able to get high school credit for classes she took at home when she transferred back in. I think finding something that they really enjoy can be hard but it can really help focus them as well. I don't think it has to be socially based but sometimes that can be a key to improvements in attitude. My teen is not socially graceful and even though she never really made friends during activities, it still provided a connection she needed. One thing I have to do if we homeschool the littles is force the budget to allow for outside activities. Our budget was very limited and so we didn't do much either and that wasn't the best choice. I'm reading the book "Hold on to your children" that talks a lot about children orientating themselves towards their peers and how they really need to stay orientated to parents - and I think that our lack of any peer outlets during those years is what has sort of turned to peer obsession now. There were a few homeschool groups and finding children her age was difficult and I'm introverted and shy. But I wish I had pushed beyond my comfort zone and found more options for us (especially in our more rural area). I was just thinking earlier about some things I didn't do this year that could have helped Alex because I was too shy and how silly it seemed now to avoid a social interaction on shyness that could have opened a few more doors for dd. Reframing the context that it's about helping the kids and meeting their needs can sometimes help some of us take those steps.

I am a bit torn - we homeschooled dd for the middle school years and feel that it was the best decision we could have made. But she wanted to go back for high school and so she did. I'm not so sure, now, as she's going into her junior year, that was the best choice. She still prefers going to school but there is soooooooo much drama and peer stuff and a whole lot of negative stuff involved that I really wish we hadn't. But it would have needed a big shift in how we homeschooled as well and I'm still not sure we would have fully met her needs because there was so little connections in the homeschooled-teen community to give her an outlet for some connection. Though I sometimes think no connections would almost be better than most of the connections that have taken place.

I have a 16yo that listened to audio book practically non-stop from age 12 to 14. No, I don't think there is too much time spent on it. She would be busy doing other activities as well but still listening fairly intently too.

I would toss them back in the freezer and not worry over it. I've heard arguments many times to never re-freeze something but also had the rebuked somewhere, including commentarty that in the whole shipment process it is likely for things to freeze-thaw-freeze as well and it's not really a big deal. There may be a slight decrease in quality but it's probably fine. My life improved upon learning that as there are several times we've been in that situation and refreezing items has never proven to be a problem. *and just in case it needs clarified, this is done with items that will be cooked after freezing. I don't think I would trust it to anything that you thaw and eat.

1 cart for typically 1-2 weeks worth of food, family of 5. We don't buy meat or milk at the market. So our cart usually only has produce, cheese and bread - occasionally pasta and sauce if I'm stocking up. But produce usually ends up being a good portion of the cart though our garden is reducing that now that we're into summer. Oh and we do shop at costco every few months as well and that stocks up on some staples too.

I have a Vitamix blender and it kinda does all that. It can dice things to some degree, not as well as by hand or quite the food processor but not horribly either. You can make whole food juices, just add more water and you'll have more of a juice than a smoothie. Or some people strain some stuff. Honestly, I love my Vitamix and use it at least once if not more times a day. So I say it can do the non-blender tasks okay to good and I just love it as a blender. Our veggie consumption sky rocketed when we got it.

I personally wasn't all that impressed with the one I attended. But I shop more discount places, I suppose, so their prices didn't really compete with what I typically buy items for. I honestly left empty handed and that's actually hard for me to do when books are involved. To be fair though, my kids were a little young when I attended so there were some older books that would have been more tempting if they would be read in the near future. But the prices still weren't quite what I was expecting (but I'm also very frugal too, ha!).

We don't do parties either, I think my 16 year old has had 2 ever and one I didn't throw. The other we'd just moved when buying our house and it was an attempt to get to know more girls. We have a special meal and that's about all. Grandma will come give presents but often we don't give them either. Only thing I don't like about it - we don't get invited to birthday parties. I guess that can be a blessing too but I'm okay with parties as long as I'm not hosting them and they're not part of our family traditions. :)