I was curious if anyone came too. I don't host things because I am massively embarrassed of my super cluttery house - but my goal this year is to clean more and get past that. So I invited people over for playing games on New Years Day -- I figured it was a day that no one would have any plans. Well, either it's the most scheduled day of the year or my friends just don't actually like me - no one is coming over. So sad -- gonna have to work up a lot more energy to try and host something again.

My child will wet the bed if she has dairy. Not every time but sometimes depending on the amount, usually it just brings about "night terrors" which are really just her needing to pee at night but unable to wake up enough to find the bathroom and so she just cries - sometimes she gets up but gets lost before making it to the bathroom and sometimes that means peeing in unusual places too. We only discovered the connection to dairy after eliminating it - it was not part of why we did an elimination trial. So I would say that if you suspect he has an issue with a food, then give an elimination diet a try. It was only my intuition that ever had me change my child's diet years ago, no obvious symptoms suggested food intolerances, but it made a huge difference in my child. That said, it's not always a cure all either, only helps if it was the problem. But I have often found that parent's intuition is quite powerful too.

2005 Two books: What keeps teachers going? By Sonia Nieto Democracy Matters: Winning the fight against Imperialism by Cornel West From 2005 - 2013, I only placed 2-4 orders a year. 2013 that increased to 17 which has stayed pretty consistent since, though I had a couple years with 43-45 orders. I should probably drop prime. lol.

I wonder if you or someone else has posted this before -- because I think of it all the time when I'm that person lately. It's only at one store that I don't shop at as much anymore, and I can just assume that because I've used all my mental energy in shopping, unloading the cart in the order I want it bagged, making sure my bags are where they should be and that I entered my store number in the machine, that I feel like I've finally jumped all the hoops for shopping and can finally start to relax, and then there is a total and I'm standing there like an surprised looking idiot now grasping at my purse to pull out my card, which is, for some completely unknown reason, not in my purse. This was never me in years before but the past year I've done it so many times that I now almost burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of being 'that person" every time. Thankfully, I've since found that I like shopping at Aldi and no longer drive 23 miles to that store - I'm sure the other customers are grateful.

Speech Language Pathologist -- someone that does therapy with my son in our home.

Following along - I think I'll be focusing on overcoming my messiness this year - I've always been messy and I hate cleaning, sweeping, mopping, dishes, etc. I have massive amounts of clutter and it won't all go away but I can recommit to tackling what I can. I had one of those "I've had it moments" over a comment that our SLP made recently - I think she meant to be positive or encouraging or something, but it really stuck out at me and lit a fire to tackle projects I'd been ignoring for a very long time. We spent 3 days cleaning before Christmas and the difference is great, but it's still a very long way from being good enough.

I barely see my 22yo but once a week. From age 19 on, he has been less and less involved with the family, rarely at meals and rarely on family outings. This child has never preferred family time, so I am not surprised to see him less. I stopped expecting him to join us because he was often unsocial when he did. Occasionally I will make a point that he joins but mostly only for the holidays.

I do not think it is weird at all.

We did 3 - two were completely free and the 3rd wanted to charge about $350. The $350 office was for a primary x-ray and a complete surround x-ray too (sorry for my lack of technical terms). We had the main x-ray send from my dentist and then we had the second place that did a free consultation with x-rays send those x-rays over to the 3rd office. Then the only fee was $60 for photos (that took all of 10-15 minutes to take). So if you get the x-rays done somewhere for free, get copies of them set to other people to save money and also because you don't want to do multiple unnecessary xray's either. The 3rd office's manager was very proactive letting me know I could request the x-rays from our previous consultation and said that if they were part of a free consultation that we legally had a right to them. Turns out, we'll probably be going with the one that shared the x-rays and not the place that wanted me to jump through so many hoops (and pay so much) for a consultation.

I like Accu-check Active monitor - I think it might sync, but not sure. For a pain free lancet option, I got the Accu-check Fastclix -- it wasn't the one included with the monitor (at the time I bought it), but separate one I purchased. It is completely painless because I can set the depth. I also like the multi-use design too. I think the default one is probably fine too. But these items were quite pricey -- I had no insurance coverage as I was using them for my own data points. There were much cheaper options but I was happy with using these.

So how about very cold water in the bidet? This is one of the thing that stops me from installing the handheld one I already own (bought it to be a diaper sprayer and never used it for that). Well that, and I wonder about the practicality of getting a good rinse because it's basically aiming a sink sprayer at important bits while not accidentally spraying out of the toilet? I'll just say that my bottom takes up majority of the seat, maybe that design is for skinnier people to have better access? But back to the cold - right now, the water in our house is quite cold - our well water bladder tank holds it at "room temp" which is probably around 45-50 degrees and maybe even colder since it's along an outside wall in a unheated room. I suppose I could try to add it to the hot water line too -but that invites new complications. To get the perfect hot/cold ratio for warm water in our house because that depends on how hot the water wants to be at that moment (hello oil-fired hot water heater with attitude). It's always changing and our water can be *extremely* hot which I think worries me more than an icy blast. I've wanted one forever, technically I own an option that would probably suffice, but have let fear of the unknown stop me from using it -- though I almost installed it before my last two births and still wish I had. Cold water would have been welcomed then. I've since fallen in love with the Japanese models and want a heated one with electronic controls -- that and one of those electronically controlled tubs too, and a center floor drain in my bathroom. And well, maybe the entire Japanese bath room -- but that's another tangent.

Their staff is all nice, it was just their new client procedures that annoyed me. I went to Othro #2, got an appointment within 2 weeks of calling, and they did complete photos, xrays, assessments, made molds for us to be able to start right away and sat down and explained everything, all within 30-45 minutes appointment. At no cost at all. The 3rd office, I had to wait almost a month for an initial consultation that are only scheduled in the middle of the day. At that appointment, I only got to meet the orthodontist in his office and he took a 2-second peek at dd's teeth and the one xray I had sent over. Then they needed another appointment for the full panel xrays and take photos - and you have to pay for all that and the price tag was rather high compared to it being free at the other place. Luckily, I was able to send over the full xrays from option 2, but they still needed their own photos. I took my kid out of school for what felt like nothing for that first appointment. So then we go back for photos, I was expecting to get to talk to the orthodontist then over the treatment plan but nope -- he wan't in the office until later that week and then they MAILED it to me. So basically, it took 2 months to find out their treatment plan - and well, I wanted someone to actually talk to me about the actual plan before I sign off. Yeah okay, that place really has annoyed me. They have a reputation for being more affordable, but that wasn't the case either.

Oy - I went to as second orthdontist to get an 2nd opinion and then decided to get a 3rd too just to see if 2 would agree. And well -- they kinda do and don't. DD is 9.5 years and has a very narrow upper and lower jar. She didn't start losing baby teeth until very late and it is very clear that there isn't enough space for all the adult teeth to come in. Also present is some crossbite issues, not moderate, and also possibility for underbite to develop as the grows. So now we're wondering what is the best plan of action - anyone have feedback if they've gone with one of these options? Opinion 1: Make space by pulling teeth. Wants to pull 8 baby teeth - 4 on top and 4 on bottom -in the near future (she said to still assess when the right time to pull is). Then probably need to pull 4 adult teeth (canines) when they come in. She does not believe that a palate expander will provide enough space with how narrow dd's mouth is. I can say telling a mom you want to pull out 12 of your child's teeth is a little intense. This is the orthondontist in the same office as my dentist - when I mentioned this plan to my dentist, he agreed that pulling teeth would be necessary. One note, pulling teeth have more coverage with dental insurance whereas orthodontia work has little coverage. Opinion 2: Pointed out that upper jaw is much narrower than the average and that her teeth width is a little wide than average, which sounds like a bad combination. Upper and lower palate expanders and then retainer. Also list some brackets and bands. She is confident that this will provide enough space but did concede that they may still need to pull teeth if it doesn't. May also need a second phase with braces later, not certain just yet. Treatment plan was written in a way that I could easily understand. Very friendly office - this is one of those ortho factory places that have the whole system completely dialed in and are extremely efficient and child friendly. Everyone I know uses them. They were awesome to work with - made it all so easy. Opinion 3: Upper palate expander, possibly headgear at night for jaw, a few months with braces and then probably will also phase 2 of full braces too. Honestly, I think option 2 will need a second phase of braces, they were just conservative in saying so. He mentioned that we should take DD to ENT because she is nighttime mouth breather and this is adding to the narrow palate -- wish someone had mentioned this was a problem sooner. He didn't say fixing it would solve the narrow palate issue but it could help some. While I liked the orthodontist, this office annoyed the heck out of me. He gets lots of reviews for being more conservative than other orthodontist offices. It took 3 appointments to get a treatment plan and that was mailed to me and not explained by the orthodontist. His treatment plan was filled with all the technical terms which I wish he had been present to explain. He listed that an alternative plan is to remove 4 teeth. Honestly, this place really tried my patience but for some reason I'm not writing them off completely. Option 2 orthodontist asked about mouth breathing and mentioned a EN, as a side comment, but his guy made it a point of why that was important factor. Other useful notes: Price was the same between Option 2 and 3. Don't know the cost of option 1. Part of me agrees with option 1 - it is *clear* that there is not enough space for the teeth coming in and maybe sometimes pulling teeth is the better options because it's not like the teeth are just a little tight (well they are) but there isn't space for entire teeth that need to come in. But pulling so many teeth is kinda freaky. Also - my oldest had a palate expander and I didn't feel like it actually did that much for his teeth and felt like we ended up spending more money than needed, so I am a bit biased on that. But DD's upper and lower jar are much more obviously narrow than my oldest's was. I've been in analysis paralysis for several weeks and it's time to get all this figured out.

Tossing my reviews here too. Sushi Go Party: I love how it is so easy to customize the game play based on who is playing - I can pick simpler games for the younger kids and harder ones for the adults. Everyone enjoyed it that played it from young to old - the theme is very cute, art work too. Sleeping Queens: This is a winner with my 7yo and 9yo - they both loved it and keep asking to play again. I love how short it is. Clumsy Thief Candy Shop: This one also really enjoyed with the 7yo and 9yo and hopefully will get them a bit faster with some of their math facts to 20. Ticket to Ride: Yay, this one was the perfect choice. I really debated getting the Europe version because of reviews that it's better, but I think that this version is perfect for my family right now. My husband said he even enjoyed playing it (wow! he doesn't like games). So yay, happy about this one!

Sounds fantastic -- wish I had sealed floors to use it on.

Reviews.... Sushi Go Party - 3-4 stars (out of 5). I was super excited about this one, but it has underwhelmed me a little. The family likes it but it's the last they'd want to play. But one super awesome part is that you can custom the game for your audience - I cant make the game easier when the younger kids are player and harder if it's all adults. I do like it but just not as much as I hoped to. Sleeping Queens - this is probably the total winner with my 7yo and 9yo - they both loved it and keep asking to play again. Clumsy Thief Candy Shop -- this one also really enjoyed with the 7yo and 9yo and hopefully will get them a bit faster with their facts to 20. Ticket to Ride - yay, this one was the perfect choice. I really debated getting the Europe version because of reviews, but I think that this version is perfect for my family right now. My husband said he even enjoyed playing it (wow! he doesn't like games). So yay, happy about this one! Don't know about the games I gave DH and my oldest, because we didn't play them and oldest took his when he left. But another bonus, DH seemed interested in his game at least, yay! Maybe I'll get another game player eventually!

Love this idea! Especially the ziplocks. Saves me from having them try to keep the stockings all week long.

Does the travel one get at loud or louder than the regular one? I like noise machines but I feel like I need a bit more volume from them.

Oh my, what an adorable idea. I think my IP needs one too. I bought the IKEA steamer and have never used it. What I use the most in mine, my collapsable steamer (a mesh one would be nice too) and these glass containers from IKEA -- I love that I can put stuff straight from the fridge (take off lid) and into the IP to warm up for another meal! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20328520/ (hmmm - I was able to buy the middle one individually - looks like the website only has them as sets now, so annoying, I hate mixed sizes) I also use plain stainless steel mixing bowl a lot too.

I'm strongly of the opinion that death rituals are for the living and it would be unfair of me to dictate how my loved ones want to celebrate my life and process their grief. So it is up to them if they want a service or not. I'm sure my mom would like a service, but I don't live near her and don't know how I could coordinate one when I wouldn't even know who to invite or have the money to host the event from many states away. I am sure my husband would like me to have a service because he takes comfort from those services and appreciates going to friend's funerals and connecting with other friends and sharing memories and such. So, I probably will have one for him if he dies first. And I'm sure he'll have one for me if I died first though I'd be just as happy without one, but guess what, I'll be dead - let the living do what they want!

We made a bunch of chocolate covered pretzels and now i'm realzing that we only need like 1/8th of them for gifts.... I guess the neighborhood kids are all getting gifts this year, lol!

Yeah anything that cooks with steam pressure isn't going to be crispy/crusty. I would steam them first, then oil and try the sautee feature or just toss them under the broiler for even better results. ETA: I used to hate any two step recipes like that, but found that it still much faster than roasting a whole pan in the oven with tasty result. Plus, I don't have to heat my kitchen up in the summer.

So Steam is having their winter sale and some people mentioned it for playing board games in addition to computer games. There is Ticket to Ride and Argicola and maybe one more I was thinking about getting -- just because I don't always have willing played around to play with me. Has anyone played on steam? I'm just curious if it's worthwhile or not. I got Potion Explosion as an app on my phone, it was a game I was thinking would be a fun family game, and it's amusing but maybe not amusing enough digitally. I think I would like the tactile version though.

I used AfterEase tincture after my last birth (#4) - I can't remember it being particularly bad, at least, not enough to be worth remembering. I think it was more during nursing sessions there would be strong discomfort at first but it was short lived, I think.... It's only been 2 years but maybe I've forgotten too much - or 4 births are blurring together. :)

It depends on how big they are, I don't see large russets fitting unless chopped up and even then it depends. Do you have a 3 quart pot? You can check what fits and doesn't fit in there because it should be a close approximation - things like potatoes can come up to the rim and still get the lid on (to clarify - these would only have a cup of water added, not cooked submerged). But for beans/rice/submerged items, you need to have a couple inches below the top of the pot clearance.