Loved looking at those, OP. Thanks! I remember visiting Stonehenge and being shocked that it was essentially in the median of a busy highway. Whose idea was it to do that???

Last year we made light sabers out of pool noodles. Lots of fun and really cute. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/30117891230808264/ Sadly we can't attend this due to another commitment, but the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston is having an event on Sunday that looks like lots of fun. http://www.zoonewengland.org/fpzevents These Tie Fighter cookies look like fun, too. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/449867450249871447/

Pork tenderloin with roasted brussels sprouts and asparagus. So good and I can just throw it all in the oven when I get home and voila, dinner's ready in 45 minutes.

Thanks for starting this thread, Chris. I'm a cradle Episcopalian and just joined my parish's vestry this year, but I still didn't know about a lot of the items mentioned in this thread! For instance, we are definitely an "open table" parish in that each week the priest says, "The Lord's table is set, and all are welcome." But when I was growing up it was "All baptized Christians are welcome to receive," which evolved to "All who are moved by the Holy Spirit are invited to receive." I had no idea that this wasn't the case throughout all churches and that my parish are actually rebels. Go us! And as a New England Episcopalian (and a WASP), I have mixed feelings about the term. A lot of it has to do with the intention of the speaker. I agree with the PP who said the distinction is a bigger deal in the northeast, where Protestants are greatly outnumbered by Catholics. I consider the divide more ethnic than religious in that it is differentiating the "Anglo-Saxon" from the Irish and Italian (who are more traditionally Catholic). That used to have greater meaning in terms of socio-economic status; thankfully, those days have largely gone to the wayside.

I'll add to the coffee indulgences. I have stopped going to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts in favor of McDonalds. Their coffee is really good and only $1 for any size hot. In my area it's also $1 for medium iced, but I know that's not the case everywhere. I actually prefer the McDonalds coffee over other places.

Our library has a machine that fixes/cleans cds. They charge a dollar per disc to clean them. Maybe your library has one too?

I like to marinate boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a mixture of olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, and freshly grated ginger (half an hour is fine; I don't bother measuring anything). Then toss it in a baking dish and cook for half an hour. Serve with rice. If I'm feeling fancy and have it on hand, I'll sprinkle some coriander and/or scallions on top. If I'm feeling really lazy and desperate, I'll pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and serve with sauteed spinach and corn on the cob (or any other veggie combo). Sometimes, I'll squiggle up ground beef with some garlic and onion. Add a can of diced tomatoes and curry paste and simmer for a bit. I serve that over rice or mashed cauliflower. It's really good. DH loves when I buy Italian sausage patties and serve on hamburger rolls with corn on the cob and broccoli. I usually cook the patties in a pan with red/green bell peppers and onions.

Another vote for Lands End. A lot of their suits come in DD, and they are still very flattering and modern (and modest!). While they are pricey, they usually have codes for discounts. And I think they're running a promotion right now for free shipping and free returns on bathing suits, so you could try a few and send them back on their dime.

DH is taking the kids out for the day tomorrow do I can sit down and get them done. I wish I could be going out and having fun too but do it goes. Maybe they'll stay out long enough so I can give my kitchen floor a good scrub. Now I feel like Cinderella.

Also, maybe call a few pharmacies and compare prices. Before my mom had rx insurance I did this for all her scripts and was astonished at the differences in price from pharmacy to pharmacy. Costco was the lowest by far. I also learned you don't have to buy a Costco membership to use their pharmacy.

I never thought I'd want one but there was already one here when we moved in. I don't think I could live without it now.

We like to roast it with other veggies. One eggplant, peeled and diced One or two red bell peppers, seeded and sliced One red onion, sliced Package of fresh sliced mushrooms Add all to baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, season with Kosher salt and pepper. Bake at 350 or 375 for about an hour. So good.

Thanks very much to all for the very good suggestions! I like the Dig magazine suggestion (looking for a code since it seems a little steep at $35 the first place I looked) and the the pyramid archaeology kit a pp linked. I know she already has a Rainbow Loom. Also, I re-read my initial post and I made my DD sound like a dunce, which I didn't intend to do at all! She is a very bright and sweet little girl. Stating it for the record here :001_smile:

I think that the perks associated with firefighting exceed those of the military; we've all read about the disgrace of military families who need to use food stamps. And the risks associated with military service - particularly after two decades of near-constant war/conflict - are greater than those associated with firefighting. It's not a true apples to apples comparison. But you're right to a certain extent. Both positions are voluntary (at least for the time being) and in many cases do attract a certain type of person. My comment isn't anti-firefighter at all. I am very grateful that there are people willing to take on this task and I pray I never need their assistance. The recent, tragic deaths here in Boston have just resulted in a great deal of over-dramatized bravado and it's getting under my skin. Maybe it's just the accents when the union bosses talk about their "brutha fi-uh fight-uhs" that's getting to be too much for me (and I say this as a native Bostonian who may have a touch of an accent myself).

One night I was watching this movie for the umpteenth time in the middle of the night. I was bawling so hard that I woke my husband up and he came running because he thought one of the kids had died.

My insomniac kids have kept me singing for hours at a time. We do a lot of the songs others have mentioned. When I know it's going to be a long night, I'll sometimes group the songs into blocks - traditional lullabyes, religious/hymns, patriotic songs, silly songs, TV show themes. This helps to keep me challenged when I want to run screaming from the room. Some of our standards are: I Love (insert child's name), Pretty Little (Child's Name) I Love You a Bushel and a Peck Sing a Song of Sixpence I Love You, You Love Me (Barney theme) "A" You're Adorable Eidelweiss Jesus Loves Me I Love to Tell the Story I've Been Working on the Railroad America the Beautiful My all-time favorite that I remember my mom singing to me was All Through the Night. I save this one for last as it's the signal that the concert is over, so they'd better shut their eyes and go to sleep.

DD has been invited to a birthday party, and I'd like to think of a great gift for the birthday girl. This kid is sincerely gifted. As in, I think my DD is bright, but this little girl is really something special. She is so bright and seems like she can take on just about anything. I suspect that the typical 9yo girl gifts I'd get for DD might not be a great match for this girl. Price range is $20-$25. I've thought of a couple of ideas for the birthday girl: Snap Circuits (do girls like these?) Roominate Origami book and paper (if so, could someone recommend a book?) Barnes and Noble gift card (booooring) At recess she likes to play archaeological dig. Other than that I don't know too much about her. Honestly, I didn't realize she considered DD a close friend until she invited her to the party - and she could only invite 4 kids. In other words, I don't know her well so don't know her interests. She seems like a "do-er" kind of kid as opposed to a sit and read kid.

If you're coming from So Cal you may be used to high real estate prices, so may not be in for sticker shock. But before you get your heart set on the area it may be worthwhile to do a reality check on home prices and property taxes relative to the new salary. Boston is an expensive place to live. Framingham is fine - not far from Boston and very accessible to major roadways. Some of the surrounding towns may be more desirable and not have much more of a commute so don't assume you need to stay in Framingham proper. There's a huge range in home prices from town to town in the western suburbs, too. Traffic going into Boston really stinks, but if your DH is based in Framingham that's a huge plus. You likely won't have to deal with too much on a daily basis. In terms of education there are tons of great opportunities for kids. So much history and culture, as well as so many colleges and universities with free museums and performances. I don't homeschool (we afterschool) so can't speak to a network or anything like that. But I can say that it's easy to keep the kids busy with educational and enriching activities. Good luck with your decision and your move!

We did it out of necessity one night this summer and it was horrible. They had covered the cigarette smell with an equally offensive air freshener. Then there were cigarette burns on the rug, comforter and blankets. I am not exaggerating when I say I'd sleep in my car before I ever took another smoking room.

No real suggestions, but not sure if you've ever had the chance to look at houzz.com . Designers post pictures of their completed projects, and there's so much inspiration. We're remodeling our master bath as well and have used houzz to choose a general palate and materials. We hope to do a bit of a copy-cat design. Fair warning: you can lose hours to flipping through all the gorgeous pictures!

I need to get this off my chest and cannot say it to anyone in real life: all firefighters are not heroes. It is a very risky career choice that provides a great service to society. But it is a choice. It is a coveted position (at least in this area) that offers excellent compensation and pension benefits, along with high levels of social respect, particularly in light of the level of education required to hold the position. Many firefighters engage in true acts of heroism, but no one is a hero merely by dint of a career choice. Our city recently experienced the tragic loss of two firefighters in the line of duty. It is a horribly sad situation. But all of the firefighters running around beating their chests in the name of brotherhood and calling each other heroes is driving me bananas.

None, I borrow them all from the library!

I truly understand the cause of her decision to order the spinal tap and I can certainly respect that she has more expertise than I do - I wouldn't have brought DD to the emergency room if I didn't sincerely want help. No one takes a 3:00 AM trip to Boston with a newborn just for kicks. However, what I couldn't adequately convey in my initial post was the tone this resident used in speaking with us. I can usually get a good read on people. She really was trying to teach us a lesson. Not sure what was going on in her life outside of our meeting. Maybe she thought we were wasting her time by bringing an infant to the ER with what amounted to a bad cold. We probably were - in fact I told her as much and admitted to anxiety as a first time parent. And I also explained that I didn't completely trust our way of taking DD's temp. We had an ear thermometer that gave a different reading every time we tried it; and when I tried to take a rectal temp I was scared to death of inserting it too far so I didn't trust that reading, either. I suspect that is why she decided not to go forward with the spinal tap. I also suspect that she assumes she's smarter than the parents who bring their children in for care. I know that Children's has an outstanding reputation and can recruit physicians with exceptional educational backgrounds who are used to being the smartest people in the room. It still does not excuse her smarmy tone. I can say with 100% certainty that she didn't think it was necessary to do the spinal tap but since I insisted on taking her temp and bringing her to the ER I had set the ball rolling and DD was just going to have to suffer.

I took DD to Boston Children's Hospital once and only once. She was a newborn and had bronchiolitis. Her ped had seen her during the day and advised us if she had a fever over x degrees (forget exact number) to take her to the ER at Children's. 3:00 AM she spiked the fever and was rather listless. We were first time parents and panicked and took her to the ER. When we got there, her fever was back down but the resident on duty still ordered a spinal tap. I know that is SOP for newborns due to risk of meningitis but she was doing better. I was horrified and asked if we could avoid the spinal tap. Her response was, "Why did you even take her temp in the first place? This is what happens when parents go around taking temperatures." Ummm, OK. her ped told us to take the temp. And now the resident is going to give a newborn a spinal tap to punish us for this major offense??? I asked to speak with the physician in charge, and she changed her mind. Still, I have never been back to Boston Children's and would have to think long and hard about any future referrals.

Boneless chicken with lemon juice, salt and pepper, feta cheese. I bake it for half an hour then add a confetti of red bell pepper to top and bake about 10 more minutes; I usually serve it with a spinach and strawberry salad with lemon vinaigrette to tie it together. Roasted asparagus and baked sweet potatoes also work well with this. For big crowds I cheat and buy frozen stuffed shells from BJs. Put in a baking dish with jarred sauce, served with salad and good bread. The bonus is that I can have everything cleaned up before guests arrived. Ham with a vegetable casserole (I have a great recipe), mashed potatoes and asparagus Really casual gatherings I might serve pulled pork with homemade coleslaw, potato salad and garden salad