A.Babalan - I'm so sorry. My sister just brought up a good point - did he have any siblings? I cannot stop crying.

I haven't read all the responses, but we've done Disney a number of different ways. If you don't want to pay for many meals, but also don't want to leave the parks for your meals, here is what I would recommend. Eat a BIG breakfast at the condo. We did a number of "dinners" for breakfast - stick a chicken in the crock pot at night and potatoes in the oven in the morning and eat! Pack a dinner. Simple dinner. Sandwiches, a bag of chips, fruit, granola bars, etc. Take in empty water bottles (we have the collapsable kind). Take in a stroller. You have young kids and that's a LOT of walking. And, it doubles as a way to carry your food. Easy. Disney makes it really simple to have a stroller there. LOTS of stroller parking conveniently located! Honestly, I'd much rather push a stroller than have a backpack. Between the extra weight and the HEAT with it on my back, I much prefer the stroller! Eat LUNCH out. It's cheaper. You won't be too hungry because you will have had a HUGE breakfast. Find the restaurants where the portions are large (I can help you with those recommendations if you want!) and split them. Even my bigger boys are okay with splitting some of the meals!!! They are THAT big. That is what I would do. It would be minimal cost (just lunch out) and MUCH easier than leaving the parks for two meals. (Does your FIL know that driving to Magic Kingdom is a HUGE pain in the butt??? We stayed in a condo two miles off the entrance to Disney. It took us an HOUR to go door to door to MK. You have to park your car, take a tram to the monorail, take the monorail to MK. Not quick!!!)

One of my kids has one, but it's more behind an ear. It's huge. He's always had it and the doctors are never worried.

Agreeing with the others. My single friend with kids has dated people she met on dating sites. Her current boyfriend she met in the grocery store!!!

The way I look at it is this: That $120 that I would have spent on housekeeping? I stick it into an account when I do a thorough cleaning of the house. I use it for vacation money! I "pay" myself. Make sense?

None!!! I did a purge over the summer and books were a huge part of it. Sorry! I just couldn't handle the number of books in my house! We all have ereaders and love them. So, I uploaded our favorites onto them and got rid of the paper copy. We kept one bookshelf for the entire family. Each child has his/her own shelf with books too. That's IT!!! I'm not adding any more!!!

I agree with starting with the Unofficial Guide to Disney with Kids. They spell everything out for you from the start of planning down to the last-minute details. And, of course, after you have some of the details worked out, come here and ask us! Many of us here LOVE to help plan Disney vacations! I agree with everything here!!!! We've stayed both off-site and on-site. We definitely prefer on-site! But, if the difference is you going or not, you can have a perfectly good time off site. I agree with her about dinners too. If you choose a meal plan or just want to eat out the entire time, plan your park days around your reservations. If you want to eat at a cuople of the resorts, some are easily accessible from the parks. (For example, our family absolutely LOVES O'Hana's. We eat there on our Magic Kingdom day because you can get there easily from the park on the monorail.) Those are the details we can help you sort out. Enjoy your planning!!!!

Take your dd to a Diva Stylist!!!! They deal with curly hair. I went to a traditional salon forever. I have VERY thick hair. My stylist kept thinning out my hair and straightening it. I HATE my hair! I couldn't ever get it right. I went to a Diva stylist and she showed me how to wear my hair curly!!! I have a few months to go before it will be perfect - I have to let those stupid layers grow out. My current stylist told me that thinning shears are HORRIBLE for curls!!!! Don't do it until you have an appointment with someone who knows curly hair and teaches you and your dd how to work WITH her hair and not against it (ie - straightening it every day).

HA! I was going to say the same thing!

I'd do a cruise! We just found a six day cruise for our family of 6 for $2600!! It's amazing the deals you can find off season!!!

Nope. He actually makes breakfast while I work out. Eggs, oatmeal, toast. Etc. Lunch is leftovers from the previous night. We pack them up the night before.

We are Marriott rewards members so I think that helps. When I get t a hotel, I usually ask how much an upgrade would cost. Most of the time, they give it to me for free. If not, most often it is a minimal amount ($20) and we pay it because it gets us access to the concierge level (free breakfast, drinks in the afternoo, appetizers before dinner, and desserts afterward).

First off, what size? And how much? 'Cause I need some new shoes!!! :) If you really need the money - I say sell. I've been doing that lately with stuff that I used to donate just because money doesn't go as far as it used to!!

For us, it depends on the year. When they were little and getting gifts from SO many other people, we hardly spent anything! As they get older and want more expensive things, we spend more. A couple years ago, one child got a laptop. That was a splurge. This year, we're going VERY simple as the older boys can't figure anything out they want/need. So, we're counting our family vacation in January as Christmas. (They will each get a couple of things - but I don't think I spent even $50 each - and that is after buying an American Girl doll ($50) for Meg!!)

We allow them with people we know well. I loved sleepovers as a kid. LOVED them. But, if you don't want to do them, I wouldn't think less of you!

I have chills!!! Seriously - she has a wonderful voice!!!

You are so creative!!! I love it. My dd is getting a bunch of McKenna stuff. Friendship bracelet making kit (60% off on Alex products today!). A make-up kit (only to be used when we are at home!). A couple of bracelets and other things I have to pick up still at Claire's.

You are one step ahead of the game because they told you! Be thankful. If they hadn't and you couldn't have taken precautionary measures, you have have had a full infestation by Christmas!!!! This happened to us once. My dd had friends over one day and we got a text that night that they found lice on one of the girls. I am forever grateful to the mother for telling me!!! We treated with Listerine (I think it's the alcohol in it that kills the bugs). Douse hair with Listerine and put a shower cap on it for an hour. Wash as usual. I figured at this point, IF we had anything, we had just bugs, not the nits. So, I treated everyone as if we had them. I washed ALL our bedding. I vacuumed EVERY piece of furniture and our car (I had given the girls a ride.) Then, just in case anyone had any bugs that laid eggs, I re-treated a few days later. Those eggs would have had time to hatch, but not lay more eggs. I think I repeated this process a few times a few days apart. I washed pillowcases every night. Then, I checked my dd EVERY day. I took a comb and went through EVERY strand of her hair. We never saw any bugs, but I'll never know if I got rid of them because I was proactive. I thank GOD the family that had lice told us so we could be proactive. My dd has waist long curly thick hair. If she had had lice, it would have been a nightmare!!!!

My daughter texts a couple of her friends on an iPod Touch with the app "TextNow." We use our iPad for Facetime and messaging. (And lots of other stuff - but those were the things you asked about!)

That was my daughter last year too. It wasn't a priority. She liked it, but it was one of her many activities. She needed to have fun with it while working at it. The next level was not fun! If I had made her do it, and stick with the tougher coach at that age, she would have quit. So, we kept it fun. Now, my dd cannot get enough gymnastics. She is begging for more classes and has trained for four hours and begged to stay longer! I believe that because of the hours required for gymnastics, the love truly has to come from the child. It isn't a once a week thing that the parent can encourage and push a little. I watch the girls at my dd's gym and they all live for it. Really - eat, breathe, and live for it. Honestly. It sounds like your daughter may be better sticking with another coach. This coach is used to coaching at the competitive level right? Maybe it isn't the time for that right now. But, given a different coach, she may be ready, on her own.

I agree with this. My dd started rec gymnastics at 5. She was really, really good and they wanted her on the competitive team. Dd was absolutely not ready for the commitment. So, we held back and kept her on the pre-team. This year, at 6, she was ready for the team commitment. They wanted her at level 4. The level 4 coach at our gym is extremely tough. Meg wasn't ready for her. She tried a few of her practices and asked to quit. I talked with the level three coach and she agreed to keep her at that level, but to work with her on the upper level skills. This has been wonderful for my dd! She has excelled and has all her level 4 skills, but will be competing in fun meets. Just in the last month, she was again asked to move up to level 4 competitive. This time, SHE wanted to do it. She saw the reason that the coach coaches the way she does. And, she wants it. So, OP - if your dd is not able to see how this coach could possibly be a good thing for her after a couple weeks, I'd pull back. See if there isn't another coach there who would be willing to work with her. Maybe, in time, she will see the advantage to the tougher coach. And, maybe not. But, at this age and this level, I'd take her lead.

I GOT IT!!!! Phew.

Where do you put the code? The only page I'm getting is one wwhere I have to put in a credit card number. I don't want to do that as my total is still high!!!!

I click on the link above and there is nowhere to put in a code. Urgh!!!

How do you getit??? I called and they said to go through the today website and I can't find it!!!!