My 5 year old is AWFUL when we let him play on the iPad (we don't have any gaming system). He is unbearable, so I ground him from it for a month at a time, he serves his time, gets to play it for 20 minutes for 1 or 2 days and it gets taken away again. He isn't like that with TV, so I usually let him watch one show from Sprout, or Nick Jr.i'm pretty sure he will never be able to play a real video game.

Don't go cold turkey! I did when we decided to get pregnant the first time, and we were on vacation. I handed my dh my insurance card and told if I suddenly passed out to call the number on the back for the hospitals I could go to. I was sure I was having an aneurism because my head was hurting that bad.

Yes! We have a formal living room that no one uses, so it is my buffer, my house always looks clean when you come in :001_smile:. We have a large formal dining room that we use as the big kid playroom, and big eat in kitchen, and a sunroom that we use as a little kid playroom. All of our bedrooms are upstairs, so no one is disturbed while sleeping, no matter how loud the kids are playing. We actually use the master suite as my dh's gallery/office (he is a photographer) and we sleep in one of the regular bedrooms. Every room has a walk in closet, and Piper's closet is big enough to have all of her clothes plus my sewing table and crafting supplies (and it has a window). I love our house, it is perfect for us:001_smile:!

I've had it both ways. I just knew with Piper, I wasn't trying, and I had no idea when I was supposed to get my period (b/c I had a three year old and a ten month old), but something told me to test. Sure enough, here she is :001_smile:. Then a few months ago I was 90% sure that I was pregnant, sore breasts, slight nausea, RAVENOUS, but I was not (thank you, thank you, than you, Lord). Obviously, I'm not as in tune with my body as I thought.

My son is the same, only his birthday is Nov. I am calling next year kindergarten because that's what he would be in if her was in traditional school.

Yes, this is why I'm not having any more kids, the newborn phase almost kills me ;)

I WANTED to do uniforms this year, but it was too cost prohibitive. We can still buy 14 outfits for a season (name brands like Gap, Gymboree, Janie and Jack) from Once Upon a Child or consignment sales for under $100. I priced uniforms, and they were way more expensive. I need to find out if any of our local private schools hold uniform sales.

Thank you for your replies! My 5 year old is kind of a no nonsense kind of guy, but I might try it to see if he even likes it. My 2 year old, who will be 3 in August would LOVE it, and I kind of want to do it with both of them. The filler baskets sound like a great idea, I will have to look into that further!

When I taught kindergarten, we spent 30-45 minutes each morning doing "carpet time". We would sing some Dr. Jean, graph the weather, do the calendar, talk about how many days were left unti _____, etc. Is this what you do when you homeschool? I'm not sure if I need, or even want, to do it. Almost everyone we know who hs IRL has started after K, so they're not able to answer this. What does your morning routine look like? Do you just dive in with no warm up because your kids are already focused? Do you sing and dance?

With Jackson (my only non-pitocin inspired birth), the contractions were uncomfortable but not unbearable until I was at 7 and he started rocking his head back and forth with his hand on the side of his gigantic noggin. That was pretty much the worse pain I'd ever felt up to the point in my life :001_smile:.

My boys (5 and 2.5) share a room. The only problem we have is bedtime, so Asher goes to bed in our room then we move him when they're both good and asleep.

:iagree:, I have two, the largest is an inch across, a purple star next to my belly button. When I got it, I was young and thin and still wearing bikinis. Now that I old and not so thin :glare:, only my husband sees it. I don't really regret it, but if someone offered to remove it for free, I would take them up on it. The other is actually on my neck, on the back, a quarter inch from my hairline. It is TINY, about a half an inch, but I do regret it's placement.

This was exactly my situation with Piper, I actually cried when I took the test. My dh was supposed to get a vasectomy while I was pregnant with her, but he has yet to complete that little task. I am terrified that I am going to get pregnant again, even though we are diligently using protection. I can't imagine my life without her, though:001_smile:

Kitchen: swept after all three meals every day, mopped on Wed and Saturday Hardwoods: swept twice a week, mopped on Wed Carpet: downstairs (only a playroom) Wed and Sat, upstairs Friday.

My one year old is in bed at 7:00 and my two and a half and five year old by 7:30. The little ones still take a nap, but Asher is worn out by 7:30. He, like pp said, is up at 6:00 if he goes to bed at 7:30 or 10:30. My kids have always been early risers. My one year old takes two naps and still sleeps until 7:30.

I primarily shop at Aldi, and I've found that all the couponing in the world doesn't save me as much money as consistently shopping there. We only eat out one meal per week, and all of us eat every other meal at home (dh works from home). I go to Food Lion the day that they are going to change their specials (Wed here), and get great deals on meat. I make two lunches based on beans (dried, cooked in the pressure cooker) and two lunches based on eggs. We eat really healthy (because I do weight watchers :001_smile:), so most of our groceries are produce, meat, and cheese, the only convenience food I buy regularly is cereal. I think this saves us money, but definitely not time. I spend about $100 per week on groceries for a family of five. This week our menu is: Banging grilled shrimp (skinny taste.com) Skinny buffalo quesadilla burgers (skinny taste.com and made with lean ground beef) Creamy chicken casserole (cooking light) Teriyaki roasted chicken (cooking light) Salsa chicken pasta (cooking light)

I put Option 1, but I only did that with my middle who is now 2.5 years old. My oldest and youngest slept in their own beds nearly from day 1, the first because I was scared, the last because I saw what a great sleeper #1 was and what a horrific sleeper #2 was :001_smile: Number two is still my worst sleeper who has yet to sleep through the night, so I don't know if it was the cosleeping or just the way he's designed :confused:

No, I don't get it, 35 raised in the US.

We bought a ton of Geotrax at Once Upon A Child for $75, Including an airport, five trains, a clock tower, and seemingly miles of track and extra signs, trees, etc. they filled three zippered bags that queen-sized comforters come in.