There's a flip game that can be played that way. It's usually available at Target/Walmart. It's the game where you have a wooden box. Each side has wooden keys you can flip. Each has numbers on it. You roll the dice and flip. You can also add the dice, subtract, multiply, and divide. When I play with my kids I take the harder operation and they take whatever they're working on. It gets fun when you can do any of the above and the person has do decide which operation will get the number they want.

Yes, eventually, but I wouldn't bother about the ipad2 or any of the current ones (unless you want that kind of specialized thing). Dh is in software and I'm taking my Master's in library and information management. The future is there but its 3-5 years down the line. All the doctors and nurses at our children's hospital use tablets and e-readers are far more accepted. As the world and individual homes get more networked and more is stored in the cloud...tablets will be better, cheaper, and more widely used. But I'm not running out and getting one just yet.

We have four boys. Individual sets belong to individual people, until they don't pick them up. Then they become community property. Generally what happens is pieces get lost, sets get reorganized, and certain pieces get left out (ships created, guys tend to be saved). Those are added to a large plastic container for everyone to use. Directions are put in a drawer in case someone wants to attempt making the set again some day. The boys tend to keep the guys and some of the cooler pieces. Most of the general pieces end up in community property eventually.

We don't really have an age, but my preference would be late teens whenever each individual child has matured to the point that they know what they want for their life and can take care of themselves. We've had a few discussions about what dating is for when the oldest hit 11 and a few peers started 'going out.' Basically we talk about why people date. At his age it's more curiosity and trying to feel good about yourself. I asked him how he felt about their dates and he said 'its kind of silly.' Then I told him about people I knew who dated in grade school and their early teens. I let him know that a lot of people (especially girls) date because it makes them feel good about themselves, not necessarily because they found someone that is a good match. There's a lot of roller coaster emotion and drama that effects the rest of your life. Then we talk about the purpose of dating...getting to know people you think are cool to see if they are the person for you (marriage). It's really hard to do that as a young teen because you are still growing and becoming yourself. That's why most teen relationships don't go anywhere. Then we reinforce that liking someone and getting to know the opposite sex are good things. Girls make good friends, even when you're not ready to date yet. And every person you like and get to know may not be the right person but they do show you what you want in the opposite sex. You can also learn a lot from your friend's relationships. So far, so good. Oldest is 12 and has told a classmate (on his 3rd-4th girlfriend) that he is 'crazy' for dating so young. There's just too much to do. We'll see how it goes.

While I wouldn't want to live with MIL for practical reasons, I love her very much. She and FIL have always been very open, affectionate people who let us do our thing. I think dh likes my mom as well...and he's learned how to deal with my dad. :tongue_smilie:

Ours were alcohol in 2 days last year.

We've done several things over the years. First we had a pocket chore chart. Each child had two pockets. Each day I would put the notecards in the To Do pocket and as they finished them they would move them over to the Done pocket. Individual cards was nice because they were little and needed graphics to help their reading (or non-reading). Next I had lists and a specific chore time. A verbal reminder and a general check to see if things were being done. Right now we're trying out Chore Wars (http://www.chorewars.com). The kids log on and complete their adventures when the chore is done. They earn gold and XP points and can use those to get out of a chore or have extra video game time. This week they are doing extra chores to outdo each other in gold. Dh and I use a Kanban board. We took a white board and made magnets of common chores (wash floor for instance). Post-its for more unique items. It's a flow chart. There's a Need section. Then a Doing section (no more than 4 projects are allowed in the Doing section at a time), a Done section, and a Long-Term projects. This way dh doesn't have to ask me about what needs doing (and its less embarrassing than a chore jar for some reason) and can see what I'm doing and what I need done (the Need section is usually short term things that need doing soon) the soonest.

I would sign her up for something different but related. Gymnastics or dance have elements that are used in martial arts. Then as she matures she can pick it up again. There's no guarantee that other schools will have exactly what you're looking for. I wouldn't move the older sibs.

My brother has RB3 with the keytar (keyboard guitar). You can play any of the songs without it. In fact, my brother doesn't like it very much and I didn't find it to be a big change in game play.

I saw that today too. Derek Webb just tweeted about him. He hadn't heard about him before. He's up on NoiseTrade.com as well (a site where artists list their albums in a pay-what-you-want format). He is very talented, and eclectic. Kind of a neo-folk, rap, electronica type thing. And he's a Christian artist so if that offends you, don't bother, but for those of more agnostic or Christian leanings he's pretty good. What did you like from the album, Jen? Do you have his other stuff?

My boys have one where you are dogs escaping the dog catcher. The goal is to find bones and mark things with piddles. Their dad bought it for them.

Many common brands have some kind of sweetener. My son can't have them so we go to a whole foods store and get an organic type there (no sugar..just vanilla bean and alcohol). Sam's Club also has a bulk vanilla with no sweetener in it.

Yes, I did it. I was 38 weeks pregnant at my sister's wedding and I stood up with her in an sleeveless, backless bridesmaid dress. I don't even wear sleeveless and backless when I'm not pregnant. I love her that much. Worst things? Worrying that the dress was going to fit. The Asian seamstress was surprised every time. It didn't seem to matter how many times I told her I was pregnant or that I would need several inches more room. I even made her write it down and showed her with my hands how big I could get. The only other thing was that everyone told me not to go into labor during the wedding. Haha. Everyone. It got old. If I could do anything over I would ask my sister if I could wear something different. That dress was cruel and unusual punishment (unless you are petite and buff like my cousin...the maid of honor who got to pick them out).

We have the small Cuisinart. I watched ebay for a few months and bought it used along with an extra interior bowl (so I can make 2 different kinds simultaneously..1 regular and 1 for my son with a special diet) for @ the same price as a new on Amazon. I'm happy with it. Just remember that the bowl does need to be frozen for 12-24 hours. I just keep mine in the freezer all the time. You should chill the mix you make before tossing it in (although I've done it both ways and its not too bad...it just takes longer without chilling). When you're done its more like soft serve. It needs firming up in the freezer a bit (unless you like it a bit mushy). This is not really an instantaneous treat you can make for your guests. It takes a lot of forethought. And the texture is not as smooth as whipped ice creams. It is good though. Like having an excellent frozen custard (and the calories to match).

As long as he recognizes his name, the rest is not that important. My oldest, who was my earliest, most prolific talker (full sentences at 16 months) would not say his name until he was almost 3. His name is Evan. He had trouble with the v sound. He was such a perfectionist he refused to say the word until he could say it correctly. If he's frustrated with speaking in general (he can't make himself understood), sometimes using sign language can really help. Using verbal and sign together give confidence which increases verbal practice. My third son needed that.

This does happen occasionally. Usually I lie in bed and listen until I feel better and drift back to sleep. A few years ago it was the real thing. Some drunk guy came in our side door at about 4am. He went to the bathroom, fumbled around, urinated, came out, knocked a picture of the wall, slurred 'sorry' and went into the living room to lie down. Dh and I both woke up at him walking around the hall (before he went into the bathroom). Dh called out 'how's it going?' He usually does that when the boys get up to urinate in the night (drives me crazy). When the guy said sorry (when knocking the pic off the wall) several octaves lower then any child in our house we both flew into gear. I threw on some pants. Dh threw on some underwear and grabbed a bat (yes we have a bat next to our bed). I grabbed the phone and locked myself into the baby's room. Dh went out and told the guy to leave and then locked himself into the other's boy's room with the phone until the police came. Fun stuff. The drunk guy had crashed his car a mile away on the edge of town. He stumbled around until he thought he found his friend's house (wrong) and went in to pass out. They were already looking for this guy because they'd found his car. They took him out still insisting that we were his friends and we let him crash on the couch. Yeah, we have a dog now. I just sit up. The dog notices, does a perimeter walk, comes back.

If you want thicker cookies try freezing the dough at least an hour or chilling it in the fridge over night. Between batches put it back in the fridge. The colder the dough is the less it will 'melt' down resulting in a thicker cookie. All cookie dough should be chilled (most people just don't care and make it right after mixing it up).

Like Club Penguin it teaches the skills of modern multi-player world games. There's an economic element. Games. Trivia. Building. Direction/Movement. Writing. Lots of choices (what to buy, earning, saving, making choices and living with them). Socialization (you can visit others homes and send them things). Think of it as a step to more complex games. My kids played that first. It kept them in touch with their cousins who live a state away. Now they're into Roblox.

If you have a signed contract, you can take them to small claims court. You go down to the municipal building. My sister has done this several times. There is a court date. Generally they don't show up. Their wages are garnished (not in a cruel manner...think of it as paying you back a little at a time). If you don't have a signed contract, your dh is going to have to think long and hard about how much he wants to do this. If you're not comfortable with protecting yourselves, do you really want to continue this enterprise? Because there are always going to be people that take advantage of the system...any system. We can offer you support but only you and your dh can make the boundaries which protect you.

Having more scheduled rest times (after lunch, stricter bedtime) helped. Also, having a partner who understands and is on board. Someone to come home and make dinner, deal with kids, and generally not freak out at limited time together. Every year is a new year here with different challenges.

I can with a hot pressure bath. Are you considering doing meat? I'm not sure you really "need" a pressure canner for anything else (maybe honey?). A pressure canner isn't really faster either. What do you want to do with the food processor? The reason I ask is that you can get a food strainer to do most tomato, berry, applesauce kinds of grinding. Food strainers are marginally cheaper. Try church rummage sales. If you belong to a church ask older ladies if they know anywhere you can get supplies. (Seriously, many of these women have things and would like to get rid of them but haven't gotten around to it). GoodWill-type stores Charity shops Ask around My other recommendation would be to start slow. Don't buy to much, get things as you need them, work your way into it. The 13 dozen quart/pint jars on my basement shelves remind me of that every day. :tongue_smilie:

I think the focus of this thread is what we thing the OP should do. Not commentary about other parents' opinions. I wouldn't consider it 'theft' at that age unless he completely understood that he was taking something away from you (happens often, he hides it, tries to use it unseen by you). As a family you share many things, and 5 is too young to understand every boundary within a family--what can be borrowed and what is off limits. I may or may not consider it lying. Its easy for children of that age to lie under pressure. For some it takes strength and maturity to tell the truth and disappoint you. Its not a manipulative thing for every child. However, his bad attitude when confronted with the issue, his unwillingness to put it right...is a bad thing. Most 5s I know are happy to help. Did you loose your temper with him? If you merely expressed disapproval and asked for his help to make it right, then he should probably skip Disney. It's not a one-time thing and he needs to know how serious this is. If this was my family I would evaluate how I handled the news. Was I angry? Did I yell? Did I push him into rebellion instead of leading him into repentance? If I did I would allow him time to calm down and I would sit and explain how the situation made me feel. I would try to give him examples he could understand. Then I would offer him an opportunity to make it right. If he did, I would allow him to come. If he continued to exhibit attitude I would look sad and remind him that we all make lots of mistakes (even Mommy and Daddy) and if we can't make them right it's hard for people to trust us. When people trust us they know they can play with us...that we'll treat them fairly. Then everyone has fun. In my experience 5 year olds are not babies. They do understand fairness. What they lack is a mature understanding of boundaries (this is okay but that isn't) because of their lack of situational experience. They also don't always understand other points of view. To him it might be no big deal, and you being upset doesn't seem fair. Some personalities react to that with anger. What you have to figure out is whether this is a trait in your son---whether he consistently has problems with admitting his own mistakes (and apologizing and making things right) which might mean you need more consistency on this issue or if this is a one-time situation where your emotion affected his response. Clear as mud? ;)

I have 4 boys. They started with a large number. Its inevitable that some are destroyed. If they complain that they can't find any I suggest they go look for some. I can usually find 3 darts within 5 minutes. If they want more they have to earn the money to replace them.

There may be different types of scans. I know my son had a full bone density scan in early May. No IV. He lay on a table and was very still for 4 minutes. The machine moved over him slowly and took detailed Xrays of his bones and made comparisons with how much bone mass he should have (average vs. what's really there). For this type of scan the toughest part is having them lie still. My son is 6 and he wiggled once. He was lucky and it was while the machine was moving; otherwise they would have had to either redo that section or the entire scan. :tongue_smilie: Also, for this type of scan if you're pregnant they don't recommend that you're in the room.

I just did a paper on this subject (electronic games and education) for a grad class. This is the summarized version. I can give you specific papers for everything on here. * Games have changed since we were kids and we played on the Atari. Games are more complex, are more social, and use active, incremental learning processes to teach players their world. *Because of this difference we're no longer talking about MTV 'quick cuts' or how fast someone can use their thumbs. Nor do games undercut concentration. Modern computer games require concentration and good decoding skills. *Younger kids do not need video games. They're fun but they don't have any educational worth according to studies. *The 'naughty kids play games' or 'games make kids violent' comments have been disproved. There is correlation but no causation. International studies have shown that troubled kids seek out violent games, not violent games making kids violent. *A study has shown that older kids (preteens) show more confidence, better understanding of reading and technology and more peer interaction (this age also game together and talk about games with friends) if they play video games. Kids who did not play had much lower scores in all categories. Differences between heavy and moderate players were slight with moderate players being the most well-balanced. *If you read any one of James Gee's numerous papers or books you'll see some of the complex linguistic and symbolic abilities needed to navigate modern computer games. I have numerous other studies in a notebook somewhere. To sum up my study, males tend to prefer video/electronic games because they are ACTIVE learning devices. Boys also tend to learn better in active situations. It's normal that your dh likes video games. There's nothing wrong with that. As long as it isn't becoming an impairment to the rest of his life there's no reason why reading is better than computer games. Reading focuses on character and ideas. Games can be a bit light on that. BUT games have much more strategy, resource management, and collaboration. There are intellectual trade-offs for everything. Why not read aloud to your husband and play some games with him? A good balance for everyone.