I really, REALLY loved our Mountain Buggy Urban double. It went everywhere, turned on a dime, and folded easily to throw into the back of the van. (I did not like, however, having it in bright orange - which is what I picked - because it drew even more attention when pushing twins through the grocery store.) It was seriously the best stroller I owned in 20 years and 4 children worth of parenting. Eta: like the Maclaren, it had no issue with weight differential, even with a 7 yo in one side and no one in the other.

For me - and it seems to be the general bent of the breadth of replies - it's any workout I can lose myself in: long, hard cardio, a well timed kickboxing class, lifting heavy, a kickass tabata workout, cycling (outdoors only for me), yoga, Pilates... Usually, it is NOT yoga/Pilates, but something I can crank up the music and shut off my brain while I push to complete failure. Yoga and Pilates (and any combination or spinoff thereof) are more centering to face the day for me, not really effective for working off excess energy when I'm stressed and my adrenals are in overdrive. That said, iTunes has guided meditations from Meditation Oasis (it's a podcast, non-religious, just breath and topic focused) that I've found very helpful in systematically focusing on relaxation and letting go of stress - mentally and physically - before bed (or during a rest period in the middle of the day, really).

She is off.the.rails! :lol:

I think it's possible in the early elementary grades, where there's a lot of "stuff" we just call living life, but is built into the school day - arts and crafts, playing/recess, etc. In older grades, there is time dedicated to class change, home room, lunch... So, yes, some of the school day is budgeted for things other than direct instruction. When my eldest was in highschool, they had 90 minute classes, which would cut down some of the non-academic time, right? Except the teachers were still teaching 50 minute classes, and then allowing the rest of the class period for doing homework and socializing. Not so helpful. In our experience, school takes about 4 hours, with breaks here and there. My rising 7th grader also does (non-recreational) reading outside of our instructional hours.

He is just adorable! And he looks a bit concerned that someone might come and snatch that biscuit. :lol:

Oh, ugh. That is so not cool. (very sweet of the man, but...) Practically speaking: Is the problem with belly fat or weak/bowed abs? That will determine the best course of action - i.e. you can't "spot reduce" areas of fat by exercising that area, but you can tone the underlying muscles. Also, I would eyeball the wardrobe. I have found a number of tips that, in my mind, "camouflage" the extra yardage of abdominal skin (from having 6 1/2 lb twins on a 5' frame) but, in reality, suggest there's something under there! I think I've removed all unfortunate tops at this time, but I still eye everything critically.

Murphy's isn't oily. It's soap (as opposed to detergent) made with oil (as opposed to solid fat, but the lye used in soap making takes up the fats. To the OP: I am assuming the trim is painted? If that's the case, and you've scrubbed it, what you may have is stains from mildew or just grime sitting and gathering for a long period of time. In that case, you will need to paint it, and using TSP will help remove oily residue from cooking, car exhaust, etc, before you pull out the brushes, and a swipe of "liquid sander" will knock down the sheen and give the new paint a grippier surface to stick to. (I think it would be unlikely that 15 year old trim is painted with oil based paint, so I am also assuming it's latex)

As I type this, my kids are in zombie mode in front of Netflix. Last night, they were in zombie mode in front of a B&W movie (they picked) and then the news in our hotel room. But... We just spent the past two days in 100+ heat index at a tournament, so we're all in long stare mode and I know they would be whining because they would be feeling compelled to entertain themselves (instead of staring at the wall) and not have the energy to do it. We limit, generally, to maybe a movie on Friday night, while we eat pizza. Not every Friday, but it's a regular family night. Otherwise, there's no tv (videos included), gaming systems, handheld devices, and they rarely use the computer other than to look something up or listen to Pandora (our radio reception is sketchy, we stream music or NPR... No screen) They do have Nooks (original, e-ink). I don't think they're more drawn to a screen that's on because we limit; I know plenty of children who have unlimited access to screens who are more obsessed with it being on than my kids. I know kids who have regular screen time and are not particularly sucked out by a screen. The reason we limit to nearly nothing is because our kids do not self-limit, and they become bored and surly when they sit passively in front of a screen too long. Whether that is a function of maturity or a personality type, I don't know but, as their parents, it is our job to help cultivate good, productive habits. When they're adults, they can determine - with maturity and responsibility on their side, hopefully - what their interest level is.

Woohoo! Come visit ME, now, and show me how it's done! :D

:iagree: Everyone's best shoe is different. I run barefoot or in FiveFingers, my husband runs in a more structured shoe. I will say that, while they will look at your gait, etc, the emphasis should be on the "see what feels best" part. I've had crazy running store people tell me they wouldn't put me in anything smaller than a 10.5 (I wear an 8.5 - 9, depending on the shoe), try to convince me I have low arches (I don't.), wide feet (AA), and need super stability. Stability shoes caused lasting ankle, knee and hip pain the first time I ran in them. Go with what feels good. (and, frankly, if bargain shoes from Payless feel good, then great.)

Depending on how old your mom is, it could be just a function of age. It seems there is a certain level of narcissism (different, of course, than the NPD that many of us deal with in our mothers) creeps in during the elder years. I can't remember if it's related to dementia or not, but it's like their social filter just falls off.

No. I never do, nor do my children.

Nnnnnnnnope. I don't have a problem with anyone saying it (including elected officials... I believe in using the whole language) but I do have a problem with walking around with sentiments that are sure to inflame/offend written on one's chest/back. I have a George Carlin show shirt that has something that would be offensive to many - as he was - and never wear it outside of my yard. I love the shirt, which is from one of the last shows before he passed away, and very Carlin, but I think it would be rude to wear out and about. (I did lol at the BFD shirt further down the page on Zazzle. What an unfortunate acronym for a fire department)

Wow, Imp. She's so impractical. Why couldn't she give awesome "just because" gifts, like tooth whitening strips and mustache removal wax (for my then 13 yo blonde, fair, non-hairy daughter)? Some people <eyeroll>!

I second the Percy Jackson books. We've also enjoyed Junie B Jones (Lana Quintal's narration makes what I find unreadable hysterical), A Series of Unfortunate Events (read by Tim Curry), and Roald Dahl books (BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, various actors reading). Lit2Go (via iTunes) has some well read classics, free to download. Our favorites are read by Lorraine Montgomery: A Little Princess, Alice in Wonderland, Little Women. I just burned the 10+ hours of Anne of Green Gables to disk for a trip this weekend.

Ours dates to the 1860s. I love our plaster walls. I think you're right about poor planning, too. There seems to be the same heat/air plan whether there is installed heat/air at all around here. I remember a friend house hunting and being completely aghast at the number of houses she saw where the only heat source was a fireplace. In MD. Crazy. (the houses were all mid-20th century to 10 years old) I have to wear a fleece at work in the summer. It's ridiculous what I pile on / strip off at each end of a shift. We also find, here in the House of Doors and Windows, directing fans in on the cool side of the house and out on the hot side keeps a nice interior temp.

Yup. I grew up in Maine. My dad doesn't have AC. he refuses to visit us in the summer, and has even complained about our cold. A man who reports -40F at his house on occasion finds our damp 34F offensive. (I don't blame him, I do, too, but it's still funny) Our house actually has a sleeping porch upstairs. We've never used it.

Yes!! We just got a 4" memory foam (polyurethane, I'm allergic to latex) topper from Overstock. It conforms to the $&@! troughs and looks God-awful, but is much better to sleep on. Because I refuse to buy another billion dollar craptastic mattress. :glare:

I really need a scream-laughing-on-the-floor-of-the-car-with-people-looking-sideways-at-you-because-they-don't-want-to-make-eye-contact-with-a-crazy-person smilie. Does anyone have one of those?

Again, snort-choke laughing. Because I have had a conversation that contentious AND absurd about Dr Who.

You may want to rethink that. We got a lovely pillow top about 12 years ago. Within six months, it had HUGE troughs on either side, where we sleep, and a hump in the middle, despite monthly turning/flipping. Much worse than the 25 yo mattress it replaced. They wouldn't take it back. The troughs were not deep enough. They had to be 3". :glare: Make sure, whatever you buy, you have the terms of return spelled out, in written detail. What they tell you in the store is almost never what the actual warranty is. Our next mattress will likely be from Ikea. We bought the kids wool mattresses from White Lotus Home and have been pleased with those, too. Bonus: no off gassing.

I imagine the same thing our Amish friends do: open the windows, move at a slower pace, and sweat. That's what I do, too, but my house was built by Victorians and those Victorians took house ventilation Very Seriously. So, I can refuse to put in the window AC as long as there's a breeze.

:lol: My husband still talks about Beyonce the giant metal chicken. Off to read about Copernicus. Oh. Em. Gee! Now I am sitting in my car - all by myself - snort-choke laughing. I have not laughed this hard since Beyonce.

Well from 5-noon I did two loads of laundry, hung one out, folded one and put it away, unloaded the dishwasher, tidied the kitchen, watered the lawn, got the kids up and fed, took them to work with me, worked the wellness floor for 3 hours (super dull), talked to the kennel to coordinate picking up our dog at the end of her stay this weekend (4 times), canceled the reservation, punted to my husband because I needed to teach a class, taught strength training for an hour, came home (still w/ the kids because my husband took OT), made lunch, did more laundry... shut my eyes for about 30 minutes... did hair (team pics this evening), got water jugs together, got ice and snacks and I am now sitting in the car with a lovely breeze blowing through while I make a grocery list for my husband to pick up for the weekend. When I get home, I'll shove some sort of food into the kids and hustle them to bed because they are coming to work with me again tomorrow and that means they're up no later than 4:30. Maybe on my way home I'll stop and get them some portable but junky breakfast food. They'll be ecstatic. :D

My oldest is 23. I'm still working on the grownup thing. I think I'm pretty much the same person I was 20 years ago. I don't know what that says about me, though. :001_huh: