That would be perfect. However, the middle seat belt stalks are too narrow for a booster. Dd needs the booster to be able to see out at all. And she still does not meet all the criteria to go without a booster in our car (she does in others). The only booster that will fit is a Bubble Bum, which is what we use around town. But it is very fatiguing to sit on for long periods of time. She has to sit all day and well into the night for this trip. It has to be so complicated! Usually she takes Dramamine and sits in a side seat. But it makes her feel goofy for more than a day and she does not like it. So I thought I could spare her on this trip by taking down the headrest.

This is very helpful. Thanks!

I have an odd question and cannot find the answer through a general google search. I am going on a long car trip alone with my 9.5 yo. She gets carsick very easily and is generally miserable in the car. She sits in a high-backed booster. Is there a safety reason why I should not take off the headrest on the front passenger seat (in front of her) so that she can see the road? Usually someone is sitting in that seat so we have to leave it on but since there will be no passenger on this trip, it does not need to be there.....unless there is a "compartmentalization" safety factor for the back seat passenger that I am not aware of. Does the head rest also function to keep the backseat passenger safer somehow? The trip we are taking is through a lot of snow, white-out conditions, and ice (sounds fun, eh?) so while I am sure we will come through without incident, the probability of an incident is significantly higher than travel at a different time of year. The car is 8 years old but has all the front and side-curtain airbags. Anyone know?

This would be a very big problem for me. I feel it is a HUGE violation of your privacy and I am as liberal-leaning as they get. I know sky-rocketing healthcare costs are creating all sorts of sticky problems for individuals and the companies that insure employees, but this is going way too far IMO. As an aside, my dh and I have life insurance that we fund ourselves. We both pay a higher premium because our BMIs are TOO LOW. I kid you not. You just cannot win. Our agent suggested eating "a whole lotta cheeseburgers" before our next renewal exam. Yeah, that is healthy.....

I live in an area where 24 inches in 24 hours is pretty common. Usually at least once a year. We just got 100 inches in the span of ten days last month. And I can definitely see why it is a big deal. The type and amount of equipment our towns own and maintain is very different from other areas. We have snow removal machines that no one else has ever heard of like sno-goes. We shovel our roofs on a regular basis. Our personal snowblowers are scary monsters. And wiht all of that, it takes a day or so to dig out. Typically things don't close, but it is messy. Moving all of that snow takes a lot of time, organization, experience, space, and equipment. That is not even addressing the power outages, mobility of emergency personnel, and other headaches that come from large snowfalls. And obviously since most people think living in this sort of climate is insane, we have a very low, but extremely hardy, population which also makes snow removal easier. I would totally be freaking out in weather like this if I lived in NYC or another large city.

I think that is a perfectly fine request given the circumstances.

There are all sorts of events, including weddings, that children are not invited to. I am not sure what is confusing about that. I understand that a lot of people choose to have children at their weddings or feel strongly that children are important to have at weddings, but others prefer not to include children. Either is perfectly within proper etiquette parameters. Just as electing to not attend a wedding because your children are not invited is also within proper etiquette. What is NOT proper etiquette is bringing your children to a wedding when the invitation is addressed only to the adults in the family. Or in the OP's case when the mother and child were not invited at all. Crazy! I have stayed home from several myself because dd was not invited and I was not able to find an acceptable childcare arrangement....including a wedding in which dh was the best man and I was very close with the groom. It was on the other side of the country and the wedding couple did not seem to understand that they would HAVE to help us find a sitter if they wanted us both to attend. I made no stink but simply declined to attend when they decided it was not within their responsibilities to help me set up a childcare arrangement. They were disappointed, but I feel it was their choice, not mine. How on earth was I to find someone to watch my kid in a town and state where I did not know anyone? I think they wanted us to leave dd at home. Dd was an exclusively breastfed infant at that time. Uh. Not gonna happen. I have seen everything, including provided childcare, but I certainly do not expect it and would not even sort-of think about providing it in the OP's situation. Whack-a-doodle-doo!

Thanks all! I am going to keep her. I think I just needed someone to tell me it is not silly to be bothered by throwing her out :) I may even have her fixed up. Dd is probably too old to want to play with her anymore but maybe I will have a granddaughter someday....

It is annoying but I cannot see getting too upset about it. We get a lot of snow. Huge amounts. We are snowblowing at all hours. We have a retired neighbor who likes to get up early and snowblow even though he really could do it any time of day. But, I know complaining to the city will get me nowhere. The snowplows, front-end loaders, and dump trucks beep all night clearing the snow away and are much louder. Not to mention the sno-go which is a GIANT snowblower truck...... Welcome to winter. I suggest buying some earplugs.

16, I think.

Yeah, this is what I found and was slightly confused and wanted to be sure I understood it. Unfortunately, dd will still be under 16 but if we time it just right, we might be able to get away with only ONE more "under 16" passport then be able to get the next one after that as an "over 16."

Ok. Good to know. Thanks! Now does anyone have any idea how long processing is taking these days?

This has been torturing me for a few weeks now..... I am very good at simplifying and decluttering. I am typically not very sentimental about physical items. In my last round of trying to pare down the amount of "keepsakes" in the attic, I came across a doll from my childhood. It is an inexpensive store-bought baby doll from the 1970's with plastic limbs/head and cloth body. It was a gift from a beloved relative who passed away shortly afterwards. It came with a slew of homemade clothing and was a treasured toy for most of my girlhood. When dd was old enough for dolls, I gave the doll and the clothing to her. The clothing fit a few of her dolls and is still played with frequently. However, the doll itself did not hold up well to play. The cloth body had become brittle and split in many places (traumatizing dd, I might add) so it was quickly put away in a box in the attic. For years, I keep coming upon it and moving it around, not sure what to do with it. A few weeks ago, I came to the conclusion that the doll was not really fixable and it was time to throw it away. So, I put it in the garbage. It takes a month or two for our family to fill up a garbage bag and at least once a day a feeling of dread would come over me that this doll was in the garbage can. After a couple of weeks, I fished it out (nothing had been put on top of it yet) and I am back to square one. I have other mementos from this relative and many good and vivid memories. There is really nothing that the doll can offer for anyone anymore. But every time I think of putting it back in the can, I go back to the day I opened the gift and all the hours I played with it. My mind also cannot stop itself from thinking about the doll going into the garbage truck and sitting in the landfill. Yeah....I have issues..... OTOH, it is painful to look a the doll in its ruined state. I have thought about getting it "fixed" but that seems really silly for something that was probably only $5 new. And of course, what the heck would I do with it once it was fixed? Someone either tell me I am being dumb and should just throw it out OR give me a good reason to keep it and ideas of what I should do with it!

I need some passport advice. 9yo dd's passport is about to expire. We will not be traveling out of the country again for at least another year. For adults, "renewal" is significantly less expensive than having to start from scratch. I assumed the same was true for minors and went online looking for directions to renew. The websites are awful, I have to say..... Anyway, it appears that there are no "renewals" for minors. They apply again as though it were the first time and the fee is the same. Is this really true or am I reading it incorrectly? And if it is true, financially it makes more sense for us to wait until closer to our next travel time rather than do it now and have paid for a passport that will not be used for a full year. Am I missing something?

I wonder if they know if individual kids identified the "cool" and the "bullies" as the same people. Bullying was awful in my middle school and it was most definitely the "cool kids" who were the worst offenders. But looking back, I am not sure how I associated them as "cool." I did not think they were cool nor did I look up to them. However, I would have probably called them "cool" because they were usually members of the "highest ranking" clique. They typically came from families with money and weight in the community. It makes me wonder if bullying is some form or social ladder-climbing that can be passed down in the generations.

This is my BIL. He will go on and on about how my dd will never be "strong" because she is being "deprived" of either being a bully or being bullied. You just cannot have a rational discussion with anyone who can believe this.

Has she tried the dress on without a bra? Some formal dresses are "stiff" enough that you can get away without one and no one can tell.

Every pool I have ever been to requires a full shower before getting in the water, so she is probably getting at least three showers a week that way, right? If that is true, I would not take away swimming!

I own my home but live in a neighborhood that is made up primarily of rentals. It is a mix of families and college students. I seldom know the renters as they usually do not stay long enough to get to know. But I do know several of the landlords. I have asked them why they are willing to rent to students. I have always assumed students would be rougher on houses than families would be. The above is partially correct.....they usually make rent and are less picky about maintenance. They also always move in and out at the same time of year so landlords seldom have vacancies for months at a time. But, I was also surprised to learn that even the partier college students are less rough on houses than families, according to our neighborhood landlords. I do not know why. I was a college student once upon a time and I can say I would never have wanted my friends and me as renters!

Another vote for snow tires. I live on a very steep hill in a place that gets serious snow and ice for 6 months of the year. We have owned all types of cars. As long as the car is FWD and we have snow tires, we have zero problems, ever. So, I would look for what you can afford, is comfortable for your family, and gets good gas mileage before worrying about winter worthiness. AWD is a nice concept but most people who think they "need" it really do not. And AWD really takes a hit on the mileage. That said, Subarus are great. As are the smaller crossovers like Honda CR-Vs and Toyota RAV-4s. Most places do not allow chains anymore as they rip up the road.

If all else fails, ask the vet about epileptic seizures. They look different in cats than they do in humans and they are not as serious. They can be treated pretty easily. We had an older cat that developed similar behaviors and that is what it turned out to be. We tried the vest and pheromones first with no success. One big clue is if you have ever noticed that this cat is more sensitive to having its lower back touched or if it twitches frequently when the back is touched.

Thanks for the suggestion. I would like to have something like that on hand next time. I am sure I can find it here.

Thanks everyone! I am going to try it tonight just to get some sleep. I did not even think of the contagion aspect. Yuck! Dh is already coming down with it so it might be too late to save everyone......

Luckily, dh went and got the real stuff during my last cold. It was the first time we had ever bought it and he said he felt like a criminal. It was during the holidays, we were traveling, and I was just trying to function enough to get by. But I never actually used it because I was afraid it would make things worse in the long run. Unfortunately, it has fever reducer in it as well which I would prefer not to take. But if it is between that and getting some sleep, I might be willing to compromise until I can get back to a store and get the isolated meds.

I am in the midst of a horrendous cold. Fever, achy, sore throat, sneezing, etc..... But the worst is that every time I get any kind of cold, my nose runs non-stop. Like cannot even walk across the room without hanky in hand non-stop. It is miserable. And gross. It drives my dh nuts! My nose gets really red and hurts to even think about. This can last anywhere from 2-5 days. I hate it. It makes doing everything very difficult. Luckily, I do not get sick often. Usually. This is the SECOND cold of the season for me and I am MAD. I have opinions about OTC meds and I am not sure they are based on good info. I never buy or take any cold medications. And never give them to dd. I am not anti-meds in general. I will take Advil if I have a bad headache. But I have always thought that it was best to let the symptoms do their job in combatting illness. I know this is true of fevers.....that it is best to let them go (within reason) because that is the body's way of fighting infection. But I do have to wonder about the runny nose part. Is there any reason to not try to suppress a runny nose with OTC meds? Is there some sort of healing function to letting your nose run? Will I risk prolonging the illness by taking nose stuff? Can you tell I just want a good night's sleep? I am not sure I can face another all-night-nose-blowing-a-thon.