Honda van, it fits 4 carseats comfortably with room for 2 more in the back seats. It seats 8.

NM, old thread turned zombie. :)

I introduce all of my children as my children, usually by their names, and the fact that ds is adopted usually only comes up when we are talking about pregnancy or when people call him my surprise given the age difference. In that instance I say, no we not only planned him, but we picked him. To me talking about his adoption is like talking about my pregnancies with my other kids. If ever he says it bothers him, then I will not include his adoption story, but until then I do not want him to feel left out when I am telling stories of my kiddos. There are things I have only shared with people I know well and who have also adopted, but his basic story of coming to us at birth and being officially adopted and such are no different in my mind than telling about ultrasounds and first movements. It is good to hear from those who are adopted and how you feel, so I can be more aware of things my ds might be thinking as he grows up. Currently he is only a year old, so right now he only knows that he is loved and we have always been his family, but I know it will come soon enough that the emotions that come along with adoption will surface, and I pray that we make the right decisions to make sure he knows he is loved that same as his sibs.

You say he built a gaming computer, but you did not mention what type of college he attends. If it is a traditional college, then he is likely bored. Those that like to work with their hands and are good enough to build things like that might do better at a technical college. We plan to encourage one of our children to go that route, because he is good at it. Try to steer away from tough love at this point, and focus on keeping communication open and giving him support to make the best decision for himself. I made a lot of decisions at 19 that my mom knew were terrible and would end in a life that went nowhere, but now in my mid-thirties with a wonderful life, she can see where I was going. It may still work out fine for your ds, just not the life you thought he would have. Hugs, being a mama is hard. My youngest is 14 and just like me, so I fully expect her to go off on a path very different than I have in my head for her.

For mom's night out sort of things we linger for a couple of hours and leave a nice tip. We have never had an issue. The manager was rude.

We went last July, and we needed sweaters in the mornings at the canyon (note we are from a place of 100 plus degree temps). The drive there was hot and miserable, but the canyon itself was beautiful and the weather was perfect there. We did not hike into the canyon, but we did go down a bit to get some pictures. If you are not used to the elevation take it slow and drink a lot of water. Bring refillable water bottles and refill at every station. Hydration is very important there. Enjoy!

Oh my! We had a tree cut down, stump ground, and 10 other trees pruned in 1.5 days. That is crazy! No wonder he charges so much, because he cannot make money otherwise.

It is stressful. We sold our old house first, and then that afternoon we bought our new house. Our realtor worked it out in the contract so that we could rent back our old house from the new owners for a small fee for a few days so we could clear out. We did not have a contingency on the house we were buying, so there was no reason for it to fall though given that our financing was already secured and the owners were already moved into their new house. This time we have no home to move to yet, so this is odd for us. Renting is not something I am looking forward to, but it might happen until we can build. We cannot seem to find a house that we love except one that we cannot get a response on.

I get it. That scenario happens to me often. I want to be more outgoing, but I have never figured out how. One day I would just like to have a real best friend that is not related to me lol.

My 1 yr old is getting all of our old Little People sets for Christmas, so I do not plan to spend much money at all on him, and he will not care. I did that with my other littles too. :)

I would want to be a travel agent, and I have a son who wants to be the guy that shoots chickens out of guns a airplanes to test their windshields. :)

I think your plan for one time is a good one, because I would have a hard time letting a family member be homeless if I could help just the one time. Do make it clear that this is a one time thing and it is to help his kids not be homeless. After that I would take the kids in whenever this happens but leave BIL to figure out his own thing. The kids need to know they will have a home everyday no matter what their parents choices are, fear of having no where to live and nothing to eat changes a child's DNA and their personality for life. In this situation you cannot change the thinking of BIL which you know, but the kids need stability, so I would focus on being stability for them. That is a tough situation.

Yes, we take into account how much it will cost to add a second sink when we think about the price we want to offer on a house. We love our double sink set up currently, and I will not go back, so if you are remodeling and want a remodeled price for your home, then I would put in two sinks. :) FWIW, I do not have cable, so I have no idea what HGTV trends are, I just know what I like practically to keep things moving on busy days.

College 'kids' are adults, so it is really not up to the parents. It is really no different than mass media posting a picture and description on TV, but given that many college kids are not from the immediate area, the best place to start notifying people would be within the campus where his friends would be able to start checking the places they know he goes. It would likely be a waste of time to broadcast to the whole town when he will probably not be seen by a random stranger. If he is not found on campus, then a broader missing persons report may be filed. Now that I think about it, this might be more private than mass media, because it is contained within the campus rather than plastered on TV. The phone call led people to check their email, so I think that is more respectful than plastering his picture on the school's website for anyone to see. I think the school is using the tools available, and I hope they find him. It does not really matter why they need to find him, but I am sure there is a good reason. Colleges have a reputation to maintain to keep enrollment up and money coming in.

SIL should stay with the nappers. If the parent is being this dramatic now, then it will only get worse as the show goes on, and theater/dance is usually rather parent intensive as far as volunteer help, at least here, so you can expect her to do nothing and give some excuse every time. I have two babies, and they have learned to nap on the go or do without and go to bed early. It just is what it is when you have kids of varying ages if you want the olders to participate in activities.