This exactly! W head a small wedding with a potluck reception, and though part of it was finances, we also wanted to keep the focus on our marriage and not our wedding day. One way we did that was by not going into debt for a one day event.

Haha, yes my kids and I do that. It probably bugs my dh as much as it bugs you. Yes, sometimes those words slip out in conversation. Oops! People usually laugh or ignore it. I love the million monkeys!

I am a big baby about dental stuff too, which is bad since I have bad teeth lol. Crowns are easy, and I can chew just fine with mine. I do not usually even notice they are there. Mine are porcelain though. One was done in the office while I waited, and the other 2 were sent off. The second two I did at a different dentist who is cheaper but still awesome. I have had one break and one pop off. They have a 5 year warranty, so they replace them for free if they break within 5 years, and my dentist re-glues them in for free if they ever pop out.

My dd got one for her 14th birthday, because she is away from us a lot more now.

NM I did not read the update.

The same thing happened to me, but I made homeschooling friends, and I still see my non-homeschooling friends at other get togethers (church, the park, and so on). When circumstances change so do our primary groups of friends. You will not lose your other friends as long as you try to maintain some kind of relationship. :)

We do Benadryl when allergies are not held at bay with just Claritin. Never thought to give a decongestant.

We foster also, and I am lame and just use a photo album with little caption spaces to write in, so their family knows what the picture is about. Your state may have a lifebook template you can print at Staples too. Mine does, and we have to fill one out when a child moves, and the idea is that it will allow the child to know the families they have lived with and special memories and dates of things like when they started walking, first day of school, and so on. We have one for our adopted son even though we are the only family he ever lived with (came to us from the hospital), because there are no baby books out there for our situation, even the adoption books do not really fit. Maybe Google foster care life books? PS, I love the digital books, but we sometimes only get a few days notice of a move, so printing would be hard unless you could find a same day service in your area. ;)

My dd was 5, but that was before the awareness campaign to keep them in carseats longer. My boys who are 9 and 10 are still in boosters, not high back ones though. They need that extra height to make the seatbelts fit well in our van.

So sorry. :( It is so hard when they leave, even after a few weeks.

Be sure you are comparing apples to apples. SF pays for towing, covers you in a rental with no need for the extra insurance, and a lot of little things like that which other companies do not. I somehow kicked up a tire iron that lodged in my gas tank (could have exploded, not good), anyway, I called SF to see if they would cover anything, and they paid for the towing, the fire dept to secure the gas tank (basically they stuck a big plug in it), and they gave me a rental. The only thing I paid for was the repair itself, and I did not pay my deductible. I saved a lot of money that day by having SF. Our rate did not go up either. I would call around and ask exactly what each policy covers and the deductible and liability converge amounts and decide from there. Bundling insurance saves a lot too, so get the details of your house insurance too so you can compare that as well. Insurance is a necessary evil, but my is it a pain to muddle through.

I have to agree with your DH's assessment. Bring popcorn and know that whatever she says will bring a good laugh. In the past few years I have learned that since I cannot control what others think or say about me, then I just need to laugh and feel sorry for them. This lady obviously has no life if she feels the need to spend so much time stalking you and probably other people too. It sounds like she is lonely, and maybe she is in a bad relationship (I don't know that obviously, but people who tend to focus on those things in others are dealing with it themselves). I would ignore her message. If she starts saying odd things on your posts, then you can always unfriend and block her, that way she cannot even see that you are on FB.

Hugs! I have never experienced that, but my dad would totally agree with your assessment of the situation! So glad you are ok.

I have 2 sons with blue eyes (one is adopted, and his bio sibs might have blue eyes too), I might be the last of the lefties in my family though.

My boys are tall, and they were able to stay harnessed in the Nautilus until nearly 8, so that one should work for you for a long time if she is on the smaller side.

I agree with this. Maybe just meet at their house or at a public place in the future. We only have one friend with a destructive child, and they have never been to our house. We always meet at a park or at their house. It works better for everyone.

Um...no. My child would not be attending that school or going to visit the people doing this behind your back without you being present. Just no. I am usually very thankful for family taking an interest in my kids, but that is way overstepping. I would not trust the school at all if they did not require a parent to be present to enroll the child. They will not keep others from taking your child off of school grounds without your knowledge.

I put frozen meat in the oven about 2 hours prior to dinner, then I make some biscuits or other bread, cook some veggies, make a salad, cut up some fruit, and we call that dinner most nights here. The crockpot is good for whole meals like stew and such which can be prepped the night before. We are 7, but 2 are babies, so they do not eat much yet. I try not to spend more than 30 minutes in the kitchen.

I agree, the parents probably would have mentioned it if your house needed to be nut free. We have two friends with nut allergies, and both are fine as long as they do not consume nuts. We just wash surfaces before they come over and eat fruit and veggies for snacks, so there is no cross contamination or chance they will accidentally get traces of nuts in some boxed snack. It is scary if you do not have a kid with a nut allergy, but once you have a few successful days it will become routine and easy to figure out snacks and such. :)

My bigs ask for small expensive things now, like iPods, so they get fewer gifts which is less clutter. They ask grandparents for iTunes cards. We have 5 children now, and the babies will get hand-me-down little people toys this Christmas. I do not see the point in buying new stuff for babies who do not care. We also take a weekend getaway around Christmas instead of buying a lot of suff and focus on what the kids really want instead of getting them things we think they should have. I tried to get family to give experiences like zoo passes, but that only worked one year before they were back to giving them more junk again, sigh.

I am an introvert who tries really hard to like parties. It is hard being the center of attention and I am worn out when it is over, but I know I am loved. Right now I am planning a party that i a, not the center of, and it is hard even hosting anything, but I do it for my kids. They see what is important in life because that is what we celebrate, important things.

My boys say Ninjago is retiring, so I would get him whatever sets he likes of those now. My boys know exactly which sets they want, even at 4 and 5 they knew lol, and I just take them to the lego aisle and let them make a list for birthdays and Christmas. They save up allowance money for some sets, but the $100 plus ones are presents. Also, you can buy random pieces on eBay to fill in so he can build things to go with his sets. I would come up with a storage system now, so it will not be a huge 2 million piece mess. :) I use those drawers on wheels, the ones with 5-6 thin plastic drawers. Our Legos are sorted by color, and instructions are stored in a separate bin. Some people put sets in large ziplock bags with the instructions, but I find my boys tear sets apart and then build random things with the Legos, so color bins are easier. Have fun! Legos are awesome, and my boys have developed many skills from playing with them.

We bought smaller plates, and we have fruits and veggies out all the time for snacking. I try not to focus so much on portions as what they are eating. Not many people over eat veggies. :) The trick is only eating junk when you go out to eat and not having a bunch of sweets, boxed foods, or bread in the house. :) That is hard, because I love ice cream.

I am not a seller, but I have asked many shop owners to make customs. Only one person said she could not do a custom, and I moved on to another seller who could. Someone out there will make what you want and be happy to do it.:)

I have a ds that reacted like that, he even had skin peel off (sorry TMI). He was on steroids and Benadryl for a couple of weeks, and he still had weird purple lines appear all over him for a month. It was a long ordeal, and I will not allow him to have omnicef or amoxicillin anymore either, because they are related. It will be ok, but you have to be aggressive in treating it and know it will take a while to clear up.