Do sellers *usually* leave feedback about the buyers?

We went to a campfire night (scouting related) one time where they had s'more kits all packed up ready to hand out. So each s'more eater grabbed a zippy with a couple of graham crackers, one chocolate bar and maybe 4 marshmallows. I liked that this way there were not hoardes of people trying to access one table and that no kids were tempted to grab and grab and grab.

Yay!

Two-fifty-three is probably the most common thing I'd say. But after that it'd be two hundred fifty three.

I hope she'll turn up!

Not obvious. I doubt she'd notice, unless you're a very prolific poster and/or super fascinating and she would miss seeing your posts.

I'd let him do it. If you assess the actual risk, it's probably pretty minimal. Practice on the interstates ahead of time if you have time.

Don't be mad, just call. "Hey y'all, this is Wilma. I'm Pebbles' mom. We're wanting to figure out a few things before she leaves for Costa Rica. When and where are they meeting? What are you looking for in terms of donations? We're eager to get this stuff organized, because really it isn't long before they go."

10 hours will be fine! Check out some audio books from the library (videos tend to make kids crabby, I think) and you'll all be eager to hop back in to find out what happens next! It's very do-able. In a long drive you will have great times, awful times and regular plain ol' nothing times. Be prepared for that, and try to take each bit as it comes. You can tilt the balance in your favor by preparing with snacks, games, stories, whatever, but the bad times will still roll around.

You are so kind and gentle to consider the people that installed your cabinets in that light! I hope they'll be eager to do the right thing and take good care of you at this point - don't hesitate to push for it if they're not though, okay?

The Cricket in Times Square is one of my all-time favorites. I'd not leave that one go if I were you. Homer Price, too, was a hit here. I'd probably skip Despereaux, but y'all might wind up enjoying it. I'd just start and keep at it - you have a great list! If you don't finish in a year, they'll keep.

A great sling?

My criteria are pretty loose 99.9% of the time. It must fit and be the proper clothing for the weather, or at least close (no shorts/tanks in icy weather, please). At this point, I still choose their clothing from the stores, so there is nothing objectionable on that front. They sometimes wear crazy stuff. I try hard not to care - and most of the time it truly doesn't bother me. Occasionally (okay, Christmas and Easter... and maybe 4th of July) I have something specific I want my people to wear, and they're okay with that.

dp

No apostrophe. It's neither possessive nor a contraction. So, no.

I would *love* to be called for jury duty!! I hope you are picked!

I really dislike sweets as incentives. Also, furthermore, I get a little grouchy about other people and/or activities giving my kids treats regularly. When they've been sugared elsewhere, I feel like I need to be more mindful of the sweets at home.

We listened to Hattie Big Sky on our last long drive and we all dug it.

Telling someone to calm down is never the right thing. Ever. Especially not if you've just struck their daughter's car with your big dumb truck. I'm glad your girl is okay. And I hope the guy got a big ol' ticket. And I hope you call his people and report not only the incident but his behavior.

Absolutely not. I'd totally go to the pool. All day. Who can learn when it's 91* inside?!

My 7 y/o is giving me a run for my money, but I can still beat her. :hurray: It won't be long, though....

My kids' pedi knows us. She's been our doc ever since Kid1 was born, 9 years ago. So between all the baby visits (x4) and sick kids here and there (x4) and well children (x4) we have a good relationship with this doc. Every once in a while we have to see someone else - especially if it's a sick kid thing and I really want them seen sooner rather than later - but more often than not we see the regular gal.

I occasionally leave my set (9, 7, 5, 3) for a quick dog-walk if they do not wish to go. No biggie. Have any of y'all actually ever encountered a crazy person pounding on your door saying they had an emergency? Me, not.

Okay, great. I especially like the idea of the tracking sheet for each kid -- I can imagine letting things fall through the cracks, thinking "the kids" have it memorized, when in fact it's only Kid1 and Kid2 that know it. Do you have them recite independently to claim mastery of a passage, or just keep an eye on how it's going for each of them? So do you have all those different sections (daily, even/odd, days of the week, days of the month) for all the departments (speeches, bible, science, etc.)? A daily thing for each, an even/odd thing for each and so on? Does it take forever?

We use wooden ikea chairs when the kids are done with the tray - they're not high chairs, just slightly taller chairs with a narrower seat. There is no buckle. If a kid is goofy in it, they fall out. And I think each of our kids has fallen out at least once, onto the tile floor. And then they learn not to be goofy in the chair.