Wow, y'all! This is great. I really appreciate all the suggestions. I've ordered up a couple of them! And I'mma save a list for Christmas/birthdays. Thanks again!

All of the personal expenses (clothing, phone, insurance, etc.) should paid by the adult. I would suggest that rather than charging rent, you and the adult/child determine an appropriate amount to be into a long-term savings account for their future house/apt/car/whatever. Then you'd avoid a landlord situation and the adult/child would know that you have their best interests in mind. It might be helpful to think of how you would deal with the same situation if it were not your kid - a nephew, a cousin, a sister - some other adult that was needing to share your living space for a time. What would you expect financially and in terms of keeping the household running?

Well, hey, the horse is outta the barn at the point of the pregnancy announcement, right? At that point, your courtesy obligation is to love the baby, love the mama, and do what you can to be happy and supportive of them. That probably means having a frank conversation with the mama after the babe is born. It would be absolutely rude, awful AND unhelpful to say anything negative during or about the current pregnancy.

I'll check those out -- thanks y'all!

We did a family Monopoly game for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and I've been thinking it over. My bigger girls (they were the active participants, along with my hubs and me) are 7 and 8.5. So skill-wise, the game was a pretty good fit. I mean, sure, there's more strategy that would be applied over time, but they got the jist of it and were able to hang in there. But that game is SO CRUSHING as you get farther along. Like when you've just paid your sister $550 on that first light blue one, with a hotel, and then you roll a 3 and have to pay $650 on Oriental! And you've already mortgaged everything and you only have $8 left. Super sad. I remember crying over my fate in that game as a kid, and evidently my girls are no different. So. What's out there that's not so emotionally volatile but is about equivalent skills wise?

Heh. I tossed Candyland ages ago because one or both of the children that were playing it *always* cried. Anything that would make that game shorter is better, though, yes?

I think the recipient of the pregnancy news should take into account the feelings of the news delivery person AND the pregnant mama, if they're different people. So, "Oh, geez, Mom, I'm so scared about this!" would met with a different reaction (kind, caring, comforting) than, say, "We're so excited about a new baby in the family!" which should only be met with the happiest words one can deliver, whatever the circumstance. When I was pregnant the first time, I was the scared and slightly horrified pregnant lady (we were married, responsible people, but still...).

Love.

1 breakfast. (and I have 4 girls! and they're all little!) I don't buy cereal.

Activities? Not really. My preschoolers don't do activities - they just play and go to the pool and stuff.

Also, congratulations to you! And best wishes! And much happiness!

My advice would be to be thrilled as you give the news: "we are so excited to tell y'all we're expecting a new baby!" with genuine happiness. People are much less likely to rain on your parade that way than if you say, "well, uh, we're pregnant again..." while looking sheepish. Also, if someone says anything less than congratulatory, you can say, "oh geez, when people share wonderful news, you're supposed to say Congratulations, we're so happy for you!" There is no room for rudeness there, really.

If it stinks, throw it away. If it smells fine, it IS fine. On the other hand, if you'd be worrying while eating and for hours after, it's better to toss.

We had a lady who does relief work in Uganda come talk to us during our squad's Christmas party - the kids loved it (I cried. I always cry when I hear about kids who have no mama.) and a couple of our service projects afterwards focused on helping her help people.

Our whole troop does a service project at least 1x per month. Usually that's on the same day at the same time as our regular meetings. So that would be stuff like the HUGS duffle bags for foster kids, a book drive, making cards for seniors, putting together bags for homeless people or I can't even remember what all. We also do some hikes and a couple of family camp outs per year, but those are usually also troop-wide and not just for the Tenderheart girls. Usually once per semester we don't do ANY badge work and have a little bit of a party instead, with crafts and games and whatever. Are these the kinds of things you're thinking about?

For us, reading is a part of our family culture. We're not a TV/movie watching people; we're book people. So our family jokes and little sayings and things often come from books or book characters. My very best favorite time for read alouds is during car trips. My hubs always drives, and I nearly always bring a book or two I think we'll all enjoy. We also use audio books for loooong trips (or if it's me and the kids). All that said, I think that if I personally did not enjoy reading to the kids, we'd not do it. At least not much.

Susan, I'd totally be your friend. What you said makes me think of my husbands great aunt - she is a dear dear woman. I've been with her probably three times ever, but I love her to bits. Whenever she speaks of anyone or sees someone she always has a kind word to say about them. "That Bruce, he's always been so good with the little ones!" or "your Mom sure knows how to make a pie!" Always said with genuine goodness and joy. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that's how we introduced people to one another? "Mary, this is my friend Katie. One thing I admire about her is that she is eternally patient and kind," or "Katie, meet Mary. She tells the best stories!"

What would you call the playground woman? "This is a woman sort of know from the playground. Her name is Plain Jane, I think." It maybe is overused, but we have no solid alternative. Acquaintance is too formal or archaic or something. And you're not family. So...? Neighbor is good if you are, in fact, a neighbor. What else is there? Sometimes people qualify "friend". Like if I were with a true friend or family member and met an acquaintance-friend, I might say, "mom, this is Plain Jane, my friend from the park." "Jane, this is my mom, she's visiting from Siberia."

Helena, a few years ago I read all of the Harry Potters in Spanish (I hadn't read 'em before). The reading level was spot on for me - I'd have to look up some unfamiliar words here and there, but I could follow the plot easily.

I have a neighbor from Colombia, and we talk a walk together a couple of times a week and chat. It's usually Spanglish, but for me it counts. I also enjoy Spanish pop music -- Shakira and Juan Luis Guerra and Carlos Vives are my faves -- and occasionally listen to the talk radio.

We're fruit dessert people. So blueberries with whipped coconut cream is a huge hit. Or sliced apples with cinnamon sprinkled on them - yum! Or dark chocolate.

Would getting the teacher involved help? Have a private chat with her and explain the situation. Then at the lesson she can say, "gee, it looks like you've not been practicing at home -- I really think you'd do better in lessons if you'd apply yourself during the week!" Maybe make a chart for the practice times that she fills out at home and then turns in to the teacher at the beginning of the lesson? If she balks at practising then, I'd either quit lessons or require that she pays. You're making an investment in her development as a dancer, and if she's not practising, she's not holding up her end of the thing.

I like Old Crow Medicine Show for cooking music while I'm in the kitchen... It's bluegrass.

We've had the Ooma for a couple/few years and it's super. We've saved a bucketfull of money and it's absolutely no hassle whatsoever. The ONLY time it's any bit of a rub is that if the internet is wonky the phone doesn't work. But we both have cell phones, so it's basically a non-issue. We were able to keep our same phone number and use the phones we already had in our house. Seriously no hassle.

Maybe check how many stickers it is and how big of a baby shampoo it is? Amazon is not ALWAYS cheaper, but usually it wouldn't be significantly more spendy, either.