I'd swap out the milk to inside and use it first. You'll know if it's funky. The butter and OJ and cheese whatever should be perfectly fine -- really.

Will a guinea pig really be the responsive cuddly pet she's wanting? I can't imagine it being a relational animal the way a cat or dog is, but I've never owned one. I think if she's eagerly anticipating the guinea pig supplies under the tree you might ought to have a pretty frank conversation with her beforehand to make sure Christmas morning can be as joyful as possible. She's old enough to understand if you really just can't handle another living being in the house, but if she's attached to the idea there will likely be some coming-to-grips with it that has to happen.

A couple of years ago my husband bought *pounds* of Legos from eBay. Seriously it was a lotta Legos. And they were not new at all, in fact for a week or two the two of us stayed up late washing Legos and playing with them.

That's a bummer! Getting a new seat this late in the car-seat game is a drag. :crying:

I'm not really sure what kind if Radian seats we have, but they're definitely booster-able. There is a little seat belt router (on one it's red, the other three are grey) that you slide the shoulder belt through - they're both sides. It just positions the seat belt correctly so it wouldn't decapitate in an accident. Does yours not have the seat belt spot?

My bigger girls (6 y/o and 8 y/o) recently switched from 5-pt to the seat belt / booster in their Radian seats, and it's plenty easy. They were able to buckle their own selves in the 5-pt and they're able to buckle their own selves in the seat belt / booster. My people that are still 5-pointing it in their Radian seats take off their coats, buckle up, and then put the coats on backwards or ditch them altogether. The people in the booster situations just wear the coats. Or just as likely nobody wears any coat because they can't be bothered and we live in Austin. But if they WERE wearing a coat, that's what would happen.

I think he's interested in hearing about your day -- tell him the highlights and lowlights! "Baby cracked up when Kid2 made fart sounds -- it was hilarious! We were all in stitches! And the kids loved our time at the park -- Kid1 is getting the hang of doing the swings without any help starting. You would have loved to see her smile when she realized how high she was going. We had some rough spots, too, like when the babe boycotted her nap. We'll all be ready for bedtime tonight - me included!" You're probably being more 'yourself' or more honest if you give a quick rundown rather than just reporting your current state. "How are you?" is a different question than "how was your day?", right?

Buy a house.

How lovely!

Have you spent time on the Boy Scouts of America web page? It's amazing what all they have prepared and available for people to use. You might find that they have something very similar that you can tweak to your own needs. I just did a Leave No Trace thing with my American Heritage Girls and I was delighted to use the BSA resources from their website.

I wouldn't be bothered even a tiny bit. In fact, I'd probably be oblivious. Actually, I think it would be a little weird to have a Christian organization serving drinks. Not that I don't drink, just that some people have convictions against it.

I think music might help? Maybe do some music games or songs with movement. If you can do a couple of hymns all the better! Is there any chance of some outside time? Or a snack? Suerte!

I just read How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and How to Listen So Kids Will Talk, so that's what's coming to my mind. Their advice is "oh, wow, you're really feeling overwhelmed and upset, huh?" (giving the emotions a name lends validity) and they posit that the kid will receive that as sympathy and support. From there, their example kids said stuff like, "well, maybe if I do one thing at time and stick with it, everything will get done" -- the example kids used the sympathy and support to buoy them in solving their own problems. When they felt heard, accepted and loved, they were able to use their logical brains to cope with the situations. But, like I said, I just read this one. So I haven't yet seen it play out in my home with my own people.

To me, how you say it makes a lot of difference. If you act bashful or slightly embarrassed or whatever, people will be more likely to say something rude. On the other hand, if you're enthused and say, "we are so excited about this!" it'd take a pretty serious curmudgeon to rain on that parade. We have 4 girls, and people OFTEN comment that they must be a handful or too bad we dont't have any boys or they're sad for my husband or whatever. My bigger girls (4+) all say something like, "Daddy likes us! He doesn't wish we were boys." Then people hush, because they realize the underlying assumptions they're pushing.

Have you read Carol Dweck's book Mindsets? It's one of my Top 5 books of parenting/life right now. She talks about how there are fixed mindsets and growth mindsets, and choosing one or the other has a profound influence on how your view yourself and your life. A kid with a fixed mindset, used to being smart, will balk at trying something difficult because they fear losing their "smart" label. That could be part of what's going on with your girl? Anyway, the book is excellent and very thought provoking.

I've often wondered, too.

No, never. Never ever.

Less than $10 per kid here. I have 4 little girls, and each thing I see that MIGHT go in a stocking makes me think, "this much $ x 4 = ??" AND "do I really want four of these things in my home?" I also don't actually *fill* any stockings. They hold stuff, yes, but they're far from full, even with some red/green tissue paper. I'm totally not a grinch, though, y'all - I LOVE Christmas. My people just don't get that many gifts.

Do you wear it at night? If you do, don't, and see if that helps?

Unless it's some sort of a lengthy outdoor activity AND it's really cold, I'd let her go with the flips. Honestly, that's pretty much all I wear, but I live in sunny Austin, TX.

I'm surprised that y'all think it's odd for the husband not to have noticed - do most people accompany four year olds to the bathroom? My 4 yo is very capable and I don't worry about her a bit if I've not seen her in a while - she has a rich thought life and spends a lot of time with her stuffed elephants. And I'mma guess it really wouldn't take two shakes to cover a bathroom --- it's the cleanup that would take ages.

Oh, my. Another logical consequence might be losing bathroom privacy -- if you choose not to behave properly in a bathroom, you'll have to be supervised at all times. Just yuck.

Ooh, I forgot to add that if any of my girls gets to the point where they're NOT happy about the hand-me-downs I'll deal with it as best I can. Girl2 has distinctly different clothing tastes than Girl1 - Girl1 lives in skirts and loves pink. Girl2 likes sporty clothes and favors blue. So. I purchase a few things to honor GIrl2's preferences, and let her live with the rest of the things and wear what she likes. At this point, only Kid1 has ever had *new* underwear, and I'm SURE that will change eventually, but for now nobody cares a bit.

I still think it's weird, and wouldn't sign up. In fact, the weirdness might cause me to look for a different teacher. If it were someone, say, applying to a graduate program in piano pedagogy and needing a bit of a portfolio, I'd feel differently, but a for-profit venture rubs me the wrong way. And what cause would he have to use first and last names of the children?? Weird.

I'd decline to have my child video-d, but offer to supply a references upon request. I think it's slightly weird. Is he planning to make money from the videos? Or is he compiling a teaching portfolio to apply for something? The second one I'd be okay-ish with, but not the first.