I've always loved a ring sling, particularly for the newborn days - well, really the whole time. They come in any size - just a longer piece of fabric for a bigger gal and a shorter for a smaller gal. My favorite sling is from sleepingbaby.net. Best of luck finding something that works for you! A comfy baby carrier is so essential.

When I've quit, I've first made it so I don't like my caffeine source. The fact of the matter is I only enjoy coffee with lots of sugar and milk. So if I switch to black coffee, I'll only have a smidge to avoid a headache. After a couple of days of that, I can let it go without issue.

Stick shift or manual are equally likely to come out of my mouth.

Gah! I'd be horrified, but I really don't know what I'd do... What was your daughter's take on the playdate? Did she think the texting/phoning was weird and rude?

As far as purchasing an instrument, it'll be tricky to find a good trombone for not-much money. Is your local Craigslist a hoppin' option? Does your daughter take trombone lessons somewhere? It's super helpful to have a teacher or other experienced player try out the instrument before you buy it. A kid will sound the same on a good horor a lousy one, but will ultimately be limited by an inferior instrument. eBay is another source for less-spendy instruments, but it's hard to know what the quality would be if you're not familiar with the brands and models. I like Heigh Ho's idea of chatting with the band director where you'll wind up. It's also not at all uncommon for a band director to know of someone who's selling a horn. Good luck!

We use a university-model school that's classical. I guess that makes me only sort of a homeschooler, as my people do go to school 2x per week right now. But we do have a ton of Classical Peeps in our community, and that's super.

I asked my kids' regular dentist, whom I adore, for a recommendation. We liked the orthodontist just fine, so we've stuck.

For WWE, I've always had the binding cut, three hole punched and then put in separate binders for my part and Lefty's part. She pulls the page(s) needed for the day, and her lefthandedness is a non-issue. I had never considered punching the opposite side!

My people, sometime between 2 and 3.5 years old, each have taken an 8 session swim lesson. Each lesson is 40ish minutes, no usually there have been 8-10 kids in the lesson. By the end of the first week (lesson 4), the kids jump in from the side, swim to the steps (faces in) and climb out. The gal who does these lessons is amazing. The first couple of stays there were tears, but it's so worth it to see their pride in an accomplishment.

Hi, y'all! I'm hoping for a little help or a different perspective as I'm working with my gals... We're doing Spanish, mostly via me talking with them, but with a side of verb conjugations, picture books and games. Lately we've been doing lunch in Spanish, which I imagined would be fun. My goal with that exercise is to help the girls understand that you don't have to be able to speak perfectly, or even have an extensive vocabulary to communicate effectively. One of my girls (kid2, 6yo) is hung up on it. Always, "Cómo se dice 'may I please have some more goldifsh'?" Or what-have-you. There are words in there she knows, but she's not getting the idea of piecing things together, using signs plus the words she actually has. How can I help her move from the super-literal translating-every-word-or-it's-useless mindset to a mindset of just making it work? Is that something that'll come with maturity? Can I teach it? Is there some way for me to model it?

My first guess would be Hoo-li, with the Spanish /j/. But after you told me once or twice, I'd remember and call the child correctly.

Tricky! Shadé, I'd say shaw-day, but Shade is the thing on the lamp.