I'm glad I'm not the only person who feels like they have clown lips when I put on lipstick!! I cringe at the amount of money I've spent over the years trying to find a good color for me. I don't believe it exists. I've been sticking with chapstick (the blue kind). :-)

We reuse the same basket every year - I treat it like a Christmas stocking. New backpacks - the drawstring kind. A white pillowcase with some fabric markers as one of the gifts so they can decorate the pillowcases and use them plastic bucket to keep outside stuff in - water guns, balls, etc Oversized lego container for a basket we got these neat storage cubes from Walmart that can fold down flat or pop out. DS keeps toys in them. That would be a neat basket A fun fleece throw - put the Easter presents in the middle and use a wide ribbon to tie up like a pouch

I haven't read through all of the replies yet, but I enjoy using forums in general. I belong to a few - food/diet related, sports, parenting and here. They're a tool to me - I can learn information and engage in interesting conversations. I try to conduct myself the same in face to face settings as I do through the computer. Frequently, I read through comments online and it's clear that people get much braver when they're able to hide behind their screens. Not here so much, I'm thinking mostly about comments on articles online. If I wouldn't say it to your face as an acquaintance or someone I just met, I try not to say it online. As far as safe spaces go - I don't believe any place online is a safe place. This board isn't even a closed board - everything is public. I belong to a couple of secret facebook groups, and I post knowing that everything I write even in a "secret" place, isn't secret online. I just assume that anything I do, ever, is fairly easily hackable. I'm not paranoid, I do a lot online - I just mind my behavior and try not to write anything that I wouldn't be comfortable being broadcasted to everyone in my contact list.

We've had good luck accelerating through Math Mammoth. DS is finishing up 3B right now and he loves it. It also goes on a big sale a couple of times a year. I think I got all 6 levels for maybe $60?

Here's a good website for you - I love it! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/good-news/

Love My Fitness Pal - just started tracking food again. it'll also track steps for you either from a phone or fitbit or other tracking device. (I don't think the phone steps are very accurate though - I was informed I took 500 steps total today after walking all around an outside shopping center and playing football with DS).

I voted for ketchup because it's what I turn to more frequently, but some of my alternatives: French Fries: malt vinegar or mayo sometimes breakfast potatoes: mustard or hot sauce tater tots - don't eat these much, but ketchup or sour cream

Oh, I know this! We have basically the exact same situation as you - well water, very hard (I need to clean toilet every other day or it will turn orange). Once you get it off, buy one of those dish cleaning sponge w/ handle thingies. Like this: http://www.amazon.com/3M-650-12-Scotch-Brite-Heavy-Dishwand/dp/B00450LLYA/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1426555262&sr=1-2&keywords=dish+sponge+with+handle Fill it with half vinegar and half dawn dish soap. Gently tilt it back and forth to mix. Then after every shower, scrub the walls (if you have them) and tub down. THe one I linked to has a handy little plastic scraper on the end too that will help cut through the soap scum. I have to do this every shower or I get tons of build up very quickly. I also use scubbing bubbles on the floor and lower walls of the tub which is good too. Good luck! Actually this can help you get the current build up off too - the scraper is great and safer than a razor. No chance of accidentally slicing yourself because of slippery soap!

I think I'd go back to my freshman year in high school. I had just transitioned from a tiny private elementary school to a large public high school and I struggled socially. I remember thinking how everyone else was so free and easy and fit right in and I knew no one and really struggled. I eventually found my path in high school and had a nice group of like minded friends (that I'm still close to). And then the pattern repeated my freshman year of college. I wish I could go back, knowing what I know now. Everyone felt socially awkward in high school and I would love to give my younger self some social confidence. :-)

This makes me crazy too. My mom said something to me the other day and it wasn't a huge deal, but she was commenting on a comment I had made on a friend's post. I asked her how she knew about the conversation (forgetting that everyone can see my activity) and she told me it popped up on her sidebar and she clicked on my friend's post. It wasn't anything interesting, but it was annoying.

My New England teeth hurt reading this - I always have homemade iced tea in the fridge except in the winter. I do maybe 3 Tbsp per 3/4 gallon. So well under a cup. When I visited Charleston, SC, I got sweet tea and had a hard time drinking it. Had to switch to unsweetened. :-)

We all drink water pretty much exclusively in our house. Growing up, my brother and I had a choice of milk or water for beverages and neither of us grew up with a taste for soda. DH and I have coffee in the mornings and I'll sometimes have a cup of tea, but that's about it. I like my water in seltzer form, DH and DS like theirs flat. DS likes hot cocoa for a treat after sledding and a few times a year, we bust out the juicer and make crazy fruit/veggie juice.

Aveda moisture plus tint is my favorite product. I'm quite fair skinned and I use the 3rd lightest shade, so it works for very fair people. It's also nice because it's super light - moisturizer with a bit of color to it to even out the skin. It's pricey, but lasts a long time. I use maybe 2 bottles a year. http://www.aveda.com/product/5335/16748/Makeup/Face/inner-light-mineral-tinted-moisture-broad-spectrum-SPF-15/index.tmpl

I'm impressed - it was 0F when I left the house this morning and it's currently snowing. I'm not sure we're getting spring this year.

I forget the baking powder in biscuits about 50% of the time. So annoying! I've got the recipe in my head, so I'm usually mindlessly making them. I'm always paranoid about forgetting the salt and then end up forgetting the baking powder. Lots of sugar and cinnamon on top for a crumble maybe?

Am I the only one who grew up with Lower and Upper school? :-) My school was: Nursery: pre-k and k Lower School: 1-5 Upper School: 6-8 High School: 9-12 Our current school district has Elementary: K-6 Jr/Sr high school: 7-12 The next one over is: Elementary: K-4 Middle: 5-8 High School: 9-12

Track would be a good one to try. I have done gymnastics and tennis and have terrible wrists now. Some of the gymnasts I used to coach have had a lot of success in track - hurdles seem to be a popular event with former gymnasts.

I just showed this to my husband and now we're having a heated "discussion" about it - I see white and gold, he sees blue and black and we both think the other is nuts.

From RI and yes - more verb than noun. "Come over for a BBQ" means - we're grilling and we might be eating outside.

Our shopvac is the best vacuum we've ever owned. We got it when we were renovating the house and needed one. Once renovations were mostly done, we bought a regular upright. Hated it. Bought another and hated it. Went back to the shop vac and that's what I've been using ever since. As an added bonus, it can handle wet or dry, you don't need to buy bags and it's cheap! :-)

We are using MM and do it buddy style. He does a problem, I do the next one, etc. When there's a lot of writing, I scribe for him on some pages. If there are a ton of problems on a page and I'm pretty sure he's got the concept down, I ask him to pick 3 problems and do them. If they're correct, we move on. I'm not sure what level you're on, but I also try to make it active when I can. We play catch while skip counting and working on addition, subtraction and multiplication facts. We used the tiles on the floor to make a number line and he would jump from tile to tile to figure out number line problems. I've used lego minifigures as manipulatives. When we worked on measuring, I'd give him a ruler and give him a measuring treasure hunt "find something that is 20 cm long". I try to make it interesting whenever possible. I think (hope) it makes it easier for him to focus when needed.

I'm a once a weeker for vacuuming, but we only have 2 area rugs in the whole house and they don't get a ton of wear. We also have a mudroom where all shoes are left, so we're slippers, socks or barefoot inside. Sweeping however, can be a 3x a day thing. We have tile downstairs and I feel like I'm constantly sweeping and swiffering!

I would pay $40 for that time frame. I agree with at least paying minimum wage, which in my state is $9.15.

I feel for her! I did that in college - stepped right on a toothpick that broke off in my foot. I couldn't drive (because it was embedded in my foot) so my poor dad had to drive an hour to come get me and take me to the ER. Luckily, it was a blue toothpick, so they had a fairly easy time opening up my foot and finding all the pieces. OP - hope your son is feeling better!

Thank you - that was where I was leaning, so thank you for confirming my instincts! :-)