Ghostbusters, Home Alone, Neverending Story, Back to the Future trilogy, Labyrinth, Willow, Roger Rabbit....Gremlins can be hit or miss depending on your kid.

Oh 28. I know you well.

I think you have a cute face, but I suggest having one with bangs. Something kind of like this. I think, without bangs (and yes, I've done the pixie multiple times) it wouldn't look as good.

Run! Run while you still can!

Absolutely not. In our first house (when we did not have kids) it was probably 20 minutes to work, but the highway could easily make the trip a lot longer than traffic. Second time, same thing. He was so miserable. Since then, we typically try to live about 10 minutes from his work. We've done this is in several states and will continue to do so. Luckily, since we've lived closer to work, he's been lucky to work in nice areas, which does make a difference. If he had to work in a scary part of a big town...well....I don't know.

Did you order online? If so, you probably have some kind of tracking number. File a claim.

I have a memory of my sister's funeral from when I was 3 months old. Trust me-- nobody EVER talked about it (though I knew she died) and I was able to describe what I was wearing, who was holding me, and the weather. I have bits and pieces of memories from being 1-- my mom telling me she needed to change my diaper when we had a photographer over, or where my crib was located. I think sometimes things make lasting impressions on us, even as infants. I'm always interested in why certain memories become burned into my head and other are quickly forgotten.

I am not an activities director on a cruise line. While I like fun, I'm not going to try and make everything fun for them. Nothing is fun all the time. Granted-- I am also working on making things more INTERESTING for them-- that's why we're starting up history again, and going through to pick the SOTW activities that they will enjoy the best. I think there's also a few ways to make learning a bit more fun. One of my children really wanted to learn vocabulary (for some weird reason). And, let's face it...I was like "HUH? Is there a workbook for that?" (I am a workbook queen.) Instead, I remembered something we did in my public high school, with vocab words on cards (for SAT study). Now, I have a list of vocabulary words I've picked from the dictionary, based solely on whether or not they would be fun to draw. The kids pick a word, look it up, and then draw a picture and either 1. write the definition or 2. use it in a sentence. Flammable, for example, had a woman with a big fancy hairdo on fire. Grotesque was another popular one and melancholy, oddly enough, involved vomit. Is it super de dooper fun? Sometimes. But, it is a bit of a silly break while still actually learning something. That's what I'm trying to aim for-- making it a bit more interesting.

Well, the thought of a couple hours of schooling being "educational abuse" rubs me the wrong way. (Not aimed at you, OP!) Perhaps give food as an example. Some people are vegetarian, some omnivores, some never, ever eat their veggies, while others are on strict (gluten-free or nut-free) diets for health reasons. They're all trying to feed themselves and keep their bodies healthy, but different people have different ways of doing so. You could probably also use the same analogy, but maybe with travel. You can ride a bus, plane, car, train, or pogo-stick to Grandma's house. They're just all different ways of getting to the same destination. There are pros and cons to every way.

When I TRIED and when my child would actually learn are two different things. Both of my kids went to preschool for several years. (I did not have any friends with kids, nor did we have any in our neighborhood and, let's be honest, I needed a break.) I tried at age 5 with my oldest...didn't work. I tried again at six, which was a tiny bit better. At seven (for my oldest) it started to FINALLY work with teaching for homeschooling.

I have a dog, but there's NO WAY I would have ever adopted a puppy. Too much work. We adopted a 2-year-old dog who was in a foster home. We knew most of his background (adopted by college kids who were unable to handle the responsibility), and knew how he would act in a home environment. He's okay, though I could totally do without him walking up to me and farting. Or opening doors.

I am a swim mom, but I was also a cross-country runner in a past life. No to yogurt/juice in my book. Too much dairy/acid. I'd go for solid carbs, so bagels or croissants or toast, with a big glass of water. At the meets, I bring things such as pre-sliced apples (that come in a bag), pretzels, grapes, animal crackers. I'm really surprised by how much JUNK they sell at the meets (and how many parents who don't seem to have trouble letting a child binge on pizza before swimming).

I am always presentable for visitors (hair, nice clothes, makeup, etc.) but the house, not so much.

Yes, and I liked it. I really enjoyed how the fighting scenes were almost sort of "blurry" so that you really couldn't see what's going on.

Absolutely, YES. We've always been that way. No way in heck am I going to travel somewhere unique and then eat at Chilis. (Wait, I don't eat at Chilis now.) No matter where we go, we always find a variety of food that we're willing to try.

Sorry to tell....this might be urticaria. I had it. For a very long time, and if I'm not very, very careful...it comes back. (Just did a few weeks ago.) Basically, nobody knows what causes it and the doctors will tell you the same thing. They will, however, offer you higher and higher doses of antihistimine, which isn't the way to go. I am also anti-steroid, and don't want to go that way. Every time I've had it, it follows a different pattern. For awhile, it was my back, then it was my legs. Last time, it started on my wrists in the AM and by the time I went to bed, it was pretty much full-body. For me, salicylates (and fermented foods) make it worse. I basically gave up anything fermented (yogurt, pickles...you name it) and all foods with salicylates. I pretty much had to stop with all fruits and vegetables (bananas would send me into hives) for it to go away. If I have too many salads in one week (which, for me is more than one), it gets triggered. --> For those of you who love Mean Girls, I had to go on an "All Carb diet." <-- Hopefully you can figure out what is causing it. Google Heat Urticaria-- this might be you.

Also by Beverly Cleary....I LOVED listening to Ellen Tibbets!

My kids used to do this a lot. What has helped a lot? Making them give their orders when we're out to eat. Start small-- they can say "I'd like a lemonade," or "I'd like a vanilla cone" and work up. We explained that the waiter is friendly and he is just trying to do his job and blah blah blah. Also? One time? I had a feeling our pediatrician was a little skeptical of our homeschooling and he asked my child (who was 7) what is 1+1. The child actually LOOKED at me, and made a face like "What do I do?" I was smiling, but mentally thinking "oh please don't call CPS on us for this."

Yeah.....just a little (cough cough, a lot). I tried to plan every single stupid little minute of homeschooling in a binder. And then, of course, something would go wrong and then we'd get behind in subjects, and the week on the binder would not match the real week and then I'd have a meltdown. I don't do that anymore. Nothing is scheduled. We have a set number of pages to do each day per subject and that works so much better for me. I went from this: To this:

I haven't given myself up. I'm still me. I still have interests and value. Look. You're 23 and have a school-aged-ish child. I'm assuming you were a teen mom? Or a very young mom at the least. I had my first child at 23 and remember struggling with all these feelings when my friends were all travelling and getting jobs and doing fabulous things and I was home, with babies. It was a very hard and lonely place to be. You're in a tough place and just really starting adulthood, which is a confusing time to be in life. There are seasons in life. Let's say you have no more kids-- at 43, you would have a 20-year-old. There is still time to "do" the job thing. A lot of women are having 1st babies at that age! I sometimes can't get over how I'll have this whole new phase in my life at a time when many others are starting babies and toddlers. So...I think you can have both, but you have to realize that with life's seasons, things will change, and you will, too. And that is OK. I love that I made the decision to stay with my kids. Yes, I had a job. Yes, I had an education and when people hear of what I did before I had kids, they're impressed. But, I want to give my 100% to them right now and, for me, that 100% is staying home with them to homeschool. Some other people think their 100% is finding the best nanny, or the best private school, or being the PTA president, or just being the best parent they can be that day. Volunteering is a great way to contribute to your local community, be at a hospital, library, school, nursing home, Girl Scouts...I volunteer a lot and it really does help make you feel like you're contributing. You have to decide your 100%. But, even if it ends up being radically different than my 100 (and that's totally cool!), it doesn't mean I've given myself up. Not in the slightest.

I'm doing a summer reading program with my kids, to help encourage them to read books that they can read, but are a bit challenging. One of my kids is flying through the books. I've been searching Newbery award winners-- books that have stood the test of time. Good books! I'm also looking into the Lexile numbers for the books so that I know they are challenging, but in her reach, as well. She is 9, almost 10. The past three books she has read had 1010, 1000, and 890 for Lexile, though a few of the books we have to read are lower, but I think are good books. So far, she's read: The Egypt Game, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Trumpet of the Swan and Caddie Woodlawn. She is currently reading Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch- a really old copy that I can't find any Lexile info on. On the shelf: The Witches, Witch of Blackbird Pond, Indian in the Cupboard, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Island of the Blue Dolphins. (Currently eyeing Ginger Pye and The Westing Game.) We listen to A LOT of books on tape- so we've covered Johnny Tremain, From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler, the entire Harry Potter series, Number the Stars, Hugo...the list is long. So, can you please hit me with your favorite books for these middle ages? Favorite ones you read yourself? I prefer older books, if possible, but am interested in really good newer books, as well. Thanks so much! I've been searching for weeks now, so any insight would be great.

One of my children play a violin-- there was a girl at her recital that had the world's tiniest violin-- it looked like a keychain. Apparently, they come small. I will say this: You need to be prepared to #1 enforce and #2 help with practice.

I once accidentally plucked out almost all my eyebrows at that age. (Early 90s, when pencil thin eyebrows were in.) I think it must be the age.

We had someone move into the neighborhood who was also a "high risk" offender for child pr0n. There's probably nothing you can do, except to let your children know to stay the heck away from him and that house and that family at ALL costs. My children know which house it is and were told to never go there and to stay away. I'm super sorry he's next door. You might be able to call the non-911 number for your local police and ask about it. But, he has rights to live where he live and I don't think there's much we can do about it.

Ouch. It was the matching shirts, wasn't it? Just when I think we're being all cool and fun...We just try too hard.