We bought the DVD players years ago for our first family vacation. They can be a pain since not all kids can see them (we have 2 screen, 4 kids) and then there are cords all over the car. If your kids already have their own iPads I'd just put shows on there if you think they'd need something and have earphones for each. We also limit the Ipad/tv time and have the kids do other things like bingo, spotting license plates, audio books, etc.

Greetings from somewhere is a series about two homeschooled kids who travel the world with their parents and solve little mysteries.

We have hardwood in a few bedrooms upstairs and love it. It has helped with allergies and cleaning. Our master is downstairs so we have noticed a bit more noise but really not much since we have four active boys living above us.

The two things that help me (but don't make it all go away completely) are local raw honey daily (a spoonful here and there) and chamomile tea. They sooth and have taken away the itchy and irritation. They have also helped me with the sinus pain as well as headaches. I still had major drainage and coughing that was horrible. Thankfully it's cleared up here for me.

Thanks, I'll check out the strap. My only concern with carrying it is that I'm pregnant so it would be on my side and I'd think it would be more likely to be damaged or swiped that way.

I have canon 7d and plan on bringing my 50 and a zoom. I do already have a lowepro bag that I may bring for storing my camera and such on the plane, but some of the places we are going are known for theft, which is why I'm not sure if I want it while we are out. I'm still considering it though since it will carry camera gear and extras if I want.

I'm sorry! It's one of the reasons I dread haircuts and have been wearing mine long for years. I'd probably try to stomach the extra cost and get it fixed if you can. I remember being extremely upset after a haircut that I was cryin for days. I actually went to my hairstylist who my family has been using for years and told her I was unhappy and she fixed it for free. But in the end I didn't end up going back after that fix. I ended up choosing a new stylist for myself. My new stylist is over double her price but I think the end she listens to me and I love my hair every time.

Thanks I'll check into all of those. Any other suggestions welcome!

I'm a mom of 4 boys and typically when we are all out without DH I take them all in the women's with me including my 9 yo. It's easier for me. I know he's not messing around in the men's room. And since I have toddlers it takes me awhile to help them and go myself. If we are at a restaurant my older two will go into the men's room on their own while I either watch from the table. If traveling on my own (even without kids) I tend to do restaurants. I prefer Starbucks since they are the individual bathrooms and if that's the case I do allow my older ones to go on their own when they are with me. I've found Starbucks tend to be neat exits so very little wasted time and gives me a chance to grab a drink and possibly a snack for the kids if needed in the same time to use the restrooms.

I'm looking to buy a bag or purse for traveling. We will be going to Europe with kids 3-10 years old and I want something I can use for snacks, wallets, wipes and possibly my slr camera. What I currently have either isn't large enough or too bulky.

My mom kept a few of my books that were favorites and I love sharing these with my kids. My mil has many of dhs books and toys from childhood along with his siblings that she's kept at her house for the grandchildren to play with when they are there. My kids love that! She's also began to hand some of those things down since mine are the youngest. I'll do a combination of the same. There are some books that are just favorites I want to keep for future grandchildren. Those will most likely stay at my home for when they come over. We have the space to store them properly. If there are others my children personally love, I'll hold on to them for them until they are ready.

Yes, it used to happen all the time. And I finally caved in and got prime again and no issues since then. Not sure if we wil renew again, but for now it works well as I'm more rural and a treat to get things here fast without having to shop.

I'm one who doesn't like the turn libraries have taken. Where we used to live there was a competition between libraries of who had the biggest and best. Every town has a large library with play places that were often better than nearby children's museums. One had an airplane with real control panel, slide to get down, play market, doctors office, wall size light brite, computer/iPad center and lots of other hands on things. Friends met up there for a play date and the entire time the librarians were telling the kids to stop running around and being loud?!? It's a play place not a library! This section was larger than the book section it its locate in a less affluent, smaller population town. Our current library I love. It's small, but it's all about books. Just a few computers that are in the center of the library. There is still the expectation to be quiet. The kids section has kid sized chairs, couches and bean bags to read in and the only toy is a puppet stage. Our librarians are great and actually help find books and get to know us. I'll take this any day!

We moved recently and I really like the stove top that is here. It has the 4 burners and the middle griddle burner. I use it all the time and it's handy during holidays when we are cooking more. It also has the two ovens and I love that option. The top is smaller so it warms up quicker when we are just doing something quick or smaller meals. The bottom is bigger and has convection (which is usually use and haven't had issues with). I told DH we are in trouble if this one breaks since it's what we are used to now and I don't even want to know how much it costs to replace. If you cook daily and especially holidays these features are useful IMO.

We typically go a couple of times a year for fun for my kids, but never eat there. I'm one who is ok with it and it gives DH and I a break while they run around and have fun. Ours hasn't been busy when we a re there and that makes it better too. Ours hasn't ever done the cards and if they did change over we wouldn't be going as often. The tokens would go to quickly then.

Our house is just over 4,000 sq ft- 5 bedrooms, office, loft and 3.5 baths. We are currently 6 soon to be 7 here. Right now it feels too big be a use of the cleaning. My kids are still younger and they make more messes than they help clean. When we lived in a house half the size, 2100 st ft, 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths we were getting cramped and wouldn't have added another child. The bedroom sizes there were much smaller. Because our children are on the younger end and we may add more after our current pregnancy, I don't feel the house will be too big again until the kids all start moving out. But then we hope to foster, host missionaries and other good uses of our home.

We live rurally, so no neighborhood friends. We try for play dates once to twice a week, but typically it's the once and then we get out to library programs and such.

At our old library, the kids had to read something like 15-20 hours for the summer. My kids were always finished within the first couple of days. They are readers already, so they did it for the prizes which were ok (food places locally and a book at the end). At our new library it is set up different. Each week the kids are asked to read a hour, and either try something new or attend the library program they offer weekly. Then they get new passes each week (passes to a historical site, a water park, movie, food place, museums, local fair, etc). This program IMO encourages readers. An hour a week isn't as overwhelming to a non reader as is the completion ideas. The prizes are getting the kids out to local places and active too. It does still frustrate my kids who are reading at least 15 hours a week, but I remind them most kids don't read like them. They do this for fun, getting the passes help out sicnce they are places I'd want to take the kids anyways (and paying for a large family makes it difficult to go) and I remind them to encourage their friends who aren't readers to do it along with them. For a working parent, 20 books may be difficult at that age group or not on the important lost for them at that point. Summer has so much going on, it often gets pushed aside.

I agree that the lower levels are fun for all. I've moved my kids up and down through the levels and there weren't issues. The older ones wouldn't get as much instruction perhaps (terms, specific techniques, etc), but the projects are fun regardless (I do them at times with my kids) and they can each work to their level. I forget how basic the K level is, but it was still fun.

For our current house we looked for a little over a year. Like you mentioned we had a specific area and type of property, so that's what took us longer. Had we had more open parameters it would have been closer to the 5-6 month mark I have a feeling.

We've always used cheaper supplies. Typically things I find on sale at hobby lobby. Our paints don't get the same coverage as hers but we do it for fun and some learning. My kids are happy with the outcomes of their projects and I'm happy with not having to teach art. Once mine get older I will then invest in better supplies since I have a couple who are interested in art but I don't feel they are needed for mine yet. I was taken aback when I saw the suggested list and have thought of emailing her that it is shocking to some.

I typically buy what we eat except for the more expensive allergen free stuff. Since I buy aldi or store brands for us I do the same when donating. The only other difference is I don't always buy organic when donating.

I like the Gutenberg idea and I hadn't thought of it before. It's not too far from where we will be staying with family for a few days, so DH and I may go check that one out on our own. We have seen the Cathedral in Cologne before on a previous trip and it is quite impressive!

Thank you for the castles you mentioned! We actually hadn't planned them and it'll be a new adventure for DH who has been to Germany multiple times. I know my kids will love exploring the tunnels too. I wanted to go to Trier and Rothenburg, but we don't have as much time as I'd like, but I'll have to keep those in mind if we ever have the opportunity to go again. We will be in Germany for about a week and then moving on to other countries to explore.

We will be in the Frankfurt to Munich area with kids 11 and under. I already have planned the castles in the area, but want to find fun things for the kids to do while we are there for a few days. We will have a car and can drive where we'd like to go. I'd like educational, but also fun things for them to do since I know we will already be doing lots of tours during our trip.