Not as a parent, but as a kid my mom implemented a zone system in our house. We had 6 kids (one significantly younger) so the house was divided in 5 zones and after supper each night we picked out zone. We did that for 4-5 years. I no longer remember the zones but I think 2 kids cleaned up the meal, one wiped down bathrooms, one vacuumed upstairs, and one vacuumed downstairs. Everyone helped pickup. We always did this right after supper and all the jobs took about the same amount of time. I don't recall what my youngest brother did but he would have been 5 or younger at the time so he probably "helped" someone or played. I think we all had a job we preferred because I don't remember arguing about which job we took (my parents may remember otherwise :)). My dad usually swept the kitchen and my mom mopped when it was needed. Other jobs around the house were assigned on an individual basis as needed.

My kids don't say that but when my husband says that it means there isn't any snack food. I find it funny that he still says that when I've never kept snack food in our house in 15 years unless it was for a specific reason.

I think you should be able to leave your 9 year old. I had to bring all three kids to my last eye appointment and it took forever. They stayed in the waiting room during the exam by themselves and they are 7, 5,and 2. It's a fairly small practice but I didn't ask, I just did it because I didn't have another option. Ideally I wouldn't have had them with me. By 9 they should be able to wait unattended most places though. Especially if I'm on site.

Brooks shoes, at a discount? How did I not know about this? OP Have you been to Jungle Jim's in Cincy? I've never been there but I hear it's awesome. I like the zoo. Cincinnati Museum Center is fun and has a variety for the different ages.

In my area Cloverbuds meet once a month during the school year. The kids do a project led by the agent. Some of the projects mine have done include making a rain stick, making a floral arraignment, and cooking. The Cloverbuds don't attend the 4h meetings here. I have found my county to be accomodating as far as ages. My 5 year old started participating when she was still 4 as she was there with me anyway.

Following.

I read the entire introduction and started reading every page and the notes, it was SLOW going. I ended up skimming the chapters and reading the notes. I'd like to either purchase it or check it out from the library again because I feel like I missed a lot.

My husband uses his phone and sets his alarm to gentle music. It doesn't phase me.

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

I usually wait until the end of my 1st trimester. I've had two miscarriages around 10 weeks (1st and 5th pregnancies) and having random people ask how your pregnancy is going post miscarriage stinks. With my second my children were 5,3, and 6 months. They didn't know I was pregnant yet, but did know something was wrong. I told them about the miscarriage and they were very sweet about it. My oldest occasionally still asks questions. When I was expecting my 3rd, we told our kids when I was about 16 weeks. 9 months is an eternity to children so we waited until we were ready to tell others. I ran a half marathon at 5 weeks and my doctor was comfortable with that because I had been training before that. She advised me to listen to my body and if I felt tired to back off. Many women run throughout their pregnancy, but I'm usually too tired. I am able run until about 7-8 weeks and then switch to walking or the elliptical. I wouldn't have a problem letting my instructor know about my pregnancy before my children but I wouldn't feel comfortable telling other family members ahead of them.

Congratulations!

That is awesome. What a nice thing for her to do and for you to be a part of.

I'd check your credit report, you can do it online for free. You can see if the student loan info is on your report, if it is, it's very easy to report and get it taken care of.

You could possibly donate them to the International Book Project. If you aren't in the area, I'm not sure how that works though.

I use LoseIt and create a recipe. Occasionally I'll make soup significantly different, so when I save it, I save it wth the date in the title. That way I remember it's different and don't use the same one next time when I make it my usual way.

Could you Bedazzle it?

I prefer to wash and then iron. That way if the fabric shrinks, it does it prior to sewing. However, I was taught not to prewash.

My children are younger but most of their social time comes from church. They have grown up with the kids in their classes and see them 2-3 times per week. We go to a twice monthly group at our library too. My son hit it off with a boy his age who happens to have a sister just younger than my daughter. We make a point to meet them at the park about weekly when it's nice. This winter I have invited them over a few times to play too. Last summer my son and his friend both went to a day camp for a week and we made sure they were in the same group. I think it takes being more intentional to make friends when you don't have school in common. I'm not sure these boys would be best friends if they had met through school, but they do enjoy each other's company.

One more thing. Buying a foreclosure allowed us to move into a neighborhood we couldn't otherwise afford. We've lived in our house just over two years and the value is now significantly higher than our purchase price.

We bought a foreclosure but the bank already repossessed it and it had sat empty for two years before we purchased it. The house itself was in ok shape, the previous people had taken light fixtures and towel rods, nothing major. The bank hired someone to replace lights, they installed cheap ones where ceiling fans had once been so you have to turn on two switches to get all the light bulbs to come on. We didn't notice the toilet paper holders were missing right away. Our home inspector said he was shocked it was a foreclosure because he rarely saw a foreclosure in such good shape. The actual negotiation and closing were more like a business deal. It went very smoothly.

Very true! The half marathon plan is 12 weeks so you would need to do some other type of training prior to beginning that training.

My kids said "Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know" isn't scary but they aren't terribly sensitive. I found it free for Kindle. I found the Lang books free for Kindle as well, there are many delightful stories but I would definitely pre-read.

I like the DVDs, they help with the derivatives. The teacher's manual is not necessary even if you know zero Latin (like me). It does have extra worksheets in the back which are helpful, but I'm not sure it's worth the cost of the manual unless you find one used. There is no schedule, but we follow a schedule similar to clemota.

I would get shoes now. I just finished one of Jeff Galloway's books. He recommends about 4 weeks after buying a pair of shoes that work well, buy a second pair. Once a week run in the new pair for 10 minutes or so in order to tell when the first pair is losing support and needs to be replaced. Good luck wth your training! I'm running my 3rd half in October. I really like the Hal Higdon training plans but Jeff Galloway is great too especially if you think you want to do a run/walk method.

I have a newer LG dryer, using dryer sheets will void the warranty, apparently it messes with the electronics. I'm not sure if aluminum foil could potentially cause similar problems but I would use caution and possibly check with the manufacturer first.