No problem, how did they turn out?

I love that he did so well and that the firefighters showed up. I'm sorry you went through such frustration earlier this week but boy am I glad that you proved that music teacher wrong about your son.

I love that movie too. Fun fact, parts of the movie were filmed down the road from me.

Oh my!

If it does harden some you can add some water back to it. Put it in the mixing bowl and add just a few drops at a time until it's at flooding consistency.

If you cover it in an airtight bowl and keep it moist it should be ok later today. Just put a damp paper towel in the bowl to keep it moist.

We don't have a set plan. Christmas Eve we do drive around and look at lights. Christmas morning is some variation of sleeping in and waiting on my inlaws to arrive before opening presents. The kids really like having grandpa and grandma here for that. I usually fix monkey bread so we may eat before they arrive if they are coming later. We will have a nice lunch with them as well. Sometimes the kids open stockings first other times last. I like controlled chaos for present opening. I enjoy watching the reaction to each gift but we don't really take turns either. This year all three kids are getting a similar gift so I will have them open them together.

I don't know anything about the game. If I saw a teen wearing it I would think the teen marches to his own drum. It is unique but it doesn't strike me as kkk or gang style. I would probably allow my kids to wear it.

Congratulations! I love their names, thanks for updating us.

I hope to be a hands on grandmother. My children are pretty young so I probably won't be a grandma for many years. I hope they all end up near me but I'll see. My kids haven't seen my parents in over a year. My son does text my dad few times a week though and I would say they are pretty close despite the miles between them. My parents are a 20 hour drive. My kids see my inlaws every 6-8 weeks. They are finally old enough to stay a weekend on the farm which makes it a bit easier. We see MIL more often than FIL, they don't really have anyone else to help with chores around the farm. We will see them 4 weekends in a row over the next month though.

Marshmallow shooter or catapult is my idea. Someone already linked one above.

Thanks for the link, I plan to be there this year.

That definitely sounds like normal 2 year old behavior to me, but because you have other concerns I would mention it at his next check up.

Twister and Scrabble.

What about gating off a bedroom? My two year old roams but I think he would be fine in a high chair for part of school time followed by lunch. You could alternate between the high chair and play yard too so she isn't stuck in one place the whole time.

My older two quit napping around three, my youngest probably won't quite make three. While transitioning to rest time I told the kids they had to lie on their bed to rest until the timer went off, then they could look at books. That was enough time that if they were going to sleep, they would fall asleep. Now all the kids rest for two hours. They just have to be quiet but usually they read/look at books and then play in their room. The transistion was pretty easy. On nice days I do give the option of playing outside too.

Diapers, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Just pay attention to prices, Amazon started out significantly cheaper but once they knew I liked a particular item the prices tended to go up. The per diaper price started about half the price I paid at Target and eventually doubled (I cancelled my subscription first).

My husband's travel is sporadic, but when he is in a season of traveling he's gone a lot. He makes a point to call or FaceTime the kids daily, I don't try to have a conversation with him during this time, only act as a translater if he can't understand what they are saying. I let my oldest text dad whenever he wants. Some days that's 8 times, other days it isn't at all. I frequently text pictures of the kids or funny things they say as well. We talk about dad a lot, not in a missing him way but just looking at the map of where he is, guessing where he might eat etc. On longer trips we draw pictures or write notes to share with dad when he gets home. The longest he is gone is usually a week and it takes a day or so to get back in sync with parenting. We have different standards too but are mostly on the same page. I gently remind him of this as he is transisioning back into dad mode. When he is home I try my best to make sure that I'm not completely dumping all parenting duties on him, it is hard when I'm ready for a break.

The pediatrician (same practice but not the one I usually saw) advised not taking our newborns out for 6 months! He specifically mentioned avoiding the grocery store, Walmart, and church. We didn't do that. With our first two we avoided church until they had their first round of shots. They were both born in the middle of flu season when hospitals were limiting visitors though. Our daughter also had several health concerns. We did take them in public where they weren't likely to be held by others though. Our third did go to church before he had immunizations, he was a summer baby. Most people in our circle of friends avoid church for 6 weeks to 2 months with their newborns but still run errands with them.

Yay! Good job advocating for your son. Please tell us how much he enjoyed singing after the concert.

I'm sorry! It seems like they could come up with a solution with how to handle it if he does have a meltdown. A children's concert isn't ruined if a child had a meltdown. I can see why you are upset.

(Continued) Then come up with solutions for the next problem.

For me I have higher standards of a clean house. I don't like to go to bed if the house isn't straightened, floors swept, and dishes done. In 13 years of marriage I have learned that I have to let this go. When I am particularly overwhelmed I let my husband know that I need to do x, y, and z before I can relax for the day but I could be done sooner if he helps. Not in a threatening or nagging way, just a reminder that we both had long days but working together gets the work done quicker. As far as the kitchen, my husband will probably never clean up after himself as he cooks. He just doesn't see the mess. I have in the past asked him if I could arrange things differently to help keep it easier to maintain a clean kitchen. Maybe pick one thing in the kitchen to approach him about. I would choose the olive pits. Maybe you could leave a small bowl next to the sink to collect the pits so at least you aren't fishing them out if the drain.

I borrowed a trainer from my MIL a couple years ago, I didn't really like using it. Hers was basically a stand that lifted the rear tire, I was able to use my mountain bike without issue. I don't remember having problems with noise. I do really enjoy spin classes though. If your Y offers them, you may want to check one out. An hour of spin class flies by, an hour on the bike trainer at home did not for me.

Mainly my one sister and brother buy gifts for all the nieces and nephews (13). I sometimes buy family gifts and sometimes individual gifts. Two brothers and one sister don't do anything except for the nieces/nephews they see in person. Some years they may see 3 of them and other years none. There is only one niece on my husband's side. We do buy her a present and she gives each of my three a present. None of the adult children or spouses on either side exchange gifts. We quit that when it became a gift card exchange.