There is a licensed home daycare in my neighborhood that is the unicorn of daycares...the woman that runs it is a former K teacher that grew frustrated with the public school system. She is young and energetic, with no kids of her own. She cares for about 5-6 kids at a time, and those kids seem to have a really fabulous life. She has the time and energy to do all the things you want to do with your kids, and the group is all the same age (older 4 this year), so she's not torn in 4 directions. I really considered it for my 3rd and 4th kids, and my good friend sends her son. I just wasn't ready for full daycare at ages 2, 3, 4. But it seems a really great place. She charges $190/week, and the parents send lunch

I wanted babies young (my mom had us at 22 and 23; I liked that). I started looking for a husband around 15...got married at 26. After many years of trying, I had my first at 31, 4th at 37. I still get comments like, "I hope your daughter can have kids young. it's so great." Well, sure. If it works out that way. But there are so many variables that it is hard for it to work out that way.

We rarely have fast food as a family, but it is a conscious decision on my part. I love it. Love it. I grew up in a family with a tight budget, and we didn't eat out often. Food wasn't as common at kid events as it is now. But by the time I was an adult, I knew I loved every fast food. I don't eat it frequently, because of health and budget, and now, with kids, to not develop unhealthy tastes in them, but. I still love it. I can go 1-2 years without fast food (I have), have it again, and I love it just as much as ever. No effects on my body, no losing my taste. It is the oddest thing ever, and I find it frustrating. So I do my best to teach my kids to like healthy stuff, but if I can't remove the desire for junk from my own tastebuds, I am not convinced I will be successful.

We do daily cod liver oil. I feel like it boosts our immunity

My kids have been asking for this!

See, I think this was part of the problem for us. My dh eats anything. Anything. And he doesn't cook, so he is just happy to have it made for him. He doesn't prefer mayo, but I have seen him choke it down. He is just the easiest going person. And I have very few dislikes, and they rarely come up in the topic of dinner. So before kids, not eating something just wasn't a thing. And we were a little judgey towards picky people-- we just didn't get it. Our oldest was a lesson in accepting pickiest and dealing with that, making priorities for our meal times (togetherness over clean plates), and learning how to implement all of that in a way that we were happy with. It was all eye opening.

We pat $15/hr for 4 kids, if half the time is sleep time. I would pay $10/hr for one.

I guess the answer is for her to try to get the attraction back. There are posters on here that claim that it's impossible to be sexually attracted to a 400 lb man. It's not. There are lots of women married to 400 lb men that find them sexual attractive. All those women are not faking it until you make it. Though that can be a good place to start. But it is possible, and it's worth striving for. The same way anyone gets back their sexual attraction for their husband.. small, deliberate steps towards that goal.

I had my 4th at 37. Dh was 40. He wanted to be done at 40, so we are.

The first time I served my oldest green beans, he shuddered head to toe before they came back out. It was cute that first time, but I didn't realize it was a picture of the next 20 years.

I have two types of picky. One child has some sensory issues. He doesn't eat potatoes other than chips. The cruncher outside with the mushy inside of fries or roasted is too much, and the straight up mush of mashed...not going to happen. For him, I ask him to try new stuff, but I cater to his likes a lot. We have modular meals, and there is always something he likes. He likes salad, so I serve salad 5 times a week. Recently, I have been trying to get him to branch out from one type of salad dressing (made with one brand of oil, one of vinegar, very specific). I get him to taste the new one, but I am still making and serving the old one. This is a kid that just won't eat if the food doesn't appeal. My other child just likes to be in control. He is all about control in every instance of his life, and if he feels out of control in one part, it gets worse. Once I realize that he hasnt eaten a vegetable in 2-3 days (it sneaks up on me), I start requiring him to pick the veg for all the meals, then require him to eat a serving. This child doesn't skip meals, normally eats everything, and it's just vegetables he refuses. So I consider it a health issue for him to not get his way in this.

By the time I was 5, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. By 11 or 12, I knew that I wanted to be a nurse midwife. By 13, I knew that I would be a midwife until I had kids, then stay home and homeschool. I thought I would work part time until baby 3, but I quit with baby 1. I also thought homeschooling would be easier. :D Those moms I knew as a teenager made it look more fun than many days are! And I never planned an "after homeschooling" career, so I am thinking about that now. Comparing this to almost everyone I know, I am a freak. Lol

I had one career path from the time I was 12 years old. I loved it before kids. After kids, I don't think I want to go back, and by the time my baby has graduated, I will be 56. My old career is a young woman's game. I still have 13 years, but I have started looking around and asking around what people do and how much they enjoy it. I am drawn to bookkeeping, but I am not sure how to make that jump. But I have years to dig it out

I am in a produce coop, and I shop at an ethnic market for most of the rest (alternating weeks). My grocery store produce purchases are pre-washed salad and whatever is on sale. They do fine with that--I somwtimes think it's fresher than what is on the shelves I do miss my markdowns, and I am not sure how I feel about that. But for now, the pick up is working well for me.

I used to, and some significant learning challenges have knocked me on my a$$ and made me question everything I have ever known.

I can sometimes read the responses as caring=losing weight. As someone who has struggled with a few plans the last 11 months and lost exactly ZERO pounds, it can be demoralizing to know that, unless you get this very difficult and elusive goal down, you aren't a caring spouse.

A hundred pounds doesn't mean that tEa isn't a thing. It means that you should probably invest in a sturdy bed, but not that things stop. Just sayin'.

Those videos are absolutely painful. I have 2 in Barton. My 3rd grader just moved to level 3 after a year. We did repeat level 2 after he didn't pass the post test, and I have seen big jumps. He hates Barton, is quick to frustration level, and he fights it about half the time, so we are not fast at it. He has low working memory, so he didn't realize we did level 2 twice. :) That was helpful, because the success of it going through twice was good for us both. My first grader is in month 10 of level 1. I am seeing progress, though, so that's exciting. But slow is the name of the game in our house.

The library. Man, the library saves us so much. I am about to join a second one for all the books my local library doesn't have. I also am part of a produce coop. 12 families, and twice a year, we go to the big regional farmers market and buy about $180/worth of produce. It fills 12 laundry baskets. Each family goes twice a year, so minimal commitment, and every 2 weeks, I have a basket of produce. Price is excellent, saves me from another trip to the grocery store, and we eat seasonally. All around good for us.

Dressing, pickled peaches, stuffed celery, olives, some sort of jello salad, and cranberry sauce. Those are the things that scream Thanksgiving to me.

I would go back to work if I knew that my kids would be okay, and the changes to our lifestyle and family would be okay

I shave legs and armpits, and I get my brows and lip threaded. I should get my entire face threaded (lots of fine hair showing up on my lower face in my 40s), but again, pain. So I just tweeze anything dark.

I tried one of these once around 15. I still remember the pain!! Not for the faint of heart. Or wimpy in pain. :D

I have a kid that loves them. He feels like most computer stuff fills in the time and screen with unnecessary extras, though. Very much a get-her-done kid.

I used to be very, very pro red shirting (and I still thibk it was the right choice for my boys), but now I am in the camp that it all works out in the end. I was young for my grade (July), and I have a dear friend that is 3 days older. She graduated the year after me. Our lives these days are very similar. It all worked out in the end. And I feel like that's generally what happens