"Totes" and "adorbs" both really grate on my nerves, and especially when they are used together. It is really NOT "totes adorbs"- blech

We went to that location a couple of years ago and had a wonderful experience. I was shocked a few months later to read some of those horrible reviews online. They did not resemble our experience at all. We went in February and almost had the place to ourselves. It was awesome! Our room was very clean and the water park area was very clean as well. The only complaint I had was the fact that many of the areas were not open for stretches of time during the day because there were so few guests. I had wondered if that might happen and specifically asked at the desk when we checked in if the concession stands or little shops would have more limited hours and was told that they would have their regular hours. But there were a few times when we went somewhere only to find it had closed early with no notice (concession stand in the water park) or that there was only one person running multiple little shops and basically just rotating between them. In order for DD to get her stuffed animal we had to go to the main gift shop to ask them to open that little shop, and then when she wanted her free tattoo we had to find someone to open up the surf shop. But for me that was a small thing and only annoying because I had specifically asked if that could be an issue and was told no. Overall we had a fabulous time and were sad to leave. We would love to go back.

For my very sensitive dd, I always check www.kids-in-mind.com as well as Common Sense Media before I let her watch something. She can react very strongly to things that would not cause another child to blink, so CSM is often not thorough enough for me to tell whether it would be ok for her. K-I-M details, in almost excrutiating detail, every single thing that could be construed as violence, nudity/innuendo, or bad language even by the most ridiculously strict standards. It is pretty much the only place I can find out definitively if anyone vomits in the movie, which is a big trigger for dd. It does not present any judgements, just lays everything out there for you to decide for yourself if it is appropriate for your child. Be warned though if you are averse to spoilers that you will pretty much get the entire plot of the story by reading their reviews. Sidenote about Steve from Blues Clues- if you haven't ever heard it, the Moth story that he told was hilarious! It used to be on the Moth podcast feed, but I am not sure if it is still there. Definitely NOT for the younger kids to hear, but really funny.

The Monster at the End of the Book, Hand Hand Finger Thumb, The Best Nest, and Oh Say Can You Say were my favorites as a kid. My DD loved Stellaluna, Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Goon, Interrupting Chicken, the Miss Spider books, and The Gruffalo.

I also dislike The Giving Tree, Love You Forever, and Junie B Jones. I'll add The Butter Battle Book and Oh The Places You'll Go to the list of despised Dr Seuss books for me. I know lots of people love OTPYG but it always sounded so discouraging and defeatist to me.

You may also want to see if there are any local Kendo clubs. It is a great workout and the sparring is done with armor. The main drawback would be that the armor is pricey, but there may be some members who upgrade their armor and sell their old stuff so you may find a deal that way.

Thanks for the suggestions! Yes, we have done some game days where we just play a bunch of logic based board/card games. The Destination Imagination challenges sound like they would be along the lines of what I am looking for. I have also taken some on-paper logic puzzles and just made them active- for example if the puzzle was about figuring out the order of books on a shelf, we would use actual books and let them move them around to try to fulfill all of the requirements. If anyone knows of any other "hidden rules" games, I'd love to find more of those. The one I know I learned once upon a time at an orientation session and it involves passing a pair of scissors either crossed or uncrossed depending on whether your legs are crossed at the time you pass them, but of course only the leader initially knows that is the rule. The kids really loved that and loved making up other hidden rules and trying to figure out what the rule was during the game.

I have recently really stepped up my game in trying to make sure that my dd gets a good foundation in logic and critical thinking because I think it is sorely needed in today's world. To that end, I have started a group/club that is meeting to do activities and puzzles, and hopefully eventually we will morph into a debate club as well. So far we have done an "escape room" style puzzle where they had to solve various clues and codes to open various locks, a few creative problem solving activities, and some "hidden rules" games. I am in need of more ideas and resources for coming up with activities. I know there are tons of resources out there for logic puzzles and worksheets and such, but what I am struggling to find are things that are active or that can be adapted to be active and interactive. We are doing pen and paper stuff at home individually, but for the group I want things to be more active. I would appreciate any resources or ideas anyone has to share that might be helpful. So far I have had the most luck on websites that list ice breaker games and team building activities but I would love to find some other resources as well. Those that regularly attend range in age from 8 to 11 but we have had some slightly older kids express interest as well (13-15).

I am a big fan of the PacSafe bags. I got this one for our Disney World trip and it was fabulous! https://www.amazon.com/Pacsafe-Luggage-Metrosafe-Shoulder-Black/dp/B006QKRLNW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1486132558&sr=8-9&keywords=pacsafe+purse That one is bigger and can get a little heavy when it gets filled up with stuff, so I would like to get a smaller one too. Something like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Pacsafe-Citysafe-Anti-Theft-Cross-Body-Travel/dp/B018X0ELW6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1486132558&sr=8-6&keywords=pacsafe+purse

Yes, I really enjoyed it and was disappointed to hear that it was not picked up for a second season. I would have liked to see more.

DH putting EMPTY dishes in the fridge. He claims it is because he is trying to conserve on dishes because he plans to reuse the same dish or glass later but it drives me nuts to open the fridge to put something away and there is no room because there is a big empty plate taking up the whole shelf! Also, it drives me nuts when people lick their finger to sort out papers or turn pages, especially when it is a paper or book they are getting ready to hand to me. Yuck!

There are literally thousands of skills listed in the app that you can enable. Most of them have no reviews so who knows if they actually work. Some of them do make me wish we had more smart home features so we could say things like "Alexa, turn off the bathroom light" or "Alexa, tell me if my laundry is dry." Alas, we cannot afford the fancy smart appliances that you would need to pair with it. ETA: One skill I am very glad that I DISABLED was the voice purchase feature. DD almost bought a few random things when she was just asking Alexa for a definition of something.

I use it for shopping lists (dd loves adding weird random things to my shopping list), weather reports, traffic updates, and timers. On the less useful, but more amusing side, we have fun playing Jeopardy, Word Master, and Akinator. DD also likes having Alexa ask the Magic 8 Ball questions. We were fairly entertained by the "Open the Magic Door" story- a choose your own adventure type interactive story that she tells. ETA: I also just found the multiplication tables quiz which dd liked so we will probably be doing that one periodically to help with her recall on the times tables

Yes, I always use mine. And it is a pet peeve of mine when people forget to turn them off after switching lanes and drive for miles with them on. My DH and I actually have a disagreement about HOW to properly use the turn signal when switching lanes. I use the signal as a sign of my desire to switch lanes and intention to do so eventually, but not necessarily as a look out, here I come ready or not sort of thing. For me, it allows the other cars to see my intention and hopefully allow me space. If people are being jerks and not letting me over, that means that sometimes I may have my signal on for a few seconds before actually determining it is safe to move. Dh however, thinks that you should not turn on the signal until you are immediately going to move over. So if there is no opening to move into, he won't turn on his signal. I argue with him that nobody in the other lane will ever let him over if they don't KNOW he wants to move over because he isn't signaling his intention to move. He thinks as soon as he turns on the signal everyone in the other lane will freak out and think he is cutting in front of him. What do you all think?

My mom has AIH that is being controlled with medication. No cirrhosis thankfully. One thing that her liver specialist told her, which I thought was interesting and surprising, was that she needs to drink AT LEAST 4 cups of coffee per day, and 8 would be even better. Doesn't matter if it is decaf or regular or an iced mocha, just get at least 4 servings of coffee in somehow. I have not researched this myself, but her primary doctor agreed that it was a good idea.