If I really wanted the candles and the price was good, I would message them again and say this: I'm sorry, I just need to clarify what the lot includes, and I'm not sure I understand. Are you selling 12 candles and a total of 36 batteries (3 per candle), or are you selling 12 candles and a total of 3 batteries (so I would need to purchase additional batteries for the other 9 candles)? Thank you for your help! I would also make sure the lot was coming from somewhere in the US. I've heard enough bad things about international sellers that it would be a red flag for me.

I agree that you should get her to the doc fairly quickly, because uncontrolled asthma is nothing to play around with. But I also wanted to ask if she's been swimming or otherwise holding her breath a lot this summer (lots of water play, other weird kid games). If my kids have been in the pool for a long stretch, they often complain about how their chests feel the next day. I remember the feeling myself from my childhood. Also, I wonder if she might have silent reflux, which can make me sometimes feel like I can't inflate my chest fully. It usually happens hours before I feel heartburn in my throat, so she may not be connecting the two. I hope you can figure it out. It's scary to think your child might be able to breathe :(

I also wanted to add that just because feedback comes from an objective source doesn't mean that it's valid or useful. I've had constructive criticism given to me about parenting and/or my kids' development, and after I freaked out and made myself crazy over it for awhile, the majority of the time, I ended up thinking that the "objective third party" was full of it anyway! If I were you, I'd spend more time reading from a broad range of parenting topics and perspectives and trying to step back from my own parenting mindset to see where I think change might be needed. Or I'd post here--honestly, most of what I've learned about parenting, I think I've learned on the boards. ETA one last thing: I just read your OP a little more closely, and I don't think there's anything wrong with asking a good friend who sees your kid on a regular basis what they think about an issue like the one you're contemplating. We've talked about that very thing at our mom get-togethers (we have a fairly close-knit group and do a co-op together as well). It's important that we learn from each other's experience, IMO. But I don't think it's a good idea on a wide scale, and I don't think it's a good idea for any of the moms to feel that they have free reign to "educate" any of the other moms. That kind of thing goes downhill fast.

:iagree: I think this is way too emotionally charged an issue, even if the moms involved think they can take the feedback, good or bad.

Ugh, thank you for saying that. I was a copy/research editor for 13 years, so this was a breeze. I didn't even go back to the science quiz thread after I got my score--I was too :blushing:!

Tea is everywhere! I was just reading a food blog, and the most recent entry was titled, "At a dim sum lunch, tea is extra." Well, I would think so! :lol:

:lol::lol::lol: Maybe it was not so much an invitation as it was a warning?

I vote for a nice, crisp white. DH painted DD's ceiling and trim a very, very pale pink, and it looks like we were aiming for white but made a mistake. (Also, colored ceilings and trim make me twitchy :lol:)

Yeah, the Facebook thing started for me in just the last two weeks or so, and it was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back (ironic, considering how much I hate Facebook!). The school/teacher discount was what put it over the top for me--$100 off and $100 in iTunes credit. I don't think I would have bought it if it wasn't for that. A small keyboard would make me a little nuts too. This one is a good size, and I love the lights under the keys :lol: It's the little details that make all the difference! And really, Apple's so good at those.

So did I :D I was trying to hold out, but it finally got to the point where my email and Facebook weren't able to function properly on my old MacBook, I was getting out-of-date browser messages, my DVD drive was giving out, and it would have cost at least $150 to be able to even upgrade to Leopard...I gave up. I almost returned it too! But I am SO glad I didn't :D And everyone else in this house has an iPad, for pete's sake! So yeah, now everyone wants to play with my laptop :lol: I got a MacBook Pro, and while I love it, I am jealous of your 27-inch display. Hmmm...screenis envy?

Music for Tea Time?

When their wives take over? :D

You still need Internet access for all of that, don't you?

We still have cable for the Internet as well, just no cable TV service. I don't see how you could, unless you have Internet access on your cell phone. Even if you just had DVD delivery service, you'd need the Internet to manage your queue and account (add movies, prioritize deliveries, manage payment, etc.). I suppose you could do all that from the library or another borrowed computer. You couldn't get streaming Netflix though.

Yep. 22/22 here too, but I think it was a poorly designed quiz.

:iagree: This is the way it is here too. We both have the aptitude, but I have the time to spare for financial research and the patience/inclination to search for the best deals in general. Large-scale financial decisions are the exception. When it comes to doing things like moving 401Ks around, where to stash our minimal retirement finds, etc., he's the one doing the research because he has the patience/inclination to understand those aspects. We discuss before any moves are made. Of course, I've been asking him to figure out where we should move my small 401K from my old job and he hasn't quite gotten on that yet, but he knows the ball is still in his court on that one!

Yes. We went through a phase where we were doing WWE in the morning, and it was going great! Then we went through a phase where it was happening after lunch, and it was like DD9 had forgotten everything she'd learned over the last three years :001_huh:. If math and WWE don't happen in the morning, we are both :banghead:. Interesting, this hadn't occurred to me. I think I may try that when our school year starts in September! YES. Took me a long time to learn that, but it's absolutely key for us. YES. :blushing: Yes, here too. I need to get us started earlier in the mornings so we can be done by lunch this year. Here are my two add-ins. 1) I was feeling frustrated by never getting to watch any of the Netflix documentaries I had in my queue and by losing the kids during our lunch break. I instituted "learning lunch," where I play a science or history documentary while I prep lunch and we eat, picnic style, on the living room floor. They love that, they learned that they love documentaries after all, and I don't lose them entirely, so if we have additional work to do (usually history or science), I can pull them right back to the couch for it. Often, the documentaries coincide with our history/science studies too. 2) My kids cannot eat or have anything in their hands while at the school table. They are...whatever the opposite of kinesthetic learners is! If they have anything at all to fiddle with, they can't even come up with a complete sentence. During narrations, I have to make DD9 put down her pencil! I'm :bigear: for more tips!

The best and clearest I've ever been was when I was taking both zinc and 5-HTP every day. I'd been taking 5-HTP before I started the zinc, so I imagine it's the zinc that helped so much. I have a big kidney stone, though, and for some reason that combo made my kidney cramp, so I don't want to start back up until I have the stone blasted, just in case. But I miss that clear feeling! You might try adding a small amount of zinc and see if it helps him at all.

In the fridge, of course. Is it one of those 3-5 day things, or does it last for awhile thanks to all the preservatives, etc.? TIA!

I'd really like my DD9 to branch out in what she reads. She won't take many suggestions from me, in spite of the fact that she's loved just about every book I've required her to read or read aloud to her. She won't wander the stacks browsing for anything new. I'd love to find a site where she could read summaries/reviews of books that might catch her interest and draw her in. She's about to turn 10, but we're not particularly strict about content (and I'll be reading the same resources to keep up). Any suggestions? TIA!

Well, that's probably another post altogether then. But in its simplest form, I'm all for notices and services like that. It might even keep some bad apples in check, knowing that everyone has the number of the towing company and can call easily when someone has overstepped their bounds.

Hmm, maybe I'll be the only dissenter, but if someone blocks my driveway or parks in my dedicated spot (that I pay for, especially), they'll have to deal with the results. If, as you said, there's plenty of parking, then visitors/other residents can be the one to take the walk from the farther spot, not me. I see so much obnoxiousness on a near-daily basis, simply because people can't be bothered to park in the right place and walk 40 feet. I'd love for there to be more consequences for that sort of thing. ETA: A moving van or a delivery truck is a different story. That's a temporary thing, usually, and I wouldn't expect them to park in a far lot and move large or heavy items. But someone who just doesn't care whose spot they're taking or parked in front of my driveway because they're being lazy? Different story.

No, definitely not paella. I'm sort of thinking of something where I'd brown the chicken in a deep frying pan with aromatics, then add some liquid and cook it most of the way, then add some vegetables, and maybe thicken the sauce. I guess that's most of the way to the recipe, huh? :lol: But I'm not good with flavors and amounts, so I need a recipe to start with. I'm also just looking for recipes in general where I can use chicken parts without having to heat up the whole house with the oven. We use a lot of chicken parts these days.

I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for, but I want some kind of recipe for cooking cut-up chicken parts in a large pan, where I'd add vegetables. Maybe over quinoa or rice? Maybe adding the quinoa/rice to the liquid to cook? I feel like I saw a recipe on Allrecipes once that was like this, and I really wanted to make it but didn't have time. Now I can't come up with it again. I have a vague, unconfirmed feeling that it was French in origin, but I could be wrong. Does anyone have any recipes they love and can share? TIA!

Thanks!