I have one boy who will require that what we do be the *exact same* every game day. If I try to eat early one day and then eat at the game another he will fall apart. I may run to the store for containers/thermoses/bento boxes this afternoon. Having them eating during the game will at least cut down on the time I have to chase them around!

You are all the best! My brain went completely blank when I got the message that we have to be there so early. I'm going to make a list of all these options and post it on my fridge.

Looks like three nights/week we will be leaving for baseball at 4:45pm and getting home at 8:00pm. My family usually eats dinner at 5pm. I am going to have to feed DS10 a snack before the game, and again when we get home. But, I also will have the three younger boys with me who need to eat dinner during the game time. What things can I make/buy/take with us for dinner to eat in the stands or on a blanket? (My kids are kinda picky and we have multiple food allergies.) Any ideas?

DH made dinner last night: grilled cheese and leftover-ham sandwiches. Yummy with mustard!

No. There aren't any near me. 😒

Thanks, everyone!

DH and I will be going to Portland, ME for a weekend getaway next month. I haven't been away from my children since my 2-night babymoon before DS10 was born. We will be staying in Old Port, driving in around 7pm Friday night and leaving after lunch on Sunday. Are there any restaurants, museums, shops, or experiences that you can recommend? We are hoping for maybe a museum, a show of some kind, a bookstore, a yarn store, a nice walk or two, and lots of good food. Any recommendations greatly appreciated!

My kids like Because of Winn-Dixie, Odd and the Frost Giants, Fortunately, the Milk, The Ice Dragon, and The Jungle Book for car rides.

DS10 will be finished with BA5 this June; the plan is to start AoPS Pre-A in September. I have requested Jacobs MHE from the library to check it out, thanks for mentioning it!

Are you a member of AAA? When I got my letter telling me that I can renew my license, they said that I could do it through the AAA office instead of waiting at the RMV. I believe that you can also renew your registration, etc through the the AAA office.

Thanks for reminding me that DS23 needs to legally drop his last name. He was born [first] [middle][father's last name] and, after our divorce (21yrs ago) I had it changed to [first][middle][my last][father's last]. If I had known that ex-DH wouldn't even open the certified letter telling him of the name change, never mind contest the change, I would have dropped his name completely. DS23 has always used just my last name, and that's what's on his license. His SS card, bank accounts, and expired passport have both last names. It's time to change that!

The theatre button was gone when DS10 was working this morning. I just signed back in to look, and it's back again. Weird!

.......aaaannnnnnddddddd, they're gone!

No, just once a week baths, for now. His only issue is his hands, and the frequent moisturizer is starting to work. I ordered some foaming hand soap and I'm hoping that helps, too.

We had our house painted in the late fall, and the workers absolutely decimated parts of my garden beds. I just noticed that my hydrangea, which was completely flattened, is sprouting, as is the peony next to it. If the clematis also comes back, I may just have to forgive the painters after all!

He's washing his hands after using the bathroom and before dinner (if he's been playing outside). I can't say, "You don't need to use soap," after finally getting him to remember to wash after every time he used the bathroom! Now, if I could get him to remember to flush each time...

DS4 has worsening eczema on his hands. I think it's a combination of the soap we use (regular SoftSoap, not the antibacterial kind), the frequency that he washes his hands, not washing all the soap off, and not drying them completely. I am trying to treat it with Aquaphor twice a day, but it's not getting better. He has a physical in May (he'll be 5 by then), and I know that the pedi will recommend a prescription if we haven't gotten a handle on it by then. Can anyone recommend a gentle, non-irritating, easy-rinsing hand soap that might help? I'm thinking I should change to a foaming hand soap, at the least, so that it will rinse off easier.

My crocuses were eaten by bunnies. The tulips that I planted in the fall are starting to come up, as well as some irises in a warm corner garden. Other than that, it's weeds and mud as far as the eye can see.

No, there is no option to download or print the guidebooks. I have heard some people have had luck with finding them through interlibrary loan - that might be an option.

They are the same presenter and style as the AoPS video tutorials, as far as I can tell. We've only looked at a few in level 5 so far.

I was seriously doubting my sanity!

DS10 just sat down to do his math for the day and pointed out to me that BA Online now has video tutorials. When did that start? How did I miss it before?

The Prince and the Dressmaker was a lovely graphic novel.

I was feeling the same way about starting another language next year (we already study Latin), and then I remembered that my SIL speaks fluent Portuguese. So, we are studying Portuguese next year! It's not DS10's first choice, but we are going to take advantage of the native speaker that we have access to. Do you have anyone in your orbit that speaks another language and can help you out?

Background info: I have a small table in the kitchen that the younger four boys use to eat breakfast, lunch, and bedtime snack. Sometimes the youngest two also use it for playdough/puzzles/coloring while the other two do school work in the dining room. We cannot do schoolwork at the kitchen table because it is too small. The dining room table is used for school work during the day (almost always finished before lunch), chromebooks (typing, coding) in the afternoon, and dinner in the evening. I would like to create a better arts & crafts space for my younger four boys. I have three options: option #1: I can put art supplies onto a rolling art cart (Ikea raskog) and roll it into the kitchen for kids to use at the kitchen table. This could cause problems with eating at this table, if projects are not finished/dried/cleaned up. The younger two are often still picking at breakfast during school time, and I don't allow eating at the school table in the dining room, so the art supplies couldn't come out until they finished eating. We could easily move lunch & snack to the dining room, freeing that table up for the rest of the day. The table is small, though, and would limit amount of materials on the table at a time. Also, it is in the corner and DS4 sits in the corner seat, which he has a hard time getting into/out of if the DS6 is also sitting at the table. option #2: I can move a small bookcase from another room into the dining room for art supplies. Arts & crafts could only be done in the dining room after school work is completed and must be finished/cleaned up before dinner OR after dinner and must be cleaned up before school starts the next morning. option #3: I can rearrange a bit in my bedroom so I can move my (heavy) desk upstairs, clearing a corner in the living room. I can purchase a small-ish second-hand table & stools for a permanent art space. Not sure where the art supplies would go, as it's not a big space (probably the rolling cart?) and I'm not sure if it could fit all four boys at the same time. This would put paint, glue, etc very close to the couches (eek!) and also be harder for me to keep an eye on during school time. A possible 4th option for the warmer months would be to talk DH into making an art space in our tiny garage (which is already full of stuff). This wouldn't be a viable option for the colder months, nor would the younger boys be allowed to be in the garage without supervision while I'm working with DS10 & DS6 in the house.