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Upptacka

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  1. I love the suburbs. We found a quiet and safe subdivision surrounded by wetland and woods. So we have the perfect mix of peace and quiet and privacy, while still having nice neighbors, an active homeschool community, plenty of activities for the kids, great schools and recreation programs, reasonable access to shopping, and plenty of awesome parks, playgrounds, beaches, bike trails and hiking trails, nature centers (all within biking distance or a short drive). I could go on and on. I could never live in a big city -- it stresses me out. We have tried rural, and while I loved the space, we felt too isolated. I actually got quite depressed. I think size is relative to the norm in your area and what you are used to. 3000 sq ft is very average in my area. Smaller homes are much more common in the older neighborhoods in the city, and of course there are plenty of huge (5000+ sq ft) homes throughout the suburbs. I think around 2700-3000 sq ft (finished space, basement included) is perfect for our family. We could live with smaller if we had to, but we are all introverts, and having some space within the home is nice. It is actually really difficult to find a home less than 2200-2400 sq ft around here, where most of the homes have been built in the last 30-40 years. The majority of homes in my area are around 2500 sq ft, not including the basement (so if the basement is finished, it would bump total sq footage up to 3200+ sq ft).
  2. Agree. I am hoping to keep my 9 year old in her 5 pt harness for as long as we can. She very rarely sleeps in the car, but she still slumps and fidgets and would never be "properly positioned" with a seat belt 100% of the time. So I have more peace of mind having her in the 5 pt. We also have a close friend who was paralyzed from the waist down when she was in a car crash as a child (she wearing a seatbelt, but the shoulder strap wasn't positioned where it should have been due to her size). So we will ride out the 5pt harness as long as we can, even though the majority of her friends moved to boosters years ago.
  3. I love labor stories. I have had quick and intense labors. My first was a 3.5 hour labor (from my water breaking until birth, although it was 2 hours from my first contraction until delivery). I am not sure exactly how fast my second labor was, because I may have started contractions in my sleep. But I woke up a little before 2am, felt two strong contractions, rushed to the hospital (I was warned it could be a fast labor given my first labor was relatively fast), and she was born at 3:01. My husband (he was parking the car) entered the room as I delivered her on the bed with the nurse. My third labor was predicted to be at home, with an even faster labor than my second. But it turned out to be my longest labor at 4.5 hours. It was a dream......nowhere near as intense. The pain was very tolerable; I hardly felt like I was in labor. I wish all women could experience a labor like that one.
  4. Our favorites are: Click clack moo Down on the farm Napping house Baby bear sees blue (my youngest learned her colors thanks to this book!)
  5. "Cold rural" adds another element that I would have a hard time adjusting to. I know some people love it, but being rural in a cold and snowy climate can feel very isolating. I am used to the city snow plows clearing the streets fairly quickly after a storm. And in the Twin Cities area, the kids and I enjoy having lots of indoor things to do when it is too cold to be outside. Museums, indoor parks, climbing walls, water parks, nature centers, etc. In a cold climate, I would really miss living far away from things like that.
  6. I live in Minnesota. As much as I hate January, the rest of the year makes up for it. I love our seasons and all the things you can do outside. Things are pretty affordable here (compared to friends I have in other parts of the country), people are friendly, lots of family friendly things to do, schools are excellent, and great homeschool community/opportunities. 4 wheel drive is nice, but not necessary. I have driven a front wheel drive van for many years, along with countless others here. I truly love it here, but I understand this climate isn't for everyone. If I didn't enjoy winter (skiing, skating, sledding, snow-shoeing, stuck inside doing puzzles during a big snow storm, etc), I wouldn't want to live here. If you are looking at particular areas in MN, let me know.
  7. Our plan sucks, and we pay a high deductible on top of a high monthly premium. My husband works for a small company and has earned significant raises over the past 3 years, but they get cancelled out by concurrent rising health care costs. Despite his pay increases, his paychecks are actually continuing to get smaller year by year. Sigh.
  8. I agree with previous posters -- get him in to see an ophthalmologist ASAP. Pediatric ophthalmologist would be great, but general ophthalmologists have plenty of experience treating this kind of thing. And as already pointed out, make sure he is seeing an ophthalmologist, not optometrist. For a long time, age 7-8 was considered "too late" to correct amblyopia. I am hopeful and optimistic for you; age 5 is not too late! Kindergarten-ish is actually a common age to diagnose amblyopia. Do not blame yourself for "missing" this! But the sooner you get him in, the better. In the meantime, it will not hurt his eyes if you do some trial patching at home. You don't need to -- I would wait for the evaluation and recommendations before moving forward with anything, but I know that sometimes it just feels better to be proactive while you wait to be seen. The idea is to make the poor eye work harder and get stronger, and encourage the brain to make those connections and visual pathways stronger. For some, the weaker eye never sees as well as the strong eye, but it is often a minor difference that doesn't impact their lives at all. Either way, any improvement is worth the effort. There are some treatment options you have, depending on the cause of the amblyopia (is it an alignment/muscle issue, is the eye significantly more nearsighted or farsighted than the other, etc). The doctor will discuss those things with you at his evaluation. If you have other children, I would also recommend a full dilated eye exam (with ophthalmologist) for them, too.
  9. SLEEP finding a hobby and being social with friends (usually forcing myself to get out of the house,because I often would rather be alone. But after I get over the hump of getting out of the house, my mind would take a much needed break from my worries). Fresh air/exercise
  10. My mom saved a lot, but I wish she hadn't. Photos are great, and maybe a few momentos. I ended up tossing most of what she had saved (some toys, books, papers, lots of impersonal cards I had received) because they were gross and moldy -- I didn't want my kids playing with them, and I didn't want to keep storing them just because I felt guilty purging them. So I took some pictures of the items and tossed them. It felt great! The things I have enjoyed the most (of saved items) are photos and Christmas ornaments. And a nice painting I did in 3rd grade. I am saving a few things for my kids, but I don't want to burden them with too much. I also can't stand keeping bins and bins full of stuff. It just gets to be too much to keep it all, and then you lose sight of the really special things.
  11. My 3.5 y.o struggled with mild constipation and secondary anal fissures, so it became important to get her more regular. She eats fiber (shredded wheat type cereals are a hit) and has miralax as needed. One of the more helpful things our pediatrician suggested was 5 minutes of toilet time after every meal. So when she was done eating, we gave her a book to look at and she sat on the toilet for 5 minutes or so. She didn't have to go or even have to try to go (do not get into a power struggle!), but she did need to sit on the toilet for 5 minutes and listen to her body. If she didn't go, no big deal.....no pressure. I was skeptical this approach would make any kind of a difference, but it has! The body has a natural "emptying" reflex when food moves through the stomach/intestines, and we were able to catch that. We obviously weren't successful every time, and at times it felt like a big ol waste of time, but we stuck with the routine, and were pleasantly surprised when she started going way more often than before. It got to the point where her body got into a rhythm ("trained" in a sense) into going after lunch every day. So we no longer need to enforce sitting on the potty after meals, she goes like clockwork at about 1pm every day now (about 10 minutes after eating lunch, lol), and has for 3 solid months now.
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