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Chocolate covered caramel AT the spa and I might never go home.

I think that the craziest, but most effective parenting thing we've ever done was to have all the children in the room for the birth of our youngest child. Our oldest daughter was 12 at the time, but she STILL remembers vividly exactly how babies arrive into this world. Best. Birth. Control. Ever.

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When I first heard there was going to be a Ghostbuster's game, I got excited, because, well, I'm old. Then I saw the commercial and it looked like the silly was replaced with scary. Since your family approved it, I'm excited about it again.

My parents always brag/lie that the children absolutely perfect for them. I think some honest exhaustion would be refreshing.

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It's not really a first, second or third place when all the prizes are great.

I forced my daughter to stay and do her Silver work and then she dug her heels in the sand and refused to do the paperwork after she DID the project. You are doing the right thing.

Wow. I'm pretty sure our students are just divided so that they are all on a similar reading level.

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Whenever I see a car review, I always skip ahead to the number of passengers the car can comfortably seat. That almost always makes the car inappropriate for our family of 7. ANY car that makes that cut is a car that I make a mental note to consider. Besides, I trust you and not the blogs that are purely paid reviews.

The magic of your decision is that whatever you do, it will be what is right for your family at that moment in time. The situation can always change, but so can your choices. I completely relate to the family noticing that the socks aren't sorted instead of recognizing the 6 beds with fresh, clean sheets and blankets.

I like using the paper boxes from Kinkos. They use lids instead of tape, stack easily and are just the right size for carrying.

Carolyn - You just have a gifted tween on your hands. He won't be better at 13, but you'll have more experience at coping with him. Tennessee has several drive-ins, but they will gone in a few years because of light pollution. Find your nearest drive in at: http://www.driveintheater.com/drivlist.htm Teens aren't scary. Teens are easier than toddlers. No diapers. ;-)

I'd better get a pedometer asap. My fanny is starting to fuse to my desk chair.

Can my 3-y-o come visit for a potty training refresher?

My husband is an independent contractor who writes software. Large and small businesses in our area are closing daily. New project RFP's are few and far between. When they do come in, they come with caveats, like "I know this will take three weeks of around the clock work, but there is only $500. in our budget for this." THings are extremely difficult right now. Other people in our community have it much worse. Multiple homes in our neighborhood sit empty because they were foreclosed by banks, but nobody is interested in buying them. Our city has a large mission district that is seeing a rapid rise in homeless families with children. Our state's budget for the next fiscal year has made huge cuts to services for the mentally ill and/or homeless. Our school budget for next year is so thin that schools with mold on the inside walls and schools with only one functioning bathroom are once again, not getting much needed improvements. The economic crisis, unlike Swine Flu, is not exaggerated media hype. It is real.

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We accept Crayola's challenge. Our summer always includes evening firefly hunts. What's the difference between a sidewalk crayon and chalk?

I would love to try a "real" Pepsi instead of a corn syrup soda. Cathy McCaughan http://domesticpsychology.com/blog/ cathy at domesticpsychology dot com

That sounds like a wonderful vacation.

It's nice to meet you, Lynnie! Lynnie obviously has much better manners than I do. If you live on a working farm, do you vacation in the downtown of a large city?

Your mother and my mother must have been part of the same club. Even as adults, my brothers and I don't dare use the word "bored" near her. Well, except for the one brother who accidentally did and wound up spending his Christmas visit painting one of my mother's bedrooms.