Halloween Decor
 

Cool.

I may have posted this before, but Mr. Lex's crazy aunt doesn't take her Christmas tree down. It's a real tree. After the needles fell off (some 15-20yrs ago) she spraypainted it metallic silver. Really, it's just what she needed to cheer the old place up after her brother made her get rid of the hundreds of cats and raccoons that were running riot in the house.

Sometimes I worry about the gene pool we fished the kids out of.

SEC_Chick - I went as pregnant white trash one year way back, complete with headscarf/curlers, etc., blacked out tooth, and a can of Skoal. Or did I just describe your Britney costume?

I am the all-powerful board killer.....Bwahahahahaha!!!

Also, it turns out the Lexling will pee in the pot if I sit him on it and ask him to pee. Now what?!?

Repeat..every 1.5 to 2 hours...

lucky!

ml

sorry in the throws of Pt myself.... some days she does it, some does......

BE CAREFUL. Penske's mom being real demanding about bathroom issues when he was little resulted in the current Penske. He needs to get whipped and yelled at before he can get/maintain an erection.

What's weird is me and my buddies knew his mom when Penske was 12 until about 20, and she was up for anything. i can't believe she would be so dictatorially with the P man and let his buddies bukkake. Who can tell.

BTW, what's with this new theory of potty training at 6 weeks. Or whatever. Seems like a lot more work than necessary. Especially the cleaning up after mistakes.

This is especially common in other cultures, I read recently. If you have the time, the inclination, and/or a SAH granny willing to do it for you, it seems like a cool idea. If you have a normal life and/or a toddler, it's not even an option.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

First of all, thanks so much for the great advice on the thank you notes. I still have to write them but at least I have a plan. I think.

So....eek, more advice if you all don't mind? I got a surprising call from Dad today who says he has to gift 60K from some investment that was realized and he will give each of us 3 kids 20K but only if we use it towards a car. My two siblings drive new cars so this contingency is geared towards me. I drive a 95 Volvo; bought it used for 17K in late 97 (for some time now, it's been fully paid for). I have been keeping up with parts and take good care of it; it has about 110,000 miles but runs fine and I just put in about 2K over the course of 2 years on various parts. I tried to convince him to give me the $$ for Vietbabe's college fund or to go towards our mortgage payments but no go. He views our car as old and insists we get a "new" car (but will consider a used tester car that has only 10K miles on it or so).

So, now I don't know what to do. Some people have said get a Camry - they're safe and the 20K could get me there. But..I've always liked the Volvo b/c I perceive it as being so safe b/c it's boxy and is so heavy and has so much steel and whatever they say about the sturdy frame. Anti-lock breaks and other "safety" features like good air bags and such are fine. But for me, the only criterion for a car is that, in the event of a major accident (like smacked by a big truck) we have the greatest chance of coming out of it alive. With that in mind, does anyone think the Volvo is still the best for that because it's supposedly so heavy and the frame, etc.? I don't know if I can get a starter Volvo for 20K (plus the 4K or so I might be able to get for my current car whose interior is hideosly stained with coffee and ground-in Cheerios and nasty nasty stuff and some interior peeling off). I might consider a wagon but have to see if it would fit in my small garage.

Thanks!!

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

I'm a big fan of Volvos, personally. You can probably get a baseline (still pretty nice, but somewhat underpowered) V70 with 20k miles on it for about $20k if you look around a bit. A new V50 is going to be just out of your $24k range, but a demo probably gets down there. While you probably don't have to have the extra space, Id still go for the slightly older V70. They get incredible gas milage with the little engine and they are very comfortable and versitle.

That being said, DC Chef recently made a convincing argument for the Subaru Legacy/Subara Outback on the car board the other week. The Truth About Cars Also likes it. Kind of out of your range brand new and loaded, but again a gently used one could fit the bill.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/con...8614953775861/
(The Legacy and Outback are basicly the same, but the Outback has a higher suspension (more like an SUV) and nicer trim.)

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

We bought an Outback right before Magnus was born, and have loved it. Drives great, lots of room (though no more passenger room with two big-ass carseats!), and it's been a godsend for the inevitable biannual ice storm/blizzard in our hilly neighborhood. Four thumbs up from the diva family.

tm

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

FWIW, I heart my Camry. It's reliable and boring, but it's a good car - there's a reason they sell so damn many of them. The radio is a bit tinny - my only complaint. And it's not so $$$ that you'll freak if the kids spills her juice in it.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

I have a little rule that I employ when driving to work - never drive in a lane behind a Camry driver. For some reason 4 out of 5 Camry drivers drive like they are on their way to Sunday church. If you get a Camry, do me a favor and hit the freaking gas every once in a while. What are you, 80?

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

Fair enough. I drive a hell of a lot more safely* with the babies in the car. Sometimes I annoy me. But you can be pretty sure I'm not driving to church. NTTAWWT.

*Not necessarily slower, however. More along the lines of waiting and waiing for a HUGE opening before darting across or into traffic from a cross street/parking lot.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

Funny you should say that -- my brother has long held a theory that 9/10 slow and oblivious drivers are in Camrys. The other 1/10 are in Corollas. In my experience I have found this to be true. This discovery gives me a strange sense of relief, as if there's order to the universe.

TexLex, I know you won't take offense b/c this of course does not mean 9/10 Camry drivers are slow and oblivious. Given this theory in the family however, I can never buy a Camry, or even an Avalon or a Lexus or, egads, a Sienna. I would have to go the Honda route, notwithstanding the fact that my first two cars were Toyotas and I would not be surprised if the first -- a Candy Apple Red 1977 Corolla Wagon with manual transmission, no A/C, and a stereo from the Price Club -- is probably still running. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it were still transporting its owner to the Hicksville LIRR station for his daily commute.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

this board has a specific purpose for parents to provide helpful advice to each other. I think you would admit the above is not constructive in any manner.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

I have a rule when driving to work - slow down as much as possible in front of Audis.

Nothing is funnier than watching them flip out with impatience. Something about A4s in particular.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

I now will make sure not to get behind a camry when my child is in the back seat with a poopy diaper.

Thank you ncs!

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

[note to self] Maintain composure when guy in Hyundai inexplicably slows down [/note to self]

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

You forgot the fat part.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

Accent or Elantra?

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

Sorry, but thanks for the assist. Generally, my compassionate, caring, considerate nature impedes on my ability to fire a zing. That omission being case in point. The babyjesuschristsuperstar is a lover not a hater. Platonically.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

None taken. Like it or not, when that kid gets here you will become one of us. You may be driving a sporty little zippy car, but it might as well be a Camry if it is transporting a gorgeous tiny person* that you are 100% responsible for. When she's with the sitter, it will transform back into the speedmobile it was before the kid showed up. Laugh now while you can, but I speak the truth.**

~TL

*And yet smelly and demanding
** Bwahahahaha.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

But you look so thin in your photo.

Thanks and Car Advice Sought
 

Try the Subaru Outback. Best of both worlds but probably a hair over 20k. Wagon, Japanese reliability but battleship heavy.

I wouldn't get a new Volvo. The quality has declined since the reliable boxy machines of the mid-1990s. Friend of mine returned his early in the lease because his wife was stuck waiting for roadside assistance in the Bronx too many times.

And I wouldn't buy ANYTHING used w/o paying for a carfax check. If it was ever registered south of the mason/dixon line RUN.

Baby Name Books
 

A family member is looking for good name resources. I seem to remember y'all having a discussion about helpful books and web sites but, alas, my search here is not hepful.

Any recommendations would be very welcome.

Baby Name Books
 

www.babynames.com lets you save your favorites and print out a list for people to review and possibly ridicule. www.babycenter.com has a baby name tool I think - you can search by number of syllables and origin, which is pretty cool.

Baby Name Books
 

I second the above and add the Social Security website, where you can search any name's relative popularity over whatever time period you choose.

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

Baby Name Books
 

None of these resources is going to help us choose among the five or six names that we like. I'm afraid we'll choke the way one so often does in restaurants -- you know, the server comes and you order the rockfish (because fish is good for you!) and then you spend the whole meal wishing you had gotten the steak sandwich on an english muffin.

Thankfully, the middle name is fixed, so I think I'll just have to see how the kid strikes me after coming out (although at this point, I wonder ...)

Baby Name Books
 

After months of dicussion, we finally had a name decided upon on the day before surgery. We were thrilled we'd made a final decision, loved the name, woke up the next morning and decided we weren't sure about it after all. The first kid went 3 days with no name and survived, the second almost 4 days with nurses offering suggestions left and right; we ended up with a name that hadn't even been on the radar. Despite our indecision, which allegedly has something to do with us both being Libras (?), we are very happy with both names. I'm hoping for a girl next* so we have a whole new crop of names to argue about.

*No, not right now. That would be crazy talk.

Baby Name Books
 

The Brazenette's name was determined when she was in utero only 11 weeks, when we got the results of the CVS that she was a girl.

Her first name is that of my best friend who died only about a year before I conceived. Her middle name is the name of her Daddy's maternal grandfather (one of those old southern men's names that is now a trendy girl's name).

Had she been a boy, she would have been named after my grandfather, with a name my mother made no secret of hating. Luckily, this was not an issue.

If I were to have another child now (which isn't happening... the factory is closed to production), I'd use the same mother-hated boy's name or Taifer for a girl, which was my great-grandmother's maiden name.

This was perhaps my least interesting post ever.

Baby Name Books
 

#2's MN is the Mr.'s grandmother's maiden name. It's the hip thing to do.

I'm dragging you down with me.

Baby Name Books
 

Funny. I'm a Libra and I am the one who has reopened what my husband (a Virgo) thought was a settled topic. This kid was supposed to be a Libra, too, but with only 25 hours left in this sign, it looks like I'm going to have a crazy Scorpio on my hands! (Uh, not that I believe any of that astrology crap. I just dislike this being overdue thing.)

Baby Name Books
 

There are few benefits to having a c-s. Getting the kid out at 38w would be one of them.

Baby Name Books
 

Dissent. any post that reveals truth about a poster is not boring at all.

So my first kid we know is a boy- the ultrasound was inconclusive but we're both having boy dreams nightly.

Names? I don't even remember the boy name, but the girl name was Hazel Katherine. My Grandma was Hazel. It's a boring old name but so unusual now its actually cool and arty (See Hazel O'Conner- rent the movie Breaking Glass). So Hazel Kate for a girl- but it didn't matter because- WE WERE HAVING A BOY.

wife goes in and the first conclusive ultrasound tells us- It's a girl.

"No you must be mistaken you see we have been having these dreams........."

so now the Hazel thing is not a hypo. My mom tells me my grandma hated her name and we should never name another kid Hazel- others piled on. We changed to Katherine Hazel in the Maternity ward.

if she wants she can go with the middle name before her first group show. But I wish I had stuck- she's more a hazel, or maybe Lucy.

Baby Name Books
 

Yeah, the thing is, I have sort of accepted that I might end up with a c-section because this child and my body seem not to want to get ready for labor ... if it does end up that way I'll try not to dwell on the fact that it really would have been nice to have made the kindergarten cut-off date.

Baby Name Books
 

(1) You have amply illustrated why I am opposed to both finding out gender AND discussing potential names with anyone other than spouse.

(2) The universe has funny ways of helping you avoid making stupid permanent mistakes.

Another Year in Purgatory
 

The extra year at home is very good for the kid's development of a sense of security and self-confidence. We were glad that both of our kids missed the cut-off.

Baby Name Books
 

Dissent. I hit "Submit Reply" at least 4 or 5 different times for the Guernica posts.

Baby Name Books
 

You DO realize the these two statements are in many ways contradictory under the given facts, don't you?

Another Year in Purgatory
 

#1 missed the cut-off which is 9/1 here. The Mr. is particularly excited about his prospects in sports, given that he is the size of a 3yo and will be bumped back a year. Me, not so much. I'm ok with him missing the deadline, however, since I was one of those who beat the cut-off via a loophole and I think I would have been better off being one of the older kids, rather than the youngest.