My name is Jenn, and I'm 28 years old. I'm happily married to my best friend and soulmate, Daniel. Together we have an eight year old daughter named 
8 years old, artistic, gifted, little miss independent
6 years old, autistic, creative, gifted, amazing solver of puzzles
That’s My Answer: Do you have your wisdom teeth?
Nope, I am completely wisdom-less. I had my wisdom teeth until December of 2007. At that point, several months of intense molar pain motivated me to get to the dentist, and then to a dental specialist (I can’t remember the name right now). On the 12th of December, 2007, I was put under anesthesia while the dentist surgically removed all four of my wisdom teeth. Surgical-style extraction was required since three of the four were impacted, and two of the four were growing sideways. Ugh.
That’s My Answer: Do you cover your windows with blinds, curtains or drapes? Would you ever have a bare window?
With the exception of one of our kitchen windows, all of the windows in our home are covered with white plantation-style blinds, as well as curtains. The curtains are more for decor rather than privacy or light control, since the blinds themselves cover both of those. We have lightweight drapes in our living room and bedroom, and the other windows have curtains. I would never have bare windows, because there would be no privacy!
When purchasing a home, most people don’t think about the future, whether it be a typical future (getting older), or an unforeseen one (an injury or illness leading to chronic issues). So let’s say you have a gorgeous three story home, and you’re suddenly injured, or you simply get older and have age-related problems with climbing stairs. What are you to do? It used to be that the only solution was to relocate to the first floor and live there; or worse yet, sell your home and move into a smaller one, or an assisted living facility.
But these days, you can safely stay in your home and enjoy it to its full potential with a stair elevator. A stair elevator is a special lift that provides the user with a comfortable, safe, and secure chair to sit in. The lift operates much like an elevator, only there is no shaft to move up and down in — the lift simply follows your stairs up or down, taking you to different levels of your house comfortably and securely.
I’ve seen stair elevators and chair lifts in action, both with regular chairs, and with wheelchairs, and both work wonderfully. I would definitely recommend the installation of such a product.
I grew up in Philadelphia, so when it came to encountering creatures during outdoor play, the excitement didn’t go beyond beetles and fireflies. I didn’t encounter my first toad until after we moved to the rural area we’ve been in since I was fourteen.
Now I’m much more used to toads, especially in the late summer and early fall, when they cross the roads on rainy evenings — nothing like driving along back roads at 45mph, with no light source other than my headlights, dodging toads!
Ryan recently won a tadpole in a classroom raffle, and the little guy, who Ryan named Saturn, recently sprouted back legs. We have him housed in a ten gallon tank in Ryan’s bedroom.
And earlier tonight Alyssa and Ryan found what is surely the first of many toads. I was kind of surprised that they found one in our yard, since there aren’t any ponds or small areas of water nearby, and it hasn’t rained since the other day. They named him Bob, handled him gently, and released him before coming inside for the night.
…because there are days when it is so mentally draining, not to mention infuriating, to have to deal with the repercussions of other parents not properly parenting their children.
Copied & pasted from Facebook:
I just spent half an hour making the rounds to parents whose children encouraged Alyssa and a younger girl to fight each other. Alyssa wanted no part of it, the younger girl was bullied by her older brother into trying to fight Alyssa, and some random eight year old boy recorded what little fighting — the younger girl tackling Alyssa — took place. Alyssa, with the help of her friend K, broke it up and came right home to tell me what happened.
For once the parents all immediately stepped up to reprimand their kids, and the father of the boy who recorded the incident immediately grabbed the kid, then his phone, and deleted the video.
WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS. WRONG. WITH. THESE. CHILDREN.
Alyssa and Ryan only have thirteen days left at school, and then they’re done: done with first grade (Ryan), and done with second grade (Alyssa). I can’t believe that this school year has gone as fast as it has: it seems like Christmas break was just a couple of weeks ago, and the first day of school wasn’t all that long before that. Yet here we are: end of the school year coming up in less than two weeks, with the various end of school activities and deadlines to accompany that fast-approaching deadline.
First day of school 2012
As I sit here watching House, M.D., and am enjoying Dr. Robert Chase’s Australian accent, I’m reminded of my friend Dan and his awesome Australian accent. Australia would be a neat place to visit some day, if we’re ever in a financial position to visit another country. Australia has plenty to offer for interested tourists, including Sydney, the main entry point of Australia, and home to the Darling Harbor, Opera House, an aquarium and a zoo, and of course plenty of shopping destinations. Then there’s Cairns, which gives you access to the Great Barrier Reef; and the Gold Coast, which is perfect for beach and surfing lovers. Magnetic Island also has a lot of beaches, plus natural habitats that are home to kangaroos and koalas. Great Ocean Road is ideal for immersing yourself in multi-culturalism and night life, and Tasmania is picturesque and great for historical lovers.
But if it’s shopping that you’re interested in, and/or you’re looking for certain beauty or health services, visit AustraliaPlaces.net. At AustraliaPlaces.net you can find shopping malls in Sydney, restaurants in New South Wales or the Northern Territory, or financial companies in Queensland or South Australia. AustraliaPlaces.net has a breakdown of all of the areas of Australia, and highlighted keywords that link to places of interest for each one. New listings and recently updated listings are also listed, so you can see what’s new to the site, or what’s new to already listed places.
On Saturday my sister-in-law graduated college, and in a few weeks my brother will be graduating high school. So there are two gifts that I have to buy, and quite honestly, I’m idea-less for both of them. We gave my sister-in-law a snazzy little LCD television when she went away to college (we did the same for my other sister-in-law), and my brother already has a TV…so there goes that idea, which is a shame because there are a lot of TVs on sale right now.
Honestly, I’m thinking about some music-oriented gifts. My sister-in-law has an iPod or iPhone, I believe; and my brother has an iPod, but there are plenty of other audio accessories that would make really nice gifts. One thing my brother has been wanting for a while is a guitar. He’s asked for an acoustic bass more than a few times, but I’ve hesitated to spend the money because he’s somewhat irresponsible with items. And, because he lives in a group setting, there’s no guarantee that his items wouldn’t be safe from theft or vandalism. But now that he’ll be 18 in July, and may be living elsewhere, a guitar isn’t off the table entirely. If he’s really musically inclined, a guitar would be good for him – a way to expand his hobby.
Alyssa’s 8th birthday was in October, and by Christmas she began shaving. Because my mom made me wait months before she would finally let me shave (I was 12, just a few months from my 13th birthday, and the hair on my legs was embarrassing, especially because both boys and other girls were pointing it out and teasing me about it), I’ve sworn that if my daughter comes to me with a request to shave, whether she’s 13 or 10 I wouldn’t say no. A few months after turning eight was a little younger than I expected, but I said yes, and then demonstrated for her good shaving techniques (use a sharp blade, hold the razor correctly, go against the grain, soak legs in bath or stand in a shower for a few minutes for optimal hair softness, and use shaving cream or gel!).
Alyssa’s razor of choice is the Gillette Venus Embrace (in a lovely bright purple, thanks to Gillette’s Limited Edition Passionista Purple), and she uses Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel (also one of Gillette’s Limited Edition products, Passionista Fruit) in order to get a smooth, close, nick-free shave. I use these products too, and we both love them. The Venus Embrace’s 5-blade design, in conjunction with the ribbon of moisture that surrounds the blade makes the razor possible to shave with on its own, though we both use Satin Care Shave Gel for a better shave and more protection and ease of glide. She hasn’t cut herself once, and since switching to Gillette razors I’ve been enjoying pain-free, irritation-free shaving, too.
Read the full review at In My Bag!
Follow Gillette Venus on Facebook and Twitter.
Rating: 
Disclosure: Gillette Venus provided me with free products in exchange for my honest opinion.
While we’re all about the inboxes these days, many of us still have regular mailboxes. I’m doing my best to go paperless whenever possible, and yes that does include magazine subscriptions. There are loads of magazines out there, including Parents, Self, and a best cigar magazine, but the truth is: I don’t need them cluttering up my inbox. Between my phone, my laptop, and the kids’ iPads, there’s always a way to access the digital format of magazines, even if it’s a paid (premium) subscription.
These days, the majority of our mail is product review packages, the occasional purchased item in a package, really important letters, and cards from family and friends.
How about your mailbox? What’s its current state?