saleva's Profile

@SophieRose. Not in Texas, my friend.

Argh, I meant to say "white paint."

Oh my... My neighbor put one of these out on the street for free so I cut down the legs and made it into a toddler play table. Clearly, I should have thought bigger...

We have experienced the good, bad, and downright ugly at Austin City Limits, with ages 1-6. The experience relies heavily on family and child temperament, the weather (even the Oct dates of recent years can be a bit miserable), preparation, and luck. The advice re: being prepared to leave is spot on.... Just wipe away your tears and get moving. Yes, you may indeed by the one crying.

My take-away is that my elder does not care one bit about us being cool parents or showing her pictures of a festival, and she is a lot older than a toddler these days. We don't have smart phones, so procuring tickets at all has been rough in recent years; however, for the time being, I feel I deserve a chance to escape with my partner to enjoy music as a grown-up. We do everything as a family otherwise, including more family oriented one-day fests in town.

That said, you can't earn the official hipster badge unless you bring the family, and some kids seem to thrive on the energy. Mine clearly do not. YMMV.

Yeah... it took me over 7 years to have my second child, who ended up being born at the exact opposite time of year and is a different sex. I totally understand the mountain-of-saved-clothing phenomenon (and cloth diapers too!). Everything is in clear Sterilite bins or large bags... We're doing a purge right now but I'm still saving some boy clothes b/c a younger sibling is still planning one more kiddo. I don't have money to re-do the baby's closet, but I am taking some unused space and adding Elfa shelves to it (on sale right now) in order to make it easier to see what we have and move out what isn't working anymore. I am grateful for all of our hand-me-downs, but culling, washing, and organizing them definitely takes some time every month.

Ack. 1031s -- a like-kind exchange -- are for real property used productively in a trade or business or for investment property. They're not designed for personal residences, unless it's one you've been renting out for a while. If you try play around with that without good counsel, but the IRS will show you NO mercy. Also, 1031s are a vehicle to avoid capital gains taxes, which is not really an issue with these properties. Please talk to a CPA and/or tax attorney if this is something you want to pursue.

THIS is why I bother to still read AT. Well done!

I'm surprised that a person who uses g-dipes feels superior to others. If you have ever spoken to a water engineer, particularly one who specializes in water treatment issues, you would hear a very, very different story about the environmental impact of g-dipes, and no small amount of cursing. If you live in a drought area, there is no "best" solution to diapering; it's all a series of environmental trade-offs.

And I love how so many people cling to "etiquette.". Didn't that idea come from the Victorian era? Etiquette and cultural practices have never been static. They evolve, constantly. Should I ever be blessed with a second, 8-plus years after my first, I would feel so lucky and grateful to have any celebration or gifts (a great deal of my gear went to Hurricane Katrina refugees).

I'm just amazed by the small-mindedness of some people... but I do appreciate all the comments and debate here. Very interesting stuff!

josie10610, if you lived in Texas, Oklahama, or Nebraska, you might have noticed that we actually skin up cows to eat. This country eats a LOT of beef. This is a secondary use of a by-product. Cows aren't being hunted for their skins.

Respectfully to LoriSF, I've recently been educated by a biochemist, who also happens to be very active re: environmental issues, about the effects of bleach on the environment. Yes, it is overused, but most of my environment-based concerns turned out to be unfounded. Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

http://www.greenoptions.com/wiki/bleach

I minimize use for health reasons primarily.