What should you do if a zombie knocks on your door? Hope it's Halloween!

Jack wanted to build a car out of noodles and but Jill said it was impossible. She couldn't believe her eyes when he drove right pasta!

Am I the only parent that loves my compact? So easy to park and cheap to drive and maintain. I'd probably squeeze three kids in the back before going bigger.

do do do doot do doo If you're my friend then you'll buy this ...Just reading this question got this song back in my head...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU_rUj1y71w

It's so good to here all of these no rug comments. I've always had one under the table to keep the chairs from scratching the floor, but I think I'm going to give up on the fight to keep it clean with a kid in the house. For the record, it is next to impossible to find a picture online of a kitchen eating area without a rug (image search "kitchen eating area no rug")

When my daughter was little (under 3) she would get increasingly hysterical and clingy if I tried to say goodbye, but then would stop crying as soon as I walked around the corner or shut the door, so I often skipped the goodbye to avoid drama. Just after she turned 3, she wouldn't do a drop-off class because I couldn't stay, so instead we both watched the entire class through a glass door, watched the other kids have fun, watched the parents come back and pick them up, etc. She was really eager to try a different drop off class a week later and has separated easily in all situations (with goodbyes) ever since.

My 3 yo recently made up a song that goes "Mommy finger, mommy finger, what do you do? Doing computer. Doing computer. That's what I do" which made me realize I needed to cut back on my own screen time around her.

This is me as well. Its so easy to get sucked in while just trying to look up information or send a quick message.

We took a family trip to Magic Kingdom! We got to go on one roller coaster ride kid-free, so it was like a 15 minute date :) The trip just happened to line up with Valentine's Day. We don't usually do anything.

Hah! What a great way to help him see why pants are important :)

Your daughter and mine would be friends! I pretty much let mine wear whatever crazy combo she wants to school as long as it's seasonally appropriate and won't be uncomfortable or cause a distraction - no lace-up shoes, jewelry, princess dresses etc. She does regularly wear her princess stuff on errands, but I make sure she has something practical on underneath and a big backpack to stuff the dress into in case it starts to get in the way. I figure she should enjoy it while it makes her happy and seeing her dressed up seems to make other people happy too.

I don't think I really got it until my pet died in second grade, even though I went to a funeral in kindergarten and technically knew what is was. My 3.5 yo currently has no idea, even at a basic level. I definitely don't want to rush her knowing, but I've been surprised by how often in comes up through movies and TV shows. Even Daniel Tiger has an episode where his fish dies that caught me off guard.

I don't offer alternatives during dinner. If my daughter wants more food later, its pretty much what we had at dinner unless there aren't leftovers. Every kid is different though. Mine is usually a big eater, so if she decides to be picky one night, I know she'll make it up later. Our problem is more that she figured out she can stall bedtime by saying that she's still hungry, which is why we make a big deal about eating at dinner.

Four houses, three states, three moves before age three, not counting two extended stays with family.

I make sure dinner always includes something my three year old likes. If she tries to leave the table without eating much, I repeat all the options and ask her to think about whether her "tummy is full" because we're not eating again until breakfast. If she's hungry later, I'll pull out leftovers or a sandwich, but remind her that's why we eat at dinner.

This is such a timely poll question [rushes off to search for all the books that are due TODAY].

I never heard of this, but it sounds delicious. We need a list of favorite cold remedies.

My 3yo actually likes shopping as an activity, so I've never gone out of my way not to take her. Most of the stores we go to have something special for kids, like free cookies or mini-shopping carts. I come up with random "important" tasks for her to help with, so its semi-educational.

When my daughter was a year old I cut out a small tree and different shapes out of felt and stuck the tree to the wall with painters tape and let her decorate it with the felt shapes. This year a relative gave my daughter a magnetic Melissa & Doug tree-shaped Advent calendar. Other years we hung ornaments from houseplants.

My husband is Dutch and his family did Sinterklaas and presents on Dec. 5. I grew up with both Hannukka and regular Christmas. It's hard trying to preserve our non-Dec 25th traditions since Christmas is so all consuming. We tried to not make Christmas a big deal, but my daughter's (non-religious) preschool talked it up and did Christmas crafts for 2 weeks before the break.