i totally hear you about the advice – i’m generally pretty laid back about other people’s choices even if i have strong feelings. only dilemmas have been where i think there are some dangerous choices going on – and whether to say anything then. luckily, most have those have not been physical danger – but the emotional/intellectual/attitude stuff is what has been bugging me recently. not sure how or if to approach that.

But you’ve GOT to pass this bit of advice on:

Ignore the advice. Do what works for you.

Worked wonders for us.

I may be in the minority here but I’m not too big on big b-days…we alternate between doing low-key things at home (just us) and then going to a movie or dinner or letting her choose a place and then we take a friend or the grandparents or a big party but the parties are not the “norm” for us…not to say that I’d say “no” if someone volunteers to do it for me kid though but she shouldn’t feel bad because at these ages they’d be just as happy running around w/ friends and eating ice-cream.