dedtired, Hints for seasickness... 1.) Look off the stern instead of the bow; 2.) Fix your eyes on the horizon instead of looking a few feet ahead of the boat (you'll be out of sight of land); 3.) Sip on cold Diet 7-Up; 4.) Many people do fine underway; but when drifting they start feeling queasy. Whale watch boats stop frequently for whale sightings. While drifting, stand at the gunnel stanchions & hold on to a rail if it's rough rather than sitting down...much better. Actually, more people get seasick in calm water than in rough seas (within limits, of course!) When there's good wave action your body gets into a rhythem. In calm seas, there's just a slight up/down, up/down that gets to some people. Beam seas are the worst! That side-to-side motion can do in even the saltiest of seamen! Since I've been a boater, I can't imagine WHY people stick babies in cradles! Inhumane punishment, IMO! Also, if you're focused on looking for the blow spouts of whales your body won't notice the rolling sensation nearly as much. We need Lori. She's more local to Newport...I'm about an hour away. But here's a place to start...a fun lunch spot in Newport is the Red Parrot. Allow about an hour just to read the menu & make your selection. It's also a great place to people watch. And go hungry! Parking is tricky. Don't be a hero & try to find a parking spot on one of the side streets...it's mostly "Residents Only". Just pay your $15 & chock it up to a good day in Newport. You can also rent the most adorable two-seater scooters in Newport. The shopping is one of two things...either touristy or very expensive boutiques, gallery quality art, designer jewelry, home decor, etc. There are also some great bookstores. History lesson on Newport: Did you know that most of early Newport was built with slave labor? Most people don't realize the extent Newport relied on slaves. The wonderful granite cobblestone roads, the houses, the ships...all slave labor. By 1770, the entire workforce was slaves mostly from Ghana. They came as children & were different than the southern plantation slaves. In Newport, most slaves lived in the same house as their owners often slept in the same bedroom as the owner's kids. They were taught skills & became highly trained. By 1830, most Newporters had freed their slaves. They went on to found businesses, become councilmen, teachers, policeman, fireman, & held high offices. But they came to America as slaves. End of history lesson. Follow the signs for Ocean Drive/Mansions & go to Brenton Park. It's right on Ocean Drive. On weekends, it's a popular place to fly those huge kites in different shapes. The water is right across from the parking (free). Actually, you could just sit in your car & stare at Newport Channel for hours watching the boats. You'll see many huge international & corporate yachts. The rocks at Brenton Park are also a popular dive spot. Look for small boats with a red flag floating in the water near the boat. The red flag means, "Diver Down". When's your trip? /tricia Here is a link that might be useful: The Red Parrot

I agree, it is definitely easier at this age than, say, 18 mos. At least they don't have tantrums! I'd rather take a baby out than my 2 year old. So, I took them out early, earlier with each one because life just demands it. I had #3 at a school play for #1 they day after we came home from the hospital -3 days old. What am I gonna do, not go to DS's things? I found they slept pretty well when we went out. A lot of restuarants have special seats to put the carrier in. The constant hum of a crowded place would put mine to sleep every time. Though I got pretty good with the sling, too, eating over the baby. Sometimes the carrier is just in the way. Trade of holding her, do your best. Go at off peak times, so you don't have to wait, or call ahead for a table if you can. We very rarely managed dessert -unless we took it to go. Start out by going where you are familiar with the menu and so you can order as soon as you are seated. I really had no problems with movies, either. They slept, and there is no better place for discreet breastfeeding than a dark movie theatre (even the slurping sounds can't be heard :o)). It happened a couple times things didn't work out. But, you go with the flow. We asked for take out boxes for out meals. We left a theatre once when it wasn't working out, the manager saw us, thanked us for our consideration, and gave us passes to come back another time! You don't know until you try, and it's worth it to get out. If you start taking them young, it becomes familiar to them and they go along with it just fine. Go out this weekend and let us know how it goes!

I'm not sure when it became taboo but vets seem to be able to estimate their age reasonably accurately based on other factors. I will add that I've adopted several declawed cats and they had absolutely no problems of any kind. I have also had cats that weren't declawed that did do significant damage to carpet and woodwork - in spite of a variety of efforts to prevent that. I hate the idea of declawing as much as anyone else but I would have a hard time with a cat that damaged things with its claws. Hence I seek out the already declawed cats. I also do that because I know then they WILL be kept indoors where declawed cats belong. I think a lot worse things are happening to many cats other than declawing. If you equate declawing to human amputation, I can personally attest that there are many things much worse than that, having experienced it myself.

I'm in Greenville SC, so not too different of a climate zone. Fall of 2014, I had a similar situation as yours, but much worse. Sodded Bermuda with a massive number of broadleaf and grassy weeds (maybe about 3x what your pics show). Battled those down all of 2015 and did a lot of reading and research to figure out what my weeds were and what was the best way to make the next year better. I went with an application of Prodiamine, which is the same active ingredient in Stonewall. I had planned to do a split application, but decided the 2nd app wasn't needed because of our mild temperatures. So, it was about 0.2oz/1000 sqft applied Sept 12th 2015 with my sprayer. I went with the liquid for better coverage. This was my first time using it, and I am very impressed with the results. I have almost no broadleaf weeds so far this year *except* right around the edges of the lawn where I probably didn't spray well. In your 2nd pic, I believe the weed on the right is a Carolina Geranium, and the middle one is some sort of thistle (Creeping Thistle?). Not sure about that left one, however, Prodiamine should have fairly consistently knocked out those first two. That makes me think either the application wasn't enough, wasn't timed correctly, or wasn't spread evenly. So, if I had to suggest a change for next year, you might try the liquid instead of the granules, and apply about a month earlier. Target Sept 15th for our area, but with Prodiamine, it lasts a good amount of time in the soil, so earlier won't be a bad thing.