Thanks for the additional comments everyone! While there's no doubt that the Maris is a great looking toilet, it's really important to me that it functions well too! It sounds like the clogging issue might have beeen isolated to the floor-mounted Maris, but the streaking issue might affect both the floor-mounted and wall-mounted versions. Another issue I've read about the Maris is that "men don't fit it", meaning that a man's special member can touch the inside of the bowl while sitting (which would be plain gross). Is the bowl really shallow at the front? I'm going to get a second quote using the Aquia instead of the Maris since I don't read of the same problems related to the Aquia. numbersjunkie, when will your reno be complete? It would be great to hear your first-hand experience that can directly compare the Maris and the Aquia. My biggest fear is that the Aquia will suffer the same issues as the Maris :S Thanks!

IMHO-Asking for money is not very well received. My DS was invited to a party last year that was worded"in lieu of gifts please give money. Sammy is trying to buy a pool table". And from a practicality stand point it makes sense (I have 10 unopened Barbies in the closet from DD various parties) But that was all the moms were whispering about at the party. Several gave gifts and money because their children wanted to pick out a gift. We have gone to 2 parties that had gifts for charity. One was a little girl DD is friends with who is an animal lover and asked for dog food and items for the local animal shelter. ((Huge Hit!!)) Another brought gifts to give kids at a children's hospital. Good Luck!

My own DD is almost 21. We celebrated that birthday while she was home on break from school, and we did it at home. All but 1 of DD's childhood parties were held in our home. Yep, I did try to be creative, and did alot of planning with regard to the parties that ran the gamut from American Doll tea party to the teen sleepover. Tried my best to keep it age appropriate taking into consideration that many times one of DD's guests would bring along a sibling or two when the girls were really young. Also, I always planned a "craft" for the guests in attendance. Really needed to include something for the girls to do and some type of take home to avoid the dreaded party bags. Only once did I plan a party out of the home. We took 8 girls to a ceramics studio to do a small piece which was then fired and delivered by me to the girls' homes a week or so later. That party was more of a PIA than any party I planned and hosted in our home. That said, I was a SAHM, so I think I had alot more time to be creative with an at home birthday party. roarah - I think your party is going to be great! Love the Madeline/caplet idea and your planning brings back memories of the many fun home parties I organized for my own DD. auntjen - I think maybe your nephew and his friends may have enjoyed a minor league game more. The local teams and stadiums that host those games really focus every single game on the kids in attendance. Between innings the kids are brought down onto the field for games, there are also other types of entertainment during the game directed at the kids. I get the "how much longer?" feelings of the kids that age. Heck, I sometimes feel that way, especially at an extra innings game! I will say that most of the birthday parties DD attended as a child were held off site. Those parties were fun, but I think came about out of one call planning, and no cleanup for the parents. Most times both parents worked, so planning a child's birthday party may not be something they want to add to their long weekend to-do list. I always enjoyed the planning of the parties, but I think I am probably in the minority given the number of parties DD attended in "places". You think it is bad now, roarah, wait until you get to the "Sweet 16" fiasco. Boy, that was a tough year... There was no way I was getting into throwing the equivilent of a small wedding party for a 16th birthday. Seemed that each parent tried to out-do the party of the girl whose party their DD attended prior. Hope the girls have a great time!

jvanderh, the trick to pink macaroni and cheese is to put food coloring in the water when you bake the pasta, and more food color into the cheese sauce. Oh, and it helps to use white cheddar, gruyere and asiago, they're strong enough to taste like cheese, they melt well and they're white, LOL. Madi (Ashley tells me it's NOT Maddie, LOL) started walking at about 10 months old. She's in a hurry and runs everywhere. Her mother was a "climber", I remember her pulling out drawers and climbing up like a ladder so she could sit on the counter and eat the butter. Ahem. The first thing Madi did with one of the presents was drag it over to a chair and use it as a step to get onto the chair and then onto the table where the cake pops were. Good luck with your new little one, Tricia. They're just so much fun. What am I going to do next year? Ashley is pregnant again, due in August. Since Bud is the only boy on both sides of the family, we're hoping for a boy cousin for him. The girls are "too bossy", he says. (grin) Sharon, they are growing too fast. (sigh) Both Bud and Makayla will still sit on my lap, but they're getting too darned big to fit. Makayla is now 4'5". My Mother is 4'9". The Monkey Princess is working hard to outgrow the "Little Grandma". She's going to outgrow ME pretty soon. I'm sad... Annie