Ds9 sanded and painted some wooden patio support poles for me. Can she get work outside the family? Dd was doing mother's helper work by then (by 14yrs I mean). She would take a bag of books and games (often water balloons in summer), and entertain the kids while the mother got on with whatever she needed to do. She had a low rate when she started, which made her an appealing option!

I would not give. I might offer an appointment with a financial councillor if I had the funds. Someone neutral who could help him figure out a way forward. Relying on other people to fund you is not a financial plan (I am sympathetic to financial crisis, but needing to move is an expense which should be planned for if you're renting, not a crisis and I'd assume it reflects an overall lack of financial awareness).

I expect pants to be worn more than once, so ds never has more than 4 or 5 pairs of pants. Shirts - I wash once a week so 7 (also some re wearing expected based on activity). Those are tshirt type - add one or two flannel shirts for layering and a fleece jacket and a coat.

It seems to me he's uncomfortable with the level of emotion she's injecting into what she's saying. Could she try to be more objective? So instead of: Teen: Dad, it is as though you can't hear me. This makes me tense. or Teen: Dad, it hurts my feelings when you reply like this. How about: Teen: Dad, I need you to listen to me right now. or Teen: Dad, it sounds really nasty when you reply like that. I'm not sure how that would go down in a parent-child relationship, but personally I wouldn't bring my feelings into a discussion about someone else's behavior. My feelings are my problem. I would address the behavior if it's objectively not OK, and I would clearly state what I need from the other person. I do think not listening to each other and speaking unkindly are both objectively not acceptable within a family.

I agree with Farrar that a lot of what you're talking about relates to personality. Manners - I think the quote from (I think) the Dalai Lama "Be kind wherever possible. It is always possible.". I'm certainly not a 'gentle' person, but I do try not to add to people's burdens with my behavior. Small things, like being courteous when someone else is in the wrong. Entertaining - if you don't enjoy it you don't, and if your husband needs the company of other men I'm sure he can seek that out for himself. Maybe you could facilitate it by suggesting a 'Dads and kids' outing? Dh used to go out with work colleagues or a friend and kids every couple of months when they were younger - the zoo, science museum, park or fishing were favourites. Appearance - taking time to put on a little makeup can make you feel so good. Whatever you're comfortable with. I've also slowly built up a nice wardrobe from charity shops. It hasn't cost me much and allowed me to figure out what I like and don't like and make the odd mistake without breaking the bank. My 'uniform' is jeans or 3/4 denims year round, but pairing with an attractive top makes all the difference.

Here are things we've done voluntarily (for environment and frugality) and out of necessity due to severe water shortages (bizarrely in my childhood hometown which at this moment is literally underwater from flooding) or when dh goes digging and punctures a water pipe: Run rinse water from washing machine cycle into a plastic barrel then pump onto garden (or use for toilet). We happened to have the washing machine outside at this time. If inside you'd want to be VERY careful about the size of the barrel! Collect rain water. Place a large plastic basin in the base of the shower to collect shower water run-off for use in toilet flushing. Have a 'bucket bath' - place a bucket of warm water in the shower and use that plus a jug for washing. I think your morher might have a bad low flow shower head? Ours gives a very nice shower and can be switched off when soaping etc (also can be angled low enough for kids to reach to switch). We can get our high flow shower heads switched out with a basic low flow head for free - could your son start a campaign with the local government or water supplier? Get a shower timer - electronic or an hourglass type. We are advised to take 4 min showers at the moment (water shortages but not restrictions). Use a bin for used toilet paper to further reduce the need for flushing. How far you take this is up to you, but there are many countries where the sewage system can't cope with paper and they seem to survive. IF you go the bin route, you may be able to lower the flow of your low flow toilet still further by putting something in to the cistern to displace water without compromising your pipes. In the 'bad old days' of high flow toilets we'd use a brick, but with smaller cisterns I'd use a small water bottle (filled and with lid on so it sinks). You could also modify the toilet mechanism to achieve the same I think. In terms of bottled water: how much water does it take in the production of bottled water? In other words, I think you might be using more water in a global sense. For now I'd just remind the kids that there IS bottled water if the need arises (if water levels drop so water quality is compromised). And remind them that water-deprived brains don't work well and won't be able to make wise water-saving decisions!

I don't know.... We're doing carry-on only for a 4 week winter trip to Europe. We've done a 'trial pack' and all clothes fit into a single packing cube which leaves lots of space around for the 'extras' like electronics and toiletries and scrabble board, pack of cards and tennis ball (shared between family members except for personal electronics - phone and kindle). Heavy jackets will get carried on separately. It certainly does take compromise on the number of items of clothes you can take, and I totally understand not wanting to do it (we usually don't), but it is doable. ETA: The differences between airlines, even for checked bags is another story. We mix-and-match airlines for the cheapest travel and have to remember to check each airline.

I also do it "the hard way" with a spreadsheet (Excel or the Google equivalent), although I have tried various apps and found them difficult to adapt to our specific needs. The single biggest help has been to pretty much giving up on cash and rely on our debit card (note NOT credit card as our debit card charges show instantly and credit card charges can take a few days to show). This makes tracking spending much, much easier. I usually fill things in on the spreadsheet a few times a week. Also, when dh spends cash he will text me the amount he spent.

I'm sorry you're feeling so bad. My 'low' was ferritin (stored iron) rather than blood iron and I've only been on iron tablets for a month. That said, I've been told to go for a retest after 3 months, and also had additional tests to check I was not losing blood internally - your doctor should probably have suggested both of these when you initially had low levels. I'm guessing my doctor expects levels to be within normal range after 3 months. The blood donor service have a 'lock out' of 6 months, so I think 3-6 months is a reasonable window to expect improvements. Does your iron have Vit C included or are you drinking it with orange juice? Vit C assists iron absorption. Coffee (not sure about tea and cola?) reduces iron absorption, so should be spaced between meals or iron tablet consumption.

I hate to say weed killer, but... I spent years trying to weed by hand. Hours and hours and hours each season. This year I used a broadleaf weed killer. What a relief! Two things to note: I once before tried the stuff that automatically mixes with hose water and did not find that effective. This time I mixed it into a watering can and properly covered every inch of lawn and got a much better result. It also took much longer than stated to work completely. Instructions states 'up to 3 week' but I'd say it took about 6 weeks until every last weed had vanished.

I'm so sorry... If he may find out the truth, tell him the truth yourself now. I have a 9yr old. Given the facts as you outlined I would go with something like: She had a sickness of the mind. It is very rare, and everyone knew she was ill but no one knew how bad it was or what would happen. She wasn't in control of her mind, and in that way it was a very sad accident. I think something along those lines would make it clear that this couldn't easily happen to other people he loves and that malice was not intended. I would also be careful to make sure he isn't starting to interpret all signs of anger or sadness as precursors of mental illness. Actually a similar scenario did play out in my husband's family before I met him. We live very far from the family though and I've never mentioned the situation to ds although I did give bare facts to dd. She had no emotional attachment to anyone though, as it happened before she was born to people she didn't know.

I would also opt for the gyn appointment. Can you ask if they will authorise the hormone test now so that you have the results by the appointment? Some of the tests need to be done on a specific day of the cycle so that can delay things further.

We've been in three different uniform situations: no uniform, dress code and strict uniform. I wasn't unhappy with any of these: private schools have the right to set out their own values, parents can choose to send children if they agree or not if they disagree, and parents who opt for the school because of certain values should expect that they're enforced. That said, I'm not sure that tightness of clothes has been an issue in any of the schools, length has always been the bigger issue. I don't see how you could regulate tightness. If modesty was the intention it would be more practical to specify a length of shirt worn over the pants to x inches below the waistline. I'm not suggesting this is a good idea, only that it would be the only neutrally enforceable approach.

Regarding school waiting lists - don't give up hope. I can't see the ages of your kids, but often waiting lists vary greatly by year / stage, and you may be offered a place quite quickly for one of the children despite an overall long waiting list. Every school I have ever looked at for my kids also prioritising siblings, so once you have one child in, the remaining children move to the head of the queue for their age. Furthermore, I suspect that schools often exaggerate the waiting list so that they don't have to deal with parents following up every other week on whether there is a place. I would also say that you should make yourself well known to the school - meet with the head, discuss your situation, discuss your children, ask about any steps you should take to prepare them for entry. I believe that making yourself memorable (in a good way) can help if there is any wiggle room in the waiting list.

This is a fantastic recipe but it's not quick. Just make the sauce - we use hoisin sauce on the fish when we grill it, and the sauce over the fish when served. http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/hoisin-caramelized-salmon-sesame-soba-noodle-bowls/

You could look for stretch curtain wire which will come with hooks (that screw into the curtain wire) and eyes (that screw into a wooden part of the bed). That's what we did for the lower bed of ds's bunk bed when dd needed to share with him for a month. ETA: it is hard to 'unscrew' the hooks from the curtain wire if you mess up the length, although it can be done. It is best to put the curtains onto the cord before you stretch to measure the length as the weight of curtains will stretch the cord and they will sag if you cut first without the weight of the curtains. Ikea sells 'non-stretch' curtain wire but attaching it to the bed might be more of an issue.

We're in the same boat. Our first house was rented out as we had moved overseas, and for the last few months we had a relative staying in it for free. It was a bit messy, relative struggling with being inconvenienced (although didn't complain to me) and another relative managing the sale and having words with the agent where I wouldn't have. This time we're doing it this way: selecting an agent (done), finding a house (in process), putting in an offer subject to sale, selling ours. I don't want to rent again and can't see how that would work out better. We'd need to take a 6 months lease, there would be moving expenses and we'd be under pressure to buy at the end of the lease or face costs for breaking the lease. It would be better for us to compromise slightly on the price we get for our house. We have done our research and have a realistic idea of what we can get for our house and how long it will take to sell. It's really stressful!

It never occurred to me to research this... I always assumed the 'least fuss' approach was also most environmentally sound, but see that a 'green burial' is much more environmentally appropriate than cremation. It seems our local cemetery offers this. (These plots also have no markers). It's already a rather lovely place, in bushland, with only flat grave markers allowed. It's where we take visitors to see kangaroos - they come out at night to eat the flowers left by visitors, I think.

No. But as a child of divorce where I saw my mother struggle financially because she wasn't informed enough or assertive enough I make sure that I'm the one who is most informed about our finances. I know where every cent goes, and I make sure everything is in joint names.

Zippers. Less that needs to be changed daily and washed. Small boys less likely to 'grab themselves' when wearing underwear (just my observation). And to be blunt: less chance of anyone else noticing anything dangling out (or poking forward).

Around 9yrs old for ds. Dd was probably about the same. I knew they were ready because we worked our way up to it: can the child behave responsibly when a parent is napping? Do they know how to phone and text? Do they reliably do as asked? Can they be trusted to stick to family rules when no one is watching? If left alone for 10 minutes do they respond to 'check in' texts quickly? Are they mature enough to discuss potential risks (e.g fire, strangers, Mom doesn't arrive back home as expected) without becoming distressed or panicked?

We tried GamEd Academy and found pretty much this. Any learning is done through reading or watching YouTube videos and the Minecraft is just 'playing', or at best reviewing concepts learned through reading or watching.

The website Minecraft Mum is a good place to start. You'll soon have requests for mods and you will need to know how to do that. We started at that age with the iPad version which was much simpler, as there aren't mods (at least ds never asked for any). Overall it's a good game - electronic Lego, pretty much. Issues we've had: * obsessiveness (only with this game) * wanting to watch Minecraft videos - many are not appropriate and they're a major time drain * ongoing requests for mods which is a pain because the game is on my computer and I don't want to many 'extras' added. We carefully limit game time, limit which YouTube channels he may watch and which mods he may have. There is at least one 'Minecraft school' offering homeschool classes set in Minecraft.

Same. But full points to the marketing genius who came up with the idea.

I count. I say "I'll do 20 silly tidy up chores and then I'll make coffee and watch 20 minutes of a movie". Or "I'll do those 5 tasks and then I'll take the kids out for hot chocolate and coffee". Ok, I count and I drink coffee :-) I tend to make small things count as "fun". Going for a walk and stopping for hot choc / ice-cream / one pizza for us all to share / a round of french fries from McDonalds counts as "fun" here and it's easy to fit that into a day.