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Zinnias

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Everything posted by Zinnias

  1. We had these in our old house. We had to exclude by making sure every entry pointinto the house was stuffed with steel wool and sometimes spray foam insulation. Our house has settling issues, so we redid this every 6 months, which *mostly* kept them at bay, but not completely. We had traps everywhere in that house, and outside, we had those black boxes that you mostly see at commercial places. They worked pretty well.
  2. I love Gravy. It's a podcast of the Southern Foodways Alliance, which I suppose is a little left leaning, but it isn't very overtly political. The hashtag is that "we tell stories of the emerging south," and they do that through food. So, they'll tell a story about a Mexican immigrant in Lexington that grinds local corn to make tortillas. Or a black farmer in south Georgia. Or whatever. But it's a lot more interesting than just hearing Paula Deen pour butter into a casserole dish.
  3. I am enjoying being at home for the most part. We moved last summer, and we don't have a great tribe here yet, so there aren't specific people or a church that I am missing. That is definitely helpful. I miss my mom and mother in law, and normally in the summer, we would see them pretty often (at least every few weeks). They aren't that interested in seeing us right now, and I definitely don't want to expose them to anything. I don't want to get sick. My husband is convinced that we will all get it eventually, but if that is the case, I would prefer to get it after providers feel much more confident in treating it. I don't like the idea of allowing myself to get sick on purpose. I don't like the financial fallout from that decision (healthcare bills, increased food costs because I can't cook, whatever), and I don't like the idea of being unable to care for my family for an extended period. I would rather put off that choice until it becomes inevitable. RIght now, that is far from our reality.
  4. I dropped the ball on Advent this year, only reading our Jesse Tree devotionals daily. We didn't put up the Jesse Tree/ornaments, and we didn't get candles until yesterday! Next year, I want to be more intentional about that. We also moved this summer, and we are missing a full social calendar. I want to be at a place next year where we can host a party or two (with a large enough circle of friends). We miss that terribly.
  5. We got dehumidifiers for our house. Several. I think it decreased the amount of low level mold and mildew floating about, and it made a big difference ijn how sick we were.
  6. This entire thread is describing my first child. I had nothing to compare him to, and when I told people about him, I got that, "yeah, toddlers are busy!" I internalized it a lot, and I thought I was a terrible mother for a long time. I mean, if other mothers could handle toddler-hood, WTH was wrong with me for mucking it up so badly?!? Then I had a few more kids, and I realized that it was just him. :D He is 12 now, and he is seriously just a great, great kid. He has had some developmental/emotional leaps along the way that the entire family (even him) can name because they were so dramatic. And 11 has been the best leap of all. I really like him so much. And like other people have said, wicked smart, crazy ADHD, and he needs an XL coffee before we expect him to sit still (like at a funeral). But an awesome kid. There is hope. Lots of hope.
  7. This is popular even with eggplant haters. https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/01/lentil-and-eggplant-chili-mole-recipe.html
  8. We live in a state that is probably lower cost of living, and we're in one of the costliest parts of it. 😄 My brother lives in the same state, about 2 hours away. Some of the things we've noticed when comparing are property taxes (the rates are very different), utilities (our county water system just has a long track record of corruption and incompetence, and we pay for it), gas (our gas runs 20 to 30 cents per gallon higher), and dramatically so, childrens' activities, from soccer to art classes to choir. Living where we do, I have access to a lot more grocery shopping, so I might pay the same prices or slightly higher, but the selection is better. We also are close enough to take advantage of free days at local museums--it's not a big, planned thing that limits our time line.
  9. I am utterly and completely amazed by the number of people that will go #2 at school/work/any other public places. I can remember one time that that happened to me. In my life. And it was a case of a really upset stomach. I didn't know people did this in public. I'll have to ask my kids if they ever have (I don't think so).
  10. I homeschool 2 of my 4. My oldest went to school for K-1, then came home for 2-3. He was in a school where he wasn't challenged, and his boredom=behavior problems, and yet, they let him get away with it "because he's so smart." Bad fit. He was difficult to school. His major complaint about homeschooling is long stretches of time that he didn't have anything to do. His only two ways of entertaining himself seem to be video games and pestering others into fights. We are all happier with him in school, and he has said that he prefers it, too. He has been at a high achiever magnet since 4th (currently in 6th), and that's a good fit for him. He does sometimes complain that he has more volume of work than his homeschooled siblings do. And it's true...he does. But that's public versus homeschool, so what you gonna do. He is very motivated by competition, so a group schooling setting works well for him. I do sometimes feel bad that I couldn't meet his needs at home, but I just couldn't. I homeschool two kids in the middle who are both dyslexic. They both like homeschooling, and academically, I feel like it's best for them. Last year almost killed me with a nasty anxiety loop about school and fighting/yelling/tears. I sent my 4th to school to give us time to break that cycle and get in a better place. She asks a lot to be homeschooled, and I will definitely bring her home for first.
  11. Roan MOuntain state park on the TN side of the TN/NC border. Absolutely beautiful up there. Vogel State Park and Black Rock Mountain state park in Georgia. There is also a state park in GA near FDR's Little White House. In the summer, it has a giant (so giant!) liberty bell shaped pool that was built by the CCC. It's so cool.
  12. My inlaws are in their 80s. They are independent, but they are elderly and probably one fall away from a health and housing crisis. Our youngest child is 6, and all ours are in elementary school. We definitely feel it sometimes. They live about 6 hours from us, which is enough to keep us from seeing them very frequently, though of course not super far. My own parents are only in their 60s and young and healthy. My grandfather died this year at 92. He only needed someone very involved in his day to day in the last 18 months. So my mom dealt with that at 65, more than 20 years into an empty nest. Completely different scenario.
  13. What about front office doctors' office type work? A lot of them are owned by larger hospitals, which means that the front office staff gets hospital benefits. There are also things inside the hospital--receptionists, registrars, etc, that don't require more than a high school diploma. I love hospitals and doctors' offices and urgent care places, though, and if she's unsure how she feels, those places are often open to volunteers. During her gap year, 4 hours a week volunteering might expose her to things she doesn't know about.
  14. We don't have one. I reheat on the stove or a toaster oven. I prefer stovetop popcorn. When we got rid of ours, I found that I could suddenly tolerate leftovers. I had thought that I was one of those people that "didn't like leftovers." I just don't like the texture of them reheated in the microwave.
  15. I knew from age 5 or so that I would be a nurse. By age 13, I knew I would be a nurse midwife. And I was.
  16. I cook 100% of the time and have since we got together (dating and before kids). He can cook very basic things, but I am a very picky eater, and I don't like his cooking. He did learn to cook himself eggs in the last 2 years, and that handmade us both much happier
  17. Shoes are probably the bigger part of our clothing budget. My husband and I usually need at least one pair of shoes a year, at around $100. I have two kids with adult sizes, who I budget $50 every 6 months. And two others with kid sizes, $30 every 6 months. So$520 just on shoes. Underwear and socks wear out, too. So it's more than just the fun stuff I like to wear I think the $1800 is a good place to start if you have that room in your budget
  18. I get up what I consider fairly early (6), but I don't do it happily. Every.single.day, I have to talk myself out of the bed and make deals with myself. "If its horrible, you can always go back to bed." " I will get up after I count to 100." Silly stuff. My husband jumps out of bed completely awake. At night, he falls asleep on the couch around 9. Around 9:45, we both get up and go to bed. He could not stay up late for anything. I force myself to bed, but I often wish I could stay up until midnight. I am not sure that you can ever truly change
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