Unless it's business related, it's gone the next billing cycle when payment appears on the new bill - they obviously got the payment if it was credited, right? So why keep it? Add to that, almost anything and everything is available online now - credit card statements, banking statements, regular bills like water, gas, electric - I pay almost everything online (except for the two hold out companies that are local and won't invest in the technology to let me do it!) and once it's credited, if I have a paper copy, it gets tossed (unless I need it for a business expense). Pay stubs - no need to keep 'em. You got paid, your check cleared, you'll get another the next cycle with the updated information, right? Honestly, unless I need it for the accountant, I don't keep it. If I do need to keep it, it gets tossed in the big box that says "accountant" on the side that sits in the corner of my office and gets handed to him end of year. So, you might wonder, what do I keep? Disability insurance premiums paid - I keep those records until the next billing cycle and payment. Life insurance premiums paid - I keep those too until the next billing cycle. Car insurance premiums paid - I keep that one until the next billing cycle even though I probably don't need to. Medical claims letters, EOB's and bills - I do keep these - all of them, even after they're paid. Tax records - anything related to our taxes that we have paid (ie. property tax, etc.) I keep, along with the filings and any other correspondence. I think that's it.

:iagree:

It definitely sounds like an allergy - I agree with others, don't panic! Benedryl is great - if after a few hours she hasn't had the symptoms totally dissipate, you can give her a second child dose - that should do the trick to relieve the swelling and any itch if the first didn't. Allergies don't always present right away - they're often there, but not overtly until they come out. We learned my DS is allergic to all fish and shellfish - from any source: air borne, touch, ingestion - and it's a severe reaction. He had it for at least two years before it became totally obvious we were looking at an allergy, and even then, there were so many confounding variables, we had to test for everything because in each and every situation we thought of in hindsight, it could have been something else! He has an epi-pen because he's had multiple system reactions - hives & throwing up, hives & eyes swell shut, eyes swell and throwing up, etc. - thankfully, he has not had a breathing issue, nor had to use the epi-pen to date and we hope to keep it that way! The thing to prepare yourself for is the testing. I had NO CLUE what a full panel involved and about ten needles in, DS was freaking out and I was doing everything to remain calm and hold him. It's a scary series of testing for kids - prepare yourself for it's gonna hurt and she'll likely freak out! I do hope it turns out not to be an allergy.....!

I can see both sides. Downstairs we have a finished (for taxes?), yet unfinished space we use for storage. It was designed to be re-finished (?) into a possible inlaw suite at some point in the future...basically it's plumbed for a bathroom and kitchen sink/DW, W/D and is laid out to create walls within, including a huge space that's supposed to, one day, be a walk-in closet. It's huge since it's laid out to be 'finished' into what would be a nice small apartment within the house....but at this point, while it's finished and usable, it's just one huge space (about 750 SF) and I could turn it into an awesome homeschool space, with shelving dividing up spaces, setting up a science center, arts & crafts, history, etc. areas. We could do school in what would be an incredible space....room to learn in different areas, lots of room to play too. On the other hand, I've had to ask myself if that's the type of environment that will work for us - going down each day to do school and segregating it into a compartment of our life, rather than it is a way of life? As I sat earlier this year and did a list of pros and cons, I realized that, for now at least, that isn't best for what we're doing each day....so like many others, I have commandeered the dining room for our school room and set it up to house all of our materials and supplies - we do our seat work at the table - we have books all over the house (still) and learning comes as it does each day, sometimes that's in the dining room, other days the kitchen, sometimes the family room, heck even in a bedroom or out on the deck - we just school all over the house, so having just one room isn't what we need right now. The DR is centrally located on our main floor, so I can oversee DS doing work independently and can also have us working together at any time we need to. I can have the baby right there alongside us, or he can play in the family room and I can keep an eye on him while working with DS in the DR. For us, right now, this works. I still LOVE the idea of having a cool school room....and who knows? I might do it next year or the year after.....but this year, we're loving the dining room!

DS wanted to do one this summer so is signed up for his on August 27th - he'll be in the 6-8 age group though, so that's a 50-yard swim, 2-mile bike ride and 500-yard run. He's not exactly "training" for it (LOL) - just once a week he and DH are going through the order of the events, doing each and timing to see how he's doing. He is, however, a very athletic kid, so none of the course lengths are difficult and in the age group, it's not really more than just for fun (I hope). He swims every day anyway, he rides his bike for miles a few times a week already, and really it's just the run that he probably should get used to, along with doing all three in a row. For her age group, the kids will likely be more into getting ready for it with practice and some training. I think what you're doing with her now sounds like a good way to prepare.....the last week, maybe do every other day as the full course run-through, with just practicing whichever component she's slowest in the days in between and rest the day before?

OEM = original equipment manufacturer; software of this type is installed at the build by the manufacturer of the computer, who buys the license at a discount to install it in large numbers of computers. If you're buying a computer and opting for an option offered and it's OEM, than that's totally legit. If you're looking to buy and download OEM software from your original computer manufacturer because they're licensed to allow you a time period to buy after the original build, that's also legit (think Windows 7 before it was available, it was offered as an option after the purchase when it came available). But, if you're looking to buy OEM from who knows, no that's not legal. It's also not legal to sell or purchase the back-up disks that come with computers that contain programs that are OEM and were installed when the computer was built.

No - after ten years of maintaining the weight loss, I know what I can eat and don't worry about calories :001_smile:

We know a Dr. Kidd who is a pediatrician and a Dr. Skinner who is a dermatologist.

:iagree:

No one :tongue_smilie: Oh, but I did meet Susan Wise Bauer in Chicago last year at the expo after one of her talks. That doesn't count, does it?

Oh and don't forget how to carry a tray of food across a room without spilling it!

6'

DS loves that timeline...and it's amazing (to me) how much he's learned without specifically being taught, just it being up and his looking over it and reading parts.

Other than making the money - I do all the financial management for the house! If you were to ask DH on any given day what we have, where, what we spend or anything like that, he'd shrug his shoulders and tell you to ask me!

If you have a ceramics shop nearby, you could buy unfinished ceramic Christmas ornaments, get them painted and sprayed and go to handicraft weekend sales near the holidays? Also in the line of thinking - handmade Christmas cards? Handmade gift bows or doo-dads or name cards? If you were to do something like that, and were at a sale, you could also offer hand-dipped pretzel rods (chocolate and other things), etc.

10.5 - which stinks because not many shoes are available in a 10.5, so it's either squeeze into a 10 or go to an 11. When pregnant, I'm definitely an 11 though. Boots and most sneakers just a 10 (unless pregnant, then go to the 11).

I wished I'd have known! LOL - I hadn't heard of golden coins until this thread - how sad is that?

Growing up I knew how to navigate the NYC subway system by six on my own, so that would have been 1972 - I still wasn't doing it on my own, but could if I got lost - I was taught from a very young age how to get myself around the city because it was important if I ever got separated from my parents or whomever I was with. By 8 though, I was navigating my way all over the city and often on my own....and at that point we no longer lived in the city, so my adventures were while we were there visiting family and I either wanted to go see friends I still had from living in the city or other family that lived sometimes a couple of miles away in a different neighborhood. When I was five we moved north of the city and by six I was walking about a half mile to my friend's house and she mine, it just wasn't a big deal back then. We lived in a rural area and my school bus stop from about age five to nine was at least a half mile away, and I walked that on my own each day....after that, it was about a 3/4 mile walk to the bus stop. If any of us kids going to the bus stop missed the bus, we were walking the 2-miles to school, on our own, no sidewalks, on country roads. That didn't happen to me until I was 10, but once was all it took for me to get to the bus stop on time! The kids I grew up with - at very young ages (6-8), we rode bikes for miles and miles away from home, took long walks in the woods that seemed to go forever, played in cow and horse fields miles from home, wandered around the lake we lived without worry about drowning, ice skated without parental supervision and literally wandered all over neighbor yards for miles....today such would not be tolerated it seems. I have left my six year old at the house while I was out in the yard doing things or I'm down by the lake, so not in or near the house, but I haven't left him to go do something at this point away from the property. I'll probably start brief periods on his own around age 8 - but it will depend upon his readiness and level of responsibility. At this point I wouldn't leave him at the house since going anywhere means I'll drive at least 10 minutes away, so getting back would take some time if something happened. But, could I trust him on his own now, at almost seven? Yes. He's allowed to ride his bike on his own (private road, cul-de-sac) to our second neighbor's driveway (each house is on 4-10 acres so it's a good distance between driveways) on one side and down the hill into the second cul-de-sac dead end on the other side (four properties away). He knows the rules and he knows if he goes beyond the boundaries we've established with him, he loses his bike privileges. He's been able to do this since he turned six with increasing distance over the year - at first he could only ride our driveway and cul-de-sac, then to one neighbor driveway each side, then two. He's now at the max we'll allow because the last driveway he can't go to is just too near the main road and that road is too dangerous even for adults! DS is in scouts and this summer we've done a few things with the pack to help the younger boys gain some independence - we have bike trails in our town and recently had a bike ride, sans adults being with the boys, that was about three miles of trail riding.....one adult took the trail ahead of the boys by about a 1/2 mile ahead, the boys rode on their own from point A to B and one adult took up the back about a 1/2 miles from the boys. Once they got to the stopping point, they returned the same way. They were fine. Later this month we have an activity designed where they'll navigate downtown (a small downtown, not a big city) on their own, in small groups, with just a map --- they'll start at point A and we, the adults, will meet them at point B for dinner. All totaled they'll navigate through about a mile of downtown streets (20 blocks or so) with clues along the way....adults will be lingering around along the course they'll take, but not with them. The boys are ages 6 to 10.

Upstairs bath - nothing, just a painted wall - at some point, when I find the right one, I'll put a picture up. Main floor bath - picture. Master bath - a window. Lower level bath - picture.

Tooth fairy left $5 for the first and $1 for each thereafter, except for the night when she had no ones and had to leave another fiver!

We have a large laminated US Map and a World Map up on the walls. We also have a laminated "Quick Study Academic" laminated map that folds to 8.5x11 that we use at the table. In addition to a regular globe, we also have a blow-up globe...and the blow-up globe gets used a lot more than I ever imagined it would since it's easy to just grab and use anywhere.

Around the World Tour in Epcot - you get to ride segways around the world before that section of the park opens. Dive Quest - if you're certified for SCUBA, the divequest tour allows you to dive in the Seas aquarium. We did it, it's very cool and a very different experience from open water dives. If you're not certified for SCUBA, there is also the Aqua Seas Tour that uses a SCUBA Assisted Snorkel unit (you're tethered to the surface) and is similar. Private Pontoon for Fireworks - you can rent a private pontoon boat to watch either Wishes or Illuminations. The boat has a captain and he'll navigate for you and you just get to sit back and enjoy the fireworks. If you have some $$$ to blow, dinner at Victoria & Alberts (Grand Floridian) is an adult-only dining experience to do at least once in your life. Play a round of golf together! Rent those cute little personal boats or jet skis on the lakes. You can take a surfing lesson at Typhoon Lagoon! Get the Deluxe Dining Plan and have one nice table service lunch and then signature restaurant dinners together. Have a couples massage at either Grand Floridian or Saratoga Springs Spa.

I'd take into consideration the total cost of ownership of a home with known issues. Personally, I wouldn't necessarily be scared of mold since most mold is benign, BUT I'd want to know what type it is - so I'd have the mold tested. You've lived there for six years and it's likely benign mold since it doesn't sound like you or your family have health issues living there. I'd also have a mitigation quote to know how much it would cost to eliminate the current situation, plus what it will cost to maintain and prevent regrowth. While it's probably benign, it's a cosmetic issue and even benign mold can cause damage to wood over time, not so much because of the mold per se, but because of the damp/wet conditions that must be present for its growth! While your monthly payment will go down $200 - does that include the property taxes? I'd factor in property taxes along with mortgage payments to see how much it's going to cost. What is the age of the major systems? The furnace, hot water heaters, central air, plumbing, etc. - each will have their own lifespan and need replacement at some point; the older each is now, the sooner they'll need replacing, so you'll want to have some type of budget for that. You'll also want to factor in system maintenance costs - spring/fall for the HVAC for example. When was the roof last replaced or repaired? If repaired, what was done? How old are the appliances in the home? When would they need replacing? General maintenance - how much will your general upkeep on the house cost? This is sometimes a cost that can be surprising if you haven't owned before....while landlords aren't always good about maintaining rental homes, when you own the house and live there, you'll suddenly realize small things that need to be done and you'll do them - the nickles & dimes add up!

AAS - DS also asks when we're going to do the next lesson, he's loving it!

I'd say it depends on your child's interests. DS is six (almost 7) and he's definitely a documentary kid - he likes watching documentaries, so the movie being able to keep his attention was a given. He'd have watched it without fail at three too - but he's that type of kid! We did some cave paintings this week as follow-up since we did a bunch of prehistory projects when we were doing lessons on the period a while back.