Thank you. My heart really needed this today.

I have a Kindle keyboard too...and got a Fire HD for Christmas. : ) What I love about the regular Kindle...I can span it with one hand to turn pages and it is super lightweight. What annoys me is no backlight. What I love about the Kindle Fire HD is...pretty much everything. lol! It IS very heavy...much heavier than I was expecting. And the screen turns when I turn it. So if I want to lay in bed on my side to read, it has to be at a particular angle, or the words will flip flop. There is probably a way to make it stop doing that, but I haven't checked into it yet. Those are my only *complaints. I got a free 30 day trial to Amazon Prime but I haven't tried it yet. I am afraid that if I do, I will want it. And I don't have the money this month or next. lol! I am very, very glad that I got a Fire HD.

Valerian root extract. I have used it, and it tastes kind of funky, but did work. :grouphug: The poor dear! I hope her surgery goes well. ...it may be worth it to get her a prescription that she takes only before a very stressful event.

Not a fan. I will have lifelong issues with my upper back and neck that I attribute to an injury I sustained on a trampoline when I was a teen. I was on the trampoline alone, jumped too high, and ended up landing on my upper back/neck on the trampoline itself. I am so grateful that I didn't hit the metal railing. My children are not allowed to play on the neighbor's trampoline.

When my brother was 6 he was in and out of the hospital. He was there for weeks and weeks one time. A dear friend of ours did the most amazing thing! She took activities and put them in manilla envelopes with a date. He could open one per day. That gave him a surprise to look forward to. They included coloring books, activity pages like dot-to-dot, sticker sheets, and on December 1, he got an advent calendar. Nowadays this would be financially feasible thanks to the dollar store. : ) But it was incredibly thoughtful and made things a little bit easier for him (and my mom!).

My kids are 8 (ds) and 13 (dd). They get paid $1 a day each if they do every single chore. If they miss even one, they don't get their dollar. They have a chore list on a white board and mark them off as they go...we use the honor system although sometimes I do a quick check for things they don't like to do thoroughly. Daily my ds takes out the trash, helps dd empty the dishwasher, feeds the dog twice, wipes down the bathroom counter and toilet, does a livingroom pickup in the evenings, picks up his room (must be vacuum ready every single day), makes his bed, and does personal care (teeth, shower etc.). Daily my dd helps empty the dishwasher, either sweeps the tile OR dusts the livingroom depending on the day, picks up the livingroom, helps me put away school stuff, helps me take care of the chickens (but usually does this on her own), cleans bedroom, makes bed, and personal care. Dd also does odds and ends as I ask...that is why her list is shorter. She helps me in the kitchen and things like that. They also are both completely responsible for their own laundry-washing, drying, putting away. My husband does his own as well, I do my own and the household towels and sheets. This makes it so much easier to manage the laundry! Everyone's goes from their room, gets washed and dried, then straight back to their room.

I hope you got a lot accomplished! I have done half-nighters until 1 or 2...and I have also done a family cleanup day where I direct everyone. (My family hates those...lol)

:D:D:D

,

When I felt like my ADD was controlling me, I used the index card system that is described in this book. http://www.amazon.com/Sidetracked-Home-Executives-TM-Paradise/dp/0446677671 It got my home under control and gave me a sense of real accomplishment. I used it for quite some time. As far as supplements, getting my amino acids balanced really seemed to help. I don't remember which ones I started adding to my daily vitamins, but a google search may turn up something for you.

We have switched from rice grown in the U.S. to rice grown in India. My dd is dairy and nut allergic and was drinking Kirkland Rice Milk from rice grown in the U.S. So I switched her to coconut milk. I don't think we will be able to avoid aresenic rice entirely, but we are definitely eliminating it where we can.

:crying: Praise God for the emotional release. Now perhaps some healing can start. I am so sorry for the loss of his dear sister. :grouphug::grouphug:

Your girls sound so sweet and fun!! My dd (13) wears eye shadow that is just a touch glimmery...almost the same color as her skin. It helps her feel older without necessarily 'looking' older. Powder is a great idea...Bare Minerals is a good brand. I have very sensitive skin and can wear it without issue. My dd cannot...it gives her trouble. If you have a Bare Minerals store near you, they will give you a good sized sample so you can see if it will affect her skin negatively. Pressed powders give me lots of trouble. but my dd can use them. lol :)

:grouphug: :crying:

We used to use All Free and Clear but it didn't get our clothes clean enough. When my dh sweats, he SWEATS. His 'clean' clothes were not clean smelling. I've been using Purex hypoallergenic and so far, it is cleaning well. And today I just bought Costco's Kirkland brand sensitive/hypoallergenic (120 loads) so I hope it cleans well.

My dh has done this exact thing...more than once. :)

I am using a 2006 copy and my history study guide only goes through page 63. There aren't any that match World Book Pacific Islands. So I'm thinking when they came out with worksheets for World Book, they stopped including info in the history study guide...? You know what I DO have is the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer answer key. ( I don't have the student pages.) And it includes info on the P.Islands...a map, facts about the islands, and some cultural info...would that help?

I wouldn't even want to be a fly on the wall when those Westboro freaks have to stand before the Lord and be judged for their reprehensible behavior. ...and to think that the people being mourned died fighting for freedom that Westboro enjoys. So, so backwards.

Oh the poor dear! :grouphug: I'm glad you were able to get her in.

Agreeing. We pay all our bills during the first part of the month and grocery shop once a month. It takes some getting used to...it can be hard to spread out what is left after all the bills are paid. There have been some months where we end up broke a week before payday because of odds and ends that come up.

:grouphug:I am so, so sorry. :grouphug:

:grouphug: btdt. Sunday night I was overly harsh with my ds8. I still feel bad.

That same thing happened to us just a few months ago. Even if the reason is legit, like for insurance or appraisal value, I find it odd that they wouldn't knock and let us know what they were doing. As soon as I stepped foot outside, they burned rubber out of the driveway. Very strange and creepy.

Our neighbors would probably be more than happy to use our land to graze their horses. That would work during the spring when there is rain and the pasture grass grows, but during the summer it would have to be irrigated...therein lies the problem. :) Our irrigation system is not up to par and it costs too much for an upgrade at this point. Even after the rains stopped and everything died off in the summer heat, the weeds somehow found a way to thrive and we have to keep them down. I have heard about a lot of folks in this area renting/bartering their pasture.

In choosing our current property, zoning was a bigger part of the decision than size of the lot. We ended up with 9 acres with no restrictions (except we can't have a dairy). And I wish it were 5 acres or less because we won't be raising a steer or sheep for meat. It is a LOT of space to care for. Just weed control alone is big part of the work. We actually were contemplating selling it and getting a 3 or 4 acre lot, but we just love it out here in the wide open space and few neighbors. So my advice would be to purchase 5 acres or less OR be willing to fence off and use part of a larger lot, while being okay with letting the rest of the acreage go until you find a use for it. We cannot let any of our acreage go because of fire danger. We have to keep the grass and brush down. Don't forget to take into account: the cost of fence posts and fencing, a quad to get you to the furthest reaches of the farm, irrigation rights if you will be needing it, a small tractor with a mower attachment or riding mower that moves FAST, and a way to remove snow/maintain your own road if you end up in the boonies. Some of these things are issues that we didn't think about and the $$ add up fast. lol