Peela, you're a naturopath?? My ds is seeing one now; that's why he's on the elimination diet. Would love to hear more from you.

I can't believe it's been that long! Wendi

I have fond memories of seeing the older movies in the theatre. I still enjoy watching them. The newer movies are good, but I think I will always like the older ones the best. I do like how they showed Anakin's story. It is so hard to watch Episode III; the whole time I am saying, "No, Anakin! No!" My ds is a major Star Wars geek; he also really likes the Clone Wars animated series. His favorites are episodes II and III, because he really enjoys the clone wars. He spends most of his money on action figures. We quote Yoda all the time here: "Do or do not. There is no try." Wendi

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (note: some adult content) Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters anything by Jane Austen, but especially Emma The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams My favorites (off the top of my head): Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Perelandra by C.S. Lewis (helps to read Out of the Silent Planet first) Doomsday Book by Connie Willis Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Wendi

I thought I'd give you an update of how our day's going. To recap: for the next 2-3 months, ds cannot have yeast, cane sugar, rice, chocolate, milk or cheese, chili peppers, millet, zucchini, mushrooms, bananas, grapes, olives, papaya, pecans, black or white pepper, sweet potatoes, quinoa, tomatoes, or yams. Whew! Breakfast: 2 hardboiled eggs 4 homemade muffins made with honey and soy milk (mmm) dried apples Lunch: natural peanut butter and sliced strawberries on tortillas orange juice So far, ds is happy with the food and not starving to death! :D Dinner will be chicken, broccoli, and couscous. If anyone has any great recipes for pancakes with no dairy or cane sugar, let me know! Wendi

I'm working on #6 (Economic Facts and Fallacies by Thomas Sowell). I better hurry up!:driving: I'm going to pick up #7 from the library today (gotta love interlibrary loan!): Making the Mummies Dance: Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Thomas Hoving. Doesn't that sound cool? :001_smile: Wendi

Our laminate floor wasn't hard to install overall; the hardest part is that we were doing our whole downstairs, which involved bay windows, doorways, and other obstacles. So measuring and cutting angles was the hard part. In a more regularly shaped room, it would be a snap. Wendi

Income taxes go to the federal government and fund federal programs. Sales tax goes to state and local governments. Property taxes go to local governments. The gas tax pays for highways and transportation improvements, both federal and state. I wasn't trying to start anything here. As I said, I was just correcting the misstatement that everyone who works pays income taxes. If someone is saying everyone pays TAXES, well, yes, they do pay sales and other taxes. But about a third of people pay no income tax, and many of these actually receive money when they file their taxes. This came up before, when we were all talking about how much we owed or received on our income taxes. I was just clarifying, that's all. Wendi

I have not made a single comment about the OP and her situation. I just wanted to correct an erroneous comment (that everyone who works pays taxes). This doesn't enter into the OP's situation at all, IMO, I just noticed people saying this during the previous discussion about taxes, and now it is being said again. It's incorrect. That's all. Wendi

[quote name=Michelle T;131903 The OP has a working husband' date=' and so they DO PAY TAXES. Michelle T[/quote] This came up before, when people were talking about taxes and refunds, and a couple of people have mentioned it in this thread. I just want to gently clarify that not everyone pays (income) taxes. It is quite possible, in fact likely, that the OP and her dh do not pay income taxes, as he does not have a high income, and they have many children. Many working families actually receive money each year when they file, because their credits (EIC, child credits) add up to more than they owe based on their income. I just think it's important when we talk about taxes that we are clear that not everyone is paying them. A pretty large percentage of people (30%?) pay no taxes at all. Wendi

I found one of the cookbooks, and some others that look helpful, at my library website. I'm going to stop by there tomorrow to check them out. I'm still feeling rather stressed out this, but I know it will be okay. Wendi

I was looking online for soy milk brands, and some of them contain sugar or brown rice syrup! This is going to be tricky. I am getting stressed. Wendi

I KNOW someone can help me here! Please?? Wendi

Okay, we got ds's test results back from the naturopath today. There are quite a few things he's sensitive to, including: cheese chocolate/cocoa milk rice sugar tomato yeast These are the tough ones. He's also sensitive to zucchini, millet, and a few other things I think it will be easy to live without. We are at the coffee shop right now, where I had them make up a strawberry smoothie with soy milk, and it rates a big thumbs up from ds.:001_smile: The yeast sounds like a hard one to avoid. Is it possible to buy bread products made without yeast? Or will ds be eating a lot of tortillas? :confused: I know we can substitute soy cheese and milk, and try carob for a "chocolate" taste. But sugar? :001_huh: :eek:I guess we'll be baking our own cookies with honey, huh? Any help? Good websites? Encouragement? :001_huh:Thanks in advance. Wendi

We moved to AZ from FL four years ago. Our family is back in FL. We LOVE living in Arizona! We love the weather, the hiking, the views, the varied geography, the access to things like skiing and sledding in the winter. However, we plan to move back to FL sometime in the next few years. The primary reason is dh's mom. She will be 80 in September. She's vibrant and active, and in good health, but I know that things can change quickly when you're in your 80s. She has a son who lives just a few doors down, so she does have some help. But we want to be closer to her. We would definitely miss AZ, and hate the humidity in FL, but it's important to us to be close to dh's mom as she ages. She's unable to travel out here. Wendi

It was delicious! We ate sooo late, though. I took a long nap after church, because my allergies were really bad. Making the cake (carrot cake from Ree's blog - mm) took a little longer than I thought it would. When the timer was going off for the cake, dh came into the kitchen and turned it off. I took out the cake, and a few minutes later, I put in the turkey breast. I now realize that dh had turned off the OVEN, not the TIMER. An hour later, I realized I didn't smell the turkey cooking, and, well, you know the rest. When we finally ate, though, everything was delicious! Thanks again. Wendi

We moved from Florida to Arizona four years ago. We got out and hiked, read books, went to educational programs at the park/library, etc. We did things we couldn't do "back home". We thought it was a great adventure! We learned to really love living here. We also got very involved with a church quickly, and joined a homeschool co-op that sponsored a lot of field trips and activities. That helped us make friends quickly. Wendi

Okay, so my allergies are really bad today. I baked the cake, then I put the turkey breast in the oven. An hour later, I just realized I didn't smell the turkey breast cooking yet. Hmm. Yes, you guessed it. I must've turned the oven off when I took the cake out. So the turkey's been just sitting there for an hour! I turned the oven on. Is it going to be safe to eat?? Wendi

My own ds is challenging, and I highly value the adults who work with him, spend time with him, invite him to their homes to play with their kids, etc. A little over a year ago, some good friends of ours moved away. They were the main family in our village! :crying: I wish we lived close by!:grouphug: Wendi

Here's a variation on the first one that drives me nuts: family members who will open the dishwasher, look in, and call out to me (wherever I am in the house), "Is the dishwasher clean or dirty?" :confused1: Wendi

making money (mostly dh, although I have a part-time job temporarily) paying bills (dh) budgeting (we do this as a team) mortgage/loans (discussed together) home repair/maintenance (dh) banking/investments (both of us) taxes (me, using Turbotax) car care (mostly dh) health insurance (dh) scheduling (making/keeping track of) (me) phone calls or correspondence re: all the above (mostly me) teaching/school work or homework (me) discipline (planning and implementing) (me more than dh, just because I'm with ds more, but we do discuss it) spiritual guidance (who actually carries it out, not just the "head") (again, me more than dh, just because I'm with ds more) kids mornings (me) kids bedtimes (we kinda take turns) transportation for kids (mostly me) grocery shopping (me) laundry (me) eating at home (me) eating away (pack lunch, etc) (me) daily chores/cleaning (really need sub-categories!) (mostly me, but dh will pitch in) lawn care/snow cleanup (dh) garden or bed maintenance (dh)

I taught Spanish this year at co-op, and included Mexican culture and holidays. We read aloud a children's book about the Day of the Dead, talked about remembering loved ones who have died, and colored a picture. I don't have any problem with learning about the holiday, and the idea of using skeletons and skulls as decorations as a part of it. But I don't see the purpose of spending a whole month on a holiday from another culture! Do they spend a whole month on Thanksgiving or Memorial Day? Wendi

My dh and I will save all we can for ds's college needs, and he will need to either (1) get scholarships, (2) work during college, or (3) both. We are teaching him not to use debt for anything except perhaps a house. Wendi

:party:

Thanks again for all the recommendations about vacuum cleaners. I finally decided on the Eureka Boss Smartvac. It was $139.99 at Costco. The cool thing is, I was able to return the vacuum we bought there about 6-9 mos. ago for store credit! Did you know Costco had such a great return policy? I just told them we aren't happy with it, and they took it back, no questions asked. If I had had my receipt, I could have gotten a cash refund. Instead, I got store credit. I was very pleased. Since I was returning our $200 vacuum for a $140 one, I also splurged on a Electrolux Pronto 2-in-1 for downstairs. It's a rechargeable cordless stick vac with a built-in "dustbuster". We have all Pergo downstairs, and I don't like lugging the heavy vacuum downstairs all the time. So the Eureka will be for the carpets upstairs, and the Electrolux for the hard floors downstairs.:hurray: Wendi