You may also want to look into a product called Tick Tubes. They are cardboard tubes filled with cotton balls treated with insecticide. They targeted at mice to interrupt the tick life cycle. Might be a good adjunt to trapping. Sandra

My mother inherited some land with mineral rights in Miss. Oil company wanted to drill. They sent her an offer. A family friend happened to have oil producing land in Texas and he took one look at the offer and referred her to a lawyer. Apparently standard procedure is to give you a really low offer, make it sound like a deal, and get you to sign. You have nothing to compare it with so you need an expert. If you are ok with the drilling then find a oil and gas lawyer. Good luck with this venture, Sandra

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I'm going to look at the options you presented. I heading to a conference next weekend and I hope to be able to put hands-on to some of these texts. LoF didn't work because ds just wanted to read it, not do it. He really liked it, but didn't really learn the math. I may get LoF geometry as a nice overview for him. It may eventually be just the thing for dd. Sandra

Sue in St Pete, Thanks for your post. I will take a closer look at Discovering Geometry. Sandra

My ds is finishing up Foerster's Algebra. He has worked through it independently this year, after a rough start with Life of Fred and Aleks Algebra. What would be a good geometry program for a kid who "got" Foerster's Algebra? I'm really looking for a textbook with a solutions manual. Geometry was my favorite math in high school so I think I can handle any problems that come up provided the help requests are occasional and not constant. Discovery Geometry and Jacobs seem popular. He will probably end up going to college for a technical or science degree, so we do need a strong program. Thanks for your suggestions! Sandra

Thanks for your responses. Today, we are not sending him (still possible to change). We have revamped his curriculum, dropped some things, and are trying to add opportunities for more social interaction and more intellectual challenge. He has had testing - years ago - and did not have any other problems but ADHD. My DD has ADD, my DH has ADD. No surprises here. I am so used to interruptions and distractions from them that I can hardly think straight myself. sigh, Sandra

It turns out that my DS is bored with home schooling and wants a huge change. He wants to go to a rigorous Catholic school. We are not Catholic, however that it not what bothers me. His beliefs are solid. It is the rigorous part. History: DS has ADHD, is right-brained, and was a late reader. He is gifted (IQ>130), however it shows in his conceptual understanding of topics, not the mechanics of a subject (poor grammar, silly math mistakes). He now (8th grade) reads well. This is our second year of Algebra (third curriculum) because if I don't sit on top of what he is doing, he slacks off. If he gets stuck, he won't ask for help. He is the kid that just doesn't want to do school. He doesn't like to work. Period. I was used to this and working with this. Now: He is bored. (This is all by observation and inference - he doesn't talk about internal stuff, though he talks incessantly about other things) I have cut back the subjects that we do *so many times* because he can't get them done in the hours in the day! He is not a fast worker! Every fall I plan with great expectations, only to have him unable to get the work done. I can definitely see why he would be bored, but I have been providing him with as much as he lets me! The school is pricey - though cheaper than most other private school around here. There go the family vacations. Extended family will help some. He and I went to the open house last night. Freshman homework is about two hours a night for an average kid because, "the teachers know you are transitioning to high school and so they take it easy on you." The bus leaves at 7 am and he'll get home around 4pm. I am impressed with the school, the staff, the kids, the facilities (oh, the science labs made me envious!). They even have some organization helps for ADHD kids. But (1) this schedule for the DS described above? and (2) why should I give up family vacations and other little comforts for DS when failure chances are high? (3) I don't want his confidence crushed. Yes, we are the parents. We can choose to send him or not, regardless of his preferences. However, I like to be able to explain my decisions and I'd prefer to present DS with mind-changing arguments. What have we not considered that may be affecting his decision? Thanks, Sandra

Note that melatonin pills come in a variety of dosages. We use 1 mg pills with our kids when they need it. DD's neurologist mentioned that dosages in melatonin - even those rated the same by the same manufacturer - differ widely from bottle to bottle. So when you get a new bottle, if it seems too strong or too weak, you are not imagining it. Just adjust your dosing accordingly. It does really work. We find it take 30-60 minutes to kick in for the kids. Sandra

Some people just memorize facts better than others. I was very surprised to learn that my DH still had a few multiplication facts that he hadn't memorized! Both my kids had difficulty. With both, I held things up trying to get the facts into their heads. Eventually, we just moved forward. Because math concepts build on each other, kids continue to practice their facts even as they are learning new concepts. The facts do become memorized in time.

Three ideas: If you soak your beans all night and they still don't get soft when you cook them, try adding a bit of baking soda to the water. It will fizz. I have to do this where we live, even though it is county water and not a well. Fats really add to the feeling of satiety from a meal. When you cut back meat, make sure you keep or even add good fats - eggs, butter, olive oil, coconut oil, even lard. Fats also carry flavors better than water-based broths. Easy two-meal tortilla soup: Put a whole chicken in the crockpot, cover with water, add salt. Let it cook all day. For dinner, remove the chicken from the broth, add salsa (something with smoked tomatoes is amazing), cooked beans, and corn or posole to the broth. Season with "mexican" spices. I like oregano, garlic, and cumin. Remove some meat from the chicken, shred with a fork. Add soup to bowls, add shredded chicken, top with crushed tortilla chips. If cheap and available add cheese, avocados, more salsa, etc. You have most of a chicken left to make a casserole the next night. I also do something similar to make chicken curry, but I use coconut milk and indian-type seasonings and toppings. Good luck!

I'll just pipe in that investing in a decent keyboard will serve a beginning piano student for a while. At least a year - two, and that if you have a very talented and driven student. Our piano teacher has students who have taken lessons for years with a keyboard at home and not a piano. That said, newer pianos have better, brighter sound than old pianos. Placing the piano on an interior wall, away from drafts, and providing a (relatively) constant humidity can reduce your need for tunings. We keep a humidifier in the room with the piano during the winter. Sandra

We have been drinking raw milk for a couple of years and never had a problem. Raw milk is actually more resistant to "bad" bacteria than pasteurized milk. I second the cooler and ice packs, though. It goes sour (not bad, just sour) more quickly if it doesn't stay really cold. You can use the sour milk for cooking, but it is not really tasty to drink. This site has many helpful links on raw milk: ttp://www.farmtoconsumer.org/raw-milk.html Sandra

My ds has had similar issues with Algebra - we are on program #3. The problem was (IMHO) intellectual laziness. He was used to "getting it" with little effort so when he actually had to work and really think, he retreated to memorizing algorithms without understanding the underlying methods. We started with LoF. It wasn't sticking. We tried an online program. Better, but not complete. Finally, we are using Foerster's. I think the fact that he has no "help" button and that *I* am checking his work (not just his answers) has made a big difference. Also, I require 100% scores on small problem sets, 90+% on large problem sets - to break the habit of getting "close enough". I'd suggest a textbook for her and a solutions manual (not just answer key) for you. She needs to break some bad habits and gain confidence to do it on her own. It may happen faster than you think given all the previous exposure to Algebra that she has had. Good luck, Sandra

My ds(14) was a horrible speller, late reader, etc. His spelling improved a great deal when he started typing on-line with friends while playing games. The incentive to make oneself understood is huge. I also found that time, time, time is a huge help. Their "spelling brain" matures more slowly. I see it also with my dd. Sandra

We recently began playing Taboo. You try to get other players on your team to guess a given word *without* using certain obvious clues. For example, I might try to get you to say "skid" without using the words road, drive, wheels, or car. I can feel it stretching my brain when we play. =) We really enjoy it and like to play with my parents, also. If the kids don't know a word, we skip it.

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) has a recipe section. http://www.foodallergy.org/recipes We have been gluten free for almost a year. The adjustment is difficult. However, if your friend is not allergic to nuts, there are many good quick-bread recipes using nut flours. Just Google around a bit. We are nut allergic, so I can't help you there. Sorry. Sandra

I have been using SFG for 3 years at a community garden plot. One of my neighbors had this great idea for heavy trellising: hog fencing. At least that's what they call it at the farm store. I bought a 12' section and cut it into two trellises. It is strong enough to support melons through a major thunder storm. I tie it to U-bars with heavy wire. The problems I have are ants, ants, ants. They get into everything. Anyone have any good ideas? Sandra

A note on the Alexandria Embassy Suites: my mother-in-law has been staying there every visit for *years*. She is a real museum hound and loves how easily she can get to the metro and downtown to the museums. She is 80 and still finds it very accessible. I think you'll have a great time. Don't forget the Building Museum! Sandra p.s. She doesn't like to stay with family because she wants to maintain her independence.

My mom had problems for years with recurrent kidney infections. They were greatly reduced when she began taking cranberry extract and probiotic pills daily. Also, Dr. Kayla Daniels recommends using a rinse of kefir after you bathe to try to get good bacteria in your urinary tract from the other end. =) I don't know anyone who has tried this. Beware the overuse of medicines that treat the discomfort of UTI's and kidney infections. The pain is there to let you know you have a serious problem. Permanent kidney damage is a real possibility if you don't treat these things. I hope you feel better soon, Sandra

I have two with handwriting problems and a third that I work with for other classes. Sometimes an alternate grip on the pen or pencil can really help with legibility and with ease of writing. There are a number of alternatives. One of my kids really felt improved comfort by resting the pencil on the webbing between the index and middle finger. Then directing the pencil tip with the thumb, index, and middle fingers. I'm sure you can also Google other grips. I found this one in a book on self-improvement for handwriting. Good luck, Sandra

I find that I have been using the directions and maps quite a bit. However, I have downloaded some aps for my kids to use when we are out. There are a number of French vocabulary drill aps, spelling drill aps (I like Spell Down), and math games aps. Also I purchased a graphing calculator ap for less then $5 rather than spending over $100 for a graphing calculator. I also have Boggle, Sudoku, and WhirlyWord for fun. For organization of have a to-do ap which pings me when I am forgetting something. Good luck and have fun, Sandra

My dd (10) did CogMed last year from January through April. She has ADHD with Short Term/Working Memory issues. She enjoyed it for the first week, but then it got difficult - tears of anger were a regular occurrence. We actually quit before the end of our "support" contract. I did not feel we got our $ worth at all. I didn't see any lasting progress and the psychologist who was supposed to provide support was worthless. The Wii Big Brain Academy game seems to provide very similar exercises with less stress and more fun. Sandra