Random thoughts: Try them out. You could request someone who has worked with other clients that have health issues but that may be unnecessarily restrictive. Check their certifications. If they are well trained and you communicate freely with them you should be safe from injury. Report when something hurts vs when it is challenging. Don't do it if it hurts. Even if they say. Other than that it will be about personality and training style. Do you need a cheer leader or a drill sergeant or somewhere in between? You can always change. I lucked out and have used the same trainer for a couple of years (with breaks).

Corrugated plastic sheets. Like heavy cardboard boxes but plastic. You can buy them from sign making places. I took the huge election signs the day after the election 8 years ago and got them for free. They are very versatile, waterproof, and last quite a long time.

Thank you for even more good ideas!

The shelter is a short term shelter that emphasizes getting families jobs and homes. The kids that are there now probably won't be there in 30 days so they don't do wishlists.

Thank you for the ideas. I asked the shelter for ideas but they didn't have any.

I don't know the COL but Tortolla BVI is nice. A friend's parent had a house there for years. There was access by ferry or plane. They sold after the father had a second heart attack bc they didn't want to be so far from high end hospitals.

Dd's 4- H group is collecting gifts and making cards for the teens in our local family homeless shelter. Anyone have any good ideas? After earbuds, I'm at a loss. Thank you!

We looked into it when replacing our gas water heater. We didn't get one because the new regulations require that the larger models meet higher efficiency standards and to do that we would need bigger exhaust pipes that the tanked water heater had. The cost of putting in the new exhaust was prohibitive. This won't be an issue if your water heater is on an accessible, exterior wall. Ours wasn't.

OneStep has great ideas. I'd suggest taking community college classes but not towards a goal. Just have him explore. My ds did this and it helped him validate himself against a non parental yardstick and find what interested him. My only rule was there must be a math class bc I have strong opinions on math skills getting rusty. I think it's normal to feel doubt and anxiety when the world is saying, "pick what you want to do for the rest of your life!" There's nothing wrong with taking a wide variety of courses as he considers this. In fact he will just be better educated.

I just finished the first 30 sessions. I really, really like it. I have noticed I feel better and am more focused. I bought the 12 month package a discount. It is so totally worth it for me! I downloaded it to my dd's iPhone for her to use, too.

I suppose it is possible that the kids have developed a psychosomatic response to school work. I'd suggest gently treating the symptoms and requiring that some school work get done. Sore throats can be treated with warm tea and honey or lozenges. Tummy aches with peppermint tea or candies. Of course you could also use actual medicine such as Motrin or something. You may also benefit by considering why they find school work so onerous that they'd rather be sick. Last possibility: if you use a particular room for school work maybe they are allergic to something in there?

Do you have your windows open? Close them and run the whole house fan, through a good quality air filter. If you have a hepa filter run it in his bed room all day with the door closed. Remove things from his room that generate dust or hold on to dust and pollen or mold spores that get in: rugs, curtains, stuffed animals, books. Pets kept out of the bedroom. Shoes and coats/jackets kept out of the bedroom. Shower and shampoo every night before bed -no getting in the bed before the Shower. If you can give him a super low allergen bedroom you can at least start the day well. Do you know what he's allergic to specifically? Nasal symptoms can also be caused by reflux. Test it by giving a long acting antacid for a couple days but not Zantac. Zantac effects allergies so it won't be a good test. I hope you can find some relief for him.

My ds hopes to transfer here next fall but not for aerospace so I don't have anything for you. Sorry. I did study aerospace engineering myself, back in the 1980's at TAMU. At that time I thought those that persued graduate degrees did so after working in the field a bit. Perhaps directly from BS if they did a co-op program.

The lack of estrogen can make the opening to the urethra loose and floppy which allows bacteria to enter. If this is the cause a low, local dose of estrogen can help. She'd have to weigh the risk of the estrogen versus near constant antibiotics. Also certain probiotic strains have been shown to help.

Here are some ideas about creating better teachers: http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21700385-great-teaching-has-long-been-seen-innate-skill-reformers-are-showing-best

My BIL shared this video with us when he visited. It had me crying bc I was laughing so hard. It's actually only audio but it's on YouTube. Search The Best Meal I Ever Had at the Salt and Pepper Diner. I'm grinning like a maniac just thinking about it.

To use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker you want the vent open. Regular slow cookers do vent because their lids are not held on by anything but gravity. I don't think closing the vent will hurt. It will just cook faster.

My dd is in 4-H (3years) and Girl Scouts 11 years). Both programs have their strengths and weaknesses. I like that 4-H lets us choose which activities we do. If Fall is busy for you with other commitments then don't do any fall projects. I also like that it is multi age, for girls and boys, and secular. A family could do 4-H for all their kids and it'll cut down in the running around. I like Girl Scouts for the cameraderie. A good troop has lots of skills and experiences to offer and an all-girl group lets girls take leadership roles without pressure. In both youth groups, the leader(s) of your club/troop make ALL the difference. That's why a large troop that is well led can be superior to a small troop. You are looking for good leadership in the club/troop more than anything else.

Well, I just returned from the 4-h garden. The color guard was practicing again. The coach seemed much better today. Many positive comments. On my way out, I passed by the two moms who were observing practice. One I have never seen before. The other has been there for all the previous practices, but never said anything other than relating comments like, "If you think this is hard, you should have seen when I was in color guard!" I commented that this seemed a much better practice that the last. That mom said that she had had a talk with the coach after the last session. I'm so glad she spoke up for the girls!

I'll second the Dyson. We have the pet version and it handles the dogs fur on carpet or wood floor.

How difficult is the prep? I'm wondering if it would be motivational for my kids. They need to cook more but don't want to plan. If I have to plan I may as well cook. Also can you get nut free?

Sorry I was unable to get back sooner. The coach is not abusive, though I think one particular girl has been close to tears once that I saw. Thank you for your responses. I'm still thinking about it.

So Im at our local Rec Center working on the 4-H garden. The local high school's flag corps are practicing beside me. In the four weeks that this has been happening twice per week I haven't heard the coach say one nice thing. I have also heard him bemoan the small (and getting smaller) number of kids on the team. I think there were 5 yesterday. If I had a dd on that team I'd pull her off and complain to the school. This guy doesn't know anything about coaching. He knows flag drills I assume but not coaching. I probably won't do anything but it just irks me. I'd like to say something, but what and to whom? The coach? The school? Maybe a parent at pick up? It's poking my nose in but frankly the girls deserve better.

Will it work? Dd's evaluator just recommended Learning Ally for her reading. It looks like a great tool. But. She has a real problem staying away from Netflix, YouTube, etc. If I put the Learning Ally App on a tablet can I lock it down so that that is all she can access? The techie in my family probably won't agree to this so I've got to figure it out without him. Any ideas? Thanks Sandra

Do you have a crock pot? Though you could make this on the stove top. Place a whole uncooked chicken in the pot and cover it with water. Add a generous amount of salt. Cook on low for hours. At serving time open a jar of your favorite salsa, a bag of tortilla chips, and a can of beans. Use a fork to remove meat from the chicken and shred it. Put some in each bowl. Let everyone top it with the other ingredients that they like then add broth from the pot to cover. The salsa is the seasoning. Shredded cheese on top is yummy.