I'd love to toss a lighted match into my kids' rooms.

yes... this is what I meant... would this book make nutritional info accessible to my teen? (I do believe she could handle an adult book if I could survive the moaning. I want something to make it simple.)

:iagree: (however I do love the Little house series, I just dislike read aloud time. It turns into "pester your siblings into a wrestling match" time)

I am trying to come up with accurate nutritional information written to perhaps a 7-8 grade level. I disagree with the classic "food pyramid" school of thought. I believe we rely entirely too much on starches in our typical American diet. this is what I believe, however finding a book that backs me up that might be written so that my 13-14 yo dd could "get it" is difficult. Anyone have any suggestions? (it is necessary to have a book where an "expert" says it. Since I am a lowly mother, I know nothing.)

first of all:grouphug: this must be devastating to you as a parent. and it is something that my dh and I considered when having children because there is an x-linked genetic problem that leads to near blindness on my side of the family. We really worried when my son was small that he would be unable to see very well at all. I watched my Granddad and my two brothers deal with this. The good news is this. My Granddad lived a successful life. He worked for the Electric company (I am not sure what he did) He never drove a car, but lived in a an area where he could bus to where he needed to go. My older brother is in his early thirties. He will never drive but he is working on his PHD and aspires to teach humanities as a college professor. He's played a variety of musical instruments. He too has always lived in places where he could walk or bus to where he needed to go. He's married and they are expecting their 2nd baby. They are hoping for a boy, so that the genetic issue won't be passed. Their first is a girl, so that (on the genetic level) was a little disappointing to my brother. (he was hoping to stop the transmission of the disease to further generations) We considered the same thing when considering our children, but I came to the conclusion "would the world really have been better off if my granddad or brothers never been born?" my answer was "no WAY!" My younger brother is in his late twenties and still single. He owns his own internet business from home and is quite successful. He lives out in the country but close to my dad who can drive him places he needs to go. He is a talented trumpet player. Both my brothers attended small Christian schools and were able to participate in limited ways in sports. They were able to do lots of extra curricular stuff that they would not be able to do in a larger school. My dh knows a fellow at the place he works who is completely blind. When people get off the elevator, they always say hello and tell him their name so he will know who is there. (from what my dh told me I think he may be a receptionist) You are living in a great time for your son to have a disability. There is so much technology to help them. My brothers got college scholarships. Again:grouphug:. This is a difficult thing to deal with. But it is not something that will destroy his life. Yes your son's life will be different and more difficult in some ways...but he will have a wonderful life.

I'd sew a drawstring bag out of a cutesy fabric.

I would say that they were ideal with that outcome!

wishes 1. my dd would stop having temper tantrums and being argumentative. 2. I wish I had the Bewitched lady's magical nose ,s o I could wiggle it and get my housework done. 3. I wish the sun would come out and it would be warm! Lunch is a bowl of southwest veggie soup leftover from last night.

:iagree:

aurgh...now I have to pick which shirt to get....there are just too many choices.... I like this one....http://www.cafepress.com/+white_tshirt_im_an_engineer,113301295 for my dh.... I like this one... http://www.cafepress.com/+organic_womens_fitted_tshirt,372412234 and http://www.cafepress.com/+light_tshirt,408587930 I LOVE this http://www.cafepress.com/+there_their_there_not_the_same_womens_light_t,257383779 and this one http://www.cafepress.com/+cow_pi_womens_cap_sleeve_tshirt,167840787 how to decide....

chickens?

I also found that making my kids eat apples whole(not peeled sliced or cut up)(when they are old enough) is more satisfying than peeled sliced and diced. I think because it takes more time... and nuts in the shell, they eat less of than shelled nuts. Again, because it takes more time to consume them, I guess their brains register full more quickly.

have snack times, and meal times... breakfast 8 morning snack 10:30 lunch 12 afternoon snack 3 supper 6 dessert 8 These are the only times that they are allowed to eat. Make sure they are getting protein at each meal (I know it is a pain for serve protein at breakfast when it is easier to give them a pop tart or whatever but it is so worth it)! I dumped the sugar cereals. We now have raisin bran type cereals and it made a HUGE difference not only in their hunger but in their behavior and attitudes. Snacks are fruit, nuts, yogurts, cheese sticks, peanut butter amd crackers, carrots, etc. They get junk 1x a day, that is dessert time...this could be a sweet, chips, or sometimes a cupful of "junky" sugar cereal. Once they know the routine, all cries of hungry are answered by "well, you have x minutes till snack/meal time. " Continual whining means..."you know sometimes people eat when they are bored. Are you bored? I can find you a job to do so you won;t be so bored." I do save meals of children who continually don't eat their meal, and then cry hungry. I then offer the remainder of the uneaten sandwich, if it wasn't that long ago that the meal was over. However if it is less than an hour before their next food time, I usually just make them wait;

your yard would be a cinch....my dh and dd and I mow about 2 acres, and parts of it have our orchard on it....Total yardwork time is about 4 hours.. dh trims, and does the driveway, ditches, etc. I push mow around the trees and sidewalks, dd does the big open areas.

I don't have one...what else could I use to pound my steaks?

one thing I appreciate about our church missions trips is that the kids WORK for the opportunity to go. They do fundraisers for 2 years to pay for the cost, and yes, they do take attendance and require all participants to help. My dd has worked really hard for this chance!

IDK about legality, but even with a down payment, I'd bet it would be difficult or impossible to find a bank that would lend to him. Getting a loan is very tricky nowadays.

My oldest is going to have a hugely busy summer VBS, which she is required to teach in so that she can go on the summer missions trip Church camp..... Missions trip with the youth group Then she found out that she got a scholarship to 4-H design camp. After all that activity, she's finding that she will only have 2 whole weeks of "summer break" She's glad about it though. My dd, age 9 is going to church camp for the first time too. The rest of the time we will be relaxing, gardening and enjoying ourselves.

I see alot of mistakes that my parents made..I've been trying not to make the same ones, but I am sure I am making lots of different mistakes. They loved me, provided physically for me, and gave me the tools I needed to be successful and think for myself. They did the best they could with what they had at the time and the backgrounds that they had. (I do wonder what my kids will tell their therapist when they are grown.) OP if you need a break, it is all in how you term it. "Sweetheart, I love you to pieces, but I need some time alone to be a better mom. In a few hours we will have dessert and game time, but right now I need a break. Would you like to do a, b, or c with dad while I rest?"

:iagree:

I never send them in to clean at the same time. E, go pick up all your stuff from your room. M. when she comes out go pick up your stuff. Usually they have to go in twice because when the sister gets done, there are always some things that the other one missed on the first try. They have their own dressers and are not supposed to put their junk on sister's dresser.

here;s how I do it/plan on it... age 13 she can wear 1 item of makeup at a time...whatever she wants, just one item.... age 14, she can wear 2 items at a time.... age 15, 3 items at a time..... and so on. ( i don't count nail polish or lip gloss. My girls wear those as soon as they want!)

i don't know how you feel about chemicals but there is a product called Preen that is a preemergent. It will kill all weed seeds in the soil...bad things is you have to pull all the weeds out before you put it down. It lasts for about 4 months before you have to reapply. I use it in my flower beds but would not use it where I planned to grow food.

UPDATE! Yesterday evening was really fun... dh came home and we headed out with our youngest dd to the field where we had a new bull calf. Baby calves have to be tagged (for identification) and banded (castrated), and we have to do it the first day or two or they cannot be caught. So we ended up kneeling in a wild rose thicket (HUGE thorns) while messing with this calf and dealing with an angry mama cow. Then my dh and dd walked the field, while I fixed supper. We all ate and dh and the kids cleaned up while I showered. Dh and the kids had a wrestle which ended up with my dh getting busted in the nose by my ds (3) 's hard head :). After that we all worked on a puzzle and it was pretty much bedtime. We all enjoyed our evening very much! Thanks for all the suggestions!

my kids love the I spy books and the Can You see what I see books.