Since they have nice sleeping bags, how about a nice air pad? Not an air mattress, but a pad that self-fills with air and is very comfy, light weight and compact.

I am number four Super 8 Lake Placid

and now she is being taken to the hospital via ambulance (she fainted a t work) and she suspects the flu. WONDERFUL!!! I shared everything with her yesterday--- sodas, dinners desserts!! Waiting to hear what the Dr's say. oh--- I am a chaperon for the children's field trip tomorrow--- waiting to see if I need to cancel.

For us, RA time does double duty as free art time!! There is clay, coloring books, pencils, markers, water colors etc... As long as they are listening (not talking or getting up) I will continue to read. It started off as giving them something to keep their hands busy, but has turned into a really great thing--- lots of good pictures and learning happens. I also get into the books myself and change voices and sometimes cannot stop until the story is over. Other good reading times are in Dr offices and other "waiting" times. Also miner were allowed to listen to books on tape at a young age (because I was too lazy/tired to read to them before bed) I think that helped to foster a love of being read to.

Internet hugs just don't seem enough sometimes Here: I bake brownies (no carbs of course) and draw you a bath (with the really nice smelling stuff) and I hire a really non judgey house cleaner for the day.

Lafayette is REALLY far from the Springs I can't help you but wish you well.

Yeah--- really messes up my plans for mowing the lawn tomorrow.. Oh well...........

look at this--- learn something new every day http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams_n_1097840.html like the part about why we call them yams-- Hmmm wonder if I could actually get some real yams here....

What I am talking about is called a garnet yam here--- it is longish, has dark skin and is orange on the inside. A sweet potato is not as long, looks more like an actual potato and isn't orange on the inside-- more yellow.

Yams yes!!! (not sweet potatoes) I am fairly certain there is a big difference between the two. I eat them all the time as a dessert/after dinner snack. Bake them and drown them in butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. The cinnamon is also good for regulating blood sugar. I must add they are not super low carb, but they are low on the glycemic index, which means they don't raise your blood sugar super fast. and the butter makes that slower. So for a treat, they are alright-- sometimes.

My favorite way to cook a pork roast: grate an apple melt a 1/2 stick of butter finely grind about 2 inches of fresh garlic mix all with about 1/3 Cup of brown sugar Cut 2 inch holes in the meat and stuff with mixture (at least 3 holes) meat and rest of mixture in a ziplock and let rest for at least 1 hour (better if 2) put in a covered, oven proof dish (corningware) cook in a medium oven until reaches 165.

People these days are trying to be special in anyway they can. They are reaching for anything to belong or to stand out. I think it takes many forms--- background, or race or medical affliction-- or perhaps just a country club. sometimes it is a genuine feeling of belonging to a group, sometimes I think it is merely to feel close to something.

I can most of the laundry but the sock sorting is done maybe 2 times a year. I really hate sock pairing. If I had the money I would buy all new socks, and have them labeled for each child so I could stop having to examine each sock and figure out their mate and owner. ** sigh** I just have a basket in the middle of the living room as a permanent fixture and let the people dig. After that it would be the clutter of "important" things I have no idea what to do with.--- rocks that are "really cool" or bottle tops, or weird things found on walks. I usually put them in a basket and clean out the basket every now and then

I don't mind dusting either!!! I just don't ever do it.

I had a friend with the same problem She took a washcloth and cut it into 4ths and gave one piece to a child and made them clean the entire toilet area (mainly the floor and seat) and told them that was their permanent job. One child on each day of the week. It magically became better

I use a magic bullet for my morning coffee. It doesn't make the mess that a blender does and it has it's own cup (with a handle) and a lid for storage if I don't finish it all. I have come to really love my magic bullet!! -- of course I got it at Goodwill for $5 so I didn't have to really make too much of a decision to purchase it!

I sometimes change things up by making hot cocoa 1C milk 1T cocoa 1T Coconut oil 1T butter (or heavy cream) 1 tiny tiny scoop of stevia heat up in a pot (I usually make 3 cups worth at a time) Great for an after dinner treat I also will use any leftovers the next morning 50-50 with coffee, blended.

Try having a "bullet proof coffee" in the mornings with a small breakfast of bacon or sausage,--- just leave out the butter or use something else high fat. Basically 1 cup of coffee, 1T coconut oil 1T butter (or ???, or nothing and use 2T coconut oil) Blend in a blender until frothy. My breakfast combo -1egg, 1 slice of bacon, 1.5 C coffee---- keeps me going for hours and I don't feel hungry or get any sugar ups and downs. The only thing I have real issues wit, with a LCHF diet, (at least for me) is that when you run out of fuel, it isn't gradual you are out of gas and done-- I have have to be better about making sure I eat on a schedule and have lots of easy to make fast food/snacks-- I usually have some sort of cooked meat in the fridge for a fast and easy snack,

Sometimes when I have yeast issues and I do something that rubs that area, it will cause some light bleeding.

With the stakes being so high (money and college future) I see the parents doing this--- but I think the tide will turn and colleges will smarten up and look for people who have some scrapes on their record. to look for character traits instead of perfection.

Daily mail did a decent job on this story http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429747/Brian-Holloways-house-trashed-4-300-teens-trashed-NFL-stars-house-help-fix-up.html

Well, I don't feed the dog outside and I don't have any birdfeeders. The car..... I guess I'll have to do the ammonia trick and get it into the garage-- there isn't any food in it persay--- just old food smells I would assume (I do after all have 4 children). DH takes the trash to work at least three days a week and I will have him step that up. I looked at the neighbors bird feeders and they look fine, just empty. I would NEVER send the dog out to "get" a bear-- that sounds bad in so many ways. I am getting the impression that Mr Bear has been in the neighborhood for a while (someone mentioned seeing something that could have been a bear earlier this summer) It DOES make me want to stick my tongue out at the neighbor that complains about Finley's barking!!!!!!!

Oxi clean????

A camera is not in the budget.

My daughter (who is super smart and watches documentaries by the hour) looked out the front window and said she saw bear scat. I googled images and it really looks like bear scat. I called the Div of Wildlife and from the verbal description, he seems to think we have a bear. The dog went crazy two mornings ago -- but nothing last night. The guy from div of wildlife said that if the bear was downwind the dog wouldn't know it was there (and Finley sleeps in the children's hallway) - Finely did go wild circling the yard this AM. But it sounds like the bear has been coming and going for a while so he may be used to it's smell in the yard. Oh BTW--- we live within 1/2 mile of 2 grocery stores, a Walgreens, Starbucks and Home Depot ....... this isn't the boonies.