Thanks for the ideas! They are great! I just thought of doing a family movie night at the church. We can charge a small entrance fee and then sell snacks. How do you think that would go?

My family going with a group from our church to Trinidad for a mission trip. We will be running a Bible camp for local children. We are needing ideas for fund-raisers. We are already sending out letters and doing a meal at the church. We have a wide variety of ages in our group- youngest is 4 and the oldest is in his 60's. We also have a wide variety of skills. What ideas do you have for me?

I haven't read all of the responses so forgive me if this has been said. This worked for my eldest when she started waking up again at night to nurse and she was a lot younger then what you are dealing with but it's worth a try! She would normally nurse for 6 minutes and then be done. I took a little clock in with me and would watch the time and after 5 minutes, I took her off and put her back to bed. After several days ( no more then a week for her), I then went down to 4 minutes. I gave that several days and knocked off another minute. Eventually, we got down to 1 minute and she stopped waking up for it- it wasn't worth it to her any more. I also did this with my younger one when I was trying to get her to sleep through the night. It took longer with my younger one- I had to wait about a week between each time change. Once we ran out of time, I had to go in and pat her back briefly before she was willing to give up. For both of them, it was very easy and less traumatic on both of us then stopping cold turkey.

:lurk5:

Do heirloom seeds count as open-pollinated seeds?

My library does have that book! :D I've requested it- thanks for the tip! Anyone else out there with some tips for me?

I'm not even sure of the right terminology here so I hope I explain this well! I'm wanting to plant my vegetable garden and then harvest some seeds to save for next year. Problem is, I have no idea on how to do it. Are there any good books or websites that could help me learn?

Change of plans! We are going to do a family mission trip to Trinidad as our family vacation! I've been wanting to go for about a year but hubby had been hesitant to agree due to money. He just decided that we could go and use our vacation money to help and raise the rest of the money!

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Our church does a family mission trip each summer to Trinidad. I've been wanting to go for about a year now but hubby wasn't enthused about it. I've tried to keep my mouth shut and pray that God will handle hubby if He wants us to go! The other morning at breakfast, out of the blue, hubby gave the ok to go!!!! I'm so excited- we'll be going this summer- all 4 of us as our family vacation! Now, for God to help us with the money!

I haven't read all the responses so this may be a repeat. My youngest had one winter where she was constantly sick. I started doing smoothies several times a week- fresh fruit, YOGURT, frozen fruit and some juice to keep it smooth. That made a huge difference! I also give the girls a vit C/zinc gummie bear when I see that they are starting to get sick- I don't know how much good it does but we have had a fairly healthy winter this year. One other thing, have you consider her getting sick due to allergies? I have bad allergies that tend to turn into sinus infections. Shots have helped a lot with that.

Open-pollinated? What does that mean?

It sounds like hubby likes the idea of Mackinac Island! On our way up there, we are going to stop and spend a couple days at Cedar Point and then drive up to the island! All you Michigan people, I need your best websites/recommendations for the area! Where do you recomend staying on the island? Anything we MUST do while there? Any restaurants/stores you LOVED? Also, any place we need to stop and visit on the drive up there or home?

Where do you order your seeds/plants for the garden? I'm looking for mainly vegetables! Thanks!

Thanks Mrs. Mungo! I feel better now- we will make it through and no children will be harmed while hubby is gone! :001_smile:

Hubby left for a few days on a business trip yesterday. I woke up this morning to one broken computer and one flaky computer. One sneezing cat and another cat sneezing and watery eye. I'm missing $40 and a jar of applesauce. My eldest has been iffy on her health since Wednesday- she is still coughing, congested, low-grade fever but jumping off the walls. My youngest is no running a low-grade fever and is congested, plus she has a weird itching rash on just one cheek but she is acting totally normal. Are the kids sick or not? Do I take them places or not? On top of that, my eldest just purposefully pooped in her pants.:banghead: She is currently scrubbing the floor that she dropped the poop on when she was cleaning herself off. I REFUSE to clean up after a 6 yr old behaving like that! I hope I can make it the next 24 hours before hubby comes home!

Me too!!!!! I hate dealing with it all. I just want to get in and get out. My wonderful girls ask me so many questions that it is hard to concentrate on what I need to buy and the best price but their questions are so good that I have to answer them. Then, I get home and I'm always missing several things on my list because I was busy talking to them! Something I've tried lately that makes it a bit better- I give each girl their own list (I also write their list on my list) and they help me get the things on their list. They now have a purpose other then behaving (and asking questions) while we shop and it does go quicker!

How far is it from Traverse City, MI to Mackinac Island? If we were to fly into Acadia National Park, what airport would you recommend? It's about a 20 hr drive- doable but long! I'm sure I could places along the way to stop and explore though....

So many places and they all sound wonderful!!!! We don't mind driving and spending a few days here and there- so that is another option to consider!

Maine and houseboat are both fun ideas! So many places- so little time and money! :D Jennifer- Is there a beach on the island? What time of year is the best to go? We don't mind going off season if the weather tends to be nice!

So many great ideas! We are close to Michigan so that is also doable! I would love links to look at! Mackinac (sp?) Island sounds wonderful too! It's so fun to dream right now- hubby hasn't given us a budget yet so I'm going to enjoy dreaming about all the potential places! :D

Is Ocracoke the place with the wild horses? We went to Sandridge, VA a couple years ago and LOVED it- that is definitely on the table! A cruise sounds like fun too!

Hubby says we can take a vacation this year!!!! Now to figure out where to go! We don't mind driving or flying (if the price wasn't to unreasonable) but would like to stay in the US/Canada. We love the beach and we enjoy hiking. The girls are younger so not a ton of museums. An amusement park one day might be nice but tend to enjoy more nature type things. We love zoos and aquariums. I do not want to camp but don't mind renting something with a kitchen for cooking meals. What are some of your favourite family trips that we might enjoy?

Have you tried playing some classical music? It seems to help my girls calm down and focus a bit more!

My 6 yr old LOVES to read and can read fairly big words. The problem is she reads so quickly that she doesn't truly comprehend what she is reading. When I ask her questions about what she has read, she can not answer simple questions. We've tried reading out loud and her reading to herself. I allow her to pick what she wants to read (with my approval) so I know she is interested in the book. Any ideas on how I can get her to slow down and THINK about what she is reading?