Oh yes, and I love, love, love it! It's semi-local to me. Great company, great flour!

That was dh's big sign along with urgency/frequency, and loose stools. Lactose free options didn't really make as much of an impact as cutting it out completely. The best part is that it's easy to figure out. :0) try cutting itout completely and see if you feel any better. Once the symptoms subside, you can tey the lactose free options to see if you tolerate them.

Most people overeat protein, so unlike another poster, I thought your meals sounded like they had plenty of protein. My suggestion would be to start tracking what you're eating in something like FitDay to look at basic nutrient ratios and the like. Some folks recommend 1g per 1lb of body weight, but I'd err on the more conservative .5g-.75g per 1lb of body weight to start. Make your oatmeal with water, not milk. Try pumpkin pie oatmeal (add pumpkin puree), apple pie oatmeal (half a chooped apple, applesauce, and a small handful of walnuts), carrot cake oatmeal (grated carrot and a tiny bit of nuts, etc. if you really must have milk with your oatmeal, then add a bit after it's made. Skip the meatballs with the spaghetti and instead brown the turkey first and mix it in with the sauce. People tend to eat more meat when there are meatballs than when it's browned and mixed through out. Bulk up spaghetti sauce with more vegetables (greens, zucchini, etc) and stretch one tube of ground meat with lentils or white beans. If you prefer meatballs, then stretch the meat further with grains/bread crumbs or go with a meatless one (Happy Hebivore has a good recipe). Add in more fiber and starchy veg. Focus on that for snacks instead of pricier protein options. I know the popular thing is protein/fat, but we've found that grains/fiber/starchy veg are far more filling because they trigger all of the sensors in your stomach for satiety. Don't discount the humble potato. Per pound it's pretty darn cheap. Top it with cottage cheese, steamed broccoli/greens, red pepper sauce, hummus, beans, salsa, etc. My dh and son will eat two, but I find one plenty filling. Help kids discern between true hunger and boredom. Encourage them to slow down when eating so they don't miss the aigns that they're full. Go with the dirty dozen for organic and buy conventional for the rest. If you only buy organics for milk, the either cut the milk down or go with a non-dairy alternative. Soy, hemp, cashew, coconut are all options besides almond milk.

I'm sorry you're going through this. It won't help now, but perhaps when the exchanges are up and running things will be a little easier? I know in states where they've been working on it costs are coming out quite a bit cheaper than the hullabaloo elsewhere. Open enrollment on the exchanges starts on October 1st. Since Texas elected not to run their own program (neither did Wisconsin), you'll go to the federal website - https://www.healthcare.gov/what-is-the-health-insurance-marketplace/#state=texas. It'll tell you what you're eligible for under the new law at that point. It's going to function much like enrollment periods for employer based coverage so you have to sign up during open enrollment or you'll have to wait until the following year unless you have a qualifying life event. It sounds like so little, but maybe it will just be a matter of hanging in there. Or moving out of state? Ok, so probably not that last one.

We use HO - I like SOTW, but imo it's colored a bit on the Christian/Western/Great White Men of history. HO has some really good secondary resources that even that out a bit and make our history study more diverse. A number of the secondary resources I've found in level 1 are out of print, but you can either get them used on Amazon or find them at the library. There are quite a few books listed for each lesson and picking can be a little overwhelming, but like anything, use your editor's eye and knowledge of your child and adjust accordingly.

Daiya definitely, but with a couple caveats. I think it tastes best in things (like a burrito or the inner layers of lasagna) where it can melt completely. It's also good on top of chili, but again the chili is hot enough temperature wise to melt it. The better flavors are the pepper jack and cheddar respectively. We weren't too keen on the mozzarella. We didn't like it on top of pizza so much, but I think we'd like it better if it was on long enough to melt, but not enough to brown. I also thought it made a passable quesadilla, but again it was inside something and well melted. Follow Your Heart is another highly rated alternative. My grocery store stopped carrying the Daiya shreds in favor of the wedges so I picked up a bag of the FYH for my next batch of vegan breakfast burritos, but I haven't tried it yet.

Silly dp

Oy the dp.

It was tongue-in-cheek. Boats are expensive, run i to problems, and you find yourself having to "put anther $1000." Horses, as you said need to eat and get sick. See the tongue-in-cheek comparison? I can't afford the eat and get sick part. Hence the no horse part. Not meant to be taken that seriously. I got the saying from another horse owner when I asked about a ballpark figure when dd started asking for lessons and the for her own horse.

Yes and no. As another poster mentioned there is a great deal of muscle memory/stamina involved. That being said, my daughter does twice monthly lessons. Hers run $30 for 30-40 minutes. They say they are "group" lessons, but since she's 5yo, they have the horse on a long lead and she has her own teacher while the other riders work with the other instructor. Dd's made huge progress since she started and while I'd love for her to go more often, twice monthly is the top of what we can afford. Our stable is pretty flexible and understanding, though. It's not like they'd kick us out if we had to go down to once a month. I can't afford the chunk of money up front since I take the $30 out of my grocery money for that week, but our stable offers a buy x lessons get one free sort of deal so I'd ask about that. Trail rides are for tourists. No practice rides - that's what lessons are for. I suppose if we had our own horse it would be different, but my understanding is that horses are like boats and since we can't afford to "put another $1000" into anything the two riding lessons dd has each month is it.

lol...From what I can remember of the mini take apart series someone did awhile back, the "starts with" part isn't even the worst of it. It's possible it might be AirPlay-able, but I can't remember the first year for that. A Genius Bar appointment is the other option if you're having problems or want someone to old your hand in person. There is some value to that if it helps you feel more comfortable.

Apple's office suite includes Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. You can buy a Mac version of Microsoft Office, but Apple'sprograms are a tiny fraction of the highway robbery Microsoft charges so we just use the iWork programsinstead. It did take some getting used to at first, but at this point it's second nature. My iWork program icons sit in the dock at the bottom of the screen, but they could very well be in the applications menu. You'll find that on the bottom of the screen off to the right typically. It's usually the trach bin, the documents folder, and the applications folder from right to left respectively. Yes, you can transfer files - very easily in fact. We just loaded all of our old files from our Dell onto an external hard drive, connected the drive to our Mac and copied them over. It was really rather quick and painless. My follow up questions - How are you trying to open things on the desktop? Which mouse do you have? Is a desktop or a laptop? iMac, mini, or laptop? Following Erin's directions, what are OS is it running?

We have Travelers and both the homeowners and auto renewed this month. We pay monthly and the increase was something like $14/mo. A rate hike like yours would have me looking for a new insurance company and (most likely) a new agent.

Dh and the kids (3,5,8) went to visit my in-laws Tues-Thurs. It's two states away so it was a quick trip to fit in with dh's work schedule. Two long travel days plus a full day visiting. They didn't get home until 9pm Thurs night. I've tried naps for the younger two, but that was a disaster of epic proportions. The oldest and the youngest get up so darn early that sending them to bed early only ends up in them getting up even earlier (like before the sun comes up). It's Monday night and they're still at the whining, crying, grouchy post-trip phase. I know it was a crazy three days, but am I unreasonable to have expected them to recover more since then?

This week? It was actually this morning when I was out of the ouse anyway for a kid dentist appointment, but usually I just take everyone with me. Sunday morning is great because all the churchgoers are at church and the store's a practical ghost town. Of course, if you're the church going type that probably doesn't help. I always figured taking the kids with was a great way to teach them life skills, introduce them to the many wonders of the produce department, and get a certain amount of buy-in on the kids' part come dinner time. I get it, though, it is much simpler to go on your own. In that case I'd either do it at night while the family is sleeping or delegate to your partner.

Yay!! What a great opportunity for you. :0)

We will follow the law. And yes, my carseats are installed properly. And no, I don't think it's safe for my 8yo to be out of his booster seat let alone my 5yo. As for the carseat lobby, really? They're failing big time considering how little I've spent spread over all the years my kids have been in carseats. Backless boosters for the older set aren't exactly huge income streams. They're like...what, $20? 8yo/4'9"/80lbs is the state law. Ds is 8yo, he's 60ish lbs, and under 4'9". Most importantly, if he doesn't sit in the booster, the seatbelt doesn't fit him properly so booster it is. End of story. I really don't care what other kids think. We wear bike helmets. We wear our seatbelts and our kids are in carseats/booster seats whether it's popular or not. It's the same attitude my parents had. I survived any short term embarassment. My kids will too.

Nope! ;)

It worked for my ds as well. I'm fussy about belts (and carseats) and was keen to watch that when he switched. It did not work for us as a backless booster, however. When ds was tall enough that we couldn't adjust the upper guide up high enough to be within the guidelines of the seat, we tried it without the back, but the shoulder belt ended up in an odd position. I vacilated between no booster, booster, going back to the HBB before finding a different Graco BB that worked. I think the key is always to try the seat out with your child and in your vehicle. There's enough variation that what works for me won't work for you. The Nautilus is just a good place to start.

This website has an image on the bottom that talks about what went wrong with each cookie (http://theperfectchocolatechipcookie.com/instruct.php). It's also got a good tutorial/recpe for chocolate chip cookies. :0) I love that they include weight measurements. Ever since I started bread baking, I find I much prefer to go by weight - less chance for error that way. ETA: Here's another troubleshooting/experimenting one http://www.handletheheat.com/2013/07/the-ultimate-guide-to-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Pilot Metropolitan it includes a converter, but you can use cartridges. Personally, I love Diamine Eau de Nil. I bought mine from Jet Pens, but my favorite place is Goulet Pens which has more helpful videos than you can shake a stick at.

I believe the limits on the Graco Nautilus WITH the harnes are 52" and 65lbs so there still should be quite a bit of use out of the 5pt harness. From there you can use it as a high back booster (getting compliance with proper seat belt usage is ime less of an issuewith a HBB) and then a backless booster. She'll grow out of needing a seat before the seat will expire. I think you can figure at the bare minimum another three years if not more. My state requires a booster until 8yo or 80lbs or 4'9". With a smaller/shorter child, I think I'd probably err on the side of the height guideline with an eye towards how the seatbelt fits the child. In that case, I suspect for you it might be on the longer side. The big concern being how the shoulder belt fits and where the lap belt crosses her body. Too high and you're at greatwr risk for abdominal injuries. You'll just need to use your judgement. The Nautilus is around $140 - even if we go with a conservative 3yrs, you're talking not quite $50/yr for the carseat which really isn't all that much. If it were me, I'd probably be looking at 4yrs at least. Sometimes it's nice to amortize the cost out over the life of the seat to put the initial purchase price in perspective. :0)

Brother has a wireless printer/copier similar to the HL-2270-DW that I saw at Staples a couple of weeks ago. I think it's the 2280? Not sure if this matters, but it's not AirPrint compatible. However, Printopia will turn any printer into an AirPrint printer for only $20.

This is also a good point even though it doesn't apply to the OP. On Graco's the expiration date is on the bottom of the seat. My midwife always thought this was hogwash, but the plastic breaks down and it always seemed like a silly way to save money, imo. :0) If the child is still in the infant carrier then a rf/ff convertible seat would be a great purchase. If it were me, I'd plan on purchasing two more seats, a rf/ff convertible and a HBB/BB (like the Evenflo Amp). If your dc was older then you could probably get away with a 3-in-1 like the Graco Nautilus.

The 1yr 20lb guideline (much like the current 2yo guideline - http://www.healthychildren.org/english/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/car-safety-seats-information-for-families.aspx) was always a bare minimum and was never meant to be a hard and fast "rule." I don't buy the walking bit either - we're talking about the ability of a child's spine to withstand crash forces, especially when it comes to side impact accidents. This website (http://www.thecarseatlady.com/car_seats/rear-facing_seats.html) has a good discussion of the physics involved and why rear facing seats are safest. Generally speaking we err on the side of caution and wait to transition our kids at each point until they meet the height/weight limits of the seat. So, for example, my 5yo is still in a 5-point harmess (Nautilus) and will likely continue for another year or so. My 8yo only recently switched from a high back booster because he exceeded the height limit of his Nautilus. We switched my youngest forward facing earlier this year. She was 3yo and around 30lbs. We have a MyRide65 and could have conceivably kept her rear facing for a bit longer as she still had room height/weight wise. For a bit of perspective, my kids are usually at the top of the growth charts - tall with long torsos. I understand the budgetary limitations, but I also think it's important to consider the cost per year - for instance I think we spent $150 on ds's nautilus and he easily got five years of use out of it. I think the MyRide 65 was something like $180 and my dd's been in that since birth. So, three years so far and I suspect we'll get another three out of it. That being said, there's always a limit to one's resources and there are good seats out there that will let you rf for quite a bit on a small budget. The Cosco Scerena will rf to 40lbs and has a pretty tall shell. I believe it's around $40.