Was it "Thorium?" An RO unit under the sink for your drinking water should do the trick. I would talk to a few suppliers of residential equipment in your area to see if that is a common practice. But you can buy an RO system from a home improvement store. It's a simple plumbing task to install, should only take a pro 1-2 hrs. I would also test your water "before" and "after" to make sure whatever you use is effective. As with everything, not only the contaminant, but the amount you have in the water is very important. Uranium can have long-term health affects. Good luck.

Suggestion - visit an herbalist, or a nutrition specialist, or even a chiropractor. They can recommend nutrient supplements to promote healing, that the regular MD can't or won't due to bias or ignorance. I have been helped greatly by my chiropractor regarding nutrients, where my MD would tell me, "take a pain pill." Just my experience, FWIW.

Feeling your pain..BTDT...trust me, when your kids are older you will see the fruit of your labor now (you probably already are!). Pray that Grandma gets opportunity to see it too and give you proper support...took my Mom a looong time to come around, but now she's there, PTL. I try to give "the elderly" a pass on their "strong" opinions. It's an opportunity to practice grace! I'll bet she means no harm...

LOL! Guilty as charged! I love this thread! Books, books books (history, languages, math, science, literature) Balance, microscope, terrarium Musical instruments - piano, guitars, accordian, clarinet Multiple computers Kitchen cabinets covered with childrens' artwork. Counter tops covered with seasonal projects (rock collections, germinating plants) Catalogs!!! Dead giveaway. Ours is an OLD farmhouse, very small closets, smaller than average rooms (by American standards). Dining room table is primary flat-surface for writing/computational work. One living room (no family room) 3 BR for 6 people. We don't entertain guests formally, and anyone who visits knows what to expect.

I work in water treatment industry (industrial not residential) but know for a fact that residential water treatment is fraught with scammers...a little more info would be helpful to prevent needless spending. City water or Well Water? You are in Idaho? Any well-known issues there? (I am in midwest, our well water is hard as a rock). What are your objections to your current water? Hardness, iron stains, odors like sulfur (rotten eggs), chlorination (if city water), general saltiness, Color? The type of system you get depends on your issue. FWIW I have a Kinetico water softener with RO for drinking water & an iron filter. Very pricy but extremely robust and trouble-free after 12 years.

Thank you all, these suggestions are very helpful...will be discussing w/ DW.

I like my Blackberry Pearl Flip 8230.

If you've IDed correctly, be careful (bee careful? sorry couldn't resist!). European hornets, after they build their nests can be EXTREMELY aggressive in late summer/early fall. If you see any more, I recommend a professional to find and remove/eliminate the nest. Also look around the outside of your house under eaves/awnings for a nest...If you have an older house they could nest between the exterior/interior wall spaces. Don't mean to alarm...I'm suggesting reasoned caution, not panic!

Our favorites Dinner Tater tot casserole (google for recipe) Barley stew Spagetti w/meatballs Chicken bake Stir-fry w/ wok (start to eating/cleanup less than 1 hr) Crockpot (whatever will fit) Breakfast PROTEIN is filling and lasting...scrambled eggs.

Especially if your kids are young, my wife has done this for me: Cheap polo shirt from DOLLAR GENERAL - $10.00 Fabric (waterproof) paints and marker - $5.00 Hand prints of little ones w/ childs' names - 15 minutes plus cleanup :-) I've gotten one almost every year, in good times & bad. Made me so proud I wear them to church that morning!! Don't bother with cards, IMO. OR Let him sleep in. Let me be blunt a second, no offense intended, but he might feel bad if you take grocery money for his gift (taking food out of my kids' mouths), or forego a meal but watch him eat heartily. Sounds like your man, like most, take TONS of pride in providing for the family. Don't take any of that away from him. Good spirited men would rather die (for real) than lose your respect. I'm sure you & kids will make his day great!

Agree w/ chart idea. I use a day planner. Take time to plan (but the time I use to plan I could be doing stuff???). NO! Planning pays dividends later! Something someone else said while I lurked here, that really spoke to my spirit, was avoiding what they called "stealing time." For instance, it's time to prepare breakfast at 6:00 am, but, I'll just watch TV for a minute first...or surf the internet...oops now it's 6:30 and everyone's hungry and I'm late...When I broke this habit, it REALLY helped...e.g. work time is for WORK. Chore time is for CHORES. School time is for SCHOOL, free time/recreation is for FREE TIME/RECREATION. Also your DD can pitch in w/ household chores (if she doesn't already). More goofy tips... Prepare 3-4 meals at once (e.g. bake lasagna, tater-tot casserole & a meatloaf...next 3 days of dinner - done!), do all dishes while cooking, one cleanup. Sort dirty laundry by person...mom's basket, dad's basket, each kids' basket, linen basket, BR towels basket. Assign a day of the week to each person to avoid pileups. Sorting is easier w/ dedicated baskets. Get clothes out of dryer fast to minimize ironing. Schedule rest time. Even my 14 year old still has "nap-time." All the kids go to their rooms after lunch for 1 hr or 1 1/2 hr "break" to read, quietly play games, sleep if desired (rare, only 5 yr old still sleeps), get away from each other (if needed) or tidy up room. Gives my hard-working wife her "break/alone time" she needs as well, to recharge for the 2nd half of the day. Don't waste energy beating yourself up if the "wheels fly off" your day. It happens...at home, at work, on the sports field, it's part of life...just try again tomorrow. Hoping this helps,

I ran CC in High School & College (in the 80's...wow long time ago). Race times are affected a lot by the course (hilly or flat, pavement or dirt path or grass or wood chips, lots of curves or straight) and weather conditions (really hot, muddy and cold, raining, snowing, - yes, I've raced in the snow!!). For girls at a 5 K 23-28 minutes is respectable/competitive. Also some parts of the country seem to incubate great runners, so that can affect her competiveness. The best part about CC is that you really are racing yourself...go to enough meets and you learn fast that some people are just faster. But you can improve and work at it and enjoy the progress. As an introvert, I LOVED the sport...lots of alone time. And even with average athleticism, by working hard you can make great progress and compete...for example, I was terribly slow my 1st year, but by the time I was in college I was good enough to make varsity, div. I my senior year. Try finding some open road races that are 5K in length (typically on weekends, usually they are a charity-type event, rotary club, save the city park, American Cancer Society, etc.), costs are low $10-20 typical, anyone can enter, and you'll get a t-shirt. 5K is a looooong way if you've never done it. That should give her a dose of what to expect. Good luck.

Scanned fast, sorry if repeated, but can you talk directly to the child, and appropriately set her expectations w/o dwelling too much, e.g. "by the way, if there's any special food you want, bring it with you." At 16, she ought to be able to make her own meals anyway, if needed. Agree with other posters, try not to make it all about food...good luck, hope it's fun.

"Is this a "standard" policy now? Should it be? OR, should it be based on verbal dialog with parent/s and/or visual observation of child? My dd JUST turned 11 and does NOT know what s** is, we haven't studied biology yet in science. Even so............" I think this is coming from AMA or American Pediatrics Assoc. I too share the outrage as a Christian, Homeschool family with "traditional, biblical" values regarding sex, purity, and marriage. I think they're obnoxious questions for an 11 yr old. Is the AMA pushing a "liberal" agenda? Or responding to a reality that sex among minors is increasingly common? Chicken/egg thing. It's common bureaucrat policy..."we have to ask everyone, blah blah." You were well within your rights to decline to answer. But I think your DR. was just "doing his job," for the sake of the potential abuse victims that are out there. Once I got a question when I brought in my 2 yr old for checkup, "do you have guns in the house?" I also declined to answer...she didn't ask whether we had a swimming pool (pool accidents kill more kids than gun accidents). But public policy agendas are creeping into healthcare all the time in US. Expect more of this in the future.

Strongly encourage you both to enter a basic obedience training class. One of the first basics often taught is "how to accept praise," or simple greeting of strangers, with restraint and not aggression. It will cut down on accidental bloody noses ;-). FWIW, good obedience training is as much for the owner as the dog. It will equip you to be in charge of your dog, communicate consistently and clearly, and be firm but fair with discipline. Recommend the book, BEYOND BASIC DOG TRAINING by Diane Bauman, or http://www.dianebauman.com/home.cfm Also, remember your vet is a "medical" expert, not necessarily a "behavioral" expert. S/he may know both, but not guaranteed. Talk to a local kennel club as well. Good luck...you CAN fix this, but you need some resources.

of course, talk to vet, but you might try a different feed? Are you using dry, wet, canned? Do you give the dog treats? A mix for senior dogs? Have owned several dogs and the feed can vastly affect their "output," which in combination with the other factors (physical age, medicines, senility) could be causing the issue. Had a dog once that had a stroke...lived another six months happily, but walked sideways a lot, and we had to increase her "going-out" frequency to compensate for potty issues. Good luck...it's hard to see any loved ones get older...

Speaking as a man...boys rib each other a lot and almost never take it personally. Your DS is a starter (I presumed) and a good player...the slight error made him look human to his teammates. I ran CC in High School and we relentlessly teased each other, esp. after a poor performance, but every one of us would have dived on a grenade for a team-mate. I understand that to women the behavior can look bizarre, but I think it's very normal. Often the harsher the teasing, the better liked you are. If your son took it personally, I would encourage him to be self-deprecating and not take it too seriously. It should blow over fast, probably right after he throws out someone stealing second in the next game!

Any experience with Home Schooled DC in developing musical talent, up to and/or including any commercial enterprises (writing songs/lyrics, performing, publishing original work)? Any hints regarding outlets for performances and sharing work, working with professionals, workshops/camps, getting material copyrighted, just about anything...Looking to prepare them if (Big IF) they want to pursue a career when they're adults.