Warm, healing thoughts to you and DH!

I would love to send a square, but I don't know how to sew - at all. I paint, sculpt, other art forms, but no thread. May I contribute to the quilting or shipping cost?

:grouphug: :grouphug: Troubled, violent teens are scary. So sorry your family is dealing with this. Do you live in an area where the police can cruise by and check on things at night? Just if they are not busy, just to see if all is well, from the street?

I think it was in the $100 - $150 range. $118 popped into my head first, then $139. Something like that. I think. Not terribly helpful, huh? It's on Overstock.com for $99 right now.

(Annie G - so glad your hubby is better!) DH and I say this, too. Not about him, but me. I am grateful every day when I take my *ton* of Rx meds, plus the boatload of supplements that the doc has me take. I am grateful that I can walk up and down our stairs again, that we didn't have to buy a wheelchair friendly house as the neuro told us to do 10 years ago, that I can parent and homeschool, and ... live. Being grateful for one's health must be relative to one's situation or one's past. :) Though I do think it's funny that there are days that I simply feel profound gratitude that I can tackle the mountain of laundry. Really, of all the things to inspire gratitude! When I hear someone say to be thankful for your health, I tend to think, like others, that they have either lost someone or are ill themselves. Or maybe they just don't want to hear us complain about ... whatever.

But ... Congrats on the potty!!!!!! Yay!!!!!

Oh no. I don't think the DW is a good idea. Ours were part of an outdoor project a few years ago, and a tower was, ahem, water blasted. Though they were left in the sun to dry, they have wrinkles now. I fear a DW cycle would peel off the stickers under the finish entirely. What about... Hmmm, wiping with a disinfecting cloth somehow? Or trying one block in the DW first? Ick. What a conundrum!

When our AC was out over the summer, we had an impromptu vacation. We stayed at a hotel on Embassy Row, and it was nice. Clean, great service, great view, kids loved the pool on the roof. Metro close by. We had a blast. It was not expensive, I can try to get specifics for you, if you want. One more plug for art here. The art museums here are at the top of DS's list, always. The Building Museum is fun too, and often missed. And we love the zoo!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: How very painful. I'm so sorry.

Oooh, I wish I had a website to recommend! I don't, but just had to jump in here and say I grew up camping in a pop up and it was fantastic! Always a blast, though I do look back and realize how much work it was for my Mom! Whew, she's a trooper. You are going to have so. much. fun! As an adult, I ended up doing more primitive camping, backpacking... You would never believe how many members of my family are thru-hikers and have completed the App Trail. Wow. And my degree involved field work in the middle of nowhere... So that camping background really paid off. You never know, you might be contributing to the kiddos' future in that way! (Seriously, the others on my team always loved that I could start a fire in the rain, if necessary!) Have fun!!!!

Thanks! That's enough info to make me think it's worth an email to them to ask about their policy. I *think* Trader Joe's is fairly good about labeling for "may contains" - at least, they were once upon a time. So there's a good chance Aldi's is as well. It's worth a shot! If not, I'm only out some time.

I have never been to Aldi's, but would like to try it. Can any of you Aldi's addicts :) tell me if you know about their labeling policies? We have food allergies and are very careful about cross contamination, which is why I have not ventured to Aldi's. Do they label for "may contains" or "produced in a facility that also processes..."? Thanks for any info!

Ouch. Feel better soon.

We love Discovering Great Artists, too. This year we've been using Home Art Studio, and DS loves it. Easy to implement, and he does it independently.

Sorry, just realized I didn't address your question at all... Fortunately, DH participates in the extracurriculars here. So I rely on him when having a rough day.

Sending hugs! I don't have a large family - only 3. But I have health issues. It's hard. It ebbs and flows, and we are grateful for the good days. I think illness can give us a deep sense os gratitude for daily, normal life. On the bad days, I try to remember that my kiddos are learning patience, compassion... We manage, but sometimes we have to stay flexible. Be gentle with yourself. I can't find the hug icon on my phone, so just sending warm thoughts...

Yes! This. We love USAA.

Oh! I think you can get renter's insurance with them, or homeowner's. Also, auto and life. It may not help right now, but it would definitely be worth comparing with your current rates - could be a pleasant surprise. We are not military members either. :)

Do you have an iphone? USAA has an app to deposit checks. You just take a picture of the check (both sides) on a black background, and it's immediately in your account.

Evening exerciser here - it's the only time I can make it work. I shower afterward, but my hair is short so going to bed afterward isn't a problem. I still prefer a shower in the morning,to get moving, but that doesn't always happen these days, so at least I get the evening!

These are great ideas! Reading and TV will make me sleepy, too... Unless I have a really great book - then I'll happily stay up all night. But there's a likelihood of dozing off, so I don't want to risk it. Decluttering and organizing sound appealing - uninterrupted time is a rarity, right? Painting - now that is a great idea! I am going to dig out all the touch up supplies and do some touch up work tonight! Baking works, too, but the question is... Will I eat it all to stay awake? I might try a new video game, and/or just stay up all night here! You'll all wake to see a million posts from me. :)

How would you spend the time? I have to stay up all night tonight, as a medical test in the morning requires that I'm sleep deprived. Fun, fun. No coffee, ack! So I am trying to plan my night. If I focus on reading, or anything that involves sitting down, I'm afraid I'll fall asleep. Which means I need to stay up and moving. :) I'm thinking it might be a great time to ... organize the garage? ... clean out cabinets? ... sort and organize curriculum? DH is voting that I take down the Christmas tree, but that's a job I detest, so I'm hoping to find another activity! I would rather clean baseboards than do that! What would you do with a required all-nighter?

I love, love, love this thread! All the recommendations for Mary Hunt and the Tightwad Gazette really take me back. Great advice there. We used to use the Quicken App (no longer available), and I adored it. Like a PP mentioned, it had categories and we could allocate funds each month to each category, then see how much we had left in each category. Loved it. Since that app is no longer available... We have floundered. I'm going to check out some of the apps mentioned here to see if there's something that might work now. Yay! We also did the system of using one card per month that we paid off at the end of each month. We tried different techniques, including transferring funds to savings every time we used it. It's dangerous though, and a slippery slope to overspending if you are good at justifying purchases. Staying focused and keeping on track with it took discipline. But we did earn enough points to take care of Christmas shopping! One fun thing DH and I did when we started out trying to live below our means was to challenge each other to come up with 100 ways to save money. Our lists had a lot of overlap, but they were inspiring, helpful and some parts were hysterical!

We've gone with a similar approach, also coupled with the book It's Not the Stork. Great book! My DS reacted similarly to the above story, and I do think I'd approach that differently, too. It is somewhat funny, now, to remember the silence as he thought for a moment, flipping through the book, and then said, "You mean I'll have to learn to do this?? How will I learn?" Overall, though, we just keep all talks on this topic very neutral, matter of fact.

Anyone doing a No Spend Feb? We have that planned (as usual) ... Jan is a birthday month for us, and any spend-free plans are out for us. Our spend free Feb is the month we try to eat out of the pantry and freezer, buying only fresh foods as necessary. No major purchases, no fun purchases. No eating out. Aaaack. I admit to hating it! At least Feb is a short month. :)