:D I'm not a coffee drinker AT ALL! but I like to keep some around for when coffee drinking friends are over. I keep it in the freezer since it's so rarely used! I will look at the Eight O'clock. Thanks for the info.

I appreciate your rant! :001_smile: Good advice!

Is there a store brand coffee that's as good as say Dunkin' Donuts or even Folgers?

OK! Now that's sinful! Wouldn't have been better to lower the price and get SOME $$ vs. none? Or can they somehow 'write off' that on their taxes or something?:confused:

OK! So NOW what? I know there are some things I can cut but we really started cutting a few years ago. What are the basics that you can truly live on and still be healthy?

We use the DIVE math c.d.'s and this year we're using our first DIVE science. I know Chemistry is beyond me and it seems to be working well for dd15.

I'm seeing the same thing and it seems to be across the board. EVERYthing is going up. I was hoping it was just because our Kroger was remodeling and needs to pay for that but I even see it in my Walmart trips. :glare:

going to risk showing my total ignorance, but what is cc?

Thanks for the clarification on this. Makes total sense to me.

Wow! Thanks everyone for the quick replies. I was still spinning from the "Mom, I don't like fiction" and trying to get a handle on the fact that ANYone would feel this way :svengo: We will be hitting the library for other options and pulling out the SOTW for him today.

The only t.v. I watch all week is Biggest Loser. So do I like reality shows? In general, no, but for some reason I like to see people overcome their issues with weight.

lol and :iagree:

I LOVE literature based history curriculums and have learned more than I ever did in school. DS11 came to me last night, after reading part of 'Across Five Aprils', and asked to read 'real' stuff about history, not stories about people that aren't even real. DH is like this but I just assumed it was because no one ever encouraged him to read 'good' books;). Any suggestions? Should I force him to read fiction when he probably would do better with something else? Maybe just SOTW?

:iagree:

Not always true, friends bought a house that's over a hundred years old, lived in it over a year and were informed it's part of a gated type community HOA. There was no paperwork in their closing that made this known but they are being told they have to abide by HOA rules.

:iagree: If I wouldn't drive it across the state without my dh it's time to start looking around. We just replaced our 10 yr. old van last week though we've been looking/thinking about it for a year. We put lots of miles on our vehicles since we drive cross country at least once a year.

Excellent article. Will be re-reading it. . .

We ended up getting the 2008 Kia Sedonna. Drove it from TN to MI yesterday and so far LOVE it. Thanks for all your input!:D

Make sure you have an attorney look over your closing papers EVEN if it means you can sign on the dotted line on closing date. Friends are having to deal with something that didn't show up in the closing papers that should have(deeds & restrictions) the foreclosing bank attorney totally 'skimmed' by the only piece of information that might have brought that to someones attention. Take the time to have someone knowledgeable look at the things that could be costly to fix in an 'as is' situation. Broken plumbing, roof, heat source, well, the big stuff. I think it's a great way to get a home you just need to do your homework.

I know they have one 'helper' I'll check to see if they have tapped this resource if it's available. Thank you for responding.

Great input. These are all very good ideas. I know they implement some of these strategies and I'll run the rest by her. Thanks for the insider info on raising special gifts.

Well, I'm going to tell you something totally different. We use it for pee (human or animal) throw up, any 'off' smell. Baking soda. Sprinkle it on liberally and let it set. Wish I had known this trick with the first 3 kids!

As I watch her family life that is what it felt like. A sort of emergency room craziness that needs someone to come in and perform exactly what you said, the triage, priority setting and getting that outside help organized. Thank you for responding.

Helps a lot. Thank you for responding. There are some great ideas here and I'm praying something will work for them. Bless you as you care for your family!!

Thank you for your input. I will run this by her. She does have some help but sometimes that adds it's own 'issues' to her tiredness. I know she has good days too but just appears to be at a very low point. It's hard to know if the physical tiredness adds to the relational isssues adds to the emotional tiredness etc. or if it's all the other way around. I just didn't know how others manage to manage their life with the special 'gifts' of special needs kids.