I didn't qualify my statement-no matter what the circumstances or how valid the reasons, I find it sad.

I loved The Help.

A large part of my kids' chores are feeding animals or milking the cow so there is a narrow time window that those need to be done. Usually around 8 am and pm so not difficult. They clean their rooms on Mondays which is allowance day. The other chores are completely at random, I guess whenever *I* feel like having them done. lol They do their laundry on their own time, when they need it. I don't remind on chores as a rule-if they don't get something done they lose technology privileges for a day or two. They were relying on me too much to do all their thinking and scheduling for them and it was driving me batty so we changed it. They are entirely responsible for getting everything done. They're 11 and nearly 14.

Unsinkable, you answered before I had a chance to say what I would have done, but let me assure you that had your daughter been in my yard I would have been outside immediately with the phone to help her and I would not have left her alone out there until you arrived. I hate to think of her sitting out there alone! It's sad to me that caution overshadows compassion sometimes. :(

Enell! Nothing else works as well! :D enell.com

Every morning the kids take the horses in from pasture, separate the milk cow and her calf, feed the chickens and bun and collect the eggs. And water everyone. In the winter they haul firewood twice a day too. At night they do the entire thing in reverse and milk the cow. Each Monday they clean their rooms and they do all their own laundry. They swap days to put away clean dishes. They do odds/ends as they arise, like vacuuming the livingroom or raking the yard or hauling hay. They both get a base salary of $5 a week but usually do extras for amounts that we negotiate as we go. My son is becoming wealthy by making my morning coffee for me! The kids are 11 and 13; they've had similar chores their whole life.

Gotcha-it's easy for them to make major financial judgements when it isn't their life and family. Me, I think the quality of life and family are at least as important as the financial end of things. There is a balance point where decisions should be made!

Only?? The health, well-being and safety of your family is way at the top of the list, IMO. And I've listened to enough DR to know he doesn't discount that either. But be honest with yourself, do you just not LIKE it there or is there a genuine risk and detriment? I'm in a lot the same boat-I don't like where we're living much but our loan is the really bad part. We are looking at several options and I have to keep forcing myself to be honest that I want to move in part b/c I prefer not to live where we are... it's perfectly acceptable, not dangerous and nothing wrong with it. I just don't like it. So be honest. Maybe email DR or bring it up on the boards on his website?

I'm only slightly familiar with DR and can't predict what he would say in this situation, but how long would it take you to get where you want to be financially? I only ask b/c interest rates are going to go up significantly in the near future. I'm looking at making a tricky real estate move right now too and I feel pressure b/c of the economic atmosphere. Right now rates are very low... not sure how it's going to be in the future.

Hang in there!

I agree with all of this-when my daughter was 9 and starting guitar lessons she couldn't hold the beat either. We incessantly clapped, swayed, nodded our heads, ect to the beat of every song on the radio. I played music with a deliberate beat/backbeat/beat/backbeat and felt every one... when she did play on the guitar I would sometimes tap her shoulder in time and I always directed the beat with my hand or counted for her, then gradually stepped away until I was giving her just the first beat of every measure. For her at least, it was too much to keep track of until she was very comfortable with the guitar. She needed to internalize keeping the beat away from the guitar and then she could add it to the juggling mix of fingers, strings, brain, and beat. Even in my own playing experience the metronome was a tool to set the pace but it never kept me ON pace, you need to be somewhat able to stay on the beat in your head.

Thanks folks! I plowed around zulia and a few other sites and found marginal info-obviously I need a pro or a lot more time so I can sort it out. Certainly $25-30 would be worth it right now since I have family staying with me and no time! I just need to figure out which realtor to call, it's like dipping a bloody toe in a sea of sharks here! LOL We have TONS of realtors in a crashed market!

I have been known to pour some fabric softener into a sock and throw it in with a load of clothes in the dryer. Makes the clothes smell good. Dryer hasn't died yet nor caught on fire. Don't do it with pricey or one-of-a-kind clothes though since there is an outside chance of a softener stain though it hasn't happened to me (yet).

Maybe it's me, but while I can find listings on all those websites for my area, I can't find comparables to see what places have sold for in my area recently. I did find out on homes.com that my place is worth $0. LOL This is very rural Montana so I'm not super surprised but I hoped there would be somewhere I could find the info online?

Without leaving my house or having a real estate license? :D Is it even possible? I've looked on a few free online sites like zillow and realtor.com but they don't cover my area. We're considering listing our house for sale and I'd like to be able to look these up without getting a realtor involved yet... any ideas?

With eight horses, five dogs, six cats, two kids, and a cowboy-ish husband I have scads of the stuff! :)

All a vet is going to do is clean it, wrap it, and give you some antibiotics. Right now it's not infected so you don't need the abx and you can do the rest yourself. Grab some coflex/vet wrap or pay more for the human version at walmart, put a clean maxipad or panty liner on the bottom of his foot, wrap it on there with the vet wrap as best you can (not too tightly obviously), and do whatever it takes to keep him from eating the bandage and pulling it off. IME it will heal faster if you keep it clean and dry, without neosporin. I wouldn't worry too much about him licking it if he wants to fuss with it though. Just wrap it as best you can and give him a couple days, he will be fine!

Right behind you.

sounds like he tweaked his back and/or tail but is recovering-good news! "just a cat" does not compute around here. :D

Part of our town trip is going to the library-I always go to the library first and then the grocery store. Both kids are into a book by the time we get to the grocery store and they never want to come in shopping with me. They stay out in the car, usually with a couple dogs and read while I shop.

YES! I was just thinking of this yesterday when half my friends had a "repost this or else" type of message up! LOL (I never repost)

I guess I really don't see why anyone wouldn't err on the conservative side if they didn't have slanted racist ideas. :confused: I would much rather find other ways to express my love for the great things about southern culture instead of running the risk of offending, scaring or even unsettling someone whose experience leads them to see the negative connections with the Confederate flag.

I have five dogs, the youngest two are a 10 month old Great Pyrenees and a 10 week old Blackmouth Cur. They make me happy on a daily basis-young dogs are so sweet and forward and full of joy! We raised the BMC so I've had her since her first moment and the connection is amazing. The GP was 3 months old and he's a sweetie. The bad: The carpet is officially dead. and smells like it. LOL things are chewed up I do my own vetwork but if not, the puppy vax series and worming can be a hassle. no sleep after 5 am!

also, you're correct about the malnutrition. the school lunch program came about because when the service was drafting for WW2 and found so many young people had the effect of malnutrition. http://www.educationbug.org/a/the-history-of-the-school-lunch-program.html

You took your kids out of the car when you were pumping gas? I just can't fathom-I had to fuel up on every town trip b/c I live 50 miles from town. Sometimes the temps were -30, snow, wind, rain... kids were MORE than happy to stay in the truck! I'm really impressed with the level of motherly devotion some of you have! I worried about them choking on things but I never worried about them in the situations where I left them in the car for a few moments, or for a nap once we got home under my supervision. Our kids were helping to drive the feed truck by the time they were four years old so driving didn't have any intrigue for them I guess. They never messed with the vehicle or even got out. very small rural town-ranch upbringing.