Are there any natural dog repellant substances that I can sprinkle around the grass in front of our townhouse that isn't dangerous to kids? I have complained to our landlord, but people are still using OUR patch of grass instead of their own for their dogs' dumping ground. :banghead: HOA rules say you have to clean it up, but somehow there are still fresh piles every other day or so left on our lawn. And you know those dead circles of grass that show up after a female dog pees on the grass? We have a whole strip of that along the edge of the grass. :glare: I've walked around our complex, NO ONE ELSE'S grass is as bad as ours. And we are the only ones who have kids. HOA rules also state that we can not put a sign on the lawn. And I'm not allowed to do anything to something that is considered community landscaping, like the grass. So I just want something that will make the dogs run for the hills next time they get close. Is there anything like that?

My 4.5 yo son sits for school for usually 2 hours without needing a break. If I ask to take a break, he complains, and if we do end up taking a break, we never get back to it. :leaving:

We do this. There is only one other 2yo who shows up consistently, besides my own kids, at our little church. The church the hosts AWANAS also hosts BSF which I attend, so I think that helps. They are open to anyone for BSF, and I never got the impression that they weren't open to anyone for AWANAS. I did pay the dues after all! I am not good at meeting new people and making friends, so I understand you being uncomfortable. It's hard to become part of a group when all the other parents and kids have known each other since they were babies. How about you pray for me, and I'll pray for you :001_smile:

:iagree:

Yeah, I'm only 4 posts away from being a Hive Mind Queen Be! Now it's only 3 :D

My cousins named his daughter that, and I immediately thought of Seven of Nine. Yes, the made part of the movie. They are doing it in 2 or 3 parts, so that they don't leave anything out, and they are trying really hard to keep it as close to the book as they can. I wasn't able to see it in theaters (it was a limited relsese) but you can pre-order the dvd.

I don't Miss Jolie ended up playing Dagny, but Miss Jolie (and some other actresses) is the reason dh refuses to consider Julia as a girl name :glare:

Wang? Holder? Layer? Weener? Rising? Dick? Aikin? Johnson? Graber? Wacker? (FYI, I got the ideas for the last names here)

Daniels? I have a friend who would have named her baby Jack Daniel if it had been a boy.

Are you an Ayn Rand fan? :seeya: My Ethan's not whiny! Okay, maybe he has been whiny this week, but I'm attributing it to him being two and sick. :lol::smilielol5::smilielol5:

Ever time I think of the possibility of another son and needing a name, I immediately think of Caleb. But I would never use it because name meanings are important to us, and after giving sons names that mean "The champion of God is the victorious one" and "Firm, enduring gift of God," I can't give a child a name that means "dog." I also love Michael and Daniel, but I don't want a Mike or Dan (nothing against those names, but I hate it when people automatically shorten my kids' names.) I LOVE the name Emily, but it means "rival." :sad:

:lol: :lol:

Remembering my time with a little one in the NICU, do you know how far away from where they live the hospital they will most likely be is? Is it far enough away that they might need to get a hotel? (The parents of the little girl next to ds in the NICU had to do this.) Is there an RV or camper you could borrow or rent for them? Gas cards for the trips to the hospital. We drove an hour there and an hour back every day for 7 weeks. That adds up! Definitely something to help pamper the mom and give her some "me" time, but try to find something also for the dad. Maybe something to keep him entertained, some books/magazines/apps/whatever while he's waiting. Something to read to the babies. When ds was in the NICU I brought in a hymnal and sang while I did "kangaroo time." A comfortable shirt that unbuttons/lowers by drawstring easily for "kangaroo time" (they put the baby undressed against your bare skin.) A cooler large enough for 2 lunches or expressed milk.

It's a standard joke around here that the smoke detector is the cooking timer you never have to set.

I learned in Foods & Nutrition class in high school (which is also where I met dh.) My grandmother/legal guardian would NOT let me cook in her kitchen, not even I had taken 2 years of classes. I didn't get to "really" cook until I married dh (at 18.) Sometimes I think about those classes and how they weren't really based in real life, and if I were to teach that class, I would teach it a LOT differently.

Is the reverse true, as well? I store my potatoes and onions right next to each other, and it's my onions that seem to mold quickly :glare:

:grouphug: I DEFINITELY knew better than my guardians at that age. :D I couldn't understand why they couldn't understand the logic of my arguments :confused: That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to teaching my own children logic: so that they can examine their own arguments to see if it works or not.

My favorite quote from the Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List, and a sentiment discussed here I think is the most succinct answer to this blogger's statements: "If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school."

Thanks for sharing this!!!

Yes, her parents gave their permission, they thought it was great. And according them, her bOOKs are all real. Yes, I am ashamed that I know this without having to Google it.... :blushing:

I've had conversations about that :D Also, in high school, when people asked "What's up?" I would reply "The opposite direction of gravitational pull." I've been embracing my "quirkiness" for some time now :001_smile:

Okay, so I'm the kind of person who likes to torture myself with anticipation :D

How does wasabi=alcohol is bad?

Look what I found!!!! http://www.amazon.com/Austentatious-Crochet-Contemporary-Designs-Austen/dp/0762441461/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp

I may have been mixing up this review with the blog mentioned here