I think it's perfectly acceptable for you to keep your kids at your mother's instead of your in laws. They are your children and you know your IL better than we do. I would not leave Digby with relatives at his age. We've called him Houdini before because he seems to have a knack for escaping any type of safety precaution. If you don't trust someone enough to keep adequate supervision over your child, you are under no obligation to cave or feel guilty about it.

A globe Audubon Pocket Guides for Flowers, Trees, Mammals and Birds Black Ships Before Troy Calendar and Weather Pocket Chart D'Aulaires Greek and Norse Myths Geared Teaching Clock Twine Historical Figures on CD Learning Wrap Ups Subtraction Lego Bricks set Life of Fred Apples-Dogs Pencil Grip Roll N' Glue Tape Dispenser Sloppy Stopper Activity Mat Star Theater 2 Story of the World 1 Audio CDs Thermometer And a whole bunch of other stuff that we probably won't be getting. My wish list is over $1900. The actual stuff we'll be ordering will be about $450

This is not always true. We had TV the first five years of Pigby's life and he was always addicted to it. Anytime it came on, he was a zombie. And like the OP, he was a little annoying about thinking he needed every single thing he saw a commercial for. Now we have no TV and is still glued to it if he ever sees one. The asking for stuff still happens, but only when we're at the store and walk by the toy section. He's no longer convinced we need to buy JIF and Febreze :glare: Again, I know everyone is different, but in my experience, having not TV has been a wonderful thing for us.

Heck no it's not too early! I love all things fall and Halloween and Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I keep trying to convince DH to set up the Christmas tree, but he's having none of it. Punk :glare: :lol: I'm very excited for the fall to start, even though we only get like a month of real fall weather

Ah, gotcha! Sorry, I completely forgot to think about that part. Yeah 14 would be a really tough age to try and figure out. I hope she gets over her stubbornness. FWIW, the things I've tried so far from the Cooking for Isaiah book I've really liked. The texture in the pancakes or waffles tends to be more....gummy (I think) than their regular counterpart, but I think they still tasted good. The cornbread was really good tasting, but I wouldn't recommend using it as sandwich bread like the author recommends. That was a big, crumbly (albeit tasty) failure. We're relatively new at this, so I'm no expert by any means, but I don't think I could recommend that book enough. The biggest taste issue has come from the almond taste since we now use almond milk. Even that is getting overcome the more we eat it. The author uses rice milk, so I don't know if that would be an issue, maybe it doesn't have as strong a flavor. Even DH, who was completely against the idea of going GFDF and was adamant that he wasn't going to give it up completely, is starting to think that he might give it an honest effort and see if it helps with some of his issues. I don't make separate stuff for him for dinner, he eats what we eat. He hasn't been disappointed so far. Sorry I'm rambling now. Good luck.

What if you tried a "Eat three bites and then you can be done" for new things or things they don't like? That way they actually try some and can start getting used to it. You know how they say some kids need to try things 10-15 times before they start liking it? Well I'm pretty sure I had to eat red peppers about 100 times before I started liking them. The repeat exposure sure helped. Maybe a compromise would work better than an ultimatum? At least that's what we had to do with Pigby. We would say, "Eat this or go hungry until your next meal" and he would gladly go hungry. But he really needs that exposure. He put up a huge fuss at first, but one time, DH even got like 10 bites out of him just by saying "Here's another one". Pigby had stopped counting and never complained so DH just kept going

Yeah, I can imagine. I was feeling kinda, "Is she trying to trick me? Am I losing my mind?" just about your simple question :lol:

Virginia is a state. How could a state have another state as its capital? Unless I'm taking crazy pills or something...

When used as a thickener, rice flour by itself was fine. But you generally can't just substitute rice flour (or any other flour) for wheat flour in regular recipes. The all purpose flour combination in the Cooking for Isaiah book calls for white rice flour (but I used brown and it's been just fine), potato starch, xanthan gum and tapioca flour. Batters are generally wetter since there's no gluten to give the bread structure. If I were you, I would check out some GF books from the library. The Cooking for Isaiah one I've liked so far. She does have recipes for bread, pizza, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, cornbread, etc. There's a book I got called Gluten Free in Five Minutes that's been ok for the one thing I tried it for. The premise of that book is using just one flour plus baking powder as a leavener and cooking it in the microwave. I made a bread that used brown rice and tasted ok but had a wonky aftertaste. I gave it to the boys and they didn't notice anything. Since you can't make very many servings at once, I don't use it often. Anyway, check out a couple of books, find a recipe or two to try (or a mix to make). Then I would go to Walmart or a health food store and see if they have any of the other flours or gums or grains that you need. Then try a batch. I wouldn't buy a bunch of stuff right off the bat. A friend gave me a recipe for coconut flour pancakes. :ack2: is all I can say about those

I've done it before. I use the EasyLunchBoxes you can get on Amazon. I don't do it on a regular basis, but it did always make lunch go smoother. And then since I grossly overestimate how much I think they'll eat, so back in the fridge it goes until I hear more whining about how hungry they are. Afternoon snack, all ready to go.

From my Nutrimill owner's manual Nutrimill will mill the following: Wheat (hard and soft) Buckwheat Split Peas Popcorn Sorghum (milo) Trticale Rye Rice Millet Use caution when milling the following (fill the hopper no more than 2/3-3/4 full as they produce more flour volume): Dried lentils Dried Sweet Corn Dried Pinto Beans Dried Green Beans Dried Mung Beans Legumes (generally) Dried Garbanzo Beans Quinoa Oat Groats Spelt Barley Soybeans Chickpeas Kamut DO NOT mill any of the following: Oatmeal Flax Seed Sunflower Seeds Nuts of any kind Coffee Beans Spices Rolled or Steel Cut Oats Sugar Dried Fruits Dates or Raisins Sesame Seeds Sprouted Legumes Sprouted Grains Sprouted Seeds I used it to grind a bunch of brown rice. Then I used that rice to make the All Purpose Flour and Pancake Mix from the cookbook, "Cooking for Isaiah." I put the mixes and the leftover flour in freezer baggies and keep them in the freezer. It's been working well so far, though I may need to make more soon. I made a white sauce last week and used brown rice flour to make the roux. I *think* it thickened more than regular wheat flour would have, but I'm not totally sure. In any case, it was tasty and it worked. I haven't tried the AP flour as a substitute in any of my regular recipes, though I have used it in the book. In all honesty, going gluten free has been the easy part of our new diet. It's the dairy free that's been hard. So if you want to do oat flour, you can grind the oat groats, but not the oatmeal. If you want to do almond flour, a Vitamix can handle that. Not sure how to do coconut, tapioca or potato flour. I would look at azurestandard.com and see if they deliver anywhere close to you. I live near a Winco and I get most of my stuff there or at a Sunflower Market in the bulk section. Someday I'll actually do an Azure Standard order.

This year we did the traditional picture and I got two of the Kohl's Cares $5 books. Then I wrapped them up and we opened them after our traditional walk around the neighborhood.

:grouphug::grouphug: Praying :grouphug::grouphug:

I think you should do it, for all the reasons Justamouse said. Plus, what's the worst that could happen? He'll get so mad he won't talk to you anymore? That won't change anything. What's the best that could happen? He's changed his mind and decides to talk to you all again. I don't know what to do about when your father dies. Make sure he's updated his will and you siblings can try to contact your brother. Whether he comes or not is up to him.

:grouphug: I understand. Last year Pigby did one day a week at a charter school. There are no co-ops in our area. While, we loved the charter school, we can't do it anymore because it was too far away and gas has gone up. So I still get teary about not being able to do it anymore. I am getting better at doing fun things, so he seems to be enjoying being at home more.

I don't think so, but I have nothing to compare it to. I think it just depends on the kid and how long they need to use the blocks.

My son was very good at using the blocks, but wasn't memorizing the facts. So I'm now having him do the drills on the MUS website every day. It took awhile for the 8+ and 9+ facts to stick. There was much repetition and a lot of me explaining it in different ways. *Finally* it clicked. The MUS lady at our hs conference also said to have him teach it back to me, so we're trying that.

:grouphug: I've been at the end of my rope for other reasons. I'm sorry you're having a hard time now. I hope things get better soon. :grouphug:

Oooh nice.

Ha! Don't be. I've kept a chicken carcass in the fridge for over a week because "I've gotta make that broth." Yeah, never got around to it. I use the Better Than Boullion chicken base from Costco. We go through so much of that here. I think it's pretty good.

I'm one who considers recipes to be more guidelines than actual rules. So what I do is...... Take my clean stock pot. Chop up an onion, stick it in. Chop up a bunch of carrots, stick them in. Chop up a bunch of celery stick them in. At this point my 8 quart stock pot should be about half full. I stick the pot over med high heat with oil and stir, stir, stir until the onions get translucent. Then I add enough broth to cover the veggies by about an inch. Bring to boil, add the noodles and boil til noodles are done. See? I'm so lazy I don't even time the noodles, since the noodles never seem to be ready according to the time on the package. Once the noodles are done, I add the chopped cooked chicken and some dried parsley and ground pepper. I used to add a little bit of cream (oh my heck, died and gone to heaven), but we're gluten and dairy free now, so no cream. *smack smack smack* I thought it was tasty. Now I want to go make some.

The way I always packed was to start with the socks. Those go in the bottom between the metal bars for the handle. Stick the socks in so they make a nice, flat surface. Underwear goes next, unfolded so it's flat. Then pants go in. Shirts go in next. If you don't have enough room, roll the shirts up and stick them around the edges of the bag. Toiletries in the outside pocket. I forgot to look at the number and ages of your children. You should have as big a purse as you can manage. If you have any teenage daughters, they should have one too, in case your family is separated on the plane. Pack it with snacks and activities to keep people happy. Pack empty water bottles that you can fill after you get through security. My mom always kept a stash of hard candy for us to suck on during take off and landing. My dad is a pilot and we spent A LOT of time flying space A. Since it was never a guarantee we'd get anywhere, we only used carry on bags. That was the best method I found for packing. When my choir went to WDW in high school, I was the only one who brought a carry on, everyone else checked bags and I still had to help several people pack so that all their things and their souvenirs would fit.

Have you ever been to the mountains? Yes, I grew up in Colorado and now live in Utah. It's cooler than 117, but still too hot for my tastes. I need to move to Oregon. What's for lunch? I'm a terrible mother. We had bean dip (seriously) and applesauce. I need to go to the grocery store since we got paid and the cupboards are bare. Need to figure out a menu plan though of stuff I will actually make. I'm good at making elaborate menu plans, but never seem to stick to them. Schooling today? He did his MUS test, AAS, cursive practice, scissor practice, MUS drill, and reading. We're going to do science when Chuck goes down for her afternoon nap.

Do it! We got rid of the TV a year and a half ago. There are some things I miss (House Hunters, Food Network, Deadliest Catch) but for the most part I don't even notice. Mostly because a lot of the shows I want to watch are on Netflix or Hulu. So I watch those after the kids are in bed. But at least I don't have to deal with the whining to watch TV during the day or the whining when they have to turn it off. Pigby gets completely sucked in and addicted. His behavior was always much worse when he'd been watching too much TV. I occasionally let them watch a movie or a show on Netflix, but when it's done, it's done. It's also nice that I can control what they see. There are often scary or inappropriate commercials, even on something like Food Network. Not to mention the fact that he was *constantly* telling me what we needed to buy because he saw a commercial for it. It's really annoying to hear a 5 year old argue with you that you need Febreze and JIF. After all this time, I don't really know why I put up such a fuss about getting rid of it. I have such a hard time remembering what was so good about it. It was hard for me, but the more time that passes, the less I miss it. Except when the Olympics come on and there's no way to watch it.

Mine was easy peasy. Went under, went home, religiously took the pain killers and iced. The most important thing is to not get cocky and think, "Hey, this doesn't hurt so bad. I don't need the pain killers yet." Believe me, do not wait until you need them before you start taking them. DH had his out when we were a bit older. All of his were bony and impacted. We went to a dentist who managed to remove one and struggled for an hour and a half to remove the next one, but couldn't. So DH had to recover from that one, then go to the oral surgeon a week later. That went so well, the recovery was much quicker and there was a lot less pain. Still stinks that he had to recover twice. I don't want to bash DH at all, but he's sure lucky he was married to me when he had them out. His parents don't believe in taking pain killers, so he was of the mindset that he didn't need them. He's lucky I slipped them into his pudding. He knew they were there, he just couldn't get them out. And heck, it was pudding; he's not going to say no to pudding. I wanted to smack him for being so macho.