Oh, yum, this sounds SO good! My husband doesn't like avocadoes, but we eat a lot of beans for lunches, AND I've been looking for ways to include more greens for my lunch (and three of my children and I love avocadoes) -- this looks like a perfect way to get all of those things in! It should easily be a couple of lunches for the kids and me. Thanks! Also, thanks for mentioning that avocadoes are on sale at Aldi this week. I looked up my localish store, and they're not quite that good a price, but they are $.59 each. At the grocery store I usually frequent, they're $1 each on sale, so $.59 is a good deal. It looks like they have some other good deals on too (mangoes!), so if I have the energy tomorrow, I just may have to give Aldi a shot; I think the deals will offset the slight bit of extra gas. :)

In your case, I'd probably opt for the pills. Yuck, this sounds like miserableness! Also, I would think there's a good chance you're anemic. I was anemic during one of my pregnancies, and it showed in tiredness, like "can't get up and walk across the room, can't take a deep breath" tiredness. My midwife suggested Vitron-C, and seriously, within a week, I felt SO much better, normal pregnant tired, not utterly exhausted. I know other people like Floradix and other natural remedies, but Vitron-C works very well for me, is not too expensive, and it didn't cause constipation. I would look into something like that. I hope you get answers, and lots of chocolate, soon!

I think the concern about the EpiPens was that the leaders weren't comfortable administering them, so they would have to find the parent, which might cost valuable time. Not sure, though.

I will say that dinner is our most expensive meal by far; we eat very cheap breakfasts and lunches, and rarely meat for either of them. Large amounts of grains aren't options for us for health reasons, especially for dinner, which makes it hard to keep dinner costs down. :( Also, I am envious of some of you, LOL -- my kids must be big eaters, because, unfortunately, some of the portion sizes mentioned would never work for us, much less leave leftovers. More :(

My mom teaches for BSF, and I'm pretty sure she allows kids with allergies. She purchases the snack herself to make sure that it's free of whatever allergens are a problem with a particular group. EpiPens -- not sure about those.

No, the rules should be the same. If the teacher is late, you shouldn't pay her the full amount, and otoh, you should likewise pay the regular amount if the teacher shows up and has to wait 15 minutes past start time for your kids to be ready, for instance. Editing because that did not come out the way I intended -- brain blip.

What a great idea for a thread! South-central PA here, and I normally shop at a lovely chain grocery store. (I'd shop at WalMart more, but there's not a Super WM near where I need to be most often, plus the grocery store offers gas points, and I am good about only buying things I need, not convenience foods for the gas points; I can usually get $1-$1.50 off a gallon every six weeks, which is as often as I fill my van, and it makes a big difference.) I know I have mentioned it before, but one of my kids' favorite meals (seriously, they ALL cheer when I announce this is for dinner) is spinach, egg, and cheese casserole, and it is so easy (and fast to put together). If you eat bread, a loaf of bread would go well with it, and/or maybe some sort of cooked carrot dish, or sweet potatoes (or potatoes, if you eat those). But it is very filling on its own and usually leaves enough that DH can take the leftovers for lunch the next day. -A bag of frozen chopped spinach (16 ounces) -- $1 if I get really lucky with a sale, $1.50 if I don't. (Frozen veggies vary around here for the non-organic kind; they were consistently running $1 a bag sales on most items last year, and when I heard that there might be a shortage this spring because of last year's drought, I bought a ton at $1 a bag. So far, I have not dipped into that stash, but lately I have not seen quite as good sales -- they're running more like $1.25 a bag on sale, $1 for only a few varieties, so I may need to use the stash soon.) -A 32-ounce container of cottage cheese ($3.00 if not on sale, $2.50 if on sale; if they're on sale, sometimes I'll use two containers to ensure leftovers.) -A dozen eggs -- $2. -A bunch of shredded cheddar cheese. When the 8-ounce bags are on sale for $2 a bag, I'll use those. Otherwise, the big (32-ounce, I think) bags run just under $8, but then I will probably also use a bit more in the dish (especially if cottage cheese is on sale). If I'm feeling really tight, I'll buy block cheddar and grate it at home, and the 16-ounce blocks usually cost about $4. So, on sale, $10-11 for a protein-packed meal that will feed all six-point-three of us with leftovers (plus a dollar or two for milk to drink with it), with a green veggie to go with it. I think many of those ingredients are WIC items too, so for moms who get WIC, it's super cheap. Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the other ingredients, mix together, pour into a couple of 2-quart casseroles, bake at 350* for 30-40 minutes or until top is lightly browned, and there you go.

I can't speak to the validity of time spent teaching the kids to tune their instruments (IDK; it might be an important part of the lesson), but I would think that each child should get their full 30 minute lesson, starting at 10:00. If she isn't ready to start teaching them at 10:00, I think she should give you a discount or something. I think if you're generally happy with her teaching and their progress, you should have a chat with her about what you expect to be paying for, and if things don't improve, you should try to find a new teacher.

I drive 40 minutes for our co-op because it's worth it for both the co-op stuff and the social stuff, and then we do our errands afterward (our co-op does include time to stay afterward for lunch); last week, we left the house at 8:30 and didn't arrive home until 5:00 -- a long but productive (and fun) day. Our co-op's deal is that you either assist in both class periods, or you teach one of them. Personally, I would consider your littles. Being out so early and so long on Monday might wear everyone out for the week, especially the littles. It does sound very nice, though, and it's not that much longer than the other co-op. But Thursday might work better for your family (it would for mine -- three solid days of work, a co-op day, and then a lighter Friday schedule. And if you don't have to teach, you'll also be free to help your littles get through the day. Either one sounds really great. Also, what subjects are harder for you to get to at home? I think I'd take that into consideration.

I don't line bathroom trash cans, but I use the grocery bags for kitchen trash. We compost what we can and recycle what we can (which, in our area, doesn't include paper or cardboard, grrr), and we just don't end up with very much actual trash. What we do have is either big stuff that doesn't fit in a kitchen trash can (like large boxes) or meat scraps. So, rather than fill a 13-gallon can, which would take several days for us, a small plastic grocery sack is just right for a day for us; DS1 takes it out once a day, and it doesn't sit and stink.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/04/new-york-police-seek-driver-in-hit-and-run-crash-that-killed-expectant-parents/ I'm so sorry to hear that the baby died as well. :(

I would not sign a petition, and I don't support the government making people use reusable bags. I think they're a good idea, and I do favor incentives from stores for using them (charging for bags, giving a discount if you bring your own). I do use my reusable bags very often, but like other posters said, I also reuse the plastic bags for trash; if I didn't use the grocery bags, I'd buy trash bags. I also recycle plastic bags when I have a glut of them at home.

I think going into foreclosure, if you exhaust all other options, is a perfectly ethical and moral choice, especially if you took out the loan with the intent of paying for it normally -- you made the best choice that you could at the time with the information you had, but circumstances changed. The deal with the loan is: you make the payments, or you give back the house. As far as I'm concerned, either is a perfectly moral and ethical choice. You're not attempting to get something for nothing. Just consider the credit ramifications and all carefully -- but if you have no choice, you have no choice. That being said, depending on the state, if you let them foreclose, and they can't sell it for what you owe on it, they may be able to sue you later for the difference between what you owe and what they sell it for, and that might be hefty. If you're in the position of possible foreclosure and are certain you don't want to stay there (which it sounds like you don't, and I can't blame you -- my DH commutes 1.5 hours a day, and I can't imagine 3 hours!!), ask your lender about a deed in lieu of foreclosure. That's when you voluntarily give back the house, before they have to go through the process of taking it away from you. It is faster, I think, and some say it's a bit less damaging to your credit, but it should save the lender money because they won't have the attorney fees and all necessary for a foreclosure. Sometimes it's matched with a "cash for keys" program, whereby the lender will actually give you some cash to relocate, in exchange for you leaving the house in decent condition. I have heard that they can't offer the deed in lieu to you, but that you have to ask. If you think you might want to stay after all, I would talk to your lender about a loan modification. These can be tricky to get, but if you have reasonable reasons for the difficulties, and you aren't too far behind, it may well be a good option.

I have heard that sometimes for front loaders, you need to toss a wet towel in so that the machine feels enough weight to produce plenty of water, but I don't know for sure since I have a top-loader.

For a wet bag, in a pinch, you can just use a plastic grocery bag or ziplock bag. (I try to keep a few plastic grocery bags in the car for trash or in case I forget my wet bag or whatever.) But I made my toddler a bib a few months ago (using PUL bought with a coupon from JoAnn's) and had some PUL left over, so I whipped up a quick wet bag that velcroes shut. If you can sew even a little bit, this would be a very easy project (and with a coupon would cost less than $3, for a bag that will hold 2-3 cloth diapers plus covers, or a bulky nighttime diaper and cover and a sleeper). Actually, I just checked; I thought I only had scraps of the PUL left over, but I actually have a pretty big piece. If you still need a wet bag and can wait about a week, I'd be happy to whip one up and send it to you. It's a yellow print with little monkeys that say "bananas for you." Nothing fancy, but it does the job just fine. :) (When I use it, I toss it in the wash inside out and hang to dry.) I use the super cheap detergent free-and-clear detergent that is my grocery store brand, and it seems to work very well. When I notice that even wet diapers smell stinky, that's a sign that I have mineral and/or detergent buildup, so I do several hot washes in a row, without any detergent, to strip them. That seems to help a lot, but I also have insanely hard water, so mineral buildup is a problem with anything we wash often. I do use vinegar in the rinse sometimes as well, especially with a toddler, and that seems to make them smell good too. Normally, I do a cold prewash (which I often skip when they're still only getting breastmilk), a hot wash (sometimes soaking overnight, especially with toddlers), and a hot second rinse.

Seriously! Popcorn is a staple snack around here. So are smoothies in the summer. Banana bread and other baked goods are favorites too. Nuts. Cheese. Apples. Bread and butter. Milk.

Thank you for that heads-up; I have asked them about that periodically, but alas, in my area, the landline is still necessary. When I call them to ask about the current promotions, I will inquire about the necessity of the landline again. Right now, they're running a deal where internet-only would be $20 a month for a year, and then $40 a month after that, which is still cheaper than what we pay for phone+internet now. (If that works, I'll keep the cell as is, since it's a very generous plan.)

So far, that is sounding like a really good deal (though I'm still reading through the other suggestions). That would only be $8 a month. Is there a $1 "per day if you use it" fee? I looked today and found that there may be some new options for my DSL/landline package that might save me money and include long distance, so that makes a cell a lot less necessary.

I did see that -- so sad and heartbreaking! The other article I read about it said the baby was delivered at the scene -- wow!

The huge branch of the big grocery store chain near us gave me one similar to those a while ago, the same time they introduced the little scanners that you take around with you, so that you scan your items, place them in your bag, and then pay for the whole thing at the register. No putting your items in the cart, unloading them onto the conveyer belt, then bagging them -- just one step. It was great for moms of littles, because the line at the end was much shorter and faster. The bag was BIG -- it stretched all the way across the cart and held a TON. (Unfortunately, it didn't last as long as my normal-sized reusable bags, maybe because it held so much that it got too heavy and ripped.) ETA: I didn't watch the video, so maybe there's something in it that I missed.

It depends? We have almost 3 acres, and we like it because we have a lot of room to play (and for the future, to garden/raise animals), but we also live a fair distance from parks and such. But we have a swingset, and some trees, and a sledding hill, etc., so it's not a big deal that we don't have other outdoor things closer. Being far from everything and having no yard would be hard. It also depends on the weather where you are. In the winter, it's very windy and either frozen or swampy in our yard, so we don't spend a ton of time outside. In the summer, it's hard to spend a lot of the day outside because it hits 95 degrees often -- but we spend our summer evenings outside. In the spring and fall, the kids go out and play and dig and swing and get dirty and all of that good stuff a lot, and *that* is why we love it here and think the yard is worth it. (We don't need 3 acres for that, though; a smaller yard would work too.)

I'd first decide whether it seemed like my income was pretty stable, or if it might be on shaky ground. If the latter, I'd try to build up a bit more savings. (Also, as a side note, I'd want to know what my game plan would be, should I lose all income suddenly. For some people, that might include applying for food stamps, but in some states, if you have a bit of cash in the bank, you will have too many assets and food stamps wouldn't be an option, in which case, you'd need to make your savings stretch even farther. Does that make sense?) I'd also, if I had the spare money in my budget, set up funds aside from the emergency fund, for things like car repair/replacement and appliance repair/replacement -- the things that you really can't live without very well for very long. Once I had a fair chunk in those (at least a few thousand in each), I'd think about upping the retirement savings. And then trips.

Oh. That's good to know -- thanks!

Do you pay the $1 for the day whether you receive OR make calls? That would be a deal-breaker for me; DH calls me every day to let me know he's leaving his office, so that would be $20 right there. If it's only if I make calls, that wouldn't be bad. As for rural, we aren't super-super rural, just more like country. I don't have any problems with my current cell getting reception anywhere; I guess I was concerned that smaller carriers might have issues, don't know about that. Everyone I know locally seems to use Verizon for their regular cells. We're close enough to the state capital that people commute from here to there, so we're not completely in the middle of nowhere. It would probably be fine. I'm going to keep checking this thread and will consider trying one for a month or two before ditching my current cell.

I do, but it's pretty lousy. It works fine, but our local calling area is really, really tiny, so even to call the doctor's office, for instance, is a long distance call. The only reason we still have the landline is because our only high speed internet options are DSL (which needs the landline) or satellite (which is insanely expensive). We actually keep the landline's ringer turned off and give people who need a number a cell number (and I check messages on the landline every day or so), but we haven't made calls on it in months, if not years. However, I easily go for days without making or receiving calls at all, except for DH's quick call to let me know he's on his way home from the office. If I could find a decent pay-as-you-go deal, I could turn the ringer back on on the landline and have my mom or MIL call me on it, rather than on their cells. Bottom line: we're not big phone talkers, either of us, and we pay a lot (however reasonable, it's still a lot) for phone usage and want to know how we might cut that down a bit, while still being accessible as needed.