Could you download one of the free photoediting programs to your working computer and offer a simple "back to school" deal for local homeschoolers, like a nice basic school photo sort of thing?

Certain people will qualify for food stamps for other reasons, and they are allowed higher income limits. Like, I think disabled people who get assistance for that might fall into a category that is specifically eligible for the higher limits. I'm not sure if small children do or not, but I think it probably would not hurt to call and discuss it with them. I really do understand the stuck feeling, trust me. We have had similar issues, and it's no fun at all.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the kids might qualify you for the second thing down on that site, the expanded categorical eligibility. Anyway, more :grouphug:.

Ugh, I'm sorry. I assume you *have* applied for the food stamps (since you get WIC and Medicaid)? I'm just saying that because I googled for you, and it looks like you're really, really close, just barely above the limit; in PA, I think they deduct some of your income or something, so what you make is actually more than what is counted. If you haven't actually applied, try it and see. If your income is variable, and it's been low the past couple of months, that's all they'll count for food stamps, so you might get them for at least the next six months. If you own your home, if you're that tight and can't make your regular bills, you may need to contact your mortgage company and see if they can make a deal with you.

If you're not already getting food stamps, you should call your county or whomever administers those and ask about emergency cash assistance first thing Monday morning. Also, call the water company and tell them you have young children in the home. I know our electric company will not shut off service in the winter if you have children or elderly, so it can't hurt to ask about the water as well. Do you have any family or close friends you could ask for help? Obviously that's not a good long-term solution, but if it was a one-time thing, maybe they'd help. I'm sorry you're in such a desperate situation. :grouphug:

Yes, this! I figure they have to do what's best for their careers, families, etc. I will miss them terribly though, and I really want to be involved with my grandchildren. For a while, we were less than two hours from my parents/ILs, so we saw them frequently. It was nice -- close enough that we could do day trips, but far enough that we all had space. Now we're a bit over three hours away, and we have four children, so travel is a bit harder (and expensive). When the grandparents visit, it's a Big Deal; sometimes it would be nice if it were more casual. One of my siblings lives very far away, so my parents only see them once a year for a couple of weeks; I know it's hard on my mom not to see their baby very often.

No cable here at all. It doesn't come to my place in the boonies. Our only choices for high-speed internet are satellite or DSL. We went with DSL through our landline, though apparently there are some areas where you don't ned a home phone to get DSL, but not ours.

Very possibly allergy-related asthma. It sounds like how my asthma can start off during allergy season, and the past two summers, it has escalated nastily until I've gotten steroid inhalers. Allergy meds help keep it down too. DS1 had a few episodes like that last summer. He'd stop and take a deep breath or two, though he didn't wheeze or complain that he couldn't breathe. I ended up taking him to the doctor (actually the PA), who didn't find anything wrong, but she did a bunch of bloodwork to rule out anemia (which can also cause shortness of breath) and such. Didn't find anything, and the symptoms largely went away, but then we saw a new doctor, and she thought it sounded like allergies. She sent him to a fantastic allergist who did testing and measured his peak flow. The allergist found some environmental allergies, and he prescribed meds for that and an inhaler as needed for wheezing. So I vote for seeing a doctor, even an allergist if you can.

I agree with choosing accessories, hairstyle, etc. that don't make her look older too. I also think you should let her wear the dress (and $2.00 for a fabulous dress, wow!). If she is pretty and has a nice figure, most likely lots of things are going to flatter her, and she'll need to learn to deal with people admiring her. I think it is fortunate that she'll be going with her dad; that seems like the right way to start with learning to navigate boys who ogle her. Isn't that what we want for our children -- for them to have our guidance as they encounter tricky situations?

I got 33, which I think isn't so bad, considering that I am very much NOT a science person. Math, history, even English, sure, but not science. A few were educated guesses; I was able to get them right from the choices given, but I may not have been able to come up with them on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Ooooh, I've got a huge cabbage here that someone gave us, and I'm wondering what to do with it. My attempts at sauerkraut have not gone well, and I just made borscht with some cabbage earlier in the week. I would love to hear more ideas for what you do with ground beef that goes well over cabbage (like, do you use it for a sub for pasta with a usual spaghetti sauce?). And how do you cook the cabbage -- shred it and saute it, or what? That sounds like a great idea!

In an ideal world, it's about 6:30 for final tidying of the house, baths/pj's, brushing teeth, with reading commencing at 7:30, heading to bed at 8, and asleep by 8:30 (for the 7yo and 3yo boys; 10yo DD is allowed to read for a while until she's wound down, and the 1yo baby might not go to sleep until closer to 10, but DH and I will hang out, check email, knit, talk, watch non-kid-friendly TV, etc. while he's awake). In reality, especially in the summer, it's later than that, because it's so pleasant outside in the early evening, but then if they need baths, it makes it even later. In the summer, particularly, it's more like 7 or 7:30 when they start the pre-bedtime stuff, so we're pushing hard to get them in bed before 8:30, and it's more like 9. Part of the problem is that I often don't start dinner until 5:30, depending on the baby's mood and how hot it is in the kitchen (no AC, and the window unit is in another room, so at 4 pm, our kitchen can be pretty warm), which makes everything later. Okay, and the REAL problem is that I am too much of a night owl who doesn't get going very well in the morning, so everything starts later than it should. This wouldn't be a problem if DH didn't get up before 5 am every morning for work, so if we get up late, our schedules don't mesh well with his.

I made it yesterday too, only I omitted all of the brown sugar, and I used coconut milk, and I added slivered almonds and frozen blueberries before baking (so it was purple-ish). My children (10, 7, and 3) loved it, as did I, and the blueberries made it sweet but not sugary. There was only a tiny portion left of the 9x13 pan. My 3yo was so excited that we were having a "breakfast cookie," LOL.

Mushrooms are a good choice. Spinach might work too; it worked with meatloaf the other nght for me. You could also try adding chopped liver to ground meat, if it's cheaper than ground beef; I did that with chicken livers and ground beef in spaghetti sauce a while ago, and nobody could tell the liver was in there. Instead of mixing them directly together, I do often do a side of black or refried beans to put in tacos/burritos with the ground meat.

Start your own first day traditions, including photos!

Are you *sure* you can't all fit in the Civic? A Civic is the same size as our Ford Focus (or close enough), and we had three across the backseat for a while -- an infant carseat, a toddler harnessed seat, and a booster. It was tight, but it worked. Now, wth teens, it might not, but you might give it a shot. Or if it'll be a while before your youngest is big enough for a booster, you might look for a narrower harnessed seat, like a Radian. Could you possibly sell both vehicles and get something a little bigger, like an Accord?

I've heard an estimate of about 50 cents a load, and if it helps, we pay a bit over 8 cents per kilowatt hour. Of course, you have to consider the cost of the clothesline itself, which isn't probably too much, but it's there.

South central PA here. The storm wasn't too bad; it blew over quickly and wasn't as violent as the one we had last week. However, it knocked our power out for about an hour and a half. Thankfully we had finished dinner and were getting ready for bed anyway, and with the daylight (and then a little flashlight time) and an open window for a nice breeze, it was tolerable, and I spent an extra long time reading to the children. The power came back on just as I was finishing up anyway, and the children are grateful to have their AC units on in their bedrooms. (I hear thunder again. Hope that doesn't mean power going out again.) My 3yo was precious. When the power went out, he looked a little worried, but not too scared, and he asked that we pray for Jesus to make the power come back on, so we did. He was so happy that it was back that he immediately bowed his little head and told Jesus thank you multiple times for fixing it. :)

I have a category for gas, because if I lump it into everything else, we could potentially not have enough for DH to get to work. I also put toiletries, household products, pet food, and the like in groceries (roughly knowing about how much of it should be for food and how much should be for other household items). I also have a school category, and I have a miscellaneous category. Right now, there isn't fun money or clothing money or even car repair money; if something desperately needs to be purchased, we use the misc category or take it from the limited savings we have.

My favorites are the Chinese prefolds from jardinediapers.com. I like them with Proraps and Bummis Super Whisper Wraps, or Gerber EZ covers. (Well, I like them with wool covers too, but that's only economical if you knit or sew them yourself.)

I love my Dyson, but when its switch died, I had to take it in for repair. The place gave me a loaner Dyson so I would not be without a vacuum. Ask them for one.

I wouldn't consider myself to be as extreme as that author either, and I do understand that sometimes there are typos or spelling errors, as nobody's perfect. But I agree with him to a large degree; poor grammar and basic spelling errors annoy me a lot. I definitely think they reflect poorly on a candidate, and if I saw them on a resumé or cover letter, honestly, I'd be disinclined to give that person a closer look. (Seriously? Spelling and major grammar errors on a resumé? Shouldn't it matter enough to have someone proofread it for you?) This is why, when we've debated the question here, I've said that I think strong English skills are more important than strong math skills. If you're not great at math, it's not going to be readily apparent on your resumé, but if your English skills are poor, those show up immediately. And it's not like this guy is hiring construction workers, who might not need to do a lot of writing; he's hiring people to be writers. Yes, they need to know the difference between "to," "too," and "two!"

:iagree:

I don't know how I'd react to such circumstances, and I won't know until and unless I'm faced with them. You also are only seeing a part of your friends' lives, the part they choose for you to see. They well may have a special measure of strength and grace, but they may also have their moments of crying and anger, or maybe they've had them and have worked through them, so that they're able to be strong and positive. I really believe that if God is who He says He is, He is big enough to handle any emotions little ole me can through His way.

I'm so sorry. Big, gentle :grouphug: for you, and some tears too.