What we did when my son went through a phase, was for every act of noncompliance, some sort of comfort/priveledge was taken away. The idea is that we work together to make our house a pleasant, comfortable place to be, and if she is not helping achieve that goal, and is in fact depriving us of some comfort/peace, then she will likewise be deprived of comfort/peace. I gave the order and a time frame for accomplishment. If time frame came and went without said action, I just quietly took something away. Start with big stuff, tv/video games, if that doesn't work (like for a friend of mine) then keep going. Her daughter finally broke and apologized when all she had left in her room was a bed and a blanket and her mom took her pillow away. When she apologized, she got the pillow back immediately, then started earning the other stuff back. My son never got that far :). When we started taking his favorite books, that did the trick.

It isn't necessary to boil your milk, but if you prefer, then the cream will have a different consistancy, and it may reduce the amount of butter, not sure though, because we never boil ours. If you let your milk cool in the cooking pot or a bowl the bigger surface area makes it easier to skim. I think the tea pitcher idea is a good one, but I haven't tried it. That weird pudding skin consistancy is normal. Take the cream you have skimmed, and the amount you are getting is fine to make butter, and put in a glass jar with a screw on lid. You don't want the jar to be much more than half full. Then give it to a child to shake. THey will shake until their arms are ready to fall off, then pass it on to someone else. Your cream will first turn into whipped cream, you can stop there and use your whpped cream, or you can keep going. As you are shaking, all at once you will feel the consistancy change back to a liquid and see little globs of butter floating in there. Keep shaking and the butter will clump together. At this point you unscrew the lid, drain off the liquid (use for baking, or my fil loves to drink it) rinse the butter a few times in cold water right in the jar and pour off. Then you get the butter out (wide mouth jar or mayonaise jar works well here) and put it in a bowl. Take the back of a wooden spoon and mash the butter against the side of the bowl to squeeze as much liquid out as possible (the liquid is what goes rancid first, so the more you remove, the longer your butter lasts) then your butter is ready! You can shape it into a sort of log and wrap in plastic wrap, or you can put it in a container, but it will get hard in the fridge, remember that. Your butter is going to be white, instead of the yellow you are used to. It is really very easy. If you want salted butter, add the salt after you squish all of the liqid out and it is still soft. Once you have made it with a jar a few times to get the hang of the consistancy changes, you can experiment with your blender or hand mixer. The older your cream is, the quicker it makes butter. I hope this helps, if you have more questions or something doesn't make sense, I would be glad to help.

A couple of quick dairy/soy free could be: *veggie soup from fozen vegetables and add choice of meat (We add ground beef) *boneless, skinless chicken breasts and instant couscous (or any other side, there are SO many things to do with chicken breasts) *roll up sandwiches (cold cuts or tuna salad and fixin's rolled up in tortillas) *grilled pb&j (made like grilled cheese) my kids love this! *hamburgers either as sanwiches or as "steaks" *garlic butter/ margarine tossed with spaghetti noodles and served with veggies on side, also could add chicken or fish *sausage sandwiches (another favorite here) made with breakfast sausage patties- oh, that might have soy, I don't know *hoagie night- we set out meats, veggies, toppings and do it buffet style *baked beans and hotdogs- do they make soyfree bbs? I know they don't eat casseroles, but what about a fried rice? Family fun has a good, kid friendly recipe (not too many veggies ;), kindof bland) it calls for soy sauce, but you can leave it out, we have when we didn't have any on hand. It is mostly rice, but we throw in some frozen peas and carrots, and sometimes chicken or pork. Frozen veggies are my friend for quick meals.

It definitely sounds like drainage tile, good job finding the hole again! It is there to drain saturated ground, and it sounds like you are thoroughly saturated. Like the other poster said, you'll want to keep that clear so it will drain.

Ha! I was hoping there was someone else that says this out there besides me. My college friends about teased that out of me!

Thanks, we are excited about getting started

Thanks for the suggestions, I will check them out.

:lurk5:

My dc already take piano lessons, and want to add violin. Does anyone use/ have used dvds for introduction?

My husband and I have been around the same idea. I don't know what would be the better solution either.

My kids love our clothes line, not only is it fun to run in and out of the sheets when they are drying, but it becomes a tent, a theater, a place to play our version of volleyball, and at night, you can do shadow theater with a light shining on the sheet and actors to create shadows, and a storyteller. We also have a little fire pit lined with bricks so we can roast marshmallows. Doesn't take up much space and my husband can mow around it. I love the idea of a frame to throw blankets over, I may repurpose a project htat didn't get finished for just that reason. I second the suggestions for hoola hoops. They can become all kinds of things, targets, islands, obstacle course, games. I also saw an idea in Family Fun magazine I think I am going to try. They laid out sticks to form a tic tac toe grid and then found rocks and painted Xs and Os on them. There are lots of great ideas I am going to glean from this thread!

Just today, one of my nephews mentioned Michael Jackson. My oldest daughter asked who MJ was. My nephew explained that he was a famous singer and dancer. My daughter asked "What is so special about that? My little sister does that all of the time."

That would be great. Do I pm you my email? My son's name is Nate.

Hi Linda72, I tried to private message you, but I am not sure it worked (I'm new on here) My son is 11 and would like a penpal. He is into books, movies, and comics. Let me know if you are interested. Thanks, Sarah

My 11 year old son would like to have a pen pal. He is obsessive about christian fantasy/allegorical fiction and making home movies. His handwriting and the way he expresses himself on paper are hampered by Aspergers, but he would love to have a friend to discuss books and movies. Thanks!