Thanks for everyone's thoughts on the matter. I see blurbs here and there all the time about this being bad or that being bad and I just don't have the time to do in depth research like I would like to. So it's nice to have a starting point about what most people seem to think are the worst. It seems like the general consensus is that the food additives are of bigger concern than the cookware or cooking method used. I have stopped using plastics for most of our leftovers and switched to glass but I wasn't sure how much farther I should try to go with things (most of my baking pans are aluminum for instance). I know I can't avoid everything that is "bad" but just wanted to see if there was any "really" bad stuff I should be focusing my attention on. It seems likes it's the food stuff. I've been trying to make most things from scratch so that helps avoid lots of it already (well except MSG that in my staple chicken bouillon). But I still have much work to do.

I've becoming increasing aware that not everything on the shelves is good for our bodies. I've been trying to produce healthier meals for my family but it seems some of the things I use to prepare the food are just as damaging as the things added to the food. I haven't had much time to do actual research as the baby keeps me from spending more than about 5 minutes at a time to read anything meaningful (hence boards are much more useful with their short posts). So I'm hoping you can help me gather information to mull over and offer your opinions. So what do you consider to be the most unhealthful things and why (feel free to add others you consider to be a huge concern). Microwaves? Aluminum pans? Crockpot? (since both of mine are Rivals and now presumably contaminated with lead) High fructose cornsyrup? hydrogenated oils? plastics (and what uses are okay and what are really bad)? Any other big ones I'm missing? I'm just not sure where to start and it seems overwhelming to tackle all at once so I guess I'd like to start with the worst and work from there. I know organic foods is a big issue for lots of people too but I'm not quite ready $wise to tackle that (although I did just get our first grass fed beef). Thanks for all the advice insights.

Well I have one boy who sleeps in underwear and one who sleeps in long sleeved shirts and pants all year long - and they sleep in the same room. The one who uses pajamas likes the flannel lounge pants. My sister found them at Kohl's and he pairs them with regular long sleeved cotton or waffle knit t-shirts. When he was younger we had some great pajamas from Land's End. They were made from that polartech material. Guaranteed to keep you warm. I have some ankle length nightgowns of that material and some nights I don't even use the blankets because the jammies are so warm.

I've only been doing this for 6 weeks but once I found this recipe I haven't tried any others. it calls for fresh ground wheat so I didn't have to make any adaptions and it has worked for me everytime. My family really enjoys this so I haven't looked for any others. http://tadmitchell.com/cookbook/wheatbread.html

This is the one I've been using with great success. I haven't had a failure with it yet and I'm very new to this kind of bread making. http://tadmitchell.com/cookbook/wheatbread.html Even though it says to mix it in a mixer, I do it by hand.

Well our high was 3.99. I haven't been out today but the report for local gas stations says a few are 3.19 but most are 3.24. Last Saturday I paid 3.57. I'm happy to see they are dropping but I do agree that the stations are just trying to milk it. Wholesale oil has dropped almost 50% but prices have dropped less than 25%. If wholesale drops 50%, I think retail should too. Whose in favor of $2.00 a gallon gas?

I had never really used yeast and too be honest I was a bit intimidated by it. However in May I started making bread for the first time in my life using the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day. My family loved it. Since early September, I've tried making regular bread. I don't have a bread maker or a Kitchen Aid mixer. I have been making 100% whole wheat bread (from fresh milled berries) to make sandwich bread and honestly I haven't had a failure yet. I don't know if I'm doing it correctly, but mixing and kneading takes me about 15 minutes and the bread is great and holds together well I can make slices as thin as store bought bread. It is fairly dense but so was the kinds I bought from the store because we don't like the squishy stuff. So it's not hard to make bread. No knead is the easiest, but even the kneaded bread isn't hard to learn.

Our family recipe is twp packages unsweetened koolaid, 6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate, 6 oz lemonade concentrate, 1 cup sugar (or to taste), 2 qts water and a 2 liter bottle of gingerale. We have this every time our family gets together for it's winter get together.

This is our favorite too. We play it with a 5, 8 and 10 year old. The 5 year old needs help and sometimes leaves the game early but still very much enjoys herself. The 8 year old has been playing for almost a year, has amost no strategy and wins 90% of the time he plays. The 10 year old, DH, and myself play quite competitively and still lose to the 8 year old. My kids would play it everyday if we had time. We have all the expansion packs but only use the rules from the first couple of sets (each expansion pack add another level of complexity if you chose to use those rules) because its easier for everyone to keep track of.

Well I'll admit I've been extremely lazy in this department and haven't bothered to teach any of my kids how to tie their shoes because I could just buy them velcro. Solved the problem for everyone. A couple of months my oldest needed shoes and so we went to get him some. Discovered he is now in Men's shoes so of course the velcro options are pretty limited. I showed him ONCE how to tie his shoes and now he can do it. I know most people say around 5 a kid can do it but it takes them so much practice. I just waited till he was much older (10 1/2). It really wasn't a needed skill for us before now.

I had to laugh at this. My first two were c-sections so my doctors always make me consent to all that stuff before they will "allow" me to try a VBAC. With my 3rd, they were so pokey getting me to a room that she was born in the bathroom (hence no monitoring). #4 I got there at the same stage as #3 but she was slower coming out and I had to deal with the monitor and an IV in my hand for over an hour (not that long for some but extremely annoying for me). I didn't want a repeat of that with #5 so I waited to go in (plus it was a much easier labor and I didn't realaize just how fast things were moving). I arrived in late transition and she was born about 10 mintues after getting into my room. No monitoring but they did manage to jab the IV in my hand about 2 contractions before she came out. As far as when to go to the hospital, I have gone when the contractions were strong enough that I had to focus and breath just to get through them.

My first attack was so severe and a stone got lodged that my surgery was scheduled immediately as nothing but liquids would stay down. My mom however was diagnosed at a time where it was impossible for her to have surgery (my parents were self-employed in a seasonal business and this happened right at the start of the season). Her doctor advised a diet of non-spicy and non fatty foods. I remember for months she eat broiled fish with lemon juice and broiled chicken breasts, plain rice or pasta etc but she was able to avoid attacks during the season and had her surgery about 6 months later in the off season.

I had this happen when my daughter was 3. I'm sorry I have no useful advice for you. I just kept sending her to her room for quiet time since even if she didn't sleep "I" needed the quiet time. Around 4 she started taking naps again and has continued (she's 5 1/2 and still takes naps probably 3 out of every 4 days). I really don't know why she stopped or started again we didn't really have any changes in routine. Maybe it was a control thing where she realized she could choose not to nap and there really wasn't anything I could do to make her. I hope things get better, i know it's no fun with a tired cranky child.

Our normal lunch is leftovers from supper but as the kids get older and eat more sometimes there just aren't any. So when I actually have to make a lunch, here are some of the things we have. Lentil soup (we like red lentils) Camy's refried beans with rice or in tortillas Chili (dump a pound of hamburger, a couple cans of corn, a can of beans, some corn or noodles if you like those and seasoning. cook till heated through) Baked potatoes with assorted toppings, (chili, taco meat, salsa, broccoli and cheese, ham, many choices here) Hamburger/Chicken Helper (1 box mix, 1 pound cooked meat, 1 pound vegetable)- or you could make your own mix from scratch. Spaghetti Also I keep hamburger and chicken cooked in 1 pound packages in the freezer. They thaw in a couple of minutes in the microwave and speed up meal preparation immensely.

We have met at the library or a church that someone was a member of (meaning we could use it free of charge). We took 8 foot tables and put a strip of masking tape down the middle. Each child gets half a table. Each child bring their own legos. No sharing or mixing or crossing the line. We tried to have themes for each meeting (we met once a month) such as space, animals, machines, vehicles etc. At the end of the allotted time, each child got a turn with "show and tell" about what they made. We also did a craft for the girls since they weren't interested in building legos but got towed along because of a brothers involvement.

Our favorite is Arnold's German Dark Wheat although we like the double fiber too. it runs about $3.69 around here but I only buy it when it's when one get one free or on sale for $2.50 a loaf or less. But even that adds up so I've started making my own bread. Having never worked with yeast before, I spent the summer making Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day stuff, and since the baby arrived in August and I have a bit more energy I have been experimenting with kneading bread. I've been using this recipe http://tadmitchell.com/cookbook/wheatbread.html and other than adding a bit more honey (cause we like it quite sweet), I've been very happy with this bread. It's turned out for me every time. Last time I added cracked wheat to it and I'm hoping to slowly evolve the recipe into something close to the German Dark Wheat.

Well I guess I'm a real meany but my kids only choice is to eat what I made now or eat it for the next meal or however many meals it takes for them to clean the plate. I was brought up that you eat what you are served even if you hate it (and believe me I HATE liver but I still had to eat it) and I have the same rule with my kids. And really I haven't found anything that they HATE so much it makes them sick (I literally gagged to the point I was on the verge of losing the contents of my stomach when I had to eat liver). My one daughter really dislikes vegetables and will spend an hour every night eating them but she still eats them. I won't make her or anyone else something special.

I've had this happen. For me it gets really bad when my iron levels drop. When my anemia is severe, I always feel like I'm not breathing enough and I'm constantly stopping and thinking about taking big breaths. I suppose because I don't have enough red blood cells to carry the oxygen, my body is telling me to take in more oxygen.

I don't know if this helps or not but a friend of mine has centurytel and her e-mails always get caught in my spam blocker. We have no idea why. It's possible yours are never getting through. I'd call them.

I was taking Nexium a few tears ago but I had to switch when I found out I was pregnant. I've been taking rantitidine (generic Zantac) ever since then. And it's super cheap (150mg dose) at Walmart and (75mg dose) at Sam's.

Oh I'm right there with you. I'd love to make some brownies, or any other food for that matter. I'm starving but my one month old won't let me put her down for more than about 2 minutes before she wakes up screaming. And if she does sleep longer than that, my 21 month old will be sure to come along and poke her and wake her up. I haven't been able to do anything today. I did have a bowl of chocolate ice cream for breakfast because it was the only thing I could dish up and eat one handed. But I really would like some real food. Normally I would zap a frozen dinner in the microwave but I don't even have any of those around. At least I did get my chocolate fix. Hope the rest of your day goes better.

Growing up I pretty much lived at the Y in the summer. I don't know what kind of membership my mom had but the cost must have been pretty reasonable or she never would have let me take as many classes as I did. My sister has memberships for her kids at the same Y I went to growing up. Their monthly membership rates are about half what the monthly rate is for my local Y plus the class fees are cheaper too. So I'm use it depends on where you live and who "owns" the local Y. I know ours is owned my a different person than hers is. But since I live in a large city, the school district offers many classes to the community so we do swimming and some arts classes through that (they also offer other sports and tons of Adult activities) and it's a fraction of the cost at the Y. We use to do the Homeschool Phy Ed (one of the few things that participants didn't get charged more for than members) at the Y but in two years they doubled the price so we went somewhere else. I'm not impressed with our local Y. Stephanie

Eggplant French Fries 1 c flour 1 tsp salt 1 egg beaten 1 c milk 1 TBSP oil 1 medium eggplant Cut eggplant into strips (your choice to peel first or not). I generally make them about a 1/2 wide at the bottom. dip in mix. allow to drain on rack (I usually just add extra milk to the mix and skip the draining step). Deep fry for 2-5 minutes until done. Salt if desired. Moussaka 2 medium eggplant (peeled or not your choice) 3 TBSP butter 1 large onion chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 pound ground hamburger or lamb 2 medium tomatoes chopped (I have also used one 14-15 ounce can of tomatoes) 2 TBSP finely chopped parsley 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 c flour 1/3 cup oil or as needed 2 eggs, beaten 3/4 plain yogurt 1/3 freshly grated parmesan or Romano cheese Slice eggplant in 1/2 inch slices. Layer on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Cover with more towels and place heavy object on for 30 minutes. In skillet, melt butter, add onions and garlic, cook until soft but not brown. Add meat and cook until done. Add tomatoes, parsley, oregano, cinnamon. cook uncovered until liquid is absorbed. Rinse Eggplant with water and pat dry. Coat with flour and fry in oil until lightly brown on both sides. Add more oil if necessary. Arrange half of eggplant slice on bottom of 9x13 pan. Spread meat over top. Layer remaining eggplant slices. Mix eggs with yogurt and pour over top (I usually double this part because I like lots of the white sauce). Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 35-40 minutes until topping is golden and set. Chicken Provencale 1 TBSP oil 2 pounds boneless chicken pieces 1/2 c sliced green pepper 1/2 c sliced onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium eggplant sliced (1/4 inch thick) 2 medium tomatoes sliced (1/4 inch thick) 2 tsp dried parsley 2 tsp dried basil 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 c chicken broth Heat oil in skillet. Fry chicken 2-3 minutes each side or until browned. Remove chicken from skillet. Add pepper, onion, and garlic. cook 3-4 minutes until tender. return chicken to pan. Arrange Eggplant and tomato slices over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley, basil and salt. Add chicken broth. bring to boil. reduce heat and cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until chicken is done.

Yep it makes a squash Dessert pie. You just substitute the squash for the pumpkin, use all the normal spices, pour it in the crust etc. It tastes like pumpkin pie but is bit richer flavor. My dad won't eat pumpkin pie anymore, only squash or sweet potato made with the pumpkin pie recipe. And yes you need the amount equal to the can of pumpkin. Also if the squash is a bit too dry to run through the blender you can add a bit of water to thin it down.

I've tried that with 2 of my pregnancies but the Unisom knocked me out so bad I couldn't function. So I stopped the Unisom and just took the B6 and that seemed to do the trick for me.