My kids are both teens...one was already living on a different floor to us...we just moved the other downstairs too. Now dh and I have our upstairs rooms (we have a room each) a fair way away from the teens, and we LOVE IT! We are a personal space loving family. We spend plenty of time together- dh doesnt work full time and is around a lot- we homeschool- together time is not something I ever make a fuss about. Both kids need their teenage caves to withdraw into, and frankly, so do dh and I. Both teens have busy social lives too, and I have never felt the need to control them to get them to spend more time with the family. Dd15 is away on a 12 day camp...woohoo, good for her, its great. Ds has friends over and I wont see him much all day. Thats the freedom of having teens! I get to spend the day however I like! Why would I want to interfere with that? :)

Is there a reason they need to do it well other than pride? My ds14 started soccer last year when he was 13, and he'd never done it before except as fun with homeschoolers. He got graded and put in the bottom team. They won one game all season (you shoudl have seen us parents on the sidelines go off our rockers when they won!). But, he is not really bad at soccer- he just hadn't had much training or experience, particularly at playing and working with other team members. It was a good experience. He is not sure he wants to do it again this season, but he needed to do it because it was one of those things he felt he had missed out on as a homeschooler- team sports. He didn't make a fool of himself. He was a worthy team member.

Yes, you can use it with sourdough, but its not my area of expertise. Yes, yeasts naturally occur in kefir. This is the website I have got most of my information from. What Dom doesn't know about kefir isn't worth knowing . http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

Kefir grains have both yeast and bacteria in them. Thats why they can be used to raise bread etc. I am not sure though what the proprotion of yeast to bacteria is, or whether the bacteria woudl cancel out the negative affect of the yeast, if there is a negative effet of the yeast at all. If you are sensitive to yeast because of candida issues, thrush ec....I would say kefir would definitely help candida because of the proliferation of healthy bacteria. I have read a fair bit about kefir over the last couple of years and not heard anything to suggest the yeast could have a negative effect.

I didnt buy a grain mill, but I did buy a machine that mills grain as one of its many functions. (Thermomix- not available in the U.S.) I had always wanted a grain mill, and thought I would use my TM for milling grains, but I dont very much- but that is more because I have headed toward a raw food diet and dont eat much bread, and dh became wheat intolerant and simply doesnt eat much bread any more. And ds will only eat white wonderbread, which I wont buy very often, so he doesnt eat much bread either. That being said, maybe I will go and make something now.

I agree- sounds not too bad at all. I have often heard that for a woman leaving a marriage that isnt healthy for her, the exchange of financial security is compensated for by the financial autonomy- the ability to make one's own decisions . Look after your own family first though. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Yes and no, Rosie. There are always some/many recipes in them that don't need powerful blenders or dehydrators. But many do, too. If you have a normal blender, it is good enough for many things, too, like making salad dressings, pates etc. There are now zillions of raw food books, and here in Perth there is a raw food revolution happening so our main health foodstores- the ones that stock organics food rather than the small ones that only sell vitamins and protein powders- now stock many raw food books, as well as products. So, I look through the books, and when I decide I want one, as long as my delayed gratification button is on, I wll go home and look it up on the Book Depository and order it :) Much cheaper that way. Also- try your inter library loan system. Even one raw food uncookbok can keep you going for a whle.

That's my philosophy too! But I have a weakness for occasional marinated fried slabs of tofu...so my philosophy doesn't always match my reality :) I think we have a huge advantage in Australia, though, over the U.S., when it comes to soy. In the U.S. they can't guarantee any soy is not GM. Wheras here in Australia, we still have organic, non GM soy. As for books.. raw food books can give you lots of ideas and recipes and inspiration, and they are mostly vegan...and there are no raw food police to come check if you are doing more or less raw. You can just get inspired. The books I have on my shelf and use regularly, are: The Sunfood Success System by David Wolfe Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens The Art of Raw Living Food by Doreen Virtue and someone else. Sorry, I can't seem to get links to work anymore. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

We go for balance. Mine are close in age, but opposite sex. I have found that in homeschooling communities, there is little segregation. But amongst schooled kids, it is expected they will play separately and only separately. I have never made a rule about it either way. I just go by feel. If I feel the one with the friend over needs space with the friend, I give the other special computer time or something to do with me. As they get older, I expect them less and less to play together. Yet this afternoon, dd15's best friend invited both dd and ds14 over for the afternoon. But thats always been the case with those friends. Sometimes the girls just want to be alone together and be girlies. And other times they want to hang out in a group with girls and guys, and my two are included together. I like to remain flexible about it and mostly its not been an issue.

I learned piano- glad I did. Even a bit of guitar and clarinet. I sang in choirs for years through my childhood- really good ones- that has definitely had a lasting impact. We spent a lot of time camping and in nature as a family before my parents separated- it had a big impact on me. I was also a big reader, and my father used to feed me sc fi and fantasy novels (I still love sci fi on TV, and good fantasy, although now I read more non fiction). My dd15 is a fine artist. She has been drawing and paintng all her life, pretty much every day. I guess that might add up to 10K hours. I wouldnt be surprised. She also plays piano. She loves photography- her dad bought her an expensive camera to pursue her hobbie. Now she wants to go into journalism. Ds14 is a charming master manipulator of all children younger than him as well as less "dominating " personalities the same age or older. He can pretty much get them to follow him to the moon. I am sure the thousands of hours he has spent honing his people skills will come in handy in his adult life - in fact, he reckons he would be a good salesman and I think he is right. :) Not saying it's all a good thing, but it seems to be his thing. Other than that...he played classical recorder for 5 years, and piano for 1. It was important to me that my kids had a solid musical foundation. Both kids love gymnastics. I am not sure if it will go anywhere, but its been a great thing. But...team sport hasnt been important to us as a family. Its not something we have greatly encouraged in the kids- possibly selfishly, but there is only so much time in the week. As homeschoolers we have been blessed with time and finances to pursue lots of interests. But my parents werent too bad either.

I only wash things with some sort of fabric stiffener in them. And I wash new sheets. I dont wash clothes usually. But, none of us have ever reacted to them. Then again, I have never bought new clothes much. We buy 2nd hand a lot. I play it by ear with 2nd hand- if it smells freshly laundered, I dont bother. If it smells remotely like it hasnt been laundered, i wash it. I am more worried by that, than by new clothes. If we reacted to chemicals in the new clothes, I guess I would be more diligent. But none of us ever have. I do wash undies first though, I must admit. I wonder if the laws are differet in Australia regarding chemicals in fabric. I have never seen much press about it.

Here in Australia we have a thing called a restraining order. I would go to the police and ask for one. They dont necessarily protect you, but they show you mean business and they show that you have considered the situation serious enough to make the effort.

I am always heading in the "more simple life" direction, but for me it has to be authentic for me. Its jsut a bit at time. Decluttering is form of simplifyng that I love, but that doesnt mean I wont enjoy going to garage sales, but that is our family's cheap form of entertainment and we pick up amazing, incredible bargains over he years. I think you have to find your own priorities. There is that wonderful story of filling a jar that is representative of your life (I am retelling it off the top of my head- there are better versions!). You have ping pong balls, small pebbles, gravel, sand and water to fill it with. The ping pong balls are the big things- your family, your partner, your kids. The pebbles are the important things- your job, career, passions, your health, perhaps friends. The gravel is your stuff- your home, your things. The sand is the fun things you do with your life. The water is the little day to day stuff. Its important to put the ping pong balls in the jar first, then the pebbles etc, in order, otherwise if you fill it with sand and water (as in, put all your attention on the small stuff) the big things don't fit, and your life goes all screwy. I think simplicity is just about getting our priorities right, and that is going to look a bit different for everyone because our life situations are different. If we live in the city, its not so easy to grow all our own vegetables and not buy stuff.Its hard to even not go to the supermarket. But we can prioritise nevertheless.

:iagree: That about sums up my feelings too.

We each have a large desk that is angled so that we each have some privacy. We use the workbox system and so each have a set of rolling drawers next to our desks. The sofas give us a read aloud and comfy space for kids to read independently. Also a TV with DVD player. Maps and artwork on the walls give it a schoolroomy feel that is also friendly. A large calendar. A white board that we don't use as a white board, but instead as a place to blue tac photographs- half the board for me, half for dd15. A piano.

I have become fairly extreme in my eating habits in the last months. I realised that last night when I was visiting some girlfriends- 2 out of 3 of whom put their fingers in their ears when I explained what I eat. They said they didnt wantto know- and healthy enough was good enoguh for them. To them, my diet was boring. To me, muffins are boring,and not worth the feeling afterwards. Wheras watermelon, mangoes, vegetable juices, nori rolls, raw chocolate, almond milk superfood smoothies, and such foods, are far from boring. I have a passion for eating healhy, though, and to keep eating healhiER. Thats my interest. I find the more I go in that direction, the less I am attracted to eating food of poorer quality. I will make it for my kids and dh at times, but choose not to eat it myself. I absolutely do think healthy enough is good enough. However, when "normal" is actually pretty exremely unhealthy, as in the Standard American (or Australian Diet (SAD), our views of what is actually healthy can be pretty distorted.

My two teens are very different in terms of maturity- and I am so glad the less mature one is the younger! Both kids have had chores for years, and do their own washing, and have animal responsiblities. Both are in the Scouting movement here, specifically Sea Scouts, which is co-ed al the way through . Both work prt time for me in my cooking job, doing kitchen duties and waiting/waitressing. Dd15 is naturally fairly mature and self starting. She taught herself to use public transport to give herself more freedom last year. She went on a 10 day camp when she was 14, over 1500kms away in the desert, and next week she heads out on another- both through Scouts/Venturers. She has been a Patrol Leader in Scouts and Chairman in Venturers. She thrives on social events and is a natural committee member type person- she is on several State committees with Venturers also, organising State wide events. She sails on weekends frequently, with others her age. Shewill get her driver's license the 2nd she is old enough. She craves her independence and freedo, so its mostly not an effort toget her to grow up- its more holdingher back. She wants to go to parties and I have severely limited that because of the binge drinking that is so prevalent. Ds14 is a much later maturer. He was fired from his Patol leader position for immature behaviour, and although he has been offered it back, he doesnt want the responsibiity and has declined. He is however on the council and has recently done the organising for a hike for the whole patrol. he is not a natural organiser. He has however decided that he wants a job and is filling out applications. He has bought himself a bike. He is good with money (he finds it everywhere- ever since he was small- he finds money on the ground- sometimes large amount! He has a nose for it somehow). He saves well for expensive items he wants. He just bought himself a good bike for more independence. I have been struggling with both kids lately as they seemterribly unmotiated withtheir schoolwork. So I thought to get them to write a contract with me for what they would voluntarily finish in the week- it worked very well, and they gave themseves a reasonable amount of work, as well as the extra curricula tasks like reports for Scouts, that they had to complete. They completed it all and they really felt much more in control of their schoolwork. I have been trying to work out how to get them to take more ownership of their work.

Several members of my family are using St Johns Wort and they swear by it- better than the meds, they reckon. I have periodic mild depression. A good cry helps quite often. For me, when I am depressed, the last thing I feel like doing is taking good care of myself, like eating well and getting exercise, so I have to bribe myself to just do a tiny thing- a 10 minute walk, read a book in the sun, drink one glass of water...each of the things I do make me want to do more, but I never know that till I do the first step, and just doing that first step can seem huge.

I just realised where Roar Vanilla get their agave- Loving Earth/ Living Earth. They have the same article on their website. This is an Australian company though- you will have to do your research in the U.S. http://www.raw-chocolate.net/superfoods.php?low-GI=agave

I just received the following in my inbox this morning and I am changing my mind about agave- it really depends on the brand, obviously. Unfortunately I dont know the brand that RoarVanilla uses, but since they are local people to me, I intend to find out :) I know they are good, ethical people. I am very glad to have received this info. Their address is roarvanilla.com if anyone wants to follow it up further. Roar Vanilla Agave Syrup We have received a number of emails over the past few weeks regarding our Agave syrup and the use and promotion of Agave as a healthier sweetener alternative. Agave nectar - The high fructose health fraud, an article written by Rami Nagel and 'Beware of the Agave Nectar Health Food Hype by Dr Mercola are the sources of the interest and confusion. Both authors have presented some valid information regarding conventionaly grown and processed Blue Webber Agave. However, the information presented is not an accurate representation of our Agave products. The following information was provided to us by our supplier, so I thought I would forward it on for those interested. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Our Agave is a Wild Maguey (Salmiana variety). It is wild crafted, certified organic and organically processed at low temperature. Our supplier works closely with the Indiginous association of Ixmiquilpan. We have met their growers in person and seen their operation. Our growers do not produce tequila, they run a small-scale operation producing only Agave Syrup. Our agave is raw - it is vacuum evaporated at 45 degrees and a certified organic, vegan enzyme is used to break down the sugars. It contains 70 - 75% fructose unlike the Blue Webber variety, which can have fructose levels as high as 90%. Dr Mercola states that "Agave nectar ias a final product is mostly chemically refined fructose". The sugars in our agave nectar come from the breakdown of the inulin molecule through the introduction of the certifued vegan enzyme. It is in no way chemically refined, there are no chemicals involved in any part of the production or packaging process. Their growers do not use any chemicals, ionic reisns, sulphuric/hydrocholric acid, dicalite, clarimex in the manufacturing of our Agave syrup. This has been independently audited and verified by Australian Cerftified Organic. It is refined only as much as the excess moisture is removed from the juice of the plant. Dr Mercola is also erroneous in stating that dark agave is bunt. The light and clear varieties of Agave have undergone filtration, which is why when they are lighter in colour. The dark agave is righer in minerals, which results in its darker colour. Unlike high fructose corn syrup that stores its energy as starch, Agave syrup stores its energy as inulin, also known as Fructans or Levulose. Inulin is typically found in roots or rhyzomes. There is no starch in Agave Syrup. Inulin bypasses digestion in the stomach and small intestine and is acyually digested in the large intenstine. Inulin actually feeds the probiotic bacteria in our digestive system. Agave syrup is concentrated like fruit juice. Like all sweeteners, we believe thay Agave syrup be consumed in moderation. When used respectfully. Agave syrup does have health promoting properties. Overconsumption and inappropriately useing Agave is what leads to health issues and puts our bodies out of balance. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Warmest regards, The Roar Vanilla Team!

Meditate.

Agreeing that frozen bananas relaly add sweetness. This morning I made one with cantaloupe (but we call it rockmelon in Australia :) ) and blueberries and baby spinach. I have never used actual adult spinach- baby spinach has a milder flavour. My son won't drink green smoothies unless I make him. And sometimes I make him and hes ok with that really- he is really in a phase of rejecting whatever I make that is healthy. I did have to train my family and some combinations they havent liked so much. My daughter asked me to make one every day for her though- she feels the are good for her. If your desire is to get more greens into your kids, you can make a healthy chocolate smoothie and add greens to it without a change in taste. I make one with raw chocolate powder, almond milk, coconut, honey, various healthy powder like maca, mesquite, lucuma, ...I add a handful or two of greens and no one knows. If your desire is to get the fruit in, I agree that dark coloured berries can help. Also use lighter coloured greens.

Its a strange poll- both the 2nd options will apply to many of us. I am not Christian yet my spiritual views shape my whole life deeply, the same as any Christan's do. Yes I do not consider myself "religious" because I don't subscirbe to any particular religion.

Stevia is a plant- I used to have one- the kids were little and when they discovered it, they ate all the leaves and killed it :).It has virtualyl zero calories. I have looked hard and found no studies to suggest there are any dangers whatsover with stevia. It is apparently used in Japan and has been for years- no health problems, lots of benefits- but in the West it takes years and billions of $ to get something as simple as a plant passed for general consumption in things like drinks. No one will pay for the tests because its a plant and not patentable. I would be interested in anyone found any studies linking stevia with health issues. My understanding is the opposite. Another sweetener is Xylitol. I think thats a good one too, and minimal calories.

I havent found any studies on whether it actually becomes toxic- I studied Ayurvedic medicine and they consider that it becomes toxic. I have heard of studies being done which verfiy it, but I haven't seen them. What heating does do to honey, which is confirmed easily, is kill off all the healthy enzymes and antibacterial healing properties. So you are basically just dealing with sugar anyway by the time you have heated it- you have destroyed most of the healthy aspects of it. I prefer to save my lovely expensive organic raw honey for purposes which don't destroy its healing and health qualities. For muffins, I would personally use agave syrup or coconut palm sugar. But I am fairly extreme. It really depends how fussy you want to be. I have studied various sugars in depth and I like to vary my sugars and use them each indifferent places. Hwever, if you are really interested in health, I suggest you research from a wide variety of sources and see which information makes the most sense to you. There is a lot of bad information out there, and alt of people just quote other people who quote other people, and nothing is verified or traced back to its source. If you are moving toward a whole food, healthier diet, from a Standard American Diet (SAD), putting honey in your muffins might be a step forward for you. For me, it woudl be step backward, (well, I dont eat muffins either), but as I said, I am fairly extreme compared to the average.