I have not read all of the responses. I am a 4H club leader, activity leader, and county volunteer. My daughter is our club VP, county 2nd VP, and county senator elect. This is our 7th year in 4H and there are rules that the leaders have to abide by. Our county requires a leader from each club to attend yearly training and to agree to the by-laws of the county and state. We are required to take attendance at each meeting and, if a quorum is not met, no votes can be taken. That said, leaders want their members present. We, as leaders, can email, text, and/or use social media to communicate with our members and their families. However, we must also provide written or telephone communication if a family requires it. In our county, one must contact the extension office to tell them that mail and/or phone communication is preferred for county information and contact club leaders for individual club information. We must provide this option to families. Another requirement is to post the next meeting date, location, and time on the previous months minutes and inform the extension office of any date,location, and/or time changes. Our club has over 45 members and there are 12 clubs in our county. We have 3 members who are on our calling committee and they are responsible to call the night before the meeting with a reminder. A leader or officer also sends out a text and email the weekend before with reminder information. Finally, I am in charge of posting on social media information about upcoming meetings and events, as well as pictures from past meetings and events. I would contact your local extension office and ask them what needs to be done so that you are communicated with.

I work 50 hours a week at the plumbing business that my husband and I own. Our shop is in town and we live about 5 miles away in the country. We only have two that are still in school (freshman and junior). Half of the week they come to work with me and work on their school in the break room. The other half of the week they stay at home. When they stay at home they do their school work and clean the bathrooms, take out trash, vacuum, sweep, dust, and whatever else I need done. I usually have supper cooking when I leave the house at 6:45 each morning. I bought the Hot Logic large bag and it has been such an amazing addition to my kitchen. I freeze meals in disposable 9x13 pans and place the frozen meal in the bag. i plug in the bag and the meal is ready when i get home. Last night we had pepper steak cooked in the bag and I made wild rice to serve with it. I also use my slow cooker at least once a week. I have a smaller bag and slow cookers at work so I can have hot meals for my family at work as well. Since I started working full time, the kids have really learned to pitch in and do their part. I can no longer do laundry in one day. Instead, I do 1-2 loads a night. I also spend 15-30 minutes each night organizing and touching up at home. I am almost never on the computer at home (unless for work). I try to get all my computer work and correspondence done while at work. I have learned to lower my expectations and accept the fact that I cannot do everything that I once did. My grocery shopping is haphazard and based on when time allows. I try to shop early in the morning before work or on Sunday afternoon on the way home from church. My daughter has started taking over some of the cooking responsibilities and is really good about making meals for her and her brother on the days that they stay home. She also does dishes and puts together grocery and shopping lists for me. I have set up almost all of our bills on auto pay and do most of my shopping online. It is a balancing act and sacrifices have to be made but it can be done. I am at work right now (taking a break from billing but still answering the phones).

I was given an ornament each year growing up and each one is still on my tree.

We have many unique items on our tree that I will miss when they leave with our kids. Green glasses from my eldest son's 16th birthday party- he hung them on the tree that year and now they are an ornament. A thanksgiving turkey that they same son colored and hung on the tree. He always places the ugly thing front and center of the tree. Our daughter hung the first blue ribbon that she ever received on our tree. Toys that they kids couldn't bare to part with so they tied string on them and hung them on the tree (mainly Star Wars toys, action figures, toy cars, and happy meal toys), Our oldest two boys went to Italy last year and brought all of us a leather key chain. We all hung them on the tree instead of using them as key chains. There are so many memories in all those ornaments.

Our 4 kids each get 3 new ornaments each year. They each get an ornament that goes with the other three's ornaments (identical ornaments in different colors, themed ornaments (this year was superheroes), souvenirs that were made into ornaments (sand dollars, event tickets, novelty items), etc. The four ornaments go together and usually reflect something that the four of them did during the year or an interest that they all share. The second ornament is one that I pick out to represent each kid and something momentous for the year (graduate ornament when they graduate, running shoe after completing 1st season cross country, car or truck ornament when they get their license, etc). The last ornament is one that we make together. We have made button trees, Scrabble name tiles, beaded spiders, felt gnomes, salt dough ornaments, painted glass balls, puzzle reindeer, and more. We have a 9' tree and it is very full. They will each take their ornaments with them when they move out. My oldest is getting his own place this year and will be getting married in 2019. He and his future wife are both excited to have the ornaments on their tree someday.

My introverted boys have recently discovered painting miniatures. They enjoy painting both plastic and metal miniatures. The supplies do not take up much space and they can spend as little or as much time as they want painting. A miniature does not have to be completed in one sitting. Sometimes they sit together to paint, and sometimes they paint alone. They enjoy painting people, animals, game figures, buildings, terrain, and more. The miniatures can be purchased individually or in packs from Amazon, Miniature Market, Ebay, and more, as well as hobby and model shops. My boys do not set the figures up or create scenes unless they are playing a role playing game. This has allowed them to express they creativity in a quiet and introverted way. The Army Painter website is where I found information before purchasing the supplies for them. I only wish that I would have thought of this hobby sooner for them.

Usually, this can be done. However, about 10% of the time the item is so wedged in there that it cannot be removed. It depends on the shape of the throat. Some throats are an S-shape and those tend to be the worse.

We recommend a two piece because you can replace the tank or the bowl without having to replace the entire toilet. It is not a big deal if you don't have little kids, but often things get flushed down the toilet and get stuck in the throat of the toilet. When this happens, the bowl has to be replaced. Also, if you have water that eats away at parts, you can have the tank replaced without having to replace the bowl. We do recommend a one piece if someone is very large and tends to lean back because they are less likely to break the back off of a 1 piece. You would not believe some of the things we have seen. Two weeks ago we had to break a toilet to see what was blocking it. A child had flushed a troll doll. It had expanded and was stuck- there was no way to get it out without breaking the toilet. The residents had continually plunged the toilet and had pushed the troll so far back that it could not be grabbed.

We own a plumbing company and I talk toilets all the time. There will be some differences depending on your state. Some states prohibit the sale of toilets that they think are not efficient enough. The American Standard Champion has a very powerful flush even with a small amount of water. Kohler Highline (comfort height) and Kohler Wellworth (standard height) are dependable overall toilets with insides that are easy to replace. Home Depot sells a Cimmeron model that is very good and inexpensive. As far as height, you have a choice of comfort (high) height, standard (low) height, and right height (in between). You can choose between a round front and an elongated front. The elongated takes up about 2 more inches in front. We generally recommend two piece toilets instead of a one piece. Slow close lids prevent noise from banging. There are so many options when it comes to toilets. I recommend seeing what plumbers in your area recommend. Water quality can also have an impact of the type of toilet that is recommended.

My son had many of the same issues. He started orthodontics the month after he turned eight. First he had a palate expander and, over the course of a year and half, five baby teeth were pulled. The teeth were pulled gradually and only when there was adequate space for the permanent teeth to move in. After 2.5 years, he received full braces and continued with head gear. It took almost 6 years (from the time he started orthodontics) but everything moved where it needed to be and he has space for all of his teeth. A few months after he finished braces, he had all four wisdom teeth surgically removed because they were already impacted. It has been 5.5 years since he had his wisdom teeth out and he still wears a retainer 3 nights a week. He will be 20 in 2 months and has a beautiful smile and no issues with his bite. We are glad we went with a slow and steady approach.

The only miss was that my in-law's gave us the Google voice that is like Amazon's Alexa. We are an Amazon family and do not have any of the devices that work with the Google one. We said thank you and will find someone who can use it. The biggest hits were: DH- thrilled to receive Twilight Imperium 4 (he and our 3 boys played a 7 hour game yesterday), the movie Valerian, and a pair of lounge/sleep pants that were long enough for him. He is 6'4" and everything is too short. I found a pair at Scheel's that had a length of 36. DS21- a record player and records (he is a big fan of rock bands from the 70's & 80's), several board games for his apartment, a book of all the Marvel heroes, and a Target gift card (to use to decorate his apartment) DS19- an Origami desk, a map of the world that is a giant mouse pad, gaming headphones, and war history books DS19 & DS17- metal miniatures, a giant paint set, and brushes- they really enjoy RPG and these are for them to use with that DS17- a carrying case for his miniatures, a DS game, Munchkin expansion packs, a large dungeon map for RPG, Zelda puzzle, and a hoodie DD14 (will be 15 in 3 weeks)- a letter jacket (she knew she was getting this but thought she would have to wait for her birthday), wireless Beats, Naked eye shadow palette (this one shocked her to receive), paper facial masks, a book of journal prompts, and High School Musical 3 on DVD Me- a large colander that fits across my sink, Yankee candles, a really soft shawl, and the new Pioneer Woman cookbook

We do get the larger box. Normally they do one country a month but, for December, they had a traditional holiday treat from 13 different countries. The rest of the year they feature one country. This box contained clues for the next month's box and I am fairly sure that it will be Greece.

The pamphlet is more like a booklet and contains the history of each treat as well as information about the country it is from. There is also a trivia page.

We just received the December box last week. There are treats from 13 countries in this box. This was our first box and we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the treats. We have all been enjoying the box and will definitely keep up with the subscription.

I don't cook on Christmas Day. We have fondue on Christmas Eve with various sauces and dips for the meat. I precook the meat and have in simmer in a little bit of broth in the slow cooker to keep warm. We also have cut up veggies for dipping in the sauces and dips. For dessert, we have cut up fruit and marshmallows to dip in chocolate and caramel. We enjoy the leftovers on Christmas Day. I prepare cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve and put them in the oven to bake on Christmas morning. We have always enjoyed a relaxing Christmas Day where everyone can eat when they want to.

My son asked for the HyperX Cloud 2 gaming headset because it is Discord Certified. He uses discord for several of his online games and that was important to him.

DS 19 is getting a Steam gift card, a good gaming headset, an extra large mouse pad that will hold his mouse and keyboard, a couple books on military and history, and a few other smaller items. DS17 is getting some miniatures for gaming, along with a good paint set and case for miniatures, a hooded jacket, some Munchkin expansions, a lanyard for his keys, fun socks, and a few other smaller items.

Stainless steel is easy to clean but you could also go with a ceramic coated sink. If you cook quite a bit and use large pots and pans, the pans may leave marks in the ceramic sink but the marks usually come off with a magic eraser. Stainless steel does show hard water spots but can be easily wiped down to remove the spots.

My husband is a master plumber and we own a plumbing company. I can give you a little advice based on our experience. First, go with a faucet where you can change handle and faucet styles without changing out the entire faucet. Delta brand is great as they have the body or "guts" the same and, if you have any issue, it is easy to change out a single piece without having to get a completely new faucet each time there is an issue. I would suggest you look at the Leland style as it is a single lever at the base of the faucet. It also has a pull down head with various sprayer options and the head retracts and locks in place magnetically. It is a higher faucet which makes it nicer to put deeper items under. There are a variety of sink options out there but we have found that Kohler tends to hold up better under hard water. I can give you advice on various plumbing related issues, just let me know what you are having issues with.

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DS20 (starting his junior year in January) wanted to be an engineer but wasn't sure what kind until we visited an engineering school the summer before his junior year. He decided on metallurgical engineering and was also thinking of chemical engineering as a second major. During his freshman year of college he switched from chemical engineering to nuclear chemistry as his second major. He is also thinking about getting his teaching degree along the way because he thinks he might want to someday be a college professor (after working as an engineer). He has filled in for professors several times and will be co-teaching a math class at the college in January. It is a J-term class (5 hours a day for 10 days) so it will be a good opportunity for him to see how much he likes teaching. DS 18 (graduated in May) is not attending college but is working as a plumbing apprentice. He should be able to try for his journeyman license in 2017. He was thinking about going to school as a history teacher but didn't feel like it would be a good career choice. Last spring we decided to take over the family plumbing business as of 1/1/17. Once that decision was made, he decided that he wanted to stick with plumbing for now and possible consider college down the line. DS 16 (sophomore) has not really made any decisions but will start apprenticing as a plumber in 2017. He is thinking that he might want to go into the family business but isn't quite sure. DD 13 (14 in 2 weeks, eighth grader) wants to be a mom but works very hard in her studies. She is very involved in 4-H, writes monthly articles for the newspaper (the last 2 were each given more than half of the front page), puts on workshops, is very artistic, and enjoys science. She says that she wants to learn everything she can and share what she knows but wants to get married, have kids, and homeschool them.

Northeast Colorado- our weather is nothing like it was forecast to be and it continues to change (as does the forecast). Woke up around 5 to heavy rain, a little after 6 the power went out and was out for 2-5 hours because of the rain which began to freeze, then it was sunny and warm around 40 degrees and looked great. A little before 1 the wind picked up and is now consistently 50+ mph and it is snowing. It is a blizzard out and it is supposed to continue until around 8 tonight. Around 11 this morning the forecast was sunny and warm with a high of 52 but apparently this front dropped way south and is hitting us hard. Hopefully we keep power for the rest of the day.

My dad and brother are both professional magicians and I grew up being a magician's assistant. I also ran a magic supply company for many years. My brother and his wife just debuted a new magic set designed for beginners. Here is a link to the set and other things they offer http://www.laflinmagicstore.com/product-p/mdtis.htm If you have any specific questions- please let me know or you can contact them for recommendations.

I don't know of any DIY tips but have been there. I chose to have a hysterectomy at 32 because my uterus was at a stage 3+ prolapse and I had adenomyosis and ovarian cysts. It was the best choice for me but it was hard being young and making that decision. I am glad that I did choose the hysterectomy and do feel much better. I do still have my ovaries and still suffer from cysts but at least I only have one issue now. I hope you get the help and direction you need- good luck.

This kept happening to our son's truck so we took it to a local shop and had them run a diagnostic test (under $40). They found that the car radio was draining the battery even when it was off. He had the radio replaced and has had no more issues.