Ferdie
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Posts posted by Ferdie
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For kids beds, I would do twin or full with loft and trundle.
The idea of storing dressers or clothes in basement is a good one because then you could put a desk in a closet for computer or study space.
:iagree: That is what my neighbor did. She bought a bunk bed with a twin on top, full on the bottom with a pull out full trundle. She had three children sharing the room. The idea was that each of them would have their own bed, but in reality two of them ended up sleeping in the full together and it worked out great.
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I vote for a laptop with wireless printer.
Congrats!
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Dh can work up to 20 hours a week but they have been low on work and he has only been getting 15 hours a week. That 20 hours or so a month is what is killing us. You are also figuring our income before taxes :) My dh is a IC, so he has to pay self-employment taxes. Last year we did great. I was a IC as well and we made 36k, however we paid almost 5k in SE taxes. This year I was an IC for only 4 months then the contract wasn't renewed and I was unemployed for two months and I am making less than I was as an IC.
I am trying to figure out how to cut back and what to cut back on.
I think you are doing an excellent job on your budget. I would focus on increasing your income.
If your dh is only working 20 hours a week max, can he take in another IC job to go full time? You could apply the extra to your medical expenses and have those paid off much quicker.
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Mine make their own arrangements for families we know really well.
For new friends, but someone I know of (like church or school friend) I touch base with the parent first or double check information as I drop off.
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I am not understanding your income. Minimum wage, ($8) for two people, one working 40 hours and one working 35 hours is $31K a year. Is your husband in the right job?
I am wondering if he can find a job mentor, maybe someone through the church or job assistance program, to help him find a job with higher income.
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We have used the clear plastic with a map, (and other papers) in our dining room for over 6 years. No marks to the table. Our world map was laminated though. The map came from Costco during back to school season. The heavy duty vinyl came from Walmart.
I love the clear plastic so much it is still on there even though we don't homeschool anymore. My children use our dining room as homework central and I sew in there. I have expensive table protectors, but they are so bulky I don't use them. I love having a world map on display in our dining room.
I cut the plastic fairly short so it is easy to put a tablecloth over it for the times we eat dinner in there.
ETA: The thing that got trashed in that room is the back of some of the chairs. Someone took pencil to the chair backs and left a lot of marks on several of them. Oh well, memories.
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I saute a chopped onion, two carrots and two celery stalks for 5 min and add to ground beef. Not really to stretch it but to bulk up fiber/minerals. I usually make a large batch of the veggies and add them to everything: spaghetti sauce, casseroles, ground meat and soups. The veggie mixture freezes great in ziploc bags, (preportion so it is ready to use). I use a food processor to chop them so even though the size is small you can tell that there are carrots in your lasgne. LOL!
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BillieBoy on page 1 of the cooking from scratch thread has a recipe for 50+ burritos:
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My dh pays all the online bills. I pay all the manual bills which are mostly utilities and they yearly bills like prop tax and insurance. I am not sure who our cell phone carrier is.
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Wow! So bright and cheery. The perfect place to get inspiration.
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I would be miffed, but I would eat before hand and go. The point of the reunion would be to touch base with old friends, not eat dinner. Also part of the $100 is going towards DJ, facility fees, bartender...
Our class reunion is run by volunteers so mistakes happen. It is not like a professional corporate event.
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Ditto to above. Plus check on the size of the soccer ball you need. They come in different sizes by age, but double check with coach so you get the right size for practice. Also during the day you can encourage your children to practice foot drills. That will help your oldest get up to spped.
Also in the fall keep a blanket and gloves in the car, along with your chair. I cannot believe how cold it can get at our soccer field in the fall.
Lastly, some parents can get a little overboard when it comes to their kids in sports. Just smile and stay away from those parents. There is one on every team.
Have fun.
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If I was meeting with a new school principal, I would be going to encourage her, not asking for things. She must be overwhelmed getting ready for the school year.
Also for library services, can you coordinate something with your local public library? Our children's librarian is so supportive of the homeschool community. She lets them vote on Bluebonnet books awards, offers research classes, book clubs - whatever you need.
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I use Aveeno Positively Radiant SPF30 in the morning, (Walmart):
http://www.aveeno.com/facialcare/positively-radiant-daily-moisturizer-spf30
and ROC, (Costco) at night:
Drink lots of water, too.
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I just made 50 plus bean and cheese burritos for the freezer (really easy to grab and throw in the toaster oven). I soak dry beans, slow cook them in a crock pot with onions and bacon, then mash them but not fully. Best tasting refried beans without actually being refried. I buy bulk Costco tortillas and cheddar (grated w/my food processor). Total cost around $11 for 50 really big and plump burritos. So, around twenty two cents a burrito and they are three times the size of Taco Bell ones. I do this once a month. Some times for variety I'll make make some with taco flavored hamburger, homemade Spanish rice, and add some mango salsa. This will bump the cost up to around sixty cents, but these are big buggers. One is plenty for a meal.
Thanks for the great idea!
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summer - Texas 100+ degress both morning and night
rest of year - morning
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Our bedroom is downstairs in a two story house. My children are in my bedroom all the time. Our bed is my dd's favorite spot to read. I wrestle with my youngest and my bed is our wrestling spot. LOL!
They don't sleep with us, and I wake up before they do so no morning snuggles for me. When they were young we kept a sleeping bag in our room. If they were scared in the middle of the night they knew they could sleep on the floor of our bedroom. They all did it at one time or another and out grew it around age 8.
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I drip and all my kids drip. Not sure about dh.
ETA - We have a big, Texas size master bath with the smaller shower possible. ?? No way to dry off in shower without bumping walls and getting wet again.
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We have boundaries with electronics because my ds has addiction problems. During the school year we put the Xbox away in the attic. It comes out for holiday breaks and summer. For the computer we limit computer gaming time to Fri. - Sun. They have set wake up/bed times during the school year.
For summer we limit Xbox/computer gaming from 1PM-7PM. They obviously have to finish their chores and spend at least 90 minutes reading before they can game. We don't have a set bed time but everyone needs to be up and going by 9:30AM for the summer. At the beginning of the summer we let the gaming go until 10PM, but my kids weren't spending any time with their Dad. After dinner everyone scattered to their electronics. Now that electronics end at 7 they spend time swimming, talking or watching a movie together in the evening.
My ds has major gaming addiction. If we didn't set boundaries he would be on sun up to sun down. His two best friends game non-stop, so my son is resentful that we have boundaries for him.
ETA - Last summer I was strict about limiting screen time to 2 hours a day, and they had to wait until 1PM to start. My ds would game from 1-3 and then ride his bike to one of his friend's house and game the rest of the day until 8PM. He has three close friends biking distance from our house who are allowed unlimited game time.
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Y'all got a better deal than we did. It cost us $600 to ship my dh's car from Los Angeles to Dallas.
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My kids have been to this one for several years in Colcord, OK. It is pricey, but they offer partial scholarships.
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Cesar Salad Turkey Wraps - cesar salad dressing on a tortilla. Layer turkey, lettuce and Parmesan cheese.
My sister's favorite salad uses turkey slices:
1 lb bow tie pasta salad
1 jar red bell pepper - Trader Joes
24 oz slices turkey, cut into strips
1 1/3 c parsley - Italian
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 T pine nuts
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
4 garlics cloves, minced
4 limes juiced
Cook pasta, add pepper, turkey, parsley, basil and pine nuts. Mix dressing together in jar. Add to taste. (Not sure if you use all this since my sister always double recipe for our get togethers).
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My SIL gave my niece $50 per month for clothes. She was responsible for everything from underware to outware. The only thing my SIL paid extra were her running shoes and clothes for track. This is in So. Cal. where it is pretty temperate.
My niece asked for clothing gift cards for holidays and b-days. She also used her babysitting money for clothes so I'm not sure if $50 was enough in her opinion.
My 13 year old get some great things at Platos Closet. They sell gently used clothes. TJ Maxx and Ross are great too - nice quality and good prices.
ETA - My SIL gave the money to my niece each month to manage. After a few years my niece became really good at managing money when it comes to clothing. She is very careful to weigh the cost benefit of items she purchases. She buys good quality and knows what looks great on her.
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Ours was done in Los Angeles, over 10 years ago, and it was very similar to SKL. They interviewed us, toured the home and made a fix it list of safety issues, (lock up vitamins, get a lid for your kitchen trash can...). We had plenty of time to complete the fix it list. They inspected our cars and asked for insurance records. They also interviewed my children privately - in another room, but where I could hear the questions. My children were very young, (4 and under) but they wanted to know about their day and how we disciplined from the child's perspective. They also spent time going through expectations and answered our questions.
We went through several home studies, (we ended up adopting 3 children), but each time I felt they really wanted to find homes for the children. They really did everything they could to get us approved. I never felt like they were making unrealistic demands. It is a lot of paperwork and follow up though.
Some how, whenever the county workers arrived, we always had fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies on hand. That seemed to make everything go smoother.;)
Congrats! It is so worth it in the end. Just keep your eyes focus on your goal and the children you are helping and it will all work out.
Clean hotel recommendations needed and Trader Joe ideas
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
:iagree: We have driven from TX to CA and back twice. The first time we stayed at Econ Lodge, Super 8 type motels. I read reviews on Hotwire and booked through them. Some of the motels were okay and some were horrible dispite decent reviews.
The second trip I book 3 1/2-4 star hotel using name your price at Priceline. I started at betterbidding.com to get an idea of what the ongoing prices were in the town we wanted and then bid based on that. We had the most amazing hotels at Super 8 prices. Name your price hotel route was so much better for us. We also had four people in a room, even though the Priceline bid was for 2. I never had a problem and most places were able to bring a roll away bed to our room, (sometimes for free and sometimes for $10 extra). The only downside was that none of the hotels offered breakfast. Some mornings we ate our own, (usually bagels, banana, juice and fruit), and some morning we ate out.
I love name your own price at Priceline.