We buy a 1/2 each year and pay $3.30lb hanging weight.

Is it possible you have overactive letdown? I did with my dc and it caused them a lot of frustration (especially when newborns) because the milk would come out so forcefully.

Yeah, I'm sure it will vary depending on what's available near you. Here's a page I just found that looks like it has some good guidelines (and talks about starting off with a whole chicken, which should be easier to find :)) http://rawfeddogs.org/rawguide.html

If you're using raw, meaty bones, the protein/calcium ratio works itself out. You just need to find what type of meaty bones you can get for a decent price. When we had a Great Pyr, I was able to buy turkey backs and necks for like 29 cents a pound and that was his main meat. It is kind of overwhelming at first, but if you find some websites on raw feeding with a community to ask questions, that will help. I've only got one cat now on raw, so haven't kept up to date on what raw feeding websites are out there.

:grouphug: Praying.

We haven't ever used babysitters. My dad and stepmom watch the kids occasionally and my mom and stepdad have also, but it's not on a regular basis (my mom and stepdad don't live in the same state, so it has only been when they've visited).

If you can buy GT's Kombucha where you live (especially the original, but the other will work, too) you can grow your own: http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-grow-a-kombucha-scoby/

I've made sauerkraut, which was very easy and tasty. I've also done milk kefir, water kefir and currently, kombucha. I used the milk kefir in recipes (I don't drink milk, and dh wasn't interested), but stopped using it because we weren't buying milk regularly. I liked the water kefir and dh would drink it with juice, but got interested in kombucha because it's made with tea and I like and drink a lot of tea. I currently have a continuous brew system set up (very easy) and have been experimenting with flavoring the tea after the initial fermentation, and doing a second fermentation. I need to get some bottles used for beer/soda making to help hold in the carbonation. Dh won't drink it, though (and neither kid is very interested - ds just because it's alive and dd liked the flavor alright, but then started getting freaked out because it was alive <sigh>). Dh thinks it tastes like vinegar, and although it does have a tart flavor, I like it.

It really depends on what brand of kibble they were on before going to something like ground meat and rice. As Ellie mentioned in her post, some brands do include euthanized animals, along with other very unpleasant things. If you take a dog off that, almost any other food will be better. However, just ground meat and rice isn't balanced and if you don't consider the dog's calcium needs and add calcium for that, it won't be good for them. Here's a good site with some more info on brand quality, etc.: http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/

Dh and I have actually mentioned that it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility of this happening to him. At this point, the kid would have to be an adult. My main concern would be for my kids - it would be a huge shock and probably something difficult for them to grasp (there's a lot of dysfunction in the extended family, but nothing that close to home). We'd be open to the relationship, but would most likely want to have paternity testing before getting too involved.

I'd look online for some recipes - if you're not feeding raw meaty bones, and just ground meat, the ratio of calcium/phosphorus is going to be off. You can use ground up eggshells in place of bones in the ground meat mixture, but I'm not sure of the proportions.

It has 50 mg of each of the B vitamins.

I've been using Swanson vitamins Vit D, and whatever Vit C they will take (dd is currently drinking a powdered one in her water and ds takes a chewable one - Swanson and NOW brands both have a Vit C crystal that dissolves in water and the chewable is Natural Factors Jungle Juice flavor). Neither kid is very good at swallowing larger vitamins.

My kids take a Carlson for Kids DHA, 5000IU Vit D, 1000mg Vit C, a multi vitamin, small amount of calcium and magnesium. I've got my ds on a B-50 complex, too. I will also have them take an Oregano oil softgel if their throat is scratchy or they feel like they might be coming down with something.

I bought a heavy weight blackout material, too, and just made them. I made the curtains from scratch for my dd's room and then just used the blackout material to line some pre-made curtains for ds's room. I don't remember any smell, but it's been 11 years ago :) However, because of heat issues on the west side of the house, I still put up a piece of the 1" foam insulation board in ds's window in the summers. It keeps the heat from the sun out better.

Almost never. And that includes going out to dinner, too. We might have an event once or twice a year that we go to, but not often. I could go out more often with dh (he has more frequent business/social engagements), but I don't have that much social energy and if I do go out, I'd rather it were just with him.

Well, I had an overabundance of eggs, so decided to hard boil some. This time I just used the baking soda and only rinsed them in cold water afterwards and am peeling them now. They're peeling fine, without letting them cool completely or using ice. So it has to have something to do with the baking soda.

I always had trouble even with our "fresh" eggs that were a couple weeks old. And store bought eggs before that, I think. So the age of the eggs didn't make a difference here. I don't know if it's the ice cold water or the baking soda for me.

I've used borax and sugar/corn syrup for ants here, but if yours don't like sugar, I'd mix the borax with something else they will eat (and then take the borax back to their nest).

We have chickens and were having a horrible time getting the fresher eggs to peel well, w/o big chunks of white coming off with the peel. I finally read somewhere to add a little bit of baking soda to the pan of water, have the water boiling, and then add the eggs (using a spoon) from the refrigerator (so the eggs were still very cold). I've had a few shells crack a little when they hit the water, but not many. Then cook for 15 min (I'm at high altitude), drain, fill with cold/ice water and let the eggs cool, then peel. Since I've been doing that, the eggs peel easily (my kids were amazed that it was even possible after all the trouble we'd had previously).

I was just posting thoughts, that maybe the reason she's been in the room the whole time is because she's going through something difficult.

Something may be up with this kid - the fact that she hasn't come out during the whole time she's been there and the time that she's leaving keeps changing. Maybe she's having trouble at home, pregnant, runaway? Who knows. My sil had a runaway friend when she was in highschool and there was a lot of hiding out, going from one place to another.

We have Kleen Kanteens and have these sleeves for them: http://www.amazon.com/Klean-Kanteen-Wide-D-Ring-Lake/dp/B002HLSZCK/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1342197530&sr=8-7&keywords=built+ny+kanteen I also wash ours in the dishwasher.

I don't know of differences between the two, but we've been sponsoring multiple kids through Compassion since 1995. I think they're a great organization.

I agree - I've used herbs to help regulate my cycle for years and find them very effective.