Hi - I've been on the boards since about 2001 or 2002 with the same username (I started homeschooling ds when he was not quite 3). I only posted occasionally on the old boards, but read and learned a lot. This board has been invaluable for me personally and for homeschooling. We started homeschooling because of how shy ds was and I knew a public school environment wouldn't be good for him, but continue because I feel it's the best choice academically and socially (and ds isn't shy anymore).

We get the sewer bill monthly but as of now, we don't pay for water, so don't have a water bill. That will be going away sometime in the future, and I assume they'll bill monthly also.

:grouphug: I'm so sorry :grouphug:

We didn't.

I'm not sure you could get the hulls clean. I'd be for just replacing them and washing the cover.

We haven't vaxed, but it actually started with dogs I had long before I had kids. I had 2 puppies at the same time, and did all the regular puppy shots and things you were supposed to do. Both dogs (one a purebred, one a mutt) had horrible reactions to multiple vaccines and boosters. And one almost died from the rabies vaccine. I was told I must just has very sensitive pups. . . Then, a number of years later, I had my cats vaccinated because I had to board them for a trip, and both cats were very sick when I got home, and took a long time to get better. That led me into researching vaccines and animals, which later led into researching them for my dc.

In addition to the slippery elm bark, there's a supplement called Ulcetrol that I take for my ulcer. And I also use l-glutamine for stomach pain issues.

I agree. We didn't have candy at all for years, and then the kids started getting involved with church activities that gave out candy :001_huh: So I started letting them save some of it and have a piece a day. My dd, though, got to be so focused on it that I finally said no more. If they get it at an activity, they have to give it away and not bring it home, or if it does get brought home, it gets thrown out or taken back out of the house. I still try to have alternatives that are somewhat sweet but healthy. Even then, they don't get a lot of that, either.

I'm sorry Joanne :grouphug::grouphug:

:hurray: Congratulations!! That's wonderful!!

I think I understand now. I don't think I'd do it with my family (live in such a small space), but if you all can get along over the winter, then it might be worth it. I think you'd just have to plan the house layout well so that whatever you build now could be successfully integrated into the larger house later, and if it would eventually be plumbed, get all that in place during building, even if you won't have running water yet.

Maybe because you said in your first post that you don't have a couple thousand to buy a travel trailer and so it sounds like you have less than a couple thousand to build this shelter. I haven't priced anything out, but it seems like anything decent would be a couple thousand to build - I know pouring a slab of cement isn't inexpensive, even if you're doing it yourself.

The only way I'd even consider it was if someone had an RV or something you could borrow for the winter and live in that. I think that would be difficult enough - I can't even imagine trying to spend the winter in something less.

:hurray: That's really wonderful!

Thanks so much! That should help us decide whether to switch or not.

We have Netflix with discs only but dh and I were discussing switching to streaming - do they have a lot of the more current movies? Is there anyway to see their streaming selection w/o actually having it?

If he has gone w/o food for 4 days, there may be underlying health issues. I used to think my cat was just picky, but later learned that she probably has chronic kidney disease, accompanied by a lot of stomach pain, which was making her howl and cry. You might want to check out this page: http://www.felinecrf.org/ I have to give her crushed up Zantac in water, hidden in a liver soup (yum. . .). That has helped tremendously. I only figured this out after we about lost her last year when she went on another food strike (and by then, I knew it was not good for her, and was force feeding her via a syringe). We were a day or two from taking her in to be put down because she wouldn't eat on her own and would fight violently when I did feed her. She finally started eating again. So I wouldn't just let it go - read some of the symptoms and see if any fit. I haven't taken my cat in for a diagnosis because she's 16 and I don't want to subject her to the stress of bloodwork and vet visits at this point in her life.

I just got one the other day, and they also sometimes email them. I always just hold onto at least one because (in the past) they don't care about the expiration dates and will still let you use them.

:grouphug::grouphug:

I agree.

I think it's basically the same thing. Having someone else mix it for you or you doing it yourself. If you're going to be going through quite a bit of it, it would very quickly make it worthwhile to buy the flakes and mix your own. Here's just one place to buy them: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWU495/ItemDetail And the general recipe (I Googled it) is 1:1 flakes to water. I think that was a little strong for me, so I made it more dilute (which is another good thing about making your own - if it's too strong, you can adjust it).

I know with Prime, there's a box on the left hand side that you can check that will show only Prime eligible items. -- I just checked w/o signing in and there's a heading for Shipping Option that will then show only those eligible for Free Shipping with $25.

I've made magnesium "oil" from magnesium chloride flakes I have. It's called an oil because it has a somewhat oily feel. I can't remember the ratio of flakes to water, but I'm sure a Google search would find it. I was using it to try to up my magnesium, but found a magnesium citrate tablet that works well and just haven't gone back to it.

I'm 41 and don't know the reference and am in the US.