I use the deep litter method and haven't really had an issue, however, chickens roost at night (I have no clue about ducks) and I have a poop board under their roost, which collects the majority of the droppings. That does get dumped into the compost pile a couple times a week. I just recently changed out all the bedding in the coop from last fall - over the winter I only added more several times.

I have chickens, but I tarped their coop this winter and it worked out very well - they were able to go out in the run part and not have it full of snow or in the full wind. I did put straw down in there to help with warmth. I also got them set up with watering nipples, instead of the other types of waterers. I did a quick Google search and it appears that you can use them for ducks. I used a 3 or 4 gallon bucket that sits up on a concrete block. It does stay out in the run portion, but the water stays clean! And for the winter, I got a bucket heater and was able to keep their water from freezing and me from having to change it out daily. I don't know if ducks sleep during the night, but from what I read, chickens do, so don't really need the water in the coop part during the night. However, if you want water in the coop, it's easy enough to make a nipple waterer out of something smaller and hang it in the coop - I started my chicks out with a plastic drink bottle.

Our is 11.3 cents during on peak (weekdays during the day, til 7pm) and 4.15 cents off peak (weekends and evenings after 7pm). But then we have a $14 basic charge and a few other small fees tacked on.

It really depends on the dishwasher - dh's best friend is an appliance repair guy and gave us an older Maytag (same model he had) that works well and filters the water/food differently than the new ones. He and his wife finally replaced theirs and hate the new one. But, I don't pre-rinse, only scrape off big chunks of stuff. I use Finish tabs and we have hard water. If I keep the filter cleaned out every now and then, I don't generally have issues with it getting things clean (except cooked eggs, stuff that's been baked in the oven - a few things like that).

Another vote for The Explosive Child - it really helped me to see the path that was leading to my ds's meltdowns.

Dd had a phase 1 and now, at 10 1/2 is starting phase 2. She had major overcrowding and the options were to pull 4 permanent teeth or do two rounds of braces. Our dentist was the one who recommended going in and he is the type that is pretty relaxed about most things, so when he pushed this issue, we knew it was something to pay attention to. Ds had some issues with not enough room, but not to the same extent, and so he only has to undergo one round. I think starting now or waiting would depend on how serious the overcrowding is.

I agree with the spray bottle - just be diligent in training and make sure you have a separate, comfy place for the cat that's her own (we've made a way for our current cat to get up on top of the wardrobe in our room where she has a bed, along with a cat tower in the front room with a bed). I've also always had big scratching posts made out of a carpet that the cats liked. My last 2 cats did not get on any furniture, except my bed, and none of my cats was ever allowed on the counters. I'd also start training the kitten to accept having her claws clipped, which can be done with regular people clippers. At least that way she'll do less damage during the training. And kittens do benefit from having lots of cat toys to keep them busy :)

I'm hoping to get a Speed Queen sometime soon - dh's best friend is an appliance repairman and thinks highly of them. My current washer was the least expensive one we could get at the time, and has a plastic drum which collects odors and the Speed Queen is metal.

Well, I can't just give up on it - lol - so I keep doing it (and writing letters, signing petitions, etc. about the GMO issue). I think eventually the tide will turn, but I'm not sure we can ever fix the loose GMOs that are out there now.

When we were using a token economy, the kids used their tokens for almost all privileges (computer time, movie/TV time, extra snack, etc.). They could save up quite a few to get a trip to buy something at the store, but for the most part they spent them on stuff around the house.

It's probably not entirely possible because crops like corn and soybeans have been so cross-contaminated from the GMO varieties. Even so, I do try to only buy organic corn products and look for companies that are committed to not using GMOs in their products. I buy either cane sugar or organic sugar, because of the possibility of GMO sugar beets. I try to be aware of what companies own the smaller "natural" companies and what their stance on issues are (like Kashi is very GMO contaminated).

I've had rayon items I successfully hand-washed, but others that completely shrank up and I couldn't wear any longer. That must be why!

My dd would take a *long* time to do it - she really dislikes using the dictionary and would be constantly asking for my input or to help her ("Is this one of the words?") If I wasn't by her side for moral support, she might have a minor meltdown from frustration (depending on the day and her hormones) or just take forever getting it done.

I would suggest adding a green juice to your daily routine and get that down, and then maybe go back to a shorter fast. Dh and I did the one juice in the morning for at least a month before we tried the 5 day fast. I don't think we could have done it first - it was too much of a change all at once.

I agree, just make sure your privacy/security settings are locked down and change things like people tagging you in photos to "Only Me" as who can see them. Dh did that on his account, and I never saw any of the photos that people tagged - only those that some posted w/o tagging.

My dh has only half-siblings - one sister he grew up with that's 5 years younger than him and although they kept in touch much more often 10 to 15 years ago, she's made some very bad decisions and is usually strung-out and they don't talk much at all. His other half-siblings (one brother and 2 sisters) he talks to rarely. There's no bad blood or anything between them, just they don't make the effort and neither does he. One lives in town and 2 are about 5 hours away. They didn't grow up together, so it's really only as adults that they've started to develop much of a relationship.

http://www.zennioptical.com/ We order from them, too, and have been very happy.

I change ours weekly, and the kids', monthly. I'd love to have theirs washed more often, but they have loft beds and hate making their beds (and I don't want to have to do it, either), so our compromise is monthly.

I generally cook 5 nights a week and let dh help out on the weekends, so it's never pot pies in the oven meals, although it may be scouring the frig for leftovers on the weekends.

I think your mother's response is good and I guess that's part of the way I deal with the bickering and meanness that occurs between my dc sometimes. I do try to deal with the offender and remind them that's not how we treat each other, but don't require a rephrasing or apology until that child is ready - pushing them into that action hasn't ever produced positive results. And I coach the other child on how they might have responded differently (instead of getting into an argument or saying not-nice things back). I try to get them to choose at least one other option that would have been better, and may suggest a few of my own. I used to be of the mindset that as the parent, I had to "win," too. But my ds (even as a young child) had a stronger desire to win and more stamina for holding out. I had to find other methods that worked with him, because I knew if I continued with what I was doing, I'd have totally lost him by his teen years. It's really hard sometimes, because all 4 of us in this house are strong-willed, and so I have to remind dh and he has to remind me sometimes to back off and let it go. But ds just turned 13 and I can honestly say he is a great kid and the struggles we used to have daily, only occur every now and then, and are much more quickly resolved.

You might look into a product called Precor. You dilute it and spray it all over where the pets go (inside and out) using a light spray. It lasts for up to 7 months and interrupts the flea life cycle. You'll have to deal with a couple weeks of fleas while the adults die out, but after that, they won't grow and reproduce. I had to use it in 2 different houses and it worked very well and was one of the least toxic options I could find (and we tried the all natural methods first without much success).

Dh and I did a 5 day fruit/veggie fast after watching that video, and this was a huge step for dh (and totally his idea). He mentioned after it that he'd like to do the 15 day one sometime, but we'll see :)

I personally wouldn't feed Iams, and I'd bet it has a lot of grain in it. If you check out the link Michelle posted, Iams isn't rated very well. This is also a good link to learn more and you can sign up for emails which will tell about recalls and such: http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/

Agree. When we first got our cat (16 years ago), we fed grocery store food and she always had flab swinging from her belly. After a year, we started feeding raw or a human-grade quality cat food (although there's not a legal definition for that) and after that, she's always been lean. I'd personally look for something that's grain-free, since cats are obligate carnivores and don't need grains.

The cans may contain sulfites (which may or may not be labelled), which I can't tolerate. I've used the coconut milk in cartons w/o any issues.