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Berta

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Posts posted by Berta

  1. I have a third grade daughter.

     

    Chores: We do all of our chores and run errands in the morning.

     

    Free time: Once our chores are done she is allowed to do what ever she wants... play, tv, read etc. until lunch time, which is around 11am.

     

    Outside time is usually included with doing our chores. She helps feed the chickens and collect eggs. She loves to play with them and the dogs. Depending on the weather and time of year, outside time for pleasure varies. We have long, very hot summers so that is why we don't usually start school work until 11am. That gives us the morning to be outside before it gets too hot.

     

    We have lunch and then start school work. It takes about 3 hours, some days close to 4 hours.

     

    Reading: I'm very lucky that my 3rd grader loves to read. She will often choose to read over playing. She has Literature and Creative Writing that she does daily for school work. My older daughter was much more difficult. She is a proficient reader, but will not read on her own.

     

    Math: This subject takes her the longest, probably 25-30 mins per lesson.

     

    Once our school work is done I get dinner started and then we head out to her karate class at 4pm. All school work needs to be completed by 3:30 or she will miss karate. We get home from karate by 6:30 and have dinner.

     

    Free time: She is free to do what she wants after the table is cleared. The latest creative phase is creating with model clay and pipe cleaners. Santa brought her books on how to make animals etc, she loves it. She spent at least 3 hours making stuff yesterday!

  2. Nearest grocery store is half hour away and were also carless until I get my tax return, I'll be lucky to get a ride into the city once a month so weekly shopping is out.

     

     

    Where in the world do you live that you can find chicken of any kind of 30 cents lb? Lowest I have seen in past couple years is 99 cents lb and thats a killer deal here. I picked up 10 chickens last time.

     

     

    I thought white potatoes are a huge no no, those go on sale for $1-2 for a 10lb bag every month or 2. Don't have an Aldi

    's in this state and TJs is 1.5hrs away:( I miss TJ's...

     

     

     

     

    I can't digest rice at all, even with heavy duty prescription digestive enzymes I still can only eat a small amount, I also though they were not paleo:(

     

     

    They would benefit from the diet as well and making 2 different meals 3 times a day is killing me. I don't have a lot of energy or brain function most days so I need to keep it simple. No chickens but my moms got chickens, they started laying about 4-6 weeks ago and she's been a bit overwhelmed getting 3 doz eggs a day lol, she's called me twice in the past week begging me to take eggs because her fridge is full, I've still got 10 doz from last week! lol I have asked my parents if I can buy chicks with them for the next round of meat chickens as well as 2 pigs and some turkeys and maybe a lamb if they do decide to do them this year. Their home grown stuff tastes way better:) Its also cheaper even though I have to pay cash for feed and stuff. Thinking of using my tax return to pay for the entire cost to fill 2 freezers. They haven't made up their minds yet if they will take me up on it. At least with pigs I only have to pay for the 1st year, eat one/breed one and sell the weaner's to cover the cost of feed for the year for 2 pigs:)

     

    You can buy seeds and plants with food stamps, the problem is your stuck with what you can find at the grocery store or walmart, neither of which are local to me or carry seeds at this time of year. I wish plant nurserys took FS.

     

    The land lord came by today and they should have a better idea of whats going on by March, they still hope to sell the house but if not they doubt it will get torn down this year due to lack of funds and figure I have another year here if I want (trust me, the conversation with the actual owner vs his father who I have been dealing with was very different today). No idea what we will do.

     

    So, bottom line, we have a ton of eggs, what do we do with them? Were sick of eggs!

     

    I don't prepare two different meals. I usually make a meat, veggie, salad and a starch. I just don't eat the starch. On meatless days (spaghetti or soups) I just throw a piece of meat on my Forman Grill (LIFESAVER!) and have that.

     

    I have 60 chickens so I can sympathize with the tons of eggs per day. I make deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, quiche, and hard boiled eggs. I'm pretty picky so I don't eat a big variety of things. You can visit www.lowcarbfriends.com and find a ton of recipes using eggs.

  3. I think the dog will win you over. My DH was not an animal lover. He grew up in a row home with an obsessively clean mother that refused to have any pets. When I first met him, I sent him pics of my dogs before sending pics of my kids! (Second marriage for both of us). I made it very clear from day 1 that I will never not have dogs. I can live without cats (we have one though) but not without dogs. DOGS, as in plural. He made the decision to continue to date me, pets and all.

     

    Flash forward 10 yrs and he has seen how our one dog protects our daughter. He is a big 100 lb pit mix and she walks and he follows her. He fought off two dogs that came charging at her. I'd like to add that my daughter (his from his first marriage) had never had dogs and didn't particularly like them either. She isn't lovey dovey with the dogs, but she likes them now. My DH has grown to love them. He won't let them on the furniture (I don't either) but I do let them in the bed after he leaves for work.

     

     

  4. I think $350 per month is nearly impossible to feed a family of 4 on....how old are your kids? Even in my LCOL area $350 would be VERY difficult. Are you including paper products and household cleaning and toiletries in that amount?

     

    I was able to cut out having to buy most paper products and household cleaning supplies by making my own. We use cloth kitchen napkins and use vinegar for all of our cleaning. I use vinegar in the washer instead of bleach and as a fabric softener and I make my own laundry soap.

     

    Due to health issues I had to stop using store bought feminine supplies.  I was able to make all of my own girly things. We also use family cloth (same health reasons as above) so we don't buy much TP (my DH won't use family cloth, so I buy TP for one person).

     

    I spend about $300 a month for our family of 4 but I also have a well stocked pantry. I could go 9 months to a year without shopping for anything other then milk and butter.

     

    Every day I stop at my local grocery store and see what meats they have marked down. If it's not marked down, I don't buy it. I know not everyone can do that, but I pass the store every day and it only takes a few mins to look down the meat aisle, but saves me a lot of $$ since I eat paleo. I have more time than money :)

  5. Can't the other family members eat grains? That right there will cut your food budget by a lot. I am the only one that eats paleo in our house. When you move will you have the option of having chickens? We get a ton of eggs which is something I eat every day, in several different ways. If you can get a good size garden going once you move you can learn how to can and dehydrate veggies. I do this and it keeps us in veggies all year long. I think you can buy seeds and plants with food stamps. Canning cost $ to start up, but maybe someone you know has a canner you can borrow. I got my dehydrators at Goodwill for $7-10 each.

  6. My DH and were both married before so when we got married we combined households. Neither one of us had a complete set of anything. When we bought our house three years ago I wanted to get a nice set of dishes and everything to match. I had Pfaltzgraf and it lasted for years. I bought two full sets of dishes and all the things to go with it only to find chips in my plates within days. I emailed the company and found out that my first set was stone-wear, and my new set was earthen-ware which does not hold up to everyday use. I was so upset. I love my dishes but cannot use them on a daily basis. I wound up buying a full set of the pfaltzgraf melamine set to match and I'm very happy with them.

    This is my pattern:

    http://www.pfaltzgraff.com/napoli/dinnerware-set%2C-16-piece/5072031.html

  7. I use a workbox system for my daughter. She can choose what subject she wants to do and when, with the exception of math, which I require gets done first. That is the only subject that she struggles with at times and needs extra time and help.

     

    She is in training for competition so we are at the karate school every day. If she doesn't complete her work, no karate. So far, this has worked well with her getting her work done. We don't usually start school until after 11am and there have been days I wake up and find her sitting at her desk doing her work early. We don't follow a M-F schedule. Our weekends are usually free so we will do school work on Saturday and then not on Monday, which is when we hit up the museum or zoo.

     

    I have to say that since I am down to homeschooling only one child, time isn't usually an issue. When I had to divide the time between my kids it was easier to tell one that they have from 11-1pm for my attention and from 1-3 with the other, etc.

  8. We live pretty rural and for us DE just wasn't an option. The nearest college is almost an hour away. My daughter graduated homeschool last year after being fully HOME schooled for high school. Now that she has her own car getting to the college is possible, but not before.

     

    We don't have any co-ops in our area that I am aware of. I do know several homeschool families in my area through the library homeschool reading class, karate class etc. We also take a homeschool class once a month at the museum. Next year when my daughter is in 4th grade she could take extra curricular activities and sports through the public school, but I don't know what they offer.

  9. Wow.  I had no idea some states regulated homeschooling in this manner.  Do you have to pay fees to belong to the cover school?  Are you required to attend the weekly meetings?  Has there been any discussion in the secular homeschooling community in your state to try to change these laws?

     

     

    In SC you have to be a member of an Accountability Association. They run from non-intrusive by just paying $25 a yr and filing a form saying you are teaching equal to what the public schools teach to full service including transcripts, class ranks, curriculum counseling etc. The state also requires at least a high school diploma or equivalent.

  10. I think this is a frightening statement, and I'm coming from the view point of an atheist, academic, liberal, pro-government homeschooler.

     

    Freedom (or liberty in the words of the founders) is not something that is given by the government, but rather a fundamental unalienable right.

     

    Very frightening indeed, coming from a Christian, libertarian/ somewhat right wing, non-govt-trusting homeschooler.

     

    People that abuse/neglect children will do so regardless of the law. We see this every day when it comes to drugs, firearms and other regulated issues. I'm pretty sure child abuse is already illegal. Adding more laws and oversight isn't going to thwart someone intent on NOT educating their children, they will find a way to circumvent the laws.

     

    I don't have an answer, I just believe that adding more gov't into our daily lives isn't the answer.

     

  11. Pfft. I decided early on that "talent" is really just tiny bit of an inclination towards something and then thousands of his of practice, whether you have formal instruction or not.

     

    I'm betting there something you've got a bit of an affinity for that could be worked on.

     

    I'm sure with practice, instruction and lessons I could muster up some talent. I am talking about raw, natural talent. The kind of talent that is honed with practice and instruction. I don't have that. I was exposed to many different things in my childhood but nothing ... and I mean nothing, clicked with me.

     

    Two of my four kids have raw, natural talent. My one son is an natural artist. From the time he could pick up a crayon he could draw amazingly well. He is 21 now and in college for animation. My youngest daughter has raw, natural talent for martial arts. Her Shihan believes she is a prodigy.

     

    Edited to add: My DH just said that I do have a talent.. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue LOL...

  12. OMG, I'm not strange! Wow, I have always thought I was the only person that has had this experience. I cannot have an alarm go off without it scaring me half to death. They startle me and my heart races. I have learned over the years to wake myself up when I need to get up without an alarm. I haven't used one in over 20 yrs. It helps to get yourself on a routine of going to bed around the same time each night, and then you will wake up naturally at the same time in the AM. This is what I try to do.

  13. Do not take this as actual legal advice!

     

    If it's illegal to record audio, it's illegal to RECORD it. So don't worry about not being able to use it--don't do it, period. They make security cameras that record only video.

     

    Also, don't do the dashboard cams advertised for that insurance company--that's crazypants. No savings is worth it!

     

    It is legal to record a public servant doing their jobs in ALL STATES. It is illegal to do so on private property without consent of both/all parties.

     

    The dashcam is awesome and I think everyone should have one to protect themselves. Police do, why not you?

     

     

    Regarding Florida law, read page three:

     

    http://www.sao8.org/LegalBulletin/2012/2012-01.pdf

  14. That's one reason I wish she had an aikido resource (can't really speak to judo). In our aikido dojo, we routinely have 5 foot tall petite women able to throw and/or immobilize men well over 6 feet and 200+ lbs, all with good body mechanics and avoiding injury to themselves or the men, and no protective gear required. The pins are specifically designed to be able to be maintained with minimal effort for an extended period if necessary until help arrives. It's a martial art that's designed to be able to be practiced lifelong, not dependent on size or strength. Now I can't promise that no injury would ever happen in an emergency situation, but I see it as far less likely than if the person's training were focused on instilling an automatic response of strikes, kicks, and punches designed to harm an attacker enough to disable them with the goal of fleeing. As I said, different martial arts have different goals and applications are not universal.

     

     My 48 lbs 8 yr old was able to take down my 200 lb + husband with no injury to either one of them. It's all in the technique and element of surprise. And I don't mean surprise as in jumping out and surprising someone, I mean as in the untrained person doesn't expect which move (technique) is coming next.

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