Alrighty then.

Ah, but that does happen, and the literature shows that. Giving birth at home has risks. Giving birth in a hospital has a different set of risks. There are homebirth scenarios where the baby may have survived if born in a hospital. However, if you look at the statistics, the tradeoff is that giving birth in a hospital comes with its own set of risks. Intervention (often unnecessary intervention, and frequently not evidence-based) comes with its own set of risks. Major health organizations like the WHO have stated that the c-section rate in this country is higher than necessary, and there is no evidence to support a need for such high rates. Unnecessary c-sections come with risks like respiratory distress for the newborn, which can result in illness or death. Yes, giving birth at home has risks. But when you look at a low-risk population, those same risks are offset by the risks that are inherent with hospital births. Hospital policies can cause newborn deaths. When you look at low-risk women, each scenario has its tradeoffs. As a result, statistically, homebirth is not riskier than a hospital birth. It is as safe or safer if you wade through the medical literature. eta: and to reiterate this point again, not only does an unnecessary primary c/s come with risks for the baby delivered via c/s, it impacts the risk factors for future pregnancies (risk of uterine rupture, the need for repeat c/s since vbac can be hard to come by-and the repeat c/s for future pregnancies means increased risk of respiratory distress etc for the siblings of the baby born via the primary c/s).

When I eat carbs, even whole grains, I get brain fog. Highly unpleasant.

Some people make LC hot cereals out of things like flax or nuts/seeds ground up.

Typing w/ nursing babe in arms- The fiber in whole grains will often slow the release of sugar. Carb-sensitive individuals may still see their sugars climb too high and can see the impact via blood sugar testing or via how they feel afterward. Again, I think of it as a continuum. If you aren't carb sensitive, perhaps whole grains will work for you. For many of those who are carb sensitive, that spike in sugar still happens. It might be slowed or delayed, but it still occurs. The more insulin your body pumps out to deal with the spike in blood sugar, the less sensitive to insulin your cells become over time. That's why I don't feel whole grains are as wonderful as they are hyped up to be. The "benefit" is that there is some fiber in there to slow the spike as compared to a processed grain. But that spike can be detrimental to many people who are carb/grain sensitive. IMO it isn't that whole grains are all that beneficial, they are just "less bad" than a refined grain (if we are going to assume people are going to eat grains). I think there are also more carb/grain sensitive folks out there than people realize.

How does your husband handle his mother? I'd start there and make sure he's on the same page with you. From there I would set boundaries and enforce them. Firmly and consistently. I wouldn't try to elicit an apology.

I don't think I've seen it mentioned, but in many urban areas it is tough to access fruits, vegetables, and other perishable items. Some parents rely upon public transit. If you have multiple children and don't have access to a car, it isn't that easy to get to a full-fledged grocery store. The accessible food in some areas tends to be fast foods, packaged/processed foods, etc. It isn't necessarily all that easy to access the perishable stuff even if someone wanted to. It really is such a complex issue. I'm another believer that the IR comes first. I say that as a normal-weight woman w/ PCOS and IR. When I was diagnosed I weighed 114 lbs and was 5'2".

I would talk with the teachers and feel out who seems best able to adapt the class to her needs. You may find that both facilities are equipped to adapt their class as needed, or you may find that another type of class/facility/teacher would be a better fit.

We don't really do cereal other than a few times per year. My kids usually eat: Ezekial bread toasted w/ nut butter plain yogurt (sometimes w/ fruit, a little maple syrup, stevia, etc.) hard boiled eggs leftovers egg bakes/breakfast casserole dishes made on the weekend and reheated for the next 2 days or so Minute muffin made w/ almond flour or flax (basically a muffin you cook for a minute in the microwave in a coffee mug) In the winter I sometimes make steelcut oats in the crockpot for them Leftover pancakes or waffles from the weekend

I've sold fridges on CL in the past and they were clean and working well. If my choice was no fridge or used, I would totally buy used! I was at the Habitat ReStore in my area recently and saw a black armoire style fridge with the freezer below. It was like new. Someone snatched it right up and the people working there were all saying they had their eye on it but didn't need one. There are also appliance outlets (Sears outlets). Lots of people upgrade to "fancier" fridges (stainless, side by side, etc.) and will sell their totally functional old fridge very inexpensively.

180-220 per week, so average is about 200. Sometimes a little higher. Moderate to high COL (suburb of a mid-Atlantic city). That is for 4 people and a toddler, eating mostly organics or hormone/antibiotic free type products. We also eat low carb.

Honestly, there just wasn't much that appealed to me. We eat lower carb, and I prefer grassfed or organic meats. I buy in bulk and don't pay much more than the prices at Aldi for things like ground beef. We don't eat pasta, we don't cook with sugar, flour, etc. so those types of staples don't really work for me. The produce was okay. Some produce was relatively inexpensive but smaller in size, so IMO it wasn't a huge savings. If I was in a pinch and needed to save money I'd certainly consider shopping there. The items they sold just didn't seem to be a good match for the way we eat. My mom has good luck with buying nuts for a good price there. I haven't tried those yet.

:iagree:

I hear you. We own a house in suburbia but DH's grandmother owns a 30 acre farm and we have considered buying it one day. The farmhouse is really a tear-down (sadly, but believe me, it is) but we have considered going the yurt route there eventually. SOme people build in a loft space or frame out a bathroom and then you could use those walls for bookshelves ;) Did you find this site yet? http://www.livingintheround.org/

I'm not the biggest fan overall, but I loooove the hummus (tastes just like the hummus from my favorite restaurant) and the cheese sticks are really good.

This is me. Exactly spot-on in terms of what I experience. It feels very, very scary.

Sometimes in situations like that DH and I will say to one another- "if we really find we regret throwing this out, we give ourselves permission to rebuy if needed." The need to rebuy very, very, very rarely has happened. Knowing we could replace it if absolutely necessary makes it easier to toss/donate.

Do you have septic or public sewer? Do you have a well or city water? I think once you introduce a need for plumbing, it becomes more complicated to make a freestanding building pass code. It won't be a "shed" anymore, kwim? Cities often won't allow people to hook into the public sewer, and if you have a septic, I think it could get complicated too. Maybe a self composting ($$$ I think?) toilet would be an option but I'm not sure if there are work arounds for water, etc.

Sometimes yurts are not included as a permanent structure and can be put up in places where a more permanent structure would not be allowed. I have not personally navigated this (yet), but that's what I've read. You would obviously want to research what the codes are in your area before going that route ;) I just thought I'd mention that! eta: have you ever seen the tinyhouse blog? Sometimes if the building is on wheels or below a certain size it is legal too. Obviously this really varies depending on the code and regulations where you live. http://tinyhouseblog.com/ Some of these people have managed to navigate the legalities in their locales.

As a carb-sensitive individual, even combining it w/ protein like eggs will set me off. I will have *less* of a crash an hour later, but it will still be ugly. In years past I have tried combining protein/fat with grains, but I am too carb sensitive for this to work for me. Again, I'm sure it is a continuum. Many of us are just too sensitive to carbs for it to work even when we combine it w/ fat and protein.

My 7yo just purchased a regular Nook (the touch version w/ e-ink, not color) with some money he had saved up. I've been enjoying playing on his ;) DH and I have several B&N gift cards and are planning to use them for a Nook of our own. I love that we can borrow through our library system, and then we joined the Philadelphia Free library, which offers a ton of selections for the Nook. I am sure I would enjoy a Kindle, but we already have the B&N gift cards. Being able to use the Kindle for library books would be awesome, but I'm impatient ;) I like the e-ink and it seems easy on the eyes. I want to be able to read in bright light outside.

At our last house we often joked about adding a yurt out back for a school room ;) We didn't have a dining room. We had an EIK and a living room (no formal rooms to repurpose, no basement that could be refinished, etc.).

Burned out. Was feeling kinda burned out and then a stomach virus went through our house. Multiple days per person, with a week passing in between each person getting it...so it has been going on and on and on. DH just finished yesterday, so thankfully we've finally all gotten it. We're schooling in the summer but I'm wondering if I need to just stop for a bit :( We have some short summer trips planned and then a week-long vacation in September. I have a 15 month old who interrupts a lot (he is constantly climbing, getting into things, etc. if he's not contained on my back in a carrier). I feel like we need to school year-round, but mama is not a happy camper these days and that's not really great for anyone :ack2:

Hey, you mean we WTM type folks aren't normal??? :D :lol: IME, most people do not dig deeper. They catch the sound bites, they believe the news story that distorts the study, etc.

I agree w/ many of your points. Again, I never said calories don't matter at all. I agree that we are doing a disservice if we *only* talk about calories in/calories out because it is a total oversimplification. How often are you seeing experts expand on the calories in/calories out principle? Everything is supposed to be "balanced" and they are supposed to eat many servings of whole grains to lose weight each day according to most of the sources out there. There are people who can lose weight while eating some whole grains, etc. But there is a huge percentage of the population, especially in the overweight population, who just can't handle a lot of carbs and grains. Yet we continue to tell pretty much everyone to eat several servings of whole grains every day and they'll lose weight and be healthy. There is very little information in the general public about how things like insulin spikes make it easy to store fat and increase hunger. What I read and hear is mostly "eat less, have more willpower, and you will lose weight" and I think that really is doing many people a disservice. Oh, and "fat" is evil and will kill you :D