joannqn
-
Posts
8,472 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by joannqn
-
-
VERY cute!
-
DD8 - arts/crafts, creative writing, mindbenders, literature/read alouds
DD6 - arts/crafts, history, math, mindbenders, science, taekwondo
Me - read alouds, history
-
On the TP note...
I stock up on it when I can get it for $5 or less for 24 rolls or 12 double rolls. I only use double ply and can usually find Cottonelle, Quilted Northern, Safeway Select Ultra, and very occasionally Charmin for that price when I combine sales with coupons.
Probably TMI...
I used a peri bottle to clean up during my cycle rather than toilet paper. Then I only need a little TP to dry off.
-
We are being affected by issues not caused by the economy but are in the same boat. Christmas, birthdays (we all have winter birthdays), and general life are all being affected. My kids know what's going on and are adjusting well.
-
Argh! My post didn't go through. It decided I wasn't logged in anymore.
Anyway, we do a lot to cut costs. Here's the ones I can think of...
I use the grocery game. I usually save between 40% and 65% off retail. I haven't stockpiled in a long time so our cupboards are pretty bare. Despite that, I'm on track to spend $300-$400 this month for our family of five. This includes all groceries, bath products, home supplies, Huggies diapers, and wipes.
Rubber chicken! I roast a chicken one night, use the leftover meat a second night, and use the carcass for soup a third night.
Rubber turkey! With Thanksgiving coming up, I'm looking forward to buying a turkey. I buy a 25lb turkey for just the five of us. After Thanksgiving, I put aside some for sandwiches. The rest of the meat and bones gets divided up into freezer bags for soup. I can get at least 6 huge pots of soup out of one turkey. Each pot provides dinner and about 2 lunches for all of us. So, I get about 20 meals from one turkey. I might buy two this year.
I figured out how to stretch meat further since we don't do vegetarian meals; they leave me starving in less than an hour. I recently stretched 4 chicken breasts into two dinners for 5 and 2 lunches for DH. I'll be doing that again!
I limit expensive grocery items. We limited soda to one meal a week. Juice is an occasional treat. Ice cream is an occasional treat; we bake homemade desserts instead. Milk is used for cereal and cooking rather than drinking except for the occasional chocolate milk treat.
My husband makes his own lattes. He's cut back on how often he makes himself one.
I make homemade cleaner. My all purpose cleaner is 2T dish soap, 30 drops tea tree oil, and water to fill an old windex bottle. Baking soda works in place of comet on our porcelain tub and sinks.
Cooking from scratch. I make homemade bread, homemade bisquick (for biscuits, pancakes, waffles), homemade refried beans, and homemade tortillas in addition to regular homemade meals.
Limited Christmas. Dh gets points for completing various training programs. His points got us a free Wii this year. He has some free Visa gift cards from a similar program that we are using towards accessories and games. Any cash we have will go towards more Wii accessories, the toddlers gift, and in expensive stocking stuffers.
There will be no birthday parties this year. Homemade cake, homemade dinner of their choice, and a play date at a local indoor play place will cost me $11 each.
I put up heavy curtains on our biggest windows. I'm in the process of covering our windows with plastic. I've turned down the heat as low as we can stand. I'd turn it down further but our leaky windows means it gets cold in here quickly.
We cut entertainment. We cut all eating out except special occasions. Going to the movies is a special occasion rather than a regular event. I use free movie tickets if I have them and skip the concessions. We use Netflix for movie nights and do game nights. We've cut back on our "field trips" but use the low cost ones that we do as family entertainment. We are seeing a play next week for $20 (whole family) for the book we are reading for literature, for example. Going to free museum nights is another example.
We don't have cable, not even basic. We use an antenna.
We never use a babysitter. The last time was over 2 years ago. If the kids aren't welcome, we don't go.
I'm teaching the kids to wear their clothes again if they aren't dirty/stinky.
Dh and I stopped using shampoo/conditioner. Going "no poo" is working well for us. I cut my showers to every other day except during my cycle.
I think someone mentioned the Diva cup. Once I got used to it, I love mine.
I think that's it.
-
My son does taekwondo instead of karate. I wonder if there is a difference in sparring policies between the two.
In his classes, they pair kids more by height than belt color and do no contact sparring without gear. Contact sparring occurs in full gear in a special class. Injuries, even minor ones, are very rare.
-
Another thought about using tax dollars to homeschool...
My children are enrolled in a virtual academy in Washington State. We use Columbia Virtual Academy which is as hands off as they can be per state laws. They are very easy to work with. All I have to do is write a learning plan for each student (which can be rather vague), have my kids write a couple of sentence email to their "teacher" each week, and write a monthly report telling what we are learning about. They provide our state required annual testing. They provide me up to $1200 per student to pay for secular curriculum, supplies, and community-based classes.
In return, the school gets to count my kids as alternative ed, public schoolers enrolled in their district. In 2004-2005 (the most recent figures I can find), that district spent $7,168 per student. Take out my $1188 per student and the district has $11,960 ($5980x2 students) more than they had before we enrolled. We are seeing more districts offering these kinds of programs. Some are good, and some are not so good.
-
We all benefit from having an educated society, and I think our tax dollars for education should be used for the public good. If you choose to go another route (and I am 100% in favor of the right to do so), then so be it, but you shouldn't get a tax break or rebate for doing so.
By homeschooling our kids, we are benefitting society. Not only do they get a better education and preparation for college which gives them a better change at becoming tomorrow's leaders and scientists, etc., they are also more involved in the community as adults. Seventy-one percent of homeschoolers are involved in community organizations compared to only thirty-seventy percent of U.S. adults. They are more likely to vote and twice as likely to work for a political campaign. They are more satisfied with life and their work which means they would probably have fewer divorces, few job changes, and few medical bills. Lowering those saves everyone money.
The way I see it, a homeschooler is more likely to accomplish advancements in math, science, finances, politics, etc. that benefit all of society than a public schooler simply because they were homeschooled. They have a better education from the get go. They learn how to study and research better. They can focus their studies on their chosen interest like no public schooler can. Everything about homeschooling points to the fact that homeschoolers have a bigger positive impact on society.
The way I see it, by homeschooling our kids, we are helping society as a whole. Isn't that something worth supporting, even with tax dollars?
-
RSV looks like a cold when adults and kids have it but it hospitalizes more than 125,000 infants/toddlers each year. About 500 of them die.
That said, my son was going to public preschool so he could receive speech therapy when my youngest was born. He brought home a cold that he contracted from another student who's parent brought him to school despite him being sick. My baby, then just 2 weeks old, got it from his brother. We spent eight days in the hospital with him on oxygen, fighting to breathe, and unable to eat (you have to be able to breathe through your nose to nurse or take a botle). We spent eight days waiting to see if our newborn was going to live or die because someone took their son to school when he was sick.
We quit going to church because people kept bringing contagious children to the nursery after that. We returned after the flu and RSV season were over but never quite got back into going to church again. It's been a year and half since then and I still panic every time one of my kids gets sick.
-
I'm in the mood to run this place like a camp: you've got one plate, fork, cup, spoon. Eat off it. Clean it. Or starve. :mad: (whispering) It'd be hard to sell this one to dh. ;)
I read about someone doing this in a magazine. I think it might have been Family Fun. The mom bought clear dishes and everyone decorated their own set. Each person in the family had exactly one of each item and they had to wash their own. Because they were decorated, there was no question about who didn't wash their dishes.
-
My husband and I frequently confront unsupervised kids. We figure someone's got to supervise them if their parents aren't, especially if there's a safety issue.
-
My kids love chicken tortilla soup. I use this recipe...
about 30 oz chicken broth and the chicken bits
1 can whole kernal corn, drained
1 can black beans, not drained
1 can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained
Salt to taste since you are using homemade broth rather than cans. If you make this without having a carcas, use two cans.
Garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheddar cheese.
You can also make tortilla strips by cutting corn tortillas into strips, brushing them with oil, and crisping them in the oven.
-
I don't have any info on costs but I definitely recommend getting The Unofficial Guide to Disneyworld. I lived in Anaheim growing up so I know all about waiting in lines at Disneyland. My husband's previous employers took their employees and families to Disneyland for a company trip. We only had 2 days to stay but our trip was so much better than it would have been without the book.
The book includes so much great information. It provide hotel information. It provides summaries of each ride, including the scare factor for kids. It tells the best places to get food in the park. It tells you the basic menu, price range, shows, and best time to avoid the crowds for each restaurant. The book tells about the shows and parades and the best times and places to watch the shows from. It explains when and where to find the characters. It explains which rides have long rides at which times of the day. Included in the book are itinerary for those with kids, without kids, big rides included, scary rides excluded. The itinerary tell you go to this ride, get off, turn right, grab the express pass for that ride, head to this other ride, ride it, turn left, ride that ride, head back over to the express pass ride, etc. When we followed their itinerary, we had virtually no wait at all. The second day my husband wanted to wing it and we spent so much time in lines it was depressing. I'll never go to Disney again without the most current book in hand. The day we used it was the best Disney visit I've ever had and growing up there, I've been there many, many times.
-
I played with the graph, too. I found that you could change the dates above the graph and that the percentage doesn't go negative until October 7th, 2008. Before October 7th, the most recent ten year period was still positive.
Did you notice how much lower it was in October 2002 than it is now?
-
No magic. I wish there was. I used to work up a sweat getting my kid into the seat. One day I remember telling the little rascal that we had to go get his brother at school, and he said, "No get brudder; brudder stay school." That was his first real sentence. :confused:
:laugh: If mine could talk that well, I think he'd say that.
Ok, in all seriousness. We have a DVD player in our car. It never occurred to me to put in a movie to get him to sit in his seat. I might even move is favorite movie, Ice Age, to the car only. Thanks for the great idea!
If I find a toy or book that he likes, I'll do that too. Right now, he doesn't really have any toys that he likes. He does like mega blocks and linking cubes, although I don't think having flying blocks in the car is a good idea as that's all that he does with them...throw them across the room.
-
Speaking of carseats...I have an ongoing issue and thought maybe you'd all of some suggestions.
My toddler, currently 19 months old, has begun the fighting getting into the car seat thing. Basically, he throws a big fit. He arches his back while throwing himself forward out of the seat, making it impossible to get him buckled into it. When I'm lucky, I can distract him with a leaf (of all things) and he'll let me buckle him in. When the magic leaf, as we call it, doesn't work I have no choice but to plant my knee into his pelvis so I have both hands free to wrestle is his arm into the strap, hold it in the strap so he can't pull it back out, get this other arm into the other strap, and get the buckle snapped together. Then when I remove my knee so I can buckle the part that comes up between the legs, he arches his back and throws himself forward again causing himself to be hung by his arms while I struggle to get him back up into the seat to get the bottom portion buckled. After he's all buckled in, he continues to sob (the gasping for breath kind of sob) for twenty-thirty minutes.
It isn't fun for me, him, or my other kids and I worry about hurting him in the process of getting him into his carseat. If I could just stay home at these times I would but often he's doing it when I have to go pick up my 6 year old at taekwondo or on my way to an appointment...things I can't just skip. We have no family or close friends I can call on to watch him while I go either.
I've also tried waiting it out when I didn't need to be somewhere right away, and he's happy to just wander around in the car playing with ever knob and button. I tried this today after picking up my older son and we waited for half an hour before I gave up and just forced him into his seat.
So, how would you handle this? Is there a magic way of getting a toddler into a carseat against his will?
-
My opinion on this issue is biased by the actions of my own extended family.
My mother and her husband live off of disability (ex-cop), welfare, and food banks. There is no reason either of them can't work. My mother has nothing wrong with her physically or mentally. Her husband claims back disability yet he is capable of spending whole days sitting in front of the computer and TV and heavy weight lifting. They also brag about completing 80+ hours a month going door to door for their religion.
What do you think? Should we be paying their bills or asking them to work?
-
I can relate. When I went to pick up DS at taekwondo, I could see through the windows that they weren't done yet so I put my head against the steering wheel and nearly fell asleep. I was only there a minute or so. It's only 1pm...lunch time for us. We start school after lunch here so I still have a long day ahead of me. Considering taking the day off.
-
I almost never vote. In fact, I recently blogged about why I don't vote. It's too long to post here but the basic reasons are:
- When the voters say no, the politicians ignore us and do it anyway.
- When the voters say reduce our taxes, the politicians raise taxes a different way.
- When votes are close, the recounts get creative.
- The vote outcome in Seattle is the outcome of the vote for the entire state.
- Promises made are promises broken.
- When the voters say no, the politicians ignore us and do it anyway.
-
I've only known one homeschooler with an immaculate house.
-
Change your cooking where you can. It will be healthier for everybody and will have some affect on him.
Tell him how you feel but don't nag. Something like "It scares me to think we may have to live without you if you don't get your cholesterol under control. I worry about how the kids would deal with the death of their father at such a young age. Would you please consider making the changes suggested by the doctor?"
-
Unfortunately, I'd have to point out to my DC about protecting property, not leaving things out. It's sad, but we know not to leave our valuables out when visiting with extended family.
I agree. Unfortunately, we do have to protect our things from other people, even family.
We had a renter once that stole a few of my checks (from the middle of the checkbook) and wrote them out to herself for cash...$650 worth. My bank's opinion on it was that I was liable for the money because I hadn't locked up my checks, thus giving her access to them.
-
I agree with Wendi and Jessica.
We are low income. Due to my husband's income decreasing by several hundred dollars a month starting last month, we are having trouble paying for our bills, fuel, and groceries. But that's not anyone else's responsiblity. We chose the decisions that have lead us to this financial situation. My husband chose the jobs he's taken. We chose for me to stay home and homeschool even though it puts a strain on us financially. We chose to make the dumb move to use credit cards. I don't expect those who have made better financial decisions, those who make more than $250,000 a year, to pay for my mistakes. Instead we are tightening our belts a little more. We are definitely not going to Disneyland any time soon.
The only exception I have made is children's health care. We used to pay for that out of pocket...$150 a month for two children. I don't know how much it would cost now with three children. That health care had a $500 deductible for each child, so I had to decide if my child was sick enough to go to the doctor. When the state sent me a letter informing me that we qualified for children's health insurance I took it so I wouldn't have to judge whether or not to take them to the doctor based on money. However, I would prefer to have my taxes lower so I could pay for my own responsibilities more easily.
-
I would breastfeed that long if there was a medical need or shortage of food.
That said, I weaned my oldest at the age of three on the advise of my doctor. I was tandem nursing and dealing with severe postpartem depression. He suggested I consider it to lighten my stress load, physically and emotionally. I felt bad weaning her because she was a really bonded, cuddly child who just loved to nurse. I think she would have continued at least another year if I had let her. I weaned my second at two by not offering it when I returned home from a weekend trip. He never asked for it again so it was an easy wean. He didn't care as much about nursing and wasn't well-bonded at all. My third child is currently nursing at 19 months.
Interestingly, both of my older children experienced problems with dairy post-weaning. My daughter was allergic to milk. It gave her allergic shiners and severe constipation, and her stools burned (like a chemical burn) her skin immediately on contact. My son had severe lactose intollerance that led to development delays until we finally figured out what was wrong and corrected it. So, I guess it was good they breastfed as long as they did.
Would you say something in this situation
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I know what you mean. We had issues there, too. I moved my kids in front of them and told them that they had to wait their turn like everyone else.
I usually try give the kids' parents a chance to parent before stepping in, either by waiting to see if someone corrects their child or by commenting to my kids about appropriate behavior. Usually I'll say something like, "I know how much it sucks to have other kids do x when you are following the rules." If the parent doesn't take the hint, I'll say something. Usually kids will listen if you are assertive and firm. If I do get a bad attitude from them, I'll enlist the help of someone in charge (ie. staff). I'll also attempt to find the parent if I can, especially when the child has deliberately tried to hurt mine.