I think I have just gotten better at ignoring the bickering. When mine were younger, when I noticed constant bickering I would unplug them. I found that removing tv and video games for a few days or longer if necessary got them back on track. I would also occasionally make them do everything holding hands so they would have to cooperate. If one had to use the bathroom the other had to sit outside the door until their sibling was done. If there was tattling involved in the bickering they had to fill out a tattle form. The form greatly reduced the tattling.

I have made the switch to google calendar because I can share it with dh and sync to my phone. It has come in very handy. I no longer double book dh's doctors appointments and can see what classes we have coming up and book doctors appointments accordingly.

I love the kennel we use. I know he is being well cared for but I still miss him tons. For me, the ability to leave him at the kennel has to do with trust. Since I trust where I leave him it helps a little with the missing him aspect.

Thank you for answering all these questions. I had no idea it takes 2 years to grow a cow for eating. Growing up in the suburbs of NYC my farm exposure is quite limited. Plus, I have a black thumb when it comes to gardening.

As a homeschooler I have not checked out of the public school system. It is of great interest to me what is going on there. The kids going through the system are my kids friends and who knows I may need to use the system. The privatization of public education has been a hot button topic for me for a number of years. I went through public school long before no child left behind and I can honestly say that I had a great education. Yes, there were some bad teachers but most of them were great. I am on the fence on the tenure issue. Some days I think-these people are teaching the future and should have some protections but then I think about the dead wood that is also protected. And I think about my lack of job security and wonder why teachers should have it. Testing is ridiculous. It is out of hand and is not a true evaluation of the teacher. There are so many other factors involved-is the child an esl student, involved parents, are they getting enough to eat, and so on.

Things I have always wanted to know: Is your cattle grass fed and finished? Why or Why not? Do you slaughter your own cattle or do you send them to a slaughterhouse? Could I buy meat directly from you and how big of a freezer would I need? What is involved in taking care of cattle? How long is your day? How do you feel about monsato?

A friend of mine is a chem teacher and he is constantly being asked by students if they can join his meth gang and/or can he teach them how to make meth. Thank you breaking bad.

I answer the phone and say hello. Caller then says hello and identifies themselves and states why they are calling and/or who they wish to speak to.

The ones I visit the most: www.nomnompaleo.com www.paleogrubs.com www.ohsheglows.com www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com www.elanaspantry.com www.theshiksa.com

I am guilty of the curly hair comments. I have incredible curly hair envy. My hair is fine and straight and if i wear it any length other then really short it just looks stringy. Oh, how I used to pretend to have long, luxurious curls when I was a girl. In the 80's I sported total poodle head as I tried to perm my way to the hair I should have been born with. I apologize for adding to your curly hair angst. No one ever is envious of my hair.

I have not had to rebuy and I have never had purge regret. However, my kids had a 6th sense for when I was targeting a toy for purging. I would think to myself "that has not been played with in at least a year. Next cleanup it will go." The next day my kids would pull that toy out and play with it non-stop for weeks. Although my 16 year old just bought himself a new light saber to replace one the dog chewed up when we got him 4 years ago. A light saber that he had not had anything to do with for at least 2 years prior to the incident. And he is still quite miffed at me for giving a mini stuffed geoffrey the giraffe toy to the dog. A mini plush that no one ever played with and was sadly ignored by my children in favor of other toys. I think it was sweet that you replaced the circus set. I would have done the same.

The ones I get over and over from dh's family: What about college? What about prom? (although this one has kind of stopped since ds attended both the freshman and sophmore dances at our local high school with friends. Whew, something normal they can understand.) From strangers: How do you spend all day with your kids? In relation to dh's currently being disabled? So he is always home, in your space. How do you deal?

As an overweight closet eater and the mother of one closet sweets eater I can tell you it is not as simple as not purchasing the food. The only junk food in my house is treat size for after swim practice. She can't sneak it because I only buy enough for each weeks practices. However, she is now a teen and goes out and buys and hides what she wants. We have talked and read the books on healthy lifestyle since she was a toddler. She knows what has to be done but as another poster said-nothing gives the rush like processed sugar. She also has no off switch (much like her mother). If there is food she will eat it.

Greek Omelette, hash browns well done, whole wheat toast, and a glass of tomato juice. Yum.

Yes, items stored in glass containers stay fresh longer. It would drive me nuts to spend time transferring my condiments but I would enjoy the benefits.

I do still find it fascinating. Thank you for clarifying the voting issue. From a candidate standpoint your position makes sense. You want those family members who are homosexuals to be happy but are okay with them not being able to have the benefits and protections under the law that you enjoy. If I am understanding correctly-if you were given the opportunity to vote on whether or not homosexuals could get married you would choose not to vote. That way you are not actively standing in the way of their civil rights but you are also not doing anything to assist them in having equal civil rights. I respectfully disagree with your opinion of the cake baker.

I want to be sure I am understanding you correctly. You don't hate gays but you do not believe they have the right to get married. You love the gay people in your family but you do not want them to have the same protections and benefits under the law that you enjoy as a hetero married woman. You vote against gay marriage because of your assumption that people who support gay marriage are pro-choice. You willfully deny people the right to be married because you disagree with their assumed position on abortion and that is not a hateful thing to do. If a business owner with an open to the public business discriminates against a gay couple because he feels it is against his religion it is okay for people to boycott his establishment but not okay for the victim of the discrimination to seek justice under the law. I find this quite fascinating.

Yes, there will always be racists, bullies, obnoxious loud mouths, anti everything I believe in people in this world. The reason for the current PC environment (and I will agree that it does on occasion get quite ridiculous) is because people do disagree. It keeps things pleasant in a public venue. No one is saying you can't hold your beliefs. It is like that saying I saw once.... An opinion is like male genetalia, it's okay to have one, it's okay to be proud of it, heck, it is even okay to play with it (in your own time). But it is not okay to whip it out in public and try to shove it down the throats of others.

My father did not like to talk about anything unpleasant. Had he been of a different generation I could see him telling everyone about his cancer via email. That way you don't have to deal with the emotional response of the recipient. As it was, he hid his cancer for as long as possible because he wanted to live his life and not be treated like a sick person by those he loved the most.

We did our original windows a few at a time as we had the $$ to do so. It took a few years but they are all replaced. I will say it was one of the best things we did. After Hurricane Sandy we were without power for 9 days. It was freezing here. The house never dropped below 57 degrees and we had minimal drafts. I believe the temp was directly related to the windows. There is no law saying you have to do all the windows at once. Start with the coldest room and use the rest of the money for something else if that is what you want to do.

I don't think so.

Yes, I do the full 20. I do it in the morning before I brush my teeth. I alternate between sesame oil and coconut oil ever few weeks. In the beginning I could not do the full 20. I just kept at it for as long as I could until I was able to the full 20.

I would be all over $300. It is closer to $450 where I live.

TV news-The Daily Show. Mostly I read the news. The New York Times, Local newspaper, online BBC. I always try to keep in mind the Mark Twain quote- Those who do not read the papers are uninformed. Those who do are misinformed.

We did ours yesterday. We <3 Turbo Tax. I do have to say this is the earliest I have ever gotten dh to sit down and do them. Usually he files for an extension on the 15th.