I'm Caucasian and use it. FWIW-- my absolute favorite conditioner is Mixed Chicks.

Thanks for all of the good ideas. The relationship is somewhat strained so I think he'd be more comfortable if he didn't go with us to choose. Giving him cash isn't an option. We'd really like something tangible to show him that we believe in him and his chosen career.

We're looking to get our son knives of his own to use at work. As far as I know, he's been using the knives in the kitchen where he works. He's a sous chef and was recently promoted to executive sous chef. Any advice on brands, sizes, or anything else?

The kids always want mixed nuts still in the shell.

If the little trinkets/toys are in great shape and fun to play with, I've donated to the local school and put some in operation Christmas child boxes. Smaller stuffed animals in good shape are appreciated by our local police dept. The offices usually keep a few in their trunks for dealing with kiddos. Goodwill also likes the trinkets for their grab bags.

Well, the candles were a great deal at Aldi's.......

We bought a hot tub about three years ago and use it several times a week. Dh uses it almost daily to help him relax before bed. It's outside on our deck and covered with a gazebo so we use it all year around. Someone else mentioned the remote controlled candles. We got a set of three at Aldi's a couple of weeks ago that we keep by the hot tub.

We have greenish teal 1990's countertops that I'd like to replace. It's not in the budget though. What's helped soften them is to paint the walls a medium, neutral gray. It's one of the more popular Benjamin Moore colors, but I can't remember the name. Then I made window valances with a really pretty dark gray material with a teal design and some other brighter colors mixed in. I bought the material on sale at Joann's Those two changes greatly updated our kitchen.

Nope. Our area had recent death said to be by mold in expired pancake mix. Before that, I probably would have.

Agree with Lucy: must have taken Helping verb plus past perfect tense

I can't go that far, but have no problem with saying, " Dh, I'd like xyz for my b-day. Is it okay with you if I pick it up? " Usually, I buy it myself and then he has something small for me as well or a sweet card.

I'd have said I'd really like the purse for my b-day and asked him purchase it then since it was at Nordstrom Rack and the stock changes quickly. I used to hate doing this but have come to understand that dh isn't good at hints or surprises. He likes to buy things for me but just doesn't think about it although he does bring me flowers and sometimes a magazine that he thinks I'll like.

prayed for you and yours

It's almost opposite in our house -- I can't seem to get rice right in my insta pot , but it's the only way i'll cook quinoa anymore.

Old married folks warning: We sometimes go to Home Depot and buy things.

Hugs to you as you deal with this. In case this ever goes to court, I'd take pictures of the room and note the date. Then I'd pack up their belongings into boxes and take pics of the contents as well. I'd give them a deadline ( check your state laws ) for picking up the items or for you delivering them. If I had the space, I'd probably continue to store the items even after the deadline. FWIW, I like the idea of the weekly meal date. It covers so many issues and still leaves the door open for them to see their dad. Best wishes to you and yours~

I snipped this paragraph, because to me this is the main difference between "old school" homeschoolers and those who are newer to homeschooling. If we wanted something to be available for our children, chances are we had to create it. Sometimes that was a good thing, and sometimes the stressful work involved wasn't worth the return on our efforts. I think we were/are sometimes a more confident bunch though because we were going against convention for what we believed was best. We had to create because ready made options were few and far between. Please don't equate this with me saying that new homeschoolers are not confident. As homeschooling numbers grew, we became an untapped market --- some local governments wanted funding for our numbers and so did private entities. I personally see this as where the old vs new divide began. Homeschooling became more mainstream and even popular in some circles. Some of it excites me, and some of it doesn't. I"m happy to have access to quality online programs without sending my kids to college during their preteen years, but on the flip side I hate seeing pioneers like the Moores, Warings , and others not valued as much in today's market. I'd recommend these authors for anyone homeschooling, even if you have no interest in homeschool philosophy. Their perspective and wisdom have helped our family immensely along the journey. As pp have said, the educational climate has changed so much over the years that more and more people are homeschooling because it's the best option that they have, not because they believe home education is the best option. That's okay. Hopefully, we're all in this for the best for our children. As AZ MOM relates we mentors/ old schoolers like to help, but we don't like being on the other end of the hostilities. That's one reason that some of us don't want to stick around and volunteer. Another belief that I hold is that we, like the pioneers who fought for homeschool freedom, are no longer needed in today's market. We want to help in so many ways because we benefited so much from the relationships we formed. I think that directly circles back to the reasons why we homeschooled, and why we want to help. Just my .02!

My grandsons like Avocado toast with their eggs. We just spread the avocado on the toast like butter. I like to half an avocado, crack an egg where the pit used to be, and broil it in the oven. It makes a yummy dinner!

I can't like this, but I have to agree divorce isn't always the answer. You NEVER know for sure how custody and visitation is going to work out until the judge actually rules. We had a case last summer where the judge was okay with the non-custodial parent giving peanut butter to an allergic child because it wasn't a life threatening allergy. She loved peanut butter and the custodial parent wouldn't give it to her. She'd come back to the program with swollen lips and sometimes hives. We couldn't believe it when the judge said it was okay. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

You've gotten lots of good replies. I just want to address the cost issue. Even if you spend more per pound for the meat with bones ( although the opposite has been my experience ), you'll still come out ahead making both in the crockpot overnight vs buying it by the box. You might also want to check into buying beef bones. Our expensive store has them for $2.99 a lb and the farmer's market for $2 a lb. Ham bone stock alone isn't much to my family's liking, but I make it to freeze and use with water in beans. It's a super cheap way to flavor foods for just a little money. I'm also going to take a poster's advice upthread to ask for chicken bones at the butcher counter. That's something I haven't thought of. Best wishes as you find the best option for you! ETA: When whole chickens are on sale, I have the meat dept cut them up for me, and then repackage them at home. I put like pieces together, including backs, necks, and wings for stock. They also cut the breasts off the bones, and I specifically ask them to give me the bones. There's no extra charge for this at Publix.

We did pretty much the same thing. We've used the More Time Moms calendar for years since it's got large daily blocks. Chores were a simple spreadsheet posted on the fridge. It had the rotating items like walking and feeding the dog, extra zone items ( ala Flylady ), and yard work. We didn't have many unpredictable days since we had the "24 hour rule". If you want to go and do something it needs to be on the calendar at least 24 hours in advance. Most things were placed on the calendar at our weekly Thursday meeting. We were somewhat flexible with that rule, but not much. For example, dd calls from basketball game and asks to go to local place to eat -- okay. Dd calls home from same game and asks to spend the night at someone's home -- no for a variety of reasons. ETA: When the kids were little we had chore times that were linked to other activities. Bedroom chores before breakfast, pick-up before lunch and nap time, chore times after afternoon "tea" and before dinner, then last pick-up of the day before bed. It sounds like a lot, but the pick-up times were just a few minutes to put things back in their places.

Well. no offense, But I did kind of lol at the title. Mom-in-law, who is amazing in my eyes, raised three incredibly un-boring boys, then we had our three plus the dd who gave as good as she got, and now I have three grandsons :-) Boring is never a word that I would use :lol:

ElizabethB , I'll be watching your updates and may join you. I've been talking with dh off and on these past few months about going to Detroit to somehow help out.

With nothing seeming to help, could you try a chiro adjustment? Maybe a pediatric chiro can help in case it's not an allergy or sensitivity.

Infant probiotics were like a miracle for the drug dependent babe we fostered. Wearing him in a wrap gave him lot of comfort too. Best wishes as you find a solution.