Glad to hear it doesn't seem to be a trend!

oops! Double post.

Dd is dual enrolled for the summer, and I've been driving her this past week. It's about forty minutes from our house so I just hang around campus and wait for her. It's been interesting to people watch. Now here's the clothing that has me puzzled: Girls of all sizes are wearing shorts that have their "cheeks" hanging out. I'm not talking short shorts or Daisy Dukes where the "cheek" is peeking out. These are more of a V cut with lots of hanging involved. It's almost like a thong with extra material. Anyone else seeing this where they live?

Yes, this is a biggie! Make certain you know what insurance is required and how much it will cost before signing a rental agreement. Some churches will require general liability insurance as well as molest*tion insurance. Best wishes ~

Do you have any good thrift stores around you? I'm also petite and wear a small size. The Goodwill stores in my area usually have an abundance of women's clothes in small sizes. Ann Taylor fits me well and is a frequent find. I also shop at the Loft outlet store where the prices are much cheaper.

changed my mind :-)

Sometimes it's hard to remember, I have to write it on the large family calendar so we won't forget. It really helps when everyone is on board with the plan.

I'll join you ladies. June has always been a get it out the door ( declutter ) month for me. I need to ramp that up this year as we're in the last year of homeschooling, and I need to get rid of/sell lots of items. We could also use the extra savings to pay for a couple of AP classes. As for advice that the OP was asking for: Two things always help curb my spending. I don't go to any stores for anything during a no spend week. If we need something I give dh a list, and he picks up only what's on the list. He's so much better at following a list than I am. I also use up every last bit of perishable food in the fridge before buying more. It leads to some eclectic meals :laugh:

love and hugs to you.

Another mom encouraging you to take a look at diet. One of our children had rages like you described. For us, it was food dyes, esp yellow #5. Best wishes as you find answers!

Yes, it was our main crib for the months that we had a family member placed with us. After those months we used it during visits for the next year and a half. Typing this out made me realize that it was two years ago that we bought the mattress. Time goes so fast!

I first heard this in one of her workshops at the Cincy convention. I looked in the store and think it might be the independent learner session. It's also the session where she talks about finding lost books :-) Maybe someone who knows for sure will chime in.

Mattresses are available for the pack and play. We bought one last year from Amazon for about $30.

I wish I'd been more patient as my dc went through puberty. I focused more on their actions than what may have been causing them. Hearing SWB's advice for sleep, sandwich, or shower helped me realize that I needed to change.

This is what I do, too. I currently have 76 friends.

Our preteen needed a photo id for testing. He also carried it because of daytime curfew/truancy laws. Our youngest wanted an id when older brother got his and used it for years to do her banking ( deposits and cashing b'day checks) , although it wasn't necessary. She just liked being "grown-up". We did have her carry it along with our contact info whenever we traveled.

Gently saying this: It sounds as if you need to allow your son to be more responsible.. The first step I'd take is to not allow dis paycheck to be in your account after a certain date. Help him get the needed documents to apply for a new id. Plan the day that it needs to be done and then drop him off at the dmv or wherever to get a new one. Having a valid Id is important. Buy him a pass for the transport in monthly allotments and help him learn how to budget it's use. It's usually cheaper this way. then move to giving $ for the pass and he has to buy it himself. I have to admit the breakfast and lunch is confusing to me. Why is money being given instead of simply providing groceries at home? I think if you start doing some of these things, then he'll start to understand how money works and that it's usually a finite supply.

Hugs and love to you and yours!

When the kids were small, I made breakfast each morning except Saturdays. I also made lunch and dinner as well as most snacks. It made our day go more smoothly if we all ate at the same time. The mess was also smaller as was the grocery bill. Breakfast varied but was always easy - things like overnight french toast, peanut butter bread and smoothie, scrambled cheesy eggs and toast, etc. Lunch had a lot of bean dishes in the winter, leftovers, wraps with veggies, etc. Afternoon snack was a time for tea and a light snack as well as read-alounds or poetry. Oldest ds who went to ps would be home and loved the after school snack! Dinner was mostly made in the crockpot or grilled outside by hubby. Sometimes dh and I would cook dinner together while the kids played. The kids always helped with clean-up and cooking, except for breakfast. They would do morning chores and get started in school work while I cleaned up. As they got older, each dc ( one per week ) had one night a week to cook a meal of his or her own choosing for the family. We found it to be less work and stress than if everyone made his/her own food. It may sound like I did a lot of work and serving, but the workload was almost always shared. It was really easy once we got into the rhythm of it.

Love my Ahnus!

This may very well be the crux of the issue. People tend to become defensive when others eschew what's being offered or discussed. I've learned to say something like I'm not much of a diet coke, wine, beer drinker etc. It lets folks know I'm not interested but without the perceived judgement. Sometimes I'll have one drink, but then say something like one's my limit when asked about another or a simple "i'm driving" if someone persists. Some other things I say are : " No, thanks. I'm good." and " I'd love a water, diet coke, tea, etc." We don't have cable so if someone mentions a particular show, I'll simply say that I'm not much of a TV watcher instead of we don't have cable.

We do a lot of what pp suggest. We also run toothbrushes through the dishwasher each week.

DH likes the Gold Label shirts from Dillards. They wear well and last several years without fraying.

Love my Vitamin but would have gotten a Ninja instead if they had been on the market. DS has one, and it does an amazing job with smoothies. The lower price would have been worth it for me.

Having healthy snacks ready to go is a great deterrent. If you go this route of getting rid of all of the junk, please think about tapering off the amounts instead of just going cold turkey. Maybe give the healthier options first with x amount being eaten and then giving a sweet or soda.