Looking for a trampoline to purchase. I am looking at a 14' from Walmart and and Jumpking 15' at Sports Authority. Does anyone have a 14' and wish it was the bigger size. I want a net enclosure but I hear they are fragile and problematic. Does anyone have a trampoline that has lasted years and years of heavy use in heavy wind?

We have many people in our family who have chosen not to get married because it is cheaper not too, especially if they are going to have children. Each one of the women in our family said that they would loose their "services" if they married their boyfriends who had decent jobs. Medicaid paid for their births the doctor appointments, and then the series of money they get as unwed mothers in the form of financial assistance. So although they were in solid relationships, it was financially better to stay unmarried. On the birth certificates they can still give the baby the father's name. We have one family member with 4 children and over ten years unmarried. Very practical.

I am on the zinc bandwagon now! Based on this board's recommendation I started giving my daughter zinc for her acne. I started taking it myself, for the mini breakouts I get once in a while. My daughter's skin looks great so we eased her down to 50 mg every third day or so. The big news is my skin. My itchy and crusty and greasy scalp that I've been treating with all sorts of meds, shampoos, orals, etc. for a decade has almost completely healed. (99%) Plus, my dry flaky feet are becoming normal. For twenty years, I have dealth with rough dry feet. I've used everything on them. But within a few days of taking the zinc supplement, my callouses are falling off! I can't find any real scientific explanation for this. I guess I don't care. Soon, I'll be able to wear my cutie sandals without worrying about my feet. As far as my scalp goes. I can go days without washing my hair! Thanks!!!!

I am the dissenting opinion here. I have more than one shy kid, introverted in the ways you mentioned though not unhappy or anything like that. In fact their personalities, talents, etc. are very different from each other. However, we push/pushed them out there. We deliberately put them in situations where they had to be around people/kids and situations that they did not want. This included public speaking/performance. We especially push/pushed them into team sports. Yes, they were not happy to be there. Yes, they threw fits. Yes, there were tears and breakdowns. Yes, all of those things that break our hearts as mothers to see. But, in the end, so far, it has been worth it. We never told the teacher to let them do their presentations in private, or ask for alternate assignments, like other parents I know who have shy introverts. In fact as soon as we saw signs of shyness and introversion, we asked the teachers to call on them often, even though they don't raise their hands. "Please, put them on the spot," we asked. I have chosen specifically not to homeschool my two shy/homebodies. My oldest is almost sixteen and recently thanked me (yes, I was floored) and his father that we made him do all the things we made him do. He said that he would never have accomplished what he has, nor made the friends he has made without the forced participation. He has made a huge turn around from being nerdy and bookish to being athletic, involved, talkative, self confident and pro active in his own life. Says he wants to be an orthodontist or a Rock musician. We'll see what happens to the other one.... he is at a community play practice today. What he really wanted to do was finish a Percy Jackson book and be in his room...maybe go exploring later, alone. In our minds, we are just trying to help facilitate them finding new aspects and talents that they may not know they have and will never find on their own, unless they are forced to "get out there!" Just another option.

We lived in the Meyerland/Bellaire neighborhood and though it was older, it only took my husband twenty minutes to get to work. If we had lived in Spring or the Woodlands the commute was over and hour and a half each way. Also, if you like to do things, then the Meyerland area was only seven minutes from Herman Park, the Zoo, the Nature and Science Museum, the Children's Museum, and our favorite the Medical Science Museum. We were also closer to downtown and the train. We were only fifteen minutes from the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. On top of that, we were closer to Kemah, Galveston, Sugarland, George Ranch. I loved the Woodlands and Spring where my parents lived because of the newer homes. But, I was glad to be so close to the fun things. We went somewhere every day, even if it was only a free park or the arboretum. Remember also, if you are looking at homes during the day then you are not seeing the true traffic situation. Drive in the real rush hour traffic to determine how long it would take you to get to and from work.

1. Camera 2. Video camera 2. Flashlights 3. Purse 4. Incoming mail that you don't have time to open just yet 5. Your dh's wallet 6. Library books 7. Items that need to be returned to stores but you can't get around to immediately 8. Outdoor toys 9. Completed homeschool stuff (workbooks, etc.) 10.Game system accessories (dance mat, wii balance board, rock band drums, etc.) When the organizing craze started (about 9 to 10 years ago) I tried to "organize" and "put things away" and it didn't work so well. I read somewhere that organizing should be practical and make your life easier while keeping you from looking cluttered. So, if you walk in your house and start "shedding" then have decorative recepticles ready to collect your debris. I have a drawer in the pantry (we put cabinets with lots of drawers in the pantry) where we put tools and flashlight. I have a junk drawer for screws, staples, candles, loose doodads. My husband has a basket in our closet that he drops in his pocket contents and he can plug in his phone. We have a decorative rubbermaid box for outdoor toys. I purchased a decorative file cabinet (looks like furniture)that can sit in the living room for homeschool items. We have a decorative deep bowl in our living room where we put our cameras (the cords discreetly come up over the sides. We have discarded all of our cd/dvd cases and put our game cds and regular DVD in those cd binders that zip up. The accessories we have go into a heavy duty deco basket with lid that I made hinged by using yarn. I saw a very cool thing for storing cameras and phones. It hangs on the wall and plugs into an outlet. It has many plugs for your phones and cameras and stuff, and its all hidden behind doors. I'd get one if my husband wasn't building an electrical device station in my mud room. I have a small daytimer type notebook calendar that I carry most places. I put the mail in there. When it gets to unruly to handle I deal with the mail. My daytimer has a small pocket where I keep stamps so if I'm out somewhere and need to find something to do I can do bills right there. I personally hate organizing where everything is "put away" you know, in a box with a lid on it, put high on a shelf. I like things within reach at a moment's notice. My compromise was to buy (mostly at garage sales) items that hide our stuff in plain sight.

Have you thought about a laser treatment? I have had a couple for rosacea and brown blotchy skin. The treatment was $175. I got more results from the first treatment of laser than years of using the creams and ointments that guaranteed results. The first treatment pulled a bunch of the brown spots off completely, red veins on my nose were gone. Some spots that I thought were slight wrinkles around my lips flaked off and disappeared and the red on my face was reduced by half. The brown patches started coming up (and out) within a few hours. After a week, the results were truly noticeable. I tried every cream in the book for my splotchy skin and spent a ton. The laser changed everything! Now, I know the results depend on how intense the treatment. I think some centers go easy on you so you have to come back for retreatments. If you ask around maybe you can find one that gives you your money's worth. I go every 18 months now to fix any browns that have popped up and to keep the rosacea at bay.

or get into your car through an open window when you don't know it and drive with you to the bank and wait to show themselves only after you have stopped at the teller window.

Seal your grout very well before you do anything else.

I agree with you about the g'ment needing to stay out. The last folks in the US who know anything about the family farm is the very East US Urban Centric G'ment Admnistration. I'm not surprised by how many posters to this assume that this is being misinterpreted and that we are obviously misreading this, this administration only cares about our welfare and they must have their reasons to put their thumb on every industry. Where I live, we hear about this bill everyday on the radio during the Ag program. The original bill showed obvious ignorance as to how farms and ranches work. They, the G-men, are trying to tweak it, though in its current form it will transform 4H and FFA to the point where they may not be able to exist. Once again the g'ment is trying to nannyfy every industry. Life is dangerous, but kids who grow up around animals and equipment aren't stupid. My son got to work some at a local dairy, doing odd stuff. This was arranged through FFA.He's only 15. If this passes, he won't get that opportunity to shovel crap that every kids deserves to get. To those who think they have to defend every policy coming out of Washington for political reasons, I think its okay to say, "I love Obama but this bill is crap." I don't think that is being disloyal. Find the bill in its intact form, read it and laugh at the fact that the city mouse is trying to write legislation for the country mouse.

I fenced in college and I wish there was a fencing club close by for my kids. It is a NCAA sport and there are scholarships available for girls and boys. Ebay always has a nice selection of equipment and this company triplette.com has starter packages for the beginning fencer. In most classes or clubs that share equipment, there may be a lot of taking off the the lames, the metal thread jackets. I remember hating to share those because by the time they got to me they were sweaty. I can say that there is a nice fencing culture and once you get to college, students that didn't quite fit in with the football or volleyball crowd can find a respected athletic place in fencing.

What you said! We love houseguests, and the more the merrier. It doesn't happen often enough in our book! One of the kid's rooms has a queen bed and we always put guests in there. They can put their kids around them or we can move kids around the house on couches or floors. We do put away special toys, precious items, and breakables, if kids are coming.

I'm with you. Our insurance is $700 per month. The last time we purchased it, it was $525. Our new insurance is worse, with a high deductible, high copay, higher emergency room visit and Walgreens won't take it for prescriptions. I had to call around to find a pharmacy who will take it. With $4 gas on top of it, we are so financially maxed out. I would also like to hear from someone who is benefitting from this.

I do not see how criminal charges would be helpful in any way, except to pad the wallet of the lawyers having to defend the family members. I've never seen litigation or the criminal justice system bring the dead back to life.

I:iagree: I think our men have a particularly tough road to travel right now. Women seem to have all the power and men these days get no respect, are always the boobs in family movies, are supposed to be getlemanly, but not chauvinistic, supportive but not critical. They must avoid pornography even though the world says its not harmful, find a job, pay the bills, stay fit, provide for their children, be an attentive father, magnify their callings, wash the dishes, and not die, all without coffee or alcohol. The ones that can check off half of this list, have my respect. The fact that my DH gets up at 5:45 every morning to take my son to seminaary, in the snow and freezing weather, makes up for alot. We generally do not watch conference all at once, as we tend to fall asleep. The calming voices and music are just too powerful. We record all of the sessions and then watch them for FHE over the next few weeks. We made the YW conference last week, but we had people in town so we missed the Priesthood session Sat and didn't view any of them on Sat or Sun. After reading these comments, I'll listen more attentively to the ones mentioned. Thought we would do one for FHE tonight but our FHE was put off until tomorrow night (NCAA MENS B-Ball championship tonight, my DH said that would be a perfect FHE activity. Ummm no! Plus, the 1940 census came out today....:lol: