When my kids were little I carried a few pipe cleaners and a teeny bottle of bubbles (like the wedding favor size). I didn't necessarily feel the need to "entertain them" as others have mentioned, but I think it pays to be prepared for those occasional times when the dc need to be quietly occupied for an extended period of time. I can think of times when the littles waited for 2 hours in a waiting room to see a doc, and those little pipe cleaners kept them busy for a very long time!

I feel like I spend a TON of money on groceries! $900 per month, appx. We are a family of 7, and right now 3 of my dc are teenage boys. They are absolutely insatiable! The legs must be hollow...:rolleyes: ~Julie~

Did anybody here like it? I really thought How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was pretty funny, and the idea of another movie starring the same actor/actress is appealing. If you've seen it, did you like it at all? A review I read wasn't good...... ~Julie~

Just kidding!:D

I'm supposed to be planning a spring break trip to Sequoia/Kings Canyon. In spite of Googling, I can't seem to figure out what we'll do during our time there. It will probably be about 3 days in/near the park(s). What would you plan for each day? Thanks, Julie

Two of my dc have the same symptoms right now. I took one of them to the doc, and the strep test was negative (I was surprised, so was the nurse). The same bug seems to be going around, and the doc said the body aches and sore throat would probably go away within about 5 days, but to expect it to morph into a dry, raspy cough that would last about 3 weeks. Bummer.:( Also was told that it's pretty contagious, and to expect that all 5 of my dc would eventually come down with it, and probably me and dh too. Double Bummer. :eek: Hope your crew improves soon, Julie

I lost my cell phone about a week ago. I waited a week to do anything because I was sure mine would turn up, but finally went to Verizon and got a replacement phone. When I checked the voice mail I had a few messages of my own, but I had roughly a dozen messages from American Express asking me to call because my account needs IMMEDIATE ATTENTION! :eek: I've never had an AmEx account. When I called them, they wouldn't give me any information about the account they're referring to, because I didn't have the account number. When I told them I never had an account, they said that I would still

Jane, thanks so much for clarifying! Is that the only thing that would be hard to duplicate if the process goes wrong? Thanks, Julie

I'm wondering though, do you not keep copies of everything you send to colleges? I'm thinking that I heard that it was a good thing to do, but since I have no experience yet, I want to make sure I do it if I'm supposed to. Thanks, Julie

If you're using Thinkwell, do you remember what you paid? I signed up two of my dc for Thinkwell about a month ago, and I seem to remember paying just under $90 each. Today I went to sign up my 3rd ds, and the rate was listed as $219! When I called Thinkwell, the operator told me that the rate had recently gone up for the homeschool version, but couldn't tell me about pricing because the sales rep. was out of the office. Could it really be that Thinkwell raised their prices to more than double? :eek: Or am I just remembering the price wrong from before? ~Julie~

Doran, I'm so sorry about your experience with the trap! We've even used that trap many times without incident, and I'm surprised that the edges of your trap had exposed sharp wires. Yikes! That sounds awful. Fwiw, we've actually never been unsuccessful, and never ever had one perish in captivity(or even come close). Even the adult cats have done fine with enough loving attention. We have done this with at least 12 cats/kittens over the years. Surely the OP would also not let the cat die rather than set it free, should it become necessary. ~Julie~ Hey, I'm a Worker Bee now! :-)

...I understand what you're feeling (I think), even though my ds seems to be an excellent driver. It's still hard to let go. {sigh} I hate to give this advice, but I can only think of two options I might take if I were in your place. 1.) Have him take an additional course of behind-the-wheel training, and make sure the $ for the class comes out of his pocket. 2.)(this is the hard one...)I think if it's been a couple of years, then you've probably done all that you can do, and you might need to just let him go. It's possible that what looks like awful driving to mom, might look fine to the

I'm really glad that you're all ok, and that you did call the police. I'm also glad that your dh was ok after taking her in the car, and I'm sure you understand that people's hesitation with that situation wasn't really dependent upon whether she had a gun in her purse. Many, many things could have (and still could) go wrong with your dh alone in a van with her. I'm so glad also, that you sound like a real (!) and normal poster. Thanks for your gracious response to what surely must have felt like an "attack of criticism." :) ~Julie~ p.s. I sure hope she doesn't come back!

I just read Doran's post, and now I feel a little bad about how mean our method sounds! A lot of the wild kitties we've tamed just didn't have the time for us to be gentle. Many were so undernourished and flea-ridden that we didn't have the luxury of just allowing them to come to us. I can say, though, that none of them have seemed miserable for more than a day or so. Doran's method sounds so loving--our method is more like "tough love", I guess, lol! :D Good luck, Julie p.s. Isn't it funny how having the ongoing attention of 5 dc makes me pretty wild, but the ongoing attention of 5 dc

We have a dairy farm, and for some reason, people feel free to dump loads of kittens and pups here. My kids have tamed wild ones many times. They trap the critter (one way or another!). It sounds like you're a step ahead on that... The kids keep the cat in a small enclosed space, usually my laundry room or our teeny extra bathroom. During the day they pop in there often, grab kitty with a bath towel, and sorta "snuggle" the cat in there for several minutes at a time, speaking softly and soothingly, and petting the animal gently around the ears. They feed it regular cat food (or kitten ch

I was pretty happy with Teaching Textbooks, and so was my ds. At the end of it all though, it was pretty clear that my ds still didn't completely grasp all of the Algebra he'd worked through. I don't fault the TT, because it was the same problem we'd had with a previous Algebra text. Just recently, I've switched two of my ds's to Thinkwell. It's TT "on steroids" imo. It has all of the great stuff about TT, but has other features that are even better. I like that with the Thinkwell, if you need more practice on a lesson, you just click and the program will give you a whole 'nother set of

Dave would tell you to keep the Jeep, I think. If you were making payments on it, that would be different, and if you could sell it for a lot more money, then I'd consider it. But no, I think you should keep the Jeep. Better than I deserve, Julie

Anyone here know anything about the book "Tender Warrior" by Stu Weber? Is the book aimed mostly at older, already married men? I'm looking for something for my ds 17. We are a family that could best be described as "leaning towards courtship", and my ds knows that he needs to be an adult in every sense of the word before he starts looking for the right girl. He has a girl "friend" from our church (also a courtship family). I think both of the kids know they're not ready for a romantic relationship yet, but rather than focusing on the "thou shalt nots", I'd rather have him focus on what h

It was several years ago that I had service problems. They've probably improved! :) ~Julie~

Our denomination (RCUS) requires all of the kids to memorize the Heidelberg Catechism. Truthfully, I'm not thrilled. I want the kids to learn from the catechism as a teaching tool, but I'd rather they memorize actual Scripture. It takes most of the kids four years to master the memorization, and they do a *ton* of learning both of systematic theology and church history. At the end of that process the kids write an essay, do an interview before the church consistory, and then they are eligible to make a public profession of faith and take communion. I dislike the process, and feel that it

You're such a sweetie! Your post is the only thing that could make me regret the fact that I actually already bit the bullet and finished budgeting for this month. I'll be praying that yours goes well! Better than I deserve, Julie

My dh is not truly on board. There, I said it. My dh is not truly on board. He runs our business, and I run our household (including budgeting). I've just plain overspent (just a little, but for a long time), and now I have to deal with it. I explained to my dh about Dave Ramsey, and dh has heard him once or twice, but my dh still is holding out on a few things. He refuses to get rid of the cc. He never *ever* uses it, but he wants us to have it. I'm ok with that, but it's hard to maintain the "never use it" while I juggle fixing the problem. I'm getting better. BUT... We have an

I had a terrible experience with them several years ago, and when I posted about it here, found that other people had lots of trouble with them also. In my situation, they charged my Visa, but then never sent the package. I did get them to refund eventually. :eek: ~Julie~

I think maybe my discouragement stems from the fact that I just didn't make it in January. I used my cc for about $150. I can make it up from my money for February if I give up my $100 of "blow" money, skip my haircut ($35), and make up the other $15 from my grocery envelope. I also need $89 that I didn't budget for this month in order to get my ds in a math that I think will work better for him. My plan was to pay off the cc by March or April, and then save in May and June for school stuff for the fall. I wasn't planning on a mid-year curriculum change, but for my special needs ds, I thi

I've been doing a good budget each month since October. All of a sudden this month I JUST DON"T WANNA DO IT! {whine} Anyone else doing their budget today or tomorrow and just not finding it very fun? The newness has definitely worn off. Bleah, Julie :( p.s. I just have to stick to it for two more months, and my debt will be paid except for my house.