I posted what I was planning to read this week on last week's update thinking it was this week's because it was bumped forward on Monday. And the funny part was I was thinking to myself that the week had sure gone by fast. lol! Anyway, I'm reading Mahaney's book "Shopping for Time" this week.

As others have said, the package is complete, so the experiments get done. The readings are not over the top long so it keeps their interest (I have one child where this factor alone is important). I'm happy we bought it.

We also used a brand called Go Natural and liked it okay too but the dogs really (and I mean really) love Orijen.

Even traveling from our community is a huge expense. A flight from here to Vancouver, for example, averages $500. Add travel costs to a student's expense list . . .getting there and back, never mind Christmas vacation, etc. I am not complaining because we enjoy many benefits living where we do but I think sometimes people who don't live in or near an urban centre don't realize all these extra factors. Even the jobs you listed your children may do in the future are not a given here. For example, our swimming pool just opened after being closed for 18 months. And we only have one so the competition for jobs is stiff. On the other hand my kids can and do babysit, snow shovel, lawn mow, etc. Again, not a complaint. We choose to live here (Kind of, kind of not. Dh's job is here and that's a big factor for us being here.) Just the reality of rural life. I don't completely disagree with your premise that kids should be responsible for their education just sometimes there are extenuating circumstances.

When I graduated from HS and went to college I had to leave our small town and move to Vancouver and I did that and paid for all expenses by working summers. (My parents had 7 kids, 1 income. There was no way we could get any monetary help from them.) The difference today? I live in a small, resource based town, with two (at one time three) major industries. They hired and paid extremely well. In fact, even my nieces and nephews have benefited from jobs there as recently as last year. But if the economy continues the way it has it'll kill the resource industry and those jobs won't exist. In fact, we are fairly certain those industries, this summer, won't be hiring summer students. My own dh's hours are going to be cut back for at least 5 weeks in April and May. I think it does depend on where you live to some extent. We don't live in a town with a lot of retail/restaurants. If the industries don't hire there are only a handful of other jobs. So, my kids will have to rely on entrepreneurship . . . which isn't a bad thing but the reality is it doesn't pay as well as the summer jobs we had as young people. And our population base is small (8,500). I guess we'll have to see how the economy plays out by the time my kiddies reach that age.

I told them this was a popular song at one point . . . and had to prove it with a youtube video. Now we'll all be singing it.

(I'll check later but it's in my room and my dh's sleeping after nightshift.) It's made by my dentist and fits over my front upper teeth and is rigid plastic. I have used it for about three years and it has really made a difference. I was grinding to the point of excruciating headaches and jaw pain. I think I paid around $300 out of my pocket and I can't remember if our dental plan paid any on top of that. (It might have.) I have never used anything else.

If my children want to go to university they have to move far from home. They can, and probably will, attend a year or two in the neighbouring community's CC which allow them to commute and live at home but after that they are moving at least 1500 km's away. So I agree with Ria that unless my kids get a fabulous summer job, it's unlikely they could save enough to cover all their costs. One of the downsides of living in rural BC.

My boy of the same age, not so much. He's a bit of short term thinker. You know save for a bike this year. Quad next year. :001_smile: Interestingly enough, my dd started saving for her college long before we ever made any comments about the cost of college.

This is a short book which is good 'cause I have a bit of catching up to do.

We gave $5 (Canadian) every two weeks. Last year our 12 yr old dd began babysitting and our 12 yr old ds lawn mowing/snow shovelling so we have stopped allowance. They don't work every week but when they do work they earn enough for them to save up for their desires. Our 11 yr ds hasn't earned any outside money yet so I arrange extra work for him to earn some money.

I started frequenting the boards around 2000/01ish when my kids were starting school.

The death of a pet is, unfortunately, not a new experience for me so I know the pain and I know that it eases in time. My ds, however, isn't quite so confident and she will leave a big hole in his heart and life. When we adopted her my family thought we were nuts . . . we had just brought home a new son and he was 4 yrs old (okay they thought we were nuts doing that too lol!). But I had seen a notice on a bulletin board that a family, who's 4 yr ds had just been diagnosed with leukemia, needed to find a home for their mutt. Well my dad had just died of leukemia so I had to go check out this dog. Well, she just jumped into our van, not waiting for our decision lol! She was a bit dirty and had been primarily an outside dog. We took her home. Cleaned her up and made her an inside dog (with plenty of outside activities). She lapped it up like a queen. And she bonded with our new son (and even made friends with our basset hounds) and I am convinced made his transition into our home one hundred percent easier. Tonight I cry tears remembering those early years. I cry tears because she was so loyal to our boy and family. I cry tears because my son is sad. But I know this is part of life. Thanks for thinking about us.

Sorry about your loss too. Unfortunately I've been down this road before. It's the sad part of being a pet owner but the trade off makes it so worth it. I am so sad for my son. While he was around when our other dogs died, he was young and this time he was at her death. Honestly I don't know if that will make it easier or harder for him. Tonight he has settled down a bit and I'll just keep talking with him. I know the guilt you are feeling because we had two basset hounds (that filled the void of infertility) when we adopted our first child. It's inevitable that the relationship changes but don't feel guilty. It sounds like you took good care of her and loved her. I am exhausted. Grief is exhausting. Thanks for commiserating with me.

It's a very sad evening in our household. Our beautiful golden retriever mutt we adopted the same month we adopted our son . . .he was four, she was five. . . has just died of old age. We knew it was coming but we are none the less very very sad tonight. And my 12 yr ds is beside himself in grief. Which of course is adding to my sadness tonight. She was such a good dog. Loyal, friendly yet protective. Always healthy until the very end. We will miss her a lot. She never caused us a moments trouble . . really. If you're inclined, please pray for my son who will take this loss very hard. This dog followed him everywhere and did everything with him. Everything. She tagged along as his right hand dog. We'll miss you Watson.

And if you have a good doctor you might be amazed at what resources he has available. Don't be afraid to ask.

The CBC (our national radio station) is hosting a Canada Reads thingy and is featuring five books. The Outlander is one of them.

I mean if you took him to the doctor would the doctor's only solution be medication (which I'm not saying would necessarily be wrong) or are there other things covered under medical? Can doctors refer someone to a counselor? Truly, I have no idea how that works. I know individual plans cover things but I'm guessing, being self-employed, you guys don't have that. Again, with no experience, I would say doing the things on your list wouldn't be bad but I'm wondering if a doctor's appointment would be in order?

:iagree:

He is soon to be 13. He is our pickiest eater. I asked him what he would do if he were invited to someone's house for dinner and had soup, salad and a ww roll for dinner (I told him to imagine it was food he might not prefer). There's hope for this boy. He said he'd eat it and not make a fuss. Yay! I can allow him out of the house. At 13 the kid should know that nothing he's going to eat is going to kill him even if he doesn't like it. There should be no fussing. I would want to tell the parent but I probably wouldn't (because honestly I'd be too chicken).

I can grind about 20 cups (I'm estimating) in 5ish minutes. I usually bake bread right after I've ground the wheat and store the remaining in a ziploc bag in the freezer for use during the week (muffins, cookies etc.) It is very easy to clean. I love my nutrimill and have not had any problems with it since I purchased it.

When I purchased mine several years ago I did wonder if it would be a fad that I would use like crazy for awhile and the give up. That has not been the case and I practically bake everything (and I mean everything) with my freshly ground ww flour which tastes superior to store bought ww flour. I think the biggest health benefit comes from the fact that the wheat tastes so good the kids don't mind eating everything ww (including cookies, etc.). In fact one time, maybe two years ago, I baked cookies using white flour and the kids asked me what was wrong with the cookies. Very worthwhile purchase in our home.

I hate it when I have to say "I don't know". So I've taken to looking over the stuff before I give it to the kiddies . . . I can't believe how much I'm learning!! (I always tell my friends that at the end of the day at least I'm getting a good education! :001_smile:)

I've been shaking up our normal math routine by adding some lessons from MEP (thanks to previous posts pointing me to this site). I can't believe how well received the lessons have been. I don't know if it's just because it's something different or if the style is speaking to them but whatever it is I am happy to hear those words.

:iagree: