Now when I'm convicted to give up caffeine I can assure you it'll be ugly. Grumpy won't begin to describe me! :lol:

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Her biological make up is half First Nations so she has beautiful coloured skin which will mean she most likely won't need make up for many more years to come. She also has extremely dry and sensitive skin so I'm happy to hold off with any products that might irritate her skin. I'd hold off as long as possible. I think if my daughter asked to wear make up I'd be okay with lip gloss to start. I, on the other hand, have very pale skin and wore make up quite young because I always looked pasty. So I don't know if my opinion would change if her skin was different.

I bake all our cookies, granola bars, etc. but I bake often. My kids snack on popcorn and homemade baking along with yogurt, fruit etc. I guess it's less me than them. I eat oatmeal for breakfast with applesauce or blueberries. They eat cereal or toast with pbj. I eat plain yogurt, again with applesauce or fruit. They eat fruit sweetened. I know this sounds dumb, but how can I make them switch from cereal to oatmeal without having them pack on the brown sugar, etc. I'd say this is one of the big ones especially for my number one sugar addict (actually addict to anything artificial). He begs me to buy Mr. Noodles (which I don't) etc. because he's eaten it somewhere else and loves it. And my dh is a sugar addict, for sure. He buys ice cream, chocolate, and sugary snacks. I've asked him to come on board with me on this. Of course with Christmas around the corner it will be a bit more difficult. We don't drink soda. I drink only water, coffee or tea -- all plain. They drink skim milk. Both my boys were adopted at the age of four and lived in homes with much less healthy dietary habits than ours . . . I guess this has contributed somewhat to their love of the sweets. One has a weight problem, the other attention span problems . . . both would benefit to some improvement.

This book is authored by the same person who wrote Your Last Diet and is premised on the evils of sugar. I haven't read it but my sister stumbled on it and is implementing changes in her family's diet. I want to do this too. We eat healthy, I cook and bake everything from scratch. Grind my own wheat. Bake my own bread. But, I know we consume too much sugar and I know one child at least who is an addict for sure. It's overwhelming though. It seems like such a daunting task to remove sugar from one's diet.

I can reuse it quite a bit for cookies and rolls, etc.

I love parchment paper and line all my pans with it. I figure $12 a year for happy baking is worth it.

But I'm realizing not all families are the same. We have a family member that lives overseas but comes home every few months and it's a given we'll get together with him. But even within my family, in my small town, we do ask each other what our plans are because each of us also have family on our spouses side so it's not a given that we spend a holiday with one side over the other. (That sounds jumbled, but you get what I mean. :))

If you're just wondering if they expect to be spending the holidays with you I'd just ask what their plans were for the holidays. You know casually "Man, the holidays are around the corner. Have you finalized your plans?". Or, I'd say something like, "Well, I've just talked with (in-laws name) about our usual annual festivities. Have you made any plans?" (And of course at this point you could, if you wanted to, include them in your plans with the in-laws?) I think you could even safely include a line about you not being used to having them in the country during the holidays.

When my dad retired and they were selling the house my dh of one year and I bought may parent's house and 20 years later we're still here and probably will be for many more years.

:iagree:

We did not use crate training for our first dogs . . . I regret that. It's an investment for sure to buy the crate but so worth it. It not only aids with the training it gives the owner peace of mind when leaving the pup unattended. I do not need to worry what damage the dog might do or what danger it might get into. Highly recommend it.

Yup, this is what my sister experienced too.

I have windows all around my house so I can see every corner of the yard. I paid close attention and made sure they followed the rules about the boundaries. Our boundaries were pretty tight until this past year when we loosened up a bit. Now at 11 and 12 I allow them to ride their bikes further than our street but they always have to leave a "flight plan" including destination, who they're with and what time they'll return. Many of my kids friends have much more freedom but they're also the same kids I see hanging around town. I do not want my kids hanging around. Playing outside is important for my kids, especially my eldest son who would live outside if I let him.

I will pray for you and your family.:grouphug:

What a relief! I am so looking forward to getting my package soon, wrapping the gifts, hiding them and being free to bake and cook!

I guess I need to start buying the larger roasting chickens rather than the fryers which are considerably smaller. I like the idea of making meat the side dish and the veggies the main.

The tiny chickens we have here get me two meals for my dh, self and three kids and stock with the carcass. There is no way I'd have even an ounce of extra meat.

This is very encouraging.

When it's rainy or slushy, I wear my leggings under rain pants with a gortex jacket. When it's dry but cold I usually wear a long sleeve shirt (wicking material) under a jacket (I just can't think of the fabric right now, cloth but not fleece), a toque and gloves. In the dead of winter, when I've gone running during blizzardy weather, I wear everything :001_smile:, leggings (maybe even with leotards underneath them), waterproof pants, cloth jacket thingy and gortex on top. And my yak traks. Best investment I made when I started being serious about exercise. I am usually freezing when I start out but after a few metres I'm warming up.

None of my kids have their own e-mail accounts or are allowed instant messaging, etc. And I do talk about internet safety and safety in general. Our computer is out in the main room and they're not on it if we're not around. This particular child is quite mature for her age (and I've instilled enough of my paranoia in her) so she is aware and believes me about the dangers. I guess it doesn't hurt to err on the side of caution.

She has come away with the message that she can make a difference and can do the "hard things" in life. She is quite mature for her age. My 12 yr ds . . . not quite there yet. Maybe next year. Definitely Christian content.

Everything I'm typing, doesn't sound funny, so I've given up . . . continue with your passion campaign Audrey. Somebody might as well have fun.

Aren't they November 15th? I had my whole family over for a birthday celebration this evening and we had a similar conversation. The lack of passion in Canadian elections. What contributes to this?

I'll use you guys as back up when I continue to say no. She's been begging me to blog for a couple years now. She loves, loves, loves to write (too bad this wasn't a contagious disease because her brother's definitely could benefit from catching it). I will continue to say no to opening it up. Thanks.