100%:iagree: I have an iphone radio app so I've been carrying the news around with me all day. The news is straight from the source - Landrieu, Jindall, Yenni, all the local officials giving regular updates. Hope all are faring well. As I feared, Isaac pulled a stall. The move west also put NOLA on the east side, terrible for all the northshore neighborhoods. Madisonville apparently got hit with much worse flooding than anticipated and the power outages are widespread. Thinking of you all...

:iagree: This. I always have to make sure they aren't just eating because they are bored, or like the taste.... I hate it, too. I wish I could overstock the pantry but that would blow my grocery bill.

We - I, anyway - need a List of Terms. For example, Full Body Collapse: physical distraction, most effective immediately following lunch or during the last subject of the day Arguing About Whether One is Actually Arguing: red herring distraction, typically used when the one who initiated the argument realizes s/he has no logical base for arguing yet refuses to concede the point I'll Die If I Don't Eat RIGHT! NOW!: useful anytime, success varies with timing and inflection; often preceded or accompanied by the "What's for Dinner?" distraction technique I'm Just.....Soooo.......Sleepy....... : widely used, especially on Monday mornings in colder weather The list could really go on and on!

Okay, so I am just putting this together, but I guess sauerkraut is a cultured veggie? I just had a discussion with a new friend about the benefits of cultured vegetables and I never thought about sauerkraut!

Oh, I never thought about pressure on the hoses! I did read that the purpose of the baking soda, at least in part, is to dampen the suds factor of the dish soap. I suppose I'll have to keep this remedy strictly for back-up use. Much as I'd enjoy being "forced" to get a new dishwasher because the old hoses gave way, I don't want an indoor flood! Plus it's just not in the budget right now.

and google searched an emergency replacement so I wouldn't have to run to the store last night. My replacement did a fine job and now I am wondering if I couldn't just keep using it. I used two (ONLY two!!!) drops of liquid dishwashing soap and tossed about half a cup of baking soda into the bottom of the dishwasher. The dishes look great! Any reason I couldn't continue to use it? I have a HUGE bag of baking soda.

Well done, Mariann!

Participant ages? Is this for younger ones, too, or just older students?

Did y'all come up with a similar option for the girls? Or maybe Faith and I just need to talk about a marriage contract. Tell your son my dd is really cute...:lol:

Total bummer... I have great concern for each family's primary breadwinner. How demoralizing it is to work as hard and harder than ever and not be able to make ends meet.

:iagree: This is where we are. Our spending is cut about as deeply as it can be cut, and prices keep going up. I am going to have to add about 15-20 hours per week, and frankly, I am really unsure how that's going to work out. I can typically tolerate a high level of stress and activity, but when it comes to stress over money, that just gets me in the gut. Hate it. Think I'll hop on over to that aromatherapy thread for some calming oils!

Because the cost of food, clothing and gasoline has sharply risen and continues to escalate. My dh also makes a wonderful salary, but it has not risen commensurately with the cost of commodities.

:lol::lol::lol:Oh, I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't laugh...but funny... I will play, too! My goal is to keep to my cash system and spend only what's in the budget. So I guess instead of No-Spend September I will be playing No OVERspend September. I was doing well most of this summer but fell off the boat in August when some planned (very necessary) spending turned out to cost more than we anticipated.

A place for everything - even the dog!:lol: Very nice, it looks so clean and bright and well organized. Love your red chairs! Looks like the kids are already at home there. Well done!

A friend recently recommended Young Living Oils. Anyone have experience/opinions about them? I am thinking of getting some Thieves' Oil to try on my allergies. Also, something to help me and dd7 get to sleep easier at night! We are both night owls but with other family activities we cannot indulge that sort of schedule.:glare:

Anyone interested in first hand news and live press conferences with Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Governor Bobby Jindal can tune in to WWL radio (870am). I am listening now via an iphone app, but you can also use your computer internet connection if you are in an area beyond radio reception. It helps to know the geography of the area but if you don't, grab a map and consider it a geography lesson. The National Hurricane Center website is a great resource for technical storm data. If you saw my Lakeview home before Katrina, and again today, you just might not even realize you were in the same place. Katrina brought permanent change. However, Katrina hit as a Category 4/5. Isaac should be much slower. But I am old enough to remember storms that just stopped and parked. Isaac could do that. The forward motion is slowing; how much it slows determines the amount of damage. Jindal is on the radio now saying the forecasters are saying this track is harder to predict than some others. The biggest problem for New Orleans/coastal Louisiana is rain. If the storm parks and dumps....Frances, anyone? That wasn't NOLA, but I went through that storm and it rained what seemed like forty days and forty nights. One thing I will add to the "responsibility of the government" debate - the innate stubbornness of native New Orleanians is a variable that will throw off the equation every time. There are many shelters available and transportation available today that was not available during Katrina. You can build it, but that doesn't guarantee folks will come...

Yessss!!! It was a good week. We got a lot done, introduced almost every subject. Still have to start history and the grammar part of English. Started spelling, math, science (two days of lab, woo-hoo!), Bible, penmanship and Greek. And two field trips! This was a fun goal since in school she would only have two field trips the entire year. I wanted her to see a benefit of home schooling right off the bat. Now next week - we'll be working on getting everything in as scheduled. Next Friday's report may find me frazzled!

So, how is she "giving" them these assignments? In a telephone conversation? Email? Snail mail? Intercept and round file. Or fuel a marshmallow roast. The most important thing, to me, would be to let your kids know that gramma just wants to be helpful, but that you know what they need to study and learn and they shouldn't feel pressure to do them. Train them with a pat answer, "Oh, no, Granny, I didn't get to that report. I had other homework to finish."

Me, either.:confused: Look, I don't like juicing athletes. I think it's unsportsmanlike. But how retroactive is the witch hunting going to go? A decade? Two? Three? Where does it end?

Lots of great ideas already and I will second (third, whatever) the inclusion of protein and quality fats. You can make ahead things like breakfast burritos (tortilla, scrambled egg, bacon, cheese) and quesadillas (tortilla, cheese, black beans, shredded chicken), wrap them individually and for a quick snack heat one at a time. Yogurt is also good, granola, fruit and/or nuts can be stirred in. I also keep popcorn on hand, especially for when I know they've had enough quality intake and they just want a little something to tide them over 'til dinner time.

:lol::lol::lol:

Well done!

Okay, mixing the gel with a bit of water worked for the water part...now to see about the other solvents (vinegar, cooking oil). Thanks friends!!!

We are half way through a science experiment only to discover that all the little vials of liquid food coloring are missing from the (now deceptively empty:glare:) box in my pantry! I have gel color. Our experiment is comparing physical & chemical testing - we are dissolving baking powder, XXX sugar, and baby powder into water, oil and vinegar. Last step is to add food color and observe. If I mix a bit of gel color with each of the solutions, do you think that would work? Or should I use something else that I'd be likely to have on hand?

Oh Amy, there just aren't words... :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: