This is me, too. I think my in-laws are awesome. They're just nice people and I enjoy spending time with them. BUT... even family gatherings like Christmas and Thanksgiving just exhaust me. I get overwrought and cranky by the time we leave and it takes me days to right myself. I must be four. :001_huh:

Ooooh, well then, you either have a) new fleas that are hatching / hopping on that the neurotoxins will kill off or b) the scary fleas a friend of mine had on her chihuahua that seemed impervious to EVERYTHING. She did find that neem oil helped but I think she was bathing that poor creature a couple times a day. Another friend has had to have their house bombed professionally. Twice. The fleas this season - at least here in the mid-Atlantic - have been something out of a Hitchcock movie. No idea about the borax/salt for carpets. We don't have any. (Carpet, that is... we do have borax.)

Just because they're still scratching doesn't mean they still have fleas. Fleas bite, and the bites itch. The top spot stuff should definitely break the cycle, but it does take more than a couple of days to get all un-itchy and for all the adults and eggs to die. We rarely have a flea issue, either, but "somebody" is getting a bath with stinky shampoo today because I think she has vermin. Shhh. ;)

Excellent idea! I'm in! Because freedom from butts should be celebrated!

They're pretty happy in Maine, too. We had a huge bush in front of the porch when I was a kid, and I used to sit under it for hours, munching the fruits (all raw and hard). Mochi filled with honey sweetened cream cheese (or lowfat ricotta), with dates (I get dates by the 11# display box... very popular here at Chez Crazy), sliced pears, pecans... :drool5: (ok, off to bake up some mochi)

Yes. But I think you're right; it IS nearly impossible to make 100% ethical decisions. However, I have to believe that every time we say no to purchasing product of questionable provenance, especially if we are choosing a fair trade item over it, we are demonstrating to companies / cultures of poor human rights that we will hold them accountable. Even my wedding / engagement rings were antique / vintage because I just cannot support the horrors of the diamond mines. (I realize these old ones probably have worse juju attached, but...)

Yeah, I can get Sigg bottles, too, but (aside from the aluminum) I'm not crazy about "proprietary" linings. I want to know what creepy stuff is leaching into my drink, you know? And I'm pretty sure we were told repeatedly that plastic bottles were inert for a while. :sad:

We've had people leave our co-op this year for the reasons you stated. And we've all completely understood! We have encouraged them to please not see it as an "all or nothing" thing, stay in touch with the group for field trips and get-togethers (which they have) and all that. But, after five years (and being on the board for three) I completely get the time suck interfering with your goals. Conversely, I was completely accosted by two different women - at two completely different places and times - about "ruining" my children by "pushing academics". As in I introduce them to the written word before they're 9 and teach them to read. :svengo: Waldorf purists. Even my Waldorfy friends' kids read. So do the radical unschooling ones. So, yeah, I think there may be a trend (possibly backlash against hours of elementary school homework) to delaying academics. And, like most other things, if you are holding to higher standards than the group, they're going to want to get you to "loosen up" a bit. {sigh}

That's where we are. I don't buy foodstuffs because I can find the same grown and processed here. However, as far as I can tell, a non-China-made stainless steel water bottle just simply doesn't exist. (Do we even produce stainless steel anymore?)

:biggrinjester::thumbup: Excellent!!!

He will develop a preference on his own. Or not. And either way, it's fine.

I see my idle threats to expose your IRL funnies worked. :D

I was born and raised here and am shocked, daily, by the waste and consumerism. We have a single outdoor trash can, usually with 1 1/2 full bags in it (only then because I grab the kitchen bag and put it out on trash day, unless it's completely empty). Our neighbors are putting out 3, 4, 5(!!) 50 gallon cans, overflowing, and their families are smaller than ours. I cannot imagine how you could produce that much rubbish, even if you tried. I am shocked by the weird obsession with cleanliness - too frequent bathing, too frequent laundering, the amazing amount of cleaners "necessary" in the standard American home. Where on earth did THAT come from? I use my clothes dryer about 3-4 months out of the year, when it's freezing or during extended periods of rain. Our house is 150 years old and, bless those Victorians, they had an uncanny sense of ventilation, so we rarely need to use the "swamp coolers". Maybe I was Australian in a previous life. :D (Oh, and on the dishwasher: we didn't have one for the first five or six years we lived in this house until my husband, inundating me with research, convinced me that the new dishwashers use only about 1/3 - 1/2 of the water as hand washing to clean the same amount of dishes. So now we have one. And I use it. :D)

Were you aiming for the Safeguard Go? I'm not so sure how narrow it is (we use them in the second row captains seats) but I'm pretty sure you could put three of them across our back seat (Odyssey). But the other thing with these is that they do not have structured backs so you have to install them in a seat that has tether. That said, we - including the boys - have been quite pleased with them. (They are, essentially, the complete opposite of the Radian.:D)

I have cashmere socks. I do wash them in the washer. They're "superwash", so they have been treated with something to prevent felting. As others have said, they can just generally be aired - like any wool sock - between wearings, just like wool sweaters. Even wool soakers worn over cloth diapers are aired between wearings. I only washed them (by hand, so I could add more lanolin) weekly when the boys were wee. All other non-superwash wool gets washed in the washer on cold, but air dried. We have a front loader, though, and since felting is caused by friction and temperature changes so I feel pretty safe, even with cashmere sweaters.

How old? My younger two take Health from the Sun A+ Smart Squirts or something similar to that name... they're orange flavored chewables. (Ok, they're really more orange scented and just don't have a taste at all.) Mine are pretty easy - they were doing the "Yay! Kipper Snacks!" dance at lunch yesterday - but there's no way I'd get liquid into them. My 8 y.o. can swallow capsules so she takes Spectrum Essentials 1000mg fish oil.

Most things have warnings about use during pregnancy, just because there's not much data. Other than herbs that are specifically contraindicated because of their actions (on hormones, or because their use is for starting menses), those that are used in their traditional way, as food or tea, should be safe. Used in traditional ways, there are almost no side effects, as there can be in very concentrated doses. Adding oregano to your food should be fine, as should garlic, ginger, tumeric or any other culinary herb / food. For the kids, I make a rubbing oil with infused garlic, oregano and tea tree essential oils, and we rub it on their feet before bed. (Sometimes I add beeswax and make it a salve, just for ease of application) If they start feeling a little punk, I add a couple drops of eucalyptus oil in my hand before rubbing it in. The benefit is that it is absorbed and circulates without getting processed out by the liver, but it would also avoid the heartburn.

Nice! Thanks for sharing that. I live in field corn country, so this is an excellent idea for us!

Uh, yeah... I'm demented. Actually, I keep telling people lately that I'm just hoping the dementia of having small children goes away before the permanent, age related kind sets in. ;) The older I get, the longer it takes to bounce back from the pregnancy/infant stupid. {sigh}

I agree with all of that. I think allergy shots are great when you're talking about profound allergies - life threatening or really decreasing the quality of your life so that you have to take several meds to even marginally control the symptoms. That said, in *my* world, they would be a measure of last resort. (Frankly, just the PITA of the constant shot schedule was enough to put me off them back when I did have unmanageable allergies) I would start with using food herbs, like nettle, and see if they improved. Nettle is a medicinal herb, but it is traditionally eaten as a food (as a leafy green, or tea) and there aren't any side effects to be concerned with as there may be with other medicinal herbs and other preparations. (You can also get tincture and add the drop dosage to juice or whatever, but I think the whole herb is better.) Added bonuses: it's cheap, neutral tasting and has a great nutritional profile. Homeopathy is what finally kicked my allergies. I tested with strong allergies to trees, grasses, ragweed, dust mites and cats. I went from years of daily Zyrtec and seasonal steroid sprays to nothing after using Bio-Allers outdoor formula (they have an indoor formula that would help with dust mites). That was two springs ago. The most I've used since is my neti pot when I've spent a lot of time outdoors in high pollen times. Part of that is simply that my exposure to other irritants - office off-gassing, chemical cleaners, etc - has decreased. Part is that I drink nettle tea pretty much every day. The homeopathy pushed it over the edge, though.

I think it's simply a matter of "old school" versus "new school". Her MIL does things the old way, and thinks the new way is inferior. There's just not much about that you can change, though your sister should certainly place boundaries on the criticism (or her husband should). There is a difference between thinking your ways are better and being rude. You know?

I suspect the expiration is because the natural oils could be "off" after a period of time. If it doesn't smell stale, I'd use it.

I'm sorry, I just don't get it. This is exactly the perspective I would expect from an evangelical Christian scientist. The way I read this is that she views scientific exploration as understanding God's creation, and would like to have other Christians share in that understanding ... (that's not snarky - I fully expect people's worldview to shape their view of the world) I think Dr. Keller is in a pretty good position to explain both sides of the "culture war" and, certainly, if Christian kids are going to "reclaim science for God" they ought to be able to be conversant in science itself, no? I fail to see what is objectionable. If science is the exploration and understanding of the natural world, what difference does it make if someone views the natural world as happenstance or the creation of a supreme being? They are still using the same methods to define, quantify, explain and understand it. Atoms, molecules, gravity, etc. all work the same way. I find materials that leave out the science in favor of "because God made it so" objectionable, but I have yet to find anything ideological in the RS4K materials. (Though I would agree on the lightness of the materials)

I would imagine you'd use (ironically) a peri bottle. You know, the kind they give you in your post-natal care bag at the hospital, with the spray top? (Only ironic because Peri brought it up.)

I make a butternut squash and bean soup (calls for white beans, I usually use black) that I imagine would take the addition of chicken very well. It's not a pureed soup, though. It's a Cooking Light recipe, on their website.