I would start after the tennis tournament. We run our school year July 1 to June 30, too, but that's not a state mandate. Does NC require you to keep attendance records and ding you for days off?

My only concern with "pre-seasoned" is that I don't know what they're using. Mineral oil? Something else? :001_huh: My favorite pan is an ancient hand-me-down from my mom. I've seen a number of well-priced cast iron pans in the junky antique shops around here (as opposed to the high-end, pedigreed antique shops that I try to stay away from). I also just picked up a high-sided, covered pan (shallower than a Dutch oven, and with a regular handle) for $15 at the local Amish store. It needs to be seasoned, though. "Hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick" - The Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith I second the shortening - it tends to not get gummy like liquid oils - but I use non-hydrogenated, organic. I would actually be concerned about lard going rancid in a pan that did not get daily use.

I use the white vinegar to clean it, and Mrs. Meyer's stainless steel spray to protect it - it leaves a little film on the surface that makes it easier to take finger prints and the salts from dribbles from the water dispenser off (my children are not neat). I seem to recall using mineral oil for this purpose in restaurant kitchens. I wonder if olive oil would work, or if it would eventually get gummy. hmmmmm.

Really? Bank of America was doing it 15 years ago. It's not new at all. What I really find offensive is when banks charge the person cashing a check drawn there $5 to cash it because they don't have an account. Hello? *I* have an account there and it's their job to honor my checks however they are presented! :glare:

We live in chicken country, but in town, so we also have household rubbish around (and for whatever reason, very few people have grasped the concept of a lid). When it's like a Hitchcock film in here, we vaccum them from around the windows, etc. with the regular vacuum. (Last year, it was so bad, I was beginning to think there was something dead under the floor - we'd vacuum hundreds out of the kitchen windows, only to come back and find just as many a little while later - brrrr.) We swat singles here and there. To keep them from coming into the house, we give them something more interesting to do, in the form of the great, stinky, watery abyss aka the fly trap. A few hours after we hang one in a "trouble area" (like around the rubbish bins, or near our kitchen door), the thing is just teeming with them. :ack2: I discourage the pets from eating them. They carry all sorts of nasties, including antibiotic resistant e.coli and other delightful things from the chicken farms around here. Now, if I could find a way to deal with the "little" flies (like latrine flies, but different) that fly in formation under things such as lights, like fly mimes in the box, I would be ecstatic. They don't come in very often, but they don't seem to ever land, they're took quick for the vacuum, and seem impervious to the call of the lure.

If my sister-in-law, who works in an inclusive pre-K and has a Master's in education on the autism spectrum, raised concerns about one of my kids, I would trust her judgment and have them evaluated as thoroughly as I could push in the system. However... Your relationship with your sister is distant at best, strained at worst. I would be concerned that your suggesting there is something amiss would cause her to resist ever entertaining the idea, even if her pediatrician or a teacher raised it in the future. The only way to approach it that I can see would be to ask if he is always that "quiet". If she asks what you mean, you could point out that he just seemed like he was in his own little world, yadda, yadda, and you wondered if he is shy around <insert scenario here>. You know?

Well, I wouldn't say I would *dine* on it but, honestly, there's not much there that's inedible. Not terribly tasty, but no reason to call poison control.

Yes. Also, meat from a sick animal (which is what a feed lot cow is) is not as good for you as meat from a healthy, vital animal. 'Nuf said. D@mn it! I knew something bad would be coming after the sale. Somewhere in my cynical subconscious, I was expecting bleach, though, not petrolatum. :ack2: :glare: I don't get out to stores much, but I thought I was noticing an upsurge in the yellow packaging... on the other hand, I shop at natural foods stores that have always carried Burt's Bees, so... I'm glad I started making my own - same comfrey, calendula, rosemary, oil (I like olive and a little coconut), un-messed-with beeswax, peppermint essential oil (or others, for the kids), and I don't have to worry about reading the packaging.

You slather yourself to shield against Bill? :D

I agree. The Amish family we buy milk from does have organic certification, but some of their cows aren't organic. In reality that means they all graze in the same pastures, lead the same lives, but the hay some of the cows munch while they're in the barn isn't certified. Ditto the chickens. I have to remember to speak with her about her brother's beef, too. Thanks for the reminder, Yvette!

Yogurt's not messy or weird. You heat milk to 180, then let it cool to about 110 (F), add some yogurt as a starter, and keep it warm on a heating pad for several hours. You can jar it up before incubating or after, whichever is your preference. I like those, too, but I have to caution that you have to read the whole product evaluation on cosmetics database and make your own judgments as to the ingredients. Their ideas of safety seem to be skewed toward the cosmetics industry standards. The "score" does not always jibe with my view of the ingredient. For instance, things like lavender essential oil used to have a fairly high (meaning of concern) score, but it was apparently due to lack of laboratory testing, not because of inherent risk. Anything that has "fragrance" has an inflated risk, simply because they don't know what it is. Looking randomly at Avalon Organics A&D diaper ointment, it contains ingredients that cause cancer, harm reproductive and other organs, and carry violations/warnings, but not any that are allergens... but it carries an overall score of 2. :confused: Looking at the ingredients, I can identify possible allergens (calendula, chamomile) that have a risk of 1/0 and no identified concerns, and Vitamin D carries a risk of 3. Olive oil can apparently cause irritation to the skin, eyes or lungs? It's olive oil! Most of us eat that, I can't imagine it would be of concern to smear on a baby's bottom. More troubling is that castor oil carries a higher risk than hydrogenated castor oil, according to the breakdown. Are we to take that to mean hydrogenation is a good thing? (In fact, that may be the only ingredient in the bum ointment that would prevent me from ingesting it... other than the part where it's bum ointment and not food.) Conversely, the hydrofluorocarbon propellant in Suave spray deoderant is a 2? Seriously? That's less concerning than Vitamin D?? It's enough to drive you mad. (Oh, and Burt's Bees is now owned by Clorox, so I'm not even sure how much I trust them anymore... I do keep randomly eyeballing their ingredients lists to see if there are changes, but my major BB purchase, lip balm, I have started making myself - no worries, I use protective gear to keep the olive oil from damaging me in the process... NOT!)

That's exactly what we've used. It's just screwed to the wall in our dining room, slightly taller than the chair rail, so we have a spot to stick the eraser and markers. We had it cut a bit to fit in our car, and the piece the guy cut off has been used for a felt board/white board, as well. I see no reason why you couldn't paint it (or half of it) with chalkboard paint, too.

I agree and will add: make sure you get the GSE capsules. Grapefruit Seed Extract might be THE most bitter substance on earth. Bitter doesn't normally bother me, but that stuff gives me the full body shudders.

Hmmm. That is interesting. When I hear "Jewish food" I immediately go to the Eastern European place. Is Persian Jewish food markedly different than just regular traditional Persian food, etc?

It would not surprise me in the least to find environmental toxins are a player in the rise in autism and other neurological disorders. I grew up in a paper mill town, and the number of neurological disabilities in such a small town is breathtaking. Those are just the ones you can see! I agree that properly seasoned cast iron is as non-stick as teflon, though you do cook with it differently (heat the pan empty, etc). We are trying to convince Calphalon to replace our cookware (which has a lifetime guarantee and, at this point 100% failure rate in my kitchen) with their stainless line, which is cheaper than the anodized aluminum we are asking them to replace. They're giving us a hard time. Ugh. Anyway, that's my current focus of decreasing exposure. (as I sit here being paranoid about the offgasing of our relatively new furniture :001_huh:)

I channel my inner Bubbe from time to time. Latkes, matzo ball soup... I love gefilte fish. From the jar. I'm disgusting.

Hmmmm... except I buy necessities on sale. And I don't buy soda or candy. (Ok, except for the Rapunzel chocolate bars I found for 2/$1... you just can't say no to a $4 organic chocolate bar for 50 cents.) And I had to pick things on the quiz like "casseroles and Hamburger Helper" even though I wouldn't touch HH with a 10 foot pole because it was the closest thing... Quizzes! Ack!

My husband and I both went to public school and didn't have any bad experiences. At least, we didn't have any negative experiences that followed us on through adulthood; I think when you put that many people in one place, you're bound to have a less than positive experience here and there. My eldest happily graduated from public school. No "bad" experiences, though I though the academics were a little lacking. The younger three will be homeschooled through graduation. I simply do not care for the institutional environment, social dynamic, and academic standards of our local schools. If we lived in a different area, we might not have ever thought of homeschooling at all. (But I'm glad it did come up on the radar and do not view homeschooling as a "plan B" - it just might not have occurred to us otherwise.)

Huh. I had a mouse when I was younger, and don't recall it being any stinkier than the hamsters we had before and since (though it has been a while since we've had any variety of caged pet). Assuming my memory is just not that great (I am usually very olfactory-oriented), and that you are looking for something about that size and demeanor, I can tell you we had a little Siberian hamster who was just delightful. The only downside was that he was too small to reach the end of the hamster habitat tube things - we had to build a little stool for him so he could get up into the tunnels. (we kept him in an terrarium with a lid.)

There isn't a very definitive definition. My husband and I have gone round and round on this before. In my mind, though, a serial killer kills for the sheer pleasure derived from the act, and the method/ritual of the kill has meaning (at least to the killer), so he would plan and execute each kill separately, before starting on the hunt again. "Serial killer" implies to me that there is an intention to selecting victims. From the little I've read, this guy seems more like a spree killer, like the DC snipers. Technically, though, I don't think there is a difference between serial/spree. And, yes, with the apparent randomness of the victims, I would keep the kids in.

Yup, that's us, too. The only time we use "hate" is in a tongue in cheek sort of way... "Mooooooooom! I just fell in a giant mud puddle" - "I hate when that happens! Oh, well, you might as well keep playing until it's time to come in for supper." Really, it's to diffuse impending melodrama.

Muffins usually bake for 20-25 minutes. I'd just start poking them around then, to see how done they are.

Really! I find it incomprehensible that unilateral "decisions" can be made that companies can use synthetic ingredients and still retain the organic seal, if they can't find an organic substitute. Really? WTH?? Not being able to find a suitable substitute still doesn't make something organic!! Some things - wild caught fish, baking soda, salt - are just simply not certifiable. That's fine. What is NOT fine is the "gee they must have a good reason" argument while allowing certification standards to be ignored, but the seal to be used. (good grief I am so sick of standards being lowered for sheer laziness!!! What is WRONG with people?!?!?!) A friend of mine who is also a member of our food co-op does a lot of research into company ties and country of origin for the foods that are offered by UNFI. She has hounded the companies to the point of absurdity sometimes - not on her part, on theirs. Woodstock finally, after months of a "marketing specialist" making patently false claims ("all produce entering the US is inspected", "all of OUR produce is certified by QAI annually" {not according to published QAI records}) in response to her inquiries, sent her a scan of some document that was half blacked out... apparently the provenance of their green beans is a matter of national security. I am of the school that buying everything as close to its natural state as possible is the most desirable. So I would rather bake my own bread and snacks than have to read the labels of packaged ones. Produce, meat and dairy are purchased from the growers where possible (which is nearly 100% doable). Pantry items are purchased with scrutiny of the companies (thanks to my persnickety friend) and weighted toward companies who are proactive in their enviromental and social impact, and transparent in their practices. And then there are the "I just don't care that much" items - ketchup is not a staple of our diet, for instance. I buy organic, but it's "conglomerate organic". If we went through more than six bottles of ketchup a year, I might care more, even enough to make my own. I can't say I'm too concerned about capers, either, since I'm the only one who eats them and rarely at that. I guess I could put in my own juniper bushes but they have that unfotunate cat pee smell to them... In short, I take the direct opposite approach from Ms. Robinson: there is always room for me to improve the quality of our food and the stringency with which I oversee our purchases. Thanks for sharing the article, Janna! And the links, Orthodox!

I've been told this, too. I would describe that as conventional moral reasoning as set forth by Kohlberg, though I don't think you can paint all Christians with that brush. Pagans are typically post-conventional. I have been on the receiving end of such declarations, as well, by people who do not know me well or at all. So, I've raised this with conservative Christian friends with the general consensus from them at, regardless of the basis for my daily actions, my outlook and actions are moral according to the definition they, themselves, understand. (Barring, obviously, the worship factor) Of course, this could be denial on their part, as we tend to lead very similar lives and share a great many viewpoints (barring, obviously, the worship thing, again). :D

Public financial disclosure would not be a factor in our decision at all.