I would use the steroids (topical are definitely better than oral, but I would not rule out being absorbed, to some degree, through the skin) to get it under better control. High GLA oils, like evening primrose oil, can be very helpful in all types of skin conditions. It probably won't get rid of it altogether, but it should lessen the need for other medications.

Yep, me too. I wash the wool with reckless abandon. :D Really, I think dry cleaning ruins wool. It makes is all brittle and ... brrrrrrr. Not good. If it's a tied quilt, though, I'd pin it to keep the wet batting from shifting inside. And I would definitely support the whole thing if you're carrying it around wet. (Like fold it up, then drape it across your arms)

I am a secular, non-Christian homeschooler. I used "designed" in reference to human biology all the time, e.g. Kid: "I am SO sick of blowing my nose!!!" Me: "It's functioning as designed. Your mucous membranes secrete more than the regular amount of fluids when blah, blah..." Is there anyone here delusional enough to suggest I am priming my children for ID arguments down the road? I fully expect a person of faith to experience the fruits of scientific inquiry - as everything else in their lives - from that perspective. And it doesn't make the fruits of that inquiry bad science. Many of the scientific "big names" - Copernicus, Galilei, Newton, Mendel, Kelvin, not to mention the whole slew of non-European scientists that predated them - were people of deep faith. Seeing the molecular structure of a leaf and remarking on the glory of <insert deity here> in this creation does not change the molecular structure of the leaf. All I'm saying is don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. :001_smile:

I like their videos. Also these. Good idea, posting links. :001_smile:

Indeed. I have to point out, I can see all of my husband's FB friends, and he can see mine. We have a lot of overlap because we, duh, have the same friends, and I've known some of his coworkers since I was a teenager, but he has some people that I have no idea who they are - union contacts, I would guess. Mostly, my FB friends are my IRL friends, with a couple family members and childhood friends thrown in, and we shoot each other messages on FB, post pictures of the kids, etc. With the exception of live chat and inbox messages, everything is very public. Which is to say: Facebook or don't, but I don't think insecurity about what he might end up doing on Facebook is particularly valid. Plenty of people have run away with an old flame way before social networking sites, and without ever coming home late from work. Know what I mean? But hugs to you, because long-distance marriage is really, really crummy.

I have them. I have to say they're... eh. They do not darken a lot in the summer (evidently, they work better when it's cold), but they get dark enough for driving... I'm shaded by the car around me, after all. They're not dark enough for standing around, say, at the park. They can be annoying when I come inside from outside, because they take a bit to lighten up, especially in fluorescent lighting. On the other hand, I only need them for driving, and I tend to push my glasses up on my head, so I don't care for metal frames (the nose thingies rip my hair out), which keeps me from getting the cool, appropriately dark, clip-ons. Do I regret the decision? No (but my insurance covered it). Will I get them again? No idea. I'd probably lean toward getting my old ones tinted.

Social maturity comes with, well, maturing, not from being forced into a situation we're not ready to handle. Given the warm, delightful behaviour (<- blatant sarcasm) toward one another that the kids who walk past my house from the bus stop display, I would be even more hesitant to force the issue if she has stress induced stuttering. When we "decided" to homeschool, what we really decided was that we would keep my now 8 y.o. home for K. Because, really, how badly could we mess up kindergarten? And we had twin toddlers at the time. Of course you will make the right decision for your family. That goes without saying. That's just my personal input, nothing more.

Yep. My kids like the A+ Smart Squirts chewables. I'm not sure that I would get that excited about it though. There seems to be a massive, freakish, bad personality disorder going around. (I think I've even determined it to be international at this point, so not even weather related) Last week, my four year olds destroyed the bathroom nightlight, broke out a second story window, snuck into the attic and turned off the upstairs breakers... and the eight year old came up with new and creative ways to lie to me. :glare: None of this is normal behaviour. This week, we are having some remedial personality and rules training. Ugh.

Yes, there are registries. Depending on your state, NDs may be licensed as primary care physicians. http://www.naturopathic.org/ is the professional association's website. I'm pretty sure they only list NDs who have completed their education at an accredited university. For the record, I'm pretty sure that actual NDs (as opposed to mail order NDs) do not view allopathic medicine as an enemy state. They take a more natural approach than "a pill for everything", but they don't categorically rule out the need for pharmaceuticals, surgery, etc.

If you just want to reschedule it, you can use the Usborne IL World History and just order the SOTW chapters to correspond to theirs. That's essentially what HO does, in the scheduling department. (Obviously, HO is much more than that, but as far as pure scheduling in a chronological manner, I mean.) Though, thinking about it further, HO doesn't use whole SOTW chapters at a whack... hmmmm.

I have to admit the same. We will probably use HO level 2, but I found the level 1 to be a little busy for us.

I used a recipe similar to this. Except I used 1/2 tsp dijon instead of mustard powder, a mixture of canola and olive oils, and a mixture of lemon juice and vinegar. I used a wide-mouth pint jar and an immersion blender, which just exactly fits inside the jar... the bowl & mixer method would be easier, as it gets a bit difficult to work the whole jar thing when the mayo gets thick.

Yes, that's what our math curriculum does, too. Maria has great explanations on her site, homeschoolmath.net. If you scroll about 1/2 way down the page, there is a link to "Long division and why it works" (among others) that may be helpful.

Oh. My. I think I would have gone a route similar to Chris' "uncharitable" one... it's still more charitable than deserved. (And, yes, 70th anniversary is way cool! We should all live so long and happily!)

I think - because I obviously was quite abbreviated in my original reply, lol - that the mindset change debate comes down to whether you start on the big use items or the little use items, or some of each and meet in the middle. If you start with big items - for instance I drink a lot of coffee - you get the most impact when you switch to organic, fair trade versions. If you start on the little used things (I can't think of something... ketchup? Probably not, since most people I know are very specific about that preference) then the change doesn't feel like such a large adjustment. I also decided from the very beginning that I would not sacrifice quality. As it turns out, that was a pretty laughable declaration, since most items are higher quality just as a byproduct of their lack of processing. There are some things, though, that I have had to ease into. I refuse to suffer ghastly toilet paper. If that's my one sin against the environment, I will live with it. (Though I have recently switched to Seventh Generation 1-ply and am not hating it.) I also absolutely despise the taste of the "healthy" mayonnaise brands. I'm very persnickety about mayo, for some reason, and I really dislike anything that isn't my "normal" brand. Ok, so, irony or ironies, I just made some mayonnaise, for the first time ever. It's fabulous. And it took me a whopping 20 minutes because I broke the emulsion, so had to wait for more yolks to come to room temp to fix it. Now, don't I feel silly for not having made the mayo all along. Ok, so for some helpful links and whatnot: United Natural Foods - this is the distributor of the buying club I belong to. They supply an awful lot of the smaller natural foods / health food stores. Contact them to see if there is a buying club in your area. The items have to be ordered in bulk, but that gets split among the club members. I know they have recently put a rule in place that you can't start a buying club if there's a retail outlet within 50 miles, but that may not apply to many people. Quail Cove Farms - also set up for buying clubs, where one person acts as hostess for the delivery. I know there is a minimum here (I think $50) and their offerings are not as extensive as UNFI, but it may be a good way to start and find other like-minded folks to start a buying club. Local Harvest - has a great listing of the farmers markets, CSAs, u-picks and whatnot in any given area. Eat Wild - has great information on the environmental impact of pastured animal products, as well as local resources. Life Less Plastic - makes you think, and I've found a number of areas for inspiration in her account of her journey. Mother Earth News - I get the weekly email newsletter. Good source for DIY projects, as well as tips. There are a number of natural living discussion groups out there, such as the forum on Mothering.com, or the Long Hair Community. Vegsource has boards, but I have some kid of weird mental block that makes it difficult for me to navigate them. Then, there are the books: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle The Omnivore's Dilemma In Defense of Food Nourishing Traditions All of these, and others, have influenced the way I look at how my choices impact the world, as well as how they impact our bodies.

For us, the bottom line is looking at ingredients lists and deciding what we are willing to live with, if that makes sense, then sort of mentally assigning "good / better / best" to things. The degree of processing for the product weighs heavily in that. So, for instance, whole dairy from grass fed cows is good, organic is better, raw is best. (Our dairy farm is organic certified, but I wouldn't get excited about getting a gallon of their "non organic" milk, as the cows all graze the same fields, it's just that some of them may, on occasion, get hay that isn't certified.) Nature's Best bread is good (pretty normal ingredients, no HFCS), homemade is better (no preservatives at all, even natural ones), homemade from freshly milled grains would be best (better nutritional profile), but I don't have a grain mill, so we "settle" for better but harbor aspirations. Buying from people we can develop a relationship with is a really important thing - when we started with our produce CSA, they were using organic practices, but not certified, and still waiting for the fields to be free of residues. We were fine with that. Likewise, we buy eggs from an Amish farmer who makes no claim to organic, but we know how his hens live and what he feeds them. Nearly everything in the house can be cleaned - and cleaned well - with vinegar, baking soda, and some natural soap here and there, including your people. I use some "commercial" products (a combination of Desert Essence Age Reversal face wash and Avalon Organics vitamin C cream seems to work best for me) but endeavour to make my own at some point. Cosmetics themselves can be difficult, since everyone has their own body chemistry and sensitivities. Just checking out the ingredients and ruling out ones that have the most offensive list can be a start. We have cut down our paper product use significantly by using blue, microfiber detailing towels (from Sam's club) in lieu of paper towels, cloth napkins (either purchased or made from old clothes), using a baking sheet with a cooling rack on top to drain bacon, etc. We carry bags with us when we shop, and have invested in reusable lunch boxes, water bottles, and sandwich wraps (sorry, had to link - I LOVE these things). We do little things to conserve, like filling the tub with only a few inches of water for the kids' baths, and using a handheld, low flow shower head with a turn-off (actuall, it just trickles) feature when we're washing them. It's a continuum, really. We started with replacing products with natural / organic options, and then started constantly looking for ways to improve. It doesn't happen overnight but, like all lifestyle changes, the more mindful you become, the more opportunities for improvement you see. (Oh, and in case I haven't made your eyes fall out of your head yet, I use coconut oil for sauteeing, in some baked goods, as hair product, and as an after-shower moisturizer.) I'll have to think on links and resources... most of it is so ingranied at this point that I can't rattle them off as easily as I used to. :001_smile:

I look for ways to use the flax seed oil in non-heated applications, or at the end of cooking, since it does lose some of its goodness when heated. Salad dressing, chewy granola bars, a drizzle on veggies before serving. Coconut oil I use in place of shortening/butter/olive oil for stove-top things, like sauteeing green beans, or stir-fry. I sometimes use a couple splashes of toasted sesame oil with it. I also use it in some baking applications, instead of oil or butter, but the texture, spread, etc. in cookies is different than when you use either of the others, so you may want to keep that in mind. (For instance, when I make oatmeal cookies, I have to smash the dough balls down a little before baking or they don't really flatten out.) And cakes tend to be denser than if using a lighter oil (I second the brownie use... very fudgey). The melting point of coconut oil is lower than butter (76F versus 90F) so you'd think it would melt and spread more readily during baking... but I've not found that to be the case. (Of course, now I'm wondering if I just haven't beaten enough air into it - there's no telltale color change like when you're creaming butter. Huh. ) I have not attempted to replace butter in baked goods where the water content / steam factor of the butter / shortening is crucial for the flakiness of the finished product, though, like biscuits or pie crust.

I liked the Bi-O-Kleen powder when we had two in diapers, though I generally prefer liquid (I wonder why nobody carried the liquid then??) We switched last year to Seventh Generation blue eucalyptus - lavender. I've been very happy with it. Clean clothes, clean but not overwhelming scent. It seems to last a long time - though I have a front loader, so wash nearly everything with the lowest mark amount of detergent. (It is labeled as HE, though, so I'm not concerned about too much bubbling.)

Yes, the Bob's GF all-purpose can have an odd flavor. Evidently, it can also cause some odd textural issues (read: reportedly not good for tortillas, unless you like them stretchy). I'm surprised it would be noticable in a spice cake, though. I just made the banana-polenta cake (twice) and the pear-polenta muffins from Gluten Free Goddess (GF, vegan) and they rocked. In the cake, I used equal amounts of the Bob's GF AP and brown rice flour to make the substitution for Pamela's (using the instructions in the notes). Oh, and we're not GF or vegan, but I was bringing snack for co-op and we have a kid with newly diagnosed gluten / dairy / egg sensitivities... and the cake was really, really good. (As were the muffins, but the pears would make them not store very well.) Now, I'm eyeballing the blueberry oat muffins.

Yum! I will be bookmarking that for future use (but with almond butter - we have a peanut allergy). Thanks!

We eat nearly 100% organic, though we are still looking for a good, local source for grass-finished organic beef. (When you know the farmer, the certification becomes less important) I cook almost entirely from scratch. In fact, I can't think of anything I don't cook from scratch, except the occasional box of organic mac & cheese for lunch. Anyway, it varies slightly from month to month, but it looks something like this, broken down by vendor: $ 250 - pantry items, paper goods, some frozen produce in the winter, personal care, etc. $ 60 - cheese and eggs $ 65 - fresh produce (this is our $428 annual share in our CSA, then about $20 a week during the growing season, when I buy extra and put it up) $ 32 - milk (2 gal/week raw, organic) $ 80 - meat So that's roughly $500 for a family of five. Now, that may vary a bit. If there is a good sale on something through our buying club, I may order an entire case, which may affect my total that month, if I'm also out of a lot of staples. We go fruit picking in season and put that up, etc. (I count those as field trip expenses more than "grocery" though. :001_smile:) And keep in mind that I do make everything from scratch - beans are soaked and crock-potted, tortillas are hand rolled (or pressed, for corn), breads and rolls are made and eaten or frozen, depending on my schedule. I cook breakfast nearly every day. Meat is a condiment most of the time, and we eat left overs, either for lunch the next day, or reincarnated as another meal, i.e. leftover pork chops and the veggies served with them will be fried rice later in the week. We eat a varied menu from a number of different cuisines, so it's rarely boring for the cook or the eaters. Last thing: two of my five are 4, so it is entirely reasonable that this number will go up.

I sometimes give a thread a starred rating because I am just so tickled by it (like the Great Crock Pot free-for-all :D) but I honestly can't understand taking the time to negative-star something because I don't like the topic or the conduct of the posters. That seems... I don't know. A bizarre use of time? It took me a while to figure out it wasn't an automatic calculation, like the software identifying a hot topic. Duh.

Not exactly a corset, but I find these (found them at Kohl's) are comfortable and keep the extra yardage of skin left over from full-term twins on a 5' frame from lumping, bumping and rolling... now if I could figure out how to dress this new body shape...:glare: Anyway, anything that isn't a full-piece affair seems to roll (up or down) which creates its own issues.

We have friends that hung a swing (actual, playground, flexible swing) in the doorway between their front hall and dining room. It's attached by carabiners through eye-bolts in the door frame, so it can be taken down. Very popular. Otherwise, mine are into furniture jumping, breaking things, coloring on walls. You know, the really, REALLY fun stuff.

Excellent! Then our work here is done. :D We. Are. Legend! Like the tv commercials demonstrating how incompetent people are in order to sell useless kitchen tools, I find any work whose description is a barely veiled snipe at somebody else's (with the exceptions of direct rebuttals, of course) suspect. The rubber-arm knife wielding does not inspire me to buy an "easier" chopper thing. Implying I'm a "burdened", ill-informed lemming does not inspire me to buy the book.