Yard brawling is popular here. :001_huh: Our dog has just taken to barking when outside. We make her come in, unless it's an isolated thing, like greeting the neighbor across the fence. She does not go out unless we're home, and she goes out briefly to tinkle before bed, but doesn't bark then. Oh, and just outside of town, we have the delightful people with the brand-new, overdone house... with the toilet in the front yard. With a mannequin on it.

Assuming Microsoft hasn't changed the way to get to things between XP and Vista (:lol: I crack myself up) Go to Control Panel -> Folder Options -> File Types, and disassociate .zip file with Adobe.

Yes, I believe that is called "karma". Perhaps in some circles, "divine retribution".

I noticed this when we were in ME in September - a quart of syrup was $32. $32!!! A QUART. In Maine! So, really, I'm thinking that $19 for a quart is a steal. The Amish family that we buy our milk from went to Ohio this fall and came back with gallons of syrup, so I bought a gallon from them. For $32. :001_huh: I put it up in quart jars and have found that spooning the syrup conserves it a great deal more than pouring. (e.g. one soup spoon is more than enough on oatmeal, two or three is plenty on pancakes, depending on the stack) Prior to that, I usually found Trader Joe's was the best buy.

Wow. Look at all that snow! :D (And thanks for the flashback to my childhood, where I spent a whole lot of time with my dad screaming frantically through about 8,000 layers of glass for me to get.the.hell.away.from.the.house!!!!!!!!!! You know, before the 8,000 lbs of snow came off like a freight train, probably carrying some very old, sharp slate pieces with it.)

That is so sweet! Happy Anniversary!

Sounds like my world. I'm ending the first year of a three-year herbalist program and trying to schedule my own educational stuff is becoming a nightmare. (She types, obviously having enough time to spend with the greatest time suck on the planet, The Internet) I used to get up at 5:30 and get some reading / writing in then. For reasons unknown (possibly holiday related stress) I have been sleeping through my alarm and not getting up until 6:30 or so, which means I have a little boy hot on my trail. And then the other one is not far behind. And that leads to boisterous playing... Argh! Anyway, it works better for me if I get up early. I then generally get to read in quiet until 7 or so before the circus starts. By the time the kids go to bed, I'm fried. It's this or sit and stare at the TV. But thanks for lighting a fire under me. I'm off to bed with my oat straw and rose infusion and Nutritional Herbology. ("Gone in 60 Seconds"... not just a bad movie anymore)

:rofl: Agreed, if you think you'll have a day to set aside. If it starts looking dicey again, though, I'd throw in the towel. It's not worth the stress of that tree staring at you accusingly with Easter baskets in front of it.

Interesting that you bring this up, as I have just had a rather contentious conversation with my husband, part of which was him telling me that his parents (who live 90 minutes west of us) don't even stop by when they're on some sort of activity 45 minutes east of us... with an incredulous, sort of accusatory tone. My response: perhaps that's because it is RUDE to just drop in on people, unannounced. I find it difficult to believe that they wouldn't know they were going on a 3 hour road trip well before they set out. His point is that they don't bother because they feel like they would be putting us out. Um, yes. Therein lies the part about planning. (I have also been told - after the fact - by his cousins that they had been "planning" to drop by on their way home from the beach - MD beaches to NoVA - but had been running late... which elicited something like a :001_huh: "I beg your pardon? Drop by?" from me.) I don't have a problem with a neighbor knocking on the door. They just want to tell/ask me something. Once, our one neighbor locked her keys in the house on the way to work and I drove her. No biggie. Stuff happens. (That has happened once - and they may have come to the door two or three other times - in 9 years, so it's not like they're intrusive) I DO have a problem with people dropping by to visit, though. I'm not sure what I would do if my in-laws "dropped by" because they're 90 minutes from home and that would seem sort of crazy of me since they don't really do that. Now, if they were in the habit of just driving around and landing here... there would have to be a conversation. I have routinely met other people on the front porch and stood there chatting with them for a few minutes, rather than invite them in. And, if I didn't see them coming and intercept, I would have no problem with telling them it wasn't a good time. Like Audrey mentioned, I know who is calling and choose to speak with that person. Or not. Miss Manners says it's not rude to refuse interruption, but to interrupt. I think she was speaking of the telephone, but I suspect she would apply it here, as well.

I used to be with Geico, never had a problem with them at all. I ended up switching, about 12 years ago, to Allstate and they were a nightmare. For the past year, we were with Progressive (because of the Allstate nightmare, which prevented us from being underwritten by other companies) and just switched to Liberty Mutual, who also saved us about $100 / month. LM has a number of discounts for various employment situations and for alumni of a number of universities (ours is from my husband's IAFF membership). I would urge you to call numerous places for quotes and ask if they offer any association discounts. Traveler's also had a really good rate (from an online quote) but I had no idea there was that type of discount until I was doing the online quote request through LM and they were asking all sorts of questions about my husband's employment and education (like whether he was employed by any of a list of fire departments and which university he graduated from, not general stuff) - when I mentioned it to him, he dug out a card he had from a union conference for our local agent. And thus concludes my long winded way of saying - speak to humans and ask. ;) (But, yes, GEICO is a perfectly decent company)

Actually, I get a "discount" via a group purchase by our homeschool umbrella group. We all share a login, though. Also, there are a number of libraries who have free access to BP and BPJr through their websites. You don't have "teacher" access, but you do have access to all the movies and whatnot.

We chose Classical education because we believe a strong liberal arts education will prepare our children to fully engage in whatever higher education and/or career path calls to them.

That is so cool!

No. I do not support speech that has no other intent than to inflame. I support free speech, even opposing opinions that I find abhorrent, even in venues that are not appropriate; but not when the only purpose is to inflame or marginalize. (I also support etiquette, so I would prefer that people put the comfort of others before themselves when speaking)

Yeah, that seems a little OCD to me.:lol: ETA: I would love to have a bakery type slicer... but then, I also lust after having a mangle for linens.

Ah, yes. My UPS guy is here so regularly that my boys dressed up as him for Halloween. (Not as "a UPS guy", as Charlie) By the way, we have also discovered that friends and family (if you're ok with them logging into your account as you) can also use the Prime. Mine just put in their own shipping address, which then requires you to put in new payment information so they just put in their own. (Of course, the email confirmation still comes to me - I just forward it)

Yeah, I think the every-other day thing may border on OCD. Our dishwasher used to be a portable, before we re-did the kitchen and installed it under a counter, and I would run it at night for the same reason. And, also, because it would be even more of a pain to have to run the thing in the middle of the day, having to move the sink full of dishes to do it. Like I said, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Normally, it's essentially full after supper, so it's not a concern. Yesterday, with fridge cleaning and bread making, it filled early... ugh. I think I'll go obsess about dusting now, right after I put the kids' sheets in the dryer.

Good birthing thoughts to you!

Ok, yesterday I got generally caught up. My weekly tasks completed thus far: Vacuumed the kitchen & foyer (sweeping isn't really cutting it) Vacuumed the living room (because I was in there) Cleaned toilets Cleaned middle shelves of fridge Cleaned toaster Cleaned computer :ack2: Cleaned mirrors and light fixtures in bathroom Cleaned stove Scrubbed faucets Mopped kitchen I also, yesterday, made bread and cleaned the oven. (which is, of course, a huge chore, what with turning that knob) Today, I will be Dusting the hallway / foyer / living room Kids' bedding Sweeping the porch Focusing a lot on laundry Bill filing - they're paid as they come through the door, but I need to file them. We have art tomorrow (I am probably repeating this - let us say there is a small amount of resentment over having the leave the house) from 12:30 - 2 so I'd like to have the minimal amount of tidying. (And, of course, towel changing.) I realize we are only on day 12, but I am really amazed by the difference in the house. Even my dishes seem more organized and orderly, sitting in the cupboard. Speaking of dishes, here's a quandry: I have been setting the dishwasher on delay start before I go to bed. That way, if I find sundry dishes about, I can add them, hit start, walk away. No missed opportunity and all that. Ok, so I had already run the thing earlier, while cleaning out the fridge, and at bed time it had dinner plates, the salad bowl, a gallon jar, a couple of glasses and a grater. I can't decide if it's wasteful that I ran the dishwasher with that little stuff... on the one hand, there was enough so that I'd probably have to run it after breakfast - definitely after lunch - today. On the other, it just. wasn't. full. I don't know how I feel about it. :001_huh:

This is, literally, the first year we have not changed anything. One year, we went through 3 LA programs, another it was 3 math. In fact, now that you mention it, I am NOT in the throes of the typical mid-year curriculum mania that occurs right after the holidays. This is usually when I'm wigging out, looking for "better" stuff for next year. Huh. I wonder what that means. :001_huh:

Bread knife. On an as-needed basis. I tend to make lean loaves, so I don't like to slice too much or the cut surfaces get a little crusty.

In my circle - and admittedly, I hang with an extraordinary group of women - when a baby is born, the entire community gets on board to bring meals to the family for the first full month. As soon as we know the birth has happened, an announcement goes out, overlapping as many groups as we are able, such as our homeschool co-op, and making sure at least one person from the family's church knows, so they can spread the word there. Then we usually have a schedule for people to sign up (I like Google docs spreadsheets so nobody has to worry about missing an email) The frequency depends on the family; for instance, with a first or second child, we may bring meals every other day with enough for leftovers, but when a friend recently had her twins we brought meals daily because there are three adults and three other children in the house. Generally, whoever is bringing the meal will stay and do some of the other stuff that needs to be done, tend the kids while mom gets a shower or nap, that sort of thing. Some leave their older kids to do mommy's helper type of things, as well, if that is helpful. The idea is that the family shouldn't have to coordinate or put effort into daily living but, instead, enjoy quiet life with their new little one until they get their energy back up.

Yup, that's a pretty standard first-line check, actually. Something about the way the vibration moves through the body. It's not definitive, but a good indicator. Also, push in on the right, upper quadrant of the abdomen - if the pain is a whole lot worse when you let up, that's supposed to be a "classic" tell...

If I had had a c-section to deliver the twins, my OB would have done a tubal at the time (because, frankly, she would have already cut through my abdominal wall). I was 33. Since that didn't happen, my husband decided it was a much less risky option for him to have a vasectomy. I brought him in, settled into the waiting room to read a magazine and he was back. I assumed he had chickened out or needed me to sign off on another form... nope, all done. No issues. (Other than being a little weirded out by having a rather chatty urologist) My dad has had no issues for... 31 years. And, yes, we sit around and talk about that sort of thing. My family has no sense of propriety. :D I had a Paraguard (non-hormonal) IUD when my husband and I first lived together - my OB had to go in and trim the retrieval filament, too. (I'm only 5 feet tall, so not a lot of footage in any given area) I can't imagine how one would "expel" an IUD and not notice. Like, ok, if you maybe didn't wear panties and it fell out on the subway (or, at least, I'd be pretending not to notice), but it's not like they're microscopic. Anyway, that was another option we were entertaining, but I'd likely be going through two since I'm only 38 and my mother didn't start menopause until her mid-50s. It wouldn't be a guessing game, though, since there is no hormonal masking. Anyway, all this to say, I would not, personally, enter into abdominal surgery if there was a less invasive option that works for you.

I'd go with the lift-off lids. I can't imagine what I'd want to keep in the little baskets... next to the garbage. And the "cutting board" on top? :ack2: (Plus, it's cheaper to get two of the lift-off ones to accommodate rubbish and recycling)