:lol:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Roast chicken, roasted mini peppers, black beans, rice, salad, strawberries.

I can do it easily where we live -- we eat a ton of produce, too. We have fruit with every meal and for snacking, dinner always has at least 2 veggie options (and we almost always have a big salad on the table), and we only eat wild-caught fish (though rarely anything fancy -- usually frozen salmon or cod, and I am hooked on the tuna canned in olive oil, which I get at Costco). We eat what's in season or on sale, I am starting from a stocked freezer/pantry, I garden, and I make most things from scratch. Our only food issue is that I can't have wheat, but I don't really buy any substitute products for that, I just skip any foods containing it, and we probably eat more rice and potatoes for starches than we would otherwise.

Congrats!

Venison stew, mashed potatoes, green salad, homemade applesauce, chocolate cake.

Congrats!

I find that some things that are fairly unprocessed cost the same -- or even less -- than their more processed counterparts. Natural pb is not much more than regular, popcorn is very inexpensive, eggs are an inexpensive source of protein that can be used many ways, and oatmeal costs very little. The hard part will be dealing with picky eating.... I buy produce that is on sale and/or in season, which means that it changes from week to week. I have friends whose kids will only eat specific fruits and vegetables who can't get away with that.

:grouphug: Do you have pantry/freezer stuff on hand as a starting point? You might be able to make a lot of meals by buying things to add to what you already have. Do you have an ALDI nearby? That is where I do most of my shopping, and my grocery budget is smaller than yours (although that's starting from a stocked pantry and freezer already, so I just replace things as I use them and stock up on sale items).

Congrats!

We had angel hair pasta with meat sauce, green salad, cauliflower, and blackberries. Turtle brownies for dessert.

Last night we had flounder, baked potatoes, peas, apples, and a raw veggie plate. Tonight will be chicken sausages, roasted veggies with gorgonzola, rice, green salad, and citrus salad.

The Guardian.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I guess this is really just a vent and JAWM post, but I feel so torn up over this. I have had to ban my kids from playing with a certain neighbor child after giving her numerous "second" chances over the past couple of years. She is actually the granddaughter of our neighbors, but her mother is deceased and they have a shared custody arrangement with her father. She is here on weekends and holidays, and during the week all summer, so my kids see her quite frequently, and my DD has slept over at her house a couple of times. She has intense mood swings, and frequently leaves my kids in tears. I have listened in from the window or overheard her from around the side of the house making ultimatums, telling my kids that if they don't do x or give her y, she won't be their friend. DD is good about walking away, but DS ends up trying to please her, and will plead with me to provide him with whatever she asks for, usually specific snacks. Yesterday was the last straw -- she spat in my DD's face and her cousin, who was visiting, yanked streamers from the handlebar of the bike my DD just got for Christmas. I told my son, right in front of her, that he could no longer play with her due to her bullying behavior. Today I found an apology note tucked under the porch door, but it is less than a month since her last apology note, and things have only gotten worse since then. I really do feel sorry for her -- not only did she lose her mom at a young age and go through the custody battle between her dad and grandparents, but I get the sense from what she says that she has an unhappy home life in both of her homes. I tried very hard to include her in fun family activities like making cookies and holiday crafts, I always make sure she gets a snack when she's here, and I make a point of asking how school is going.... but I feel like we have hit the point where trying to help her means setting my kids up to be hurt.

Congrats!

Classes are $70 per child for a 12 week term -- $60 to cover tuition, $10 for materials. There are 4 class periods, so a full day is $280 per child. Parents are also required to do a parent job each term (helping with room set-up, monitoring at lunchtime, that sort of thing). Teachers get credit toward their children's tuition or for field trips, and are exempt from the parent jobs.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Mine aren't, but my DS sounds just like your DD -- supertalkative, focus issues on some topics, but hyperfocus for things like Legos -- and I was strongly encouraged by both our ped and one of his nurses to consider meds. Another nurse backed me on continuing without them, and they all eventually settled into a stance of "as long as his grades are ok, it's ok to go without for now." FWIW, I would once have left a practice that was so in favor of medicating, but I do see benefits for many kids, and I do believe the staff were trying to be supportive. There are times when my DS is able to describe issues he is having organizing his own thoughts and behaviors -- when his focus issues are noticeable to him and getting in the way of what he wants to do. Because of that, I won't rule out the possibility of trying meds in the future.

I think you need to make some "convenience" foods so that you don't need to cook three times a day to get those homemade meals in. This morning my kids had leftover pancakes (made them Sunday morning, reheated in the microwave), lunch was veggie soup I made months ago and thawed, and supper will be chili from the freezer (I made a double batch last time). Tomorrow I will make a big pot of oatmeal with apples that will be reheated on Friday, lunch will be more of the veggie soup (plus hard boiled eggs, fruit, etc. -- I just always keep sides like that on hand), and supper will be leftover pasta with meat sauce (from last night). I don't know how well your family will tolerate seeing the same foods a couple times a week, but leftovers save my sanity. Also, making up pots of pintos, baked potatoes to reheat, baked oatmeal or muffins to freeze, etc., all means that anyone can make a hot meal in just a minute or two using the microwave.

I am so glad it is working for you! I really don't know what I would do without it, especially this time of year.

:iagree:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Hold firm on this. The payoff will make it all worthwhile.

Duck fried rice, steamed broccoli, pineapple. And a cookie tray for dessert. Seriously, we need to finish off these Christmas cookies!