Maybe its regional too. I'm 34 and most of this applied to my childhood. No remotes, rotary phone, we did get an atari when it came out, no cable, getting kicked outside all day...lol.

What she said. For us, it's the same as it would be if I told them to do anything else...if they didn't do as I asked, there would be consequences. I do leave them at home quite often while they are working, and it still gets done.

Don't forget that you can also buy the big, cheap packs of legs and thighs and make broth from that. I often throw thighs in a dutch oven with an onion, garlic, and seasonings and roast it. After we eat the meat, I'll toss all the leftovers in a pot and make broth. CHEAP.

I put stuff like that in the freezer in a ziplock bag to use next time. (say you are making something that you are going to cook anyway)

Could be soy. AFter having to eliminate it, I've realized it's in a LOT of food. But it's also not too difficult to eliminate.

There was a lot of build up for us. I had wanted to since my oldest was small, but NO ONE I knew did it. It was practically unheard of in my area, so to school they all went. My oldest was a very advanced reader, and wasn't being challenged at all in 2nd grade (the teacher used her to help teach the other kids) So, I switched schools. (didn't really help) We had some good teachers over the years, but they couldn't overcome the system. We got to my oldest in 6th grade (middle school) and my twins in 3rd when it all started really going downhill. My third graders were stagnating in classes that were scrambling to meet all the NCLB requirements. Because of the lack of activity and challenge, behavior problems in the classrooms were skyrocketing. One of my twins had the same teacher 2 years in a row. The first year she was awesome, and Miranda learned SO much. The second year she was frustrated, unable to teach like she used to, and Miranda wasn't learning anything. For 6 of the first 8 weeks, they had absolute silence days... 7 & 8 year olds made to be completely quiet ALL day, with often no recess. Sarah, the other twin, really disliked her teacher and also was learning nothing. Then we had my oldest in middle school. She was learning a lot, but it had nothing to do with academics :001_huh: The final, final straw was when my dd's friends started getting beat up right in front of her, just because they were good kids. (like her friend getting his jaw broken because he told another boy that getting flashed by a woman was gross) And you want to know what's REALLY funny. That town was named the best in TN to raise a family...and one of the qualifiers was a good school system...because you know, our test scores came up more than anyone elses. We prayed about it, and felt that God was telling us to get our girls out of the PS system. We brought them home and haven't looked back.

My daughter used to tell people that her favorite restaurant was Sam's. :lol: (and no, it wasn't from deli up front!)

We have enough on me to help cover the costs of private school, and maybe a housecleaning service. It would be hard on him financially otherwise.

I loved my white cabinets in our old house. I had 3 kids (two toddlers) and two dogs, and I still loved them. I think being able to SEE when they are dirty is a huge plus, because it's easier to wipe of the dirt when it happens. (instead of the nasty looking wood cabinets I have right now that I know are grubby, but you can't really tell where the grub ends and the ugly begins)

:iagree: It's the best pasta. And Annie's GF mac and cheese boxed mix isn't bad in a pinch either. We have gone gluten free here (actually wheat, corn, soy, dairy and peanut free due to allergies) and I've found that not only is it not terribly hard, it's a much healthier way of eating for us. I've stopped buying pretty much all processed food. We are eating a lot more vegetables and whole grains (rice mostly, because I can't get them to like things like quinoa) We aren't eating bread or baked goods. I've quit making fattening cream based casseroles or cheese covered dishes every time I turn around..lol. Some things we eat: Soups meat + veggies/salad rice pasta GF cereals Almond milk Lots of fruit We keep GF flour mixes on hand for when we have a hankering for cookies or cakes.

:grouphug: I'm sorry you are going through this...it's hard. Soemthing I've been doing on my blog is writing the Barbara Stories. They are stories that I remember about my mom, or that I remember her telling me about (she was a character!) http://wearefollowinghimhome.blogspot.com/search/label/Barbara%20Stories

Just finished up Pride and Predjudice by Jane Austin. It's the first book of hers I've read. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would!

I think it's genetics. I have HORRIBLE skin, in spite of babying it to death.

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ Square foot gardening! It works, and you get a high yield for the space. When we were doing it, I didn't do all the soil mixing it recommended, but we had access to some really good dirt. And make the kids help :001_smile:

The same thing has happened to us this year. They combined our prescription med insurance deductible with our regular health care deductible (which they also raised) and then touted it like it was a good thing. :glare: It stinks for us because we don't have to go to the doc that often, but we do have a dd with regular meds she has to take. It will essentially go uncovered for 1/2 the year. And to answer a PP, for our insurance they used to pay a percentage until your deductible was met, then they paid 100%. Now they don't pay a dime until you meet the deductible. That may be the case for her insurance as well. We have now dubbed our medical insurance "catastrophic illness" insurance.

I let my daughters read this...they said "wow...that's pretty bad mom!" (even my 10 year olds thought it was horrible...lol)

This house doesn't heat well at all, so I am usually in 2-3 layers shirt wise, and some sort of shoe/slipper. Right now I have on a t-shirt, a long sleeve hoodie, and a sweater and am on the cooler side of comfy.

After reading some of the student papers and discussions for my dh's seminary classes, this doesn't surprise me at all. It's horrible. My 5th graders write better in some cases. My #1 educational goal for my girls is for them to be able to write at a college level before they graduate. (actual college level, not the level that many college students seem to write these days)

Well, I'm pretty suh-thern, so that doesn't surprise me :lol:

I tend to stick to basics that don't easily go out of style, and shy away from really trendy stuff. I do update my clothes fairly often though, just so things don't look worn out. Plus, I've had some weight flucuation over the years, so things that fit one year didn't the next. The plus side is, I had packed away a tub FULL of clothes that were too small a while back...I lost enough weight to get back into them, and they are still in style :001_smile:

One of my dd's middle name is Elise..and we pronounce it Uh-lease.

:hurray::hurray:

Congratulations!!! Two placentas and two sacs, that's great! (Mine shared a placenta and outer membrane, which meant VERY close monitoring!) I was on bedrest for about a month because of contractions and dialation (dialated to 4cm the last month). They were born at 34.5 weeks, the day I was released from bedrest. (yep, that was all that was keeping them 'cooking') I had a vaginal delivery, actually much easier than my first. My only real complications were that my labor stopped after the 1st twin was born, and I had to be induced for the 2nd! And I had excessive bleeding...but it was quickly brought under control. I was able to breastfeed them, the logistics were fine. I did end up bottle feeding due to some other problems. I wasn't homeschooling at the time. It's an exciting ride!

They look awesome on my girls with tunic style tops. Me....I'm not even going there. I'm thinking a denim covered sausage would look better..lol.

Click on the Community tag up top, then on Social groups.