I guess he would be considered tech support. But really he is a living encyclopedia for a major power generation company, and one of two people who have been there long enough to know how to trouble shoot the majority of equipment out there. He's the guy they call when the poop hits the fan...:lol: We've been very lucky that he can work from home :) He used to travel all over actually working on site doing the same thing. ETA: He graduated from a diesel vocational school. He also has 2 years of seminary under his belt. Most of his education came hands on...he's been with the same company for 20 years and worked his way up from the bottom.

We have two things that keep us running halfway effectively. I have a chore chart posted on the refrigerator. It is color coded, and the girls rotate through the chores. They can glance at it and know that Tuesday means they have to take out the trash. I also write down all their lesson assignments in my planner. When I write them down, the assignment will have their intial beside it, or say ALL if they all have to do it. Each girl then copies their own assignments into their own planners. They can choose the order in which they do them, but they all must be done on the day they are assigned. Now this isn't to say that they don't become completely blind to the chore chart unless reminded :tongue_smilie: But the lesson planner does work well.

Nothing spectacular. I write down their assignments in my planner, and they copy them down in their own planners. I used to type up their schedules in a spreadsheet and print them. The transition was horrible..lol. Now if I even change the way I write them down, there is chaos.

Yes. Our schedule system. There are literally tears if I try to change it any. And these aren't small children ;)

I had mine well into my twenties as well. Mine came most of the way through, but stalled out. It left deep gum pockets over part of the teeth that would get food stuck in them. However, they were a breeze to have removed, and I had very little pain. (which I know isn't always the case) If they aren't causing any issues, I would leave the decision up to him.

Mmmmm....if I weren't about to head to bed to read coffee would be lovely! My favorite mug: The big, colorful Target mugs I have :)

How are you today? Pretty good. The message at church today really gave me a shaking, and made me realize I've been slipping pretty bad in the spiritual department lately. This was a good thing. ;) What is your favorite kind of cookie? Plain old chocolate chip, baked just until crispy! None of that store bought stuff either. List 3 things you are thankful for today. 1. Christ 2. Our family 3. Our little farm :D

I'm being a complete grump. My dd came in this AM and said "It's April Fools"...and I grumbled over my coffee that there had better be no pranks on me this morning. :glare: I usually love it too, but I'm just not in the mood today. I need a :chillpill:

We have a very similar tub! We call it the munchkin bathroom. Unfortunately, it isn't much use to our family of sasquatches. My youngest dd took a bath in it once and declared it too small to be of use. She couldn't even straighten her legs out enough to get them all wet at the same time :lol:

Since we took off all of February for a move, no spring break for us. We are also trying to transition from year-round school to following the PS schedule by the end of May. Although it looks like I should have taken off. I've got one kid sick, I have the first dry week in months and have been trying to get my garden in, and I have another kid off spending the night with a friend. Looks like Saturday school for us this week..lol.

I was one that used good incorrectly all. the. time. When we moved to TX, I tried to correct myself, and actually got into the habit of using well. (Most of my friends there were not originally from the south and had much better grammar habits than I.) Now I am back in TN, and honestly I feel weird when I say well. It just isn't used here in that way. So, I'm slipping back into it. :glare:

My dh and I have actually tossed around an idea somewhat like that for years. We would like to open a self-sufficient farm with a couple of homes/apartments, and help homeless families/individuals get back on their feet. It would be an earn your room and board by working on the farm type thing. We would also try to teach them skills and give them resources to become self-supporting. That looks to be many years down the road though.

As a child of a blended family, I think it should absolutely be addressed. If things are going badly at one house, it has an effect on his entire life, not just the portion of it spent at that house.

If you were just going for Dollywood OR Disney, I'd probably vote Disney. BUT in October the Smokey Mountains are gorgeous, and there is a lot of other things you can do in the area besides Dollywood. Dollywood is less exciting than say...Six Flags. But, if you have done the Florida/Disney thing several times, I would go to TN for the change of pace.

Absolutely. My FIL is one of the smartest people I know. He is very well read, and can converse intelligently on just about any topic. He is a whiz in physics and mechanical engineering. He cannot, however, spell his way out of a paper bag. It is just one function that his brain does not perform well. It isn't from lack of education or lack of effort.

Well, I just used a 10 day opened carton in our roast. I'll let you know later. :tongue_smilie:

Last night, after a relaxing dinner out with dh, my elbow began to get stiff and painful. Within a few minutes it went from fine to not being about to bend or flex it without pain. There is an odd stiffness/full feeling in it. I cannot physically bend it all the way, or extend it all the way. It feels like there is something inflated inside the joint. It only appears slightly swollen, if at all. (I'm a little chubby so it is hard to tell :lol:) After taking Advil last night, it hurts much less but is still very stiff/full feeling. Rotating the wrist also causes issues in the elbow. (For example, I cannot brush the hair from my forehead with that arm) I can't think of anything I did to injure it. I did fork some hay into a wheelbarrow yesterday, but I've done that many times before. And why would it wait that long to act up? I've googled bursitis and tennis elbow..but it doesn't quite match up. I'm at a loss. (I will go to the doc if it doesn't improve today...but we are without a primary care doc at the moment, so I'd rather not.)

Well, we don't have the granite counter tops (it is white formica) and the bathrooms are dated. But everything else is pretty fixable with paint, I agree. I have decided that the vast majority of people can't envision ANY kind of changes in a house, and if they don't immediately love every single thing about it, they check it off their list. So many people get sucked into the shoddily built newer homes with the bling. Our house, while slightly dated, is sturdy, well-built, and will still be that way when their 2012 model home is falling to pieces. I LOVED that kitchen. I miss it. My kitchen now is about 1/4 the size. I wish you were in FW! That house also had unbelievable amounts of storage space. There were cabinets in the laundry room, cabinets in the kitchen (and the space above the cabinets had concealed cabinet storage), and cabinets all along the back hallway. Not to mention the closets everywhere AND walk in attic storage on both ends of the house.

My sympathies...my oldest had many UTI's as a baby. Make sure you take along plenty to drink. And the urine catch bags are a life saver! :grouphug:

I'm thinking he had to have lit it with a flock of birds inside :ack2: The things I find as I clean up around and inside this old farmhouse flummox me.

Lots of magnets, a magnetic caddy for notepads and pens, and a whiteboard.

Yep. They should see the house I'm living in right now if they want to see outdated! :lol:

I'll join in on the pity party. Here is our listing. http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3705-Wedghill-Way_Fort-Worth_TX_76133_M79021-14193?source=web Thankfully we are no longer living in it, so I don't have to deal with the constant upkeep while showing. My gripe: The people who complain about it needing some updating. Why oh why are you even looking in that neighborhood if you aren't prepared for an older home? :confused:

I've only ever used a top loader. I wash EVERYTHING including comforters with no issues. Once, a long time ago, I stuffed a king size comforter into a not quite big enough washer and it tore a hole where the top rubbed on the drum too much. Other than that, I have never had trouble. My dryer on the other hand loves to eat clothes :glare: ETA: Sorry, I just read you meant WITHOUT and agitator. I've never used one.

After I put the cheese on the sandwich, I throw it under the broiler until it is bubbly.