Lowcarbfriends.com forums http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/ (not a fancy site, lol) http://www.kalynskitchen.com/ Check pinterest. There are bunches of sites. I don't use artificial sweeteners, and many of the recipes seem to be for faux desserts. I would start out with whole foods and then work into "recipes" like that. Keep eggs boiled and peeled. I don't know if they'd last pre-scrambled? Probably, but they may get gummy or something. I don't find cracking eggs to be that time consuming. We do a frittata type thing in a small cast iron skillet most mornings. Very quick. You can pre-make egg muffins (search for recipes). Most evenings are some variation of protein and vegetable. I know, ground breaking. I add carbs for kids and serve extra veg for us. Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans are quick and easy to change up seasonings. Many nights are some kind of butterflied chicken breast with different seasonings, cooked in a cast iron skillet for 3 min per side then broiled for 2 mins with cheese added. Burgers without the bun. Protein (shredded pork, chicken, beef, taco meat, whatever) on a salad or coleslaw (Kalyn's Kitchen has some yummy cabbage bowl recipes). If the kids have pizza, I will make us that butterflied chicken topped with pesto and pizza sauce (make sure it's sugar free) and then a slice of mozzarella and some pepperoni. Sometimes I make the kids that too of course. There's a recipe with it baked all together in a casserole, but that came out wet and gross for me. Costco's Kirkland prepared pesto is so good. You can use it on chicken, in chicken salad, on eggs, on steak, on broiled tomatoes, whatever! Also, they have the best price on macadamia nuts. Don't eat too much protein. You can google for calculators to see how much you should have for your body type and activity level.

Yep! Is she a hard to fit child? If she goes to school, is there a uniform? Look at what the kids are wearing and price out a reasonable number of outfits in that style. Budget trumps all, but if I could have afforded a few stylish outfits in high school, it would've been nice.

It's easy to make a homemade cream of whatever. Make a light roux with 1 TB of butter and flour for every cup of liquid. For a can of soup, I do a scant 2 TB each and add 1/2 milk and 1/2 stock to make about 1.5 cups. It goes faster if you hear the liquid, so I nuke it in a glass measuring cup for 45 seconds. Whisk flour into melted butter, let it cook one minute, then whisk in liquid. Let it simmer until thickened.

This, plus there is a real risk of accidental injury if the person is suicidal while caring for small children. Leaving a mom in crisis with PPD/PPS alone with tiny kids is not going to help her either. No one is talking about average run of the mill depression here. It takes a pretty serious illness to be hospitalized for a week.

This and a heartfelt card. Or just the card. She knows your DD has been hospitalized! Don't feel badly about this.

:grouphug:

The Nuts

Buh bye! :seeya:

Big slab of salmon from Costco can be cooked in 15 minutes. PW's recipe is really easy. Fancy up some wild rice and steamed green beans.

The new Dyson looks awesome for curls. I haven't bought a dryer in 20 years! Last one from Target is still kicking the 2-3 times a year we use it.

Wait a few years. Better yet, wait until they have kids. :grouphug:

If there is any wool batting or older man-made fill, washing can really muck it up. The tennis ball trick may help with Polyfil. Opening it and restuffing is pretty easy.

For a tiny baby? Mom is way off, and she's getting 1:1 care, not daycare in a center.

Check rates on care.com and local mom groups. It's going to vary so much!

If there's a dog roaming in my neighborhood, it's an escapee and its person is usually in hot pursuit of hasn't realized it got out of the fence yet. I've never lived anywhere with a stray dog problem.

Tacos (ground beef, ground turkey, chicken, carnitas, barbacoa; can be salads or tacos or quesadillas or nachos; many work in crock pot and can double/triple and freeze) Burgers (beef, turkey, chicken, veggie, tons of varieties) Pizza (grilled!) Salads (kids can, to be frank, suck it up those nights ;) or eat it in a wrap)

Short answer, someone currently suicidal, yes. She could commit suicide or attempt it in a way that could unintentionally harm them. Think of that story where the mom in Texas (?) killed herself in the car with her kids. No one found them for days, and they were in a parking lot! Would you leave your children in her care? I wouldn't, not even for a grocery or food run. Kids stay with stable adult at all times.

A family lawyer can advise on all sorts of issues. He can want to maintain the marriage all he wants, but if she's unstable, his primary responsibility is to keeping the children safe. That could at some point require a TPO. He's at a crisis point now. He shouldn't wait until absolute rock bottom to figure out how to protect himself and his children. Talking to a family law expert does not mean filing for divorce. A lawyer would explain to him that leaving the children alone with someone he knows to be unfit is child endangerment on HIS part. He should not leave her alone with them.

:eek: :eek: :eek: I don't think I would ever be able to speak to them again. I probably would've run out of the wedding after that! What the what?!?!

The ones I read said something along the lines of "my mother told me not to because..." Not that they personally believed these adages, but that stuck in their heads.

I would bet the friend has no idea what she actually spends, doesn't buy the type/quality food that you do, doesn't have three teenagers, and/or eats out more often. If you're not wasting food and you can afford it, there's no reason to feel anything negative about feeding your family.

I believe that's what she would like to do. She's been working at a facility that involves women's treatment. It's the matter of finding money for school. She may have used up Stafford grants when she wasn't successful in college 20 years ago. Thank you!

Might be legal-financial speak. In a community property state, you have to do certain things to "shield" individual assets from becoming marital property. Once you commingle individual assets (such as inheritance) with marital assets (such as income earned during the marriage by either spouse), you lose the individual status. There might be tax considerations as well as legal ones for keeping funds separated.

This is Christmas morning casserole for us. I usually make my own waffles for it. It's good with chicken sausage. http://www.food.com/recipe/maple-sausage-and-waffle-casserole-218124

I would not put the kids in childcare or move any money around without consulting an attorney.