We have natural gas for heat and hot water, everything is else is electric and we are currently payin about $125 a month on level pay. Level pay averages our usage for the previous year and then we are charged a set amout every month all year. So we pay more in the summer than we use in order not to have big bills in the winter. I expect next year it will go up some because as of the first of the year the rates go up, again.

Have completed some form of post secondary education in a field that they are passionate about. Spend some time chasing the dreams they have for themselves. Although I like the idea of grandkids I'm in no hurry. I want them to know who they are and what they want out of life before making big life decisions like marriage and kids. Should they decide that they don't want those things at all I'm totally OK with that. Be living on their own and financially self sufficiant.

I got several nice things but my favorite I think was the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. If you remember the tree form The Charlie Brown Christmas Special, it was just basically a twig and when he hung one ornament on it the top of it drooped over. Well, Freddys had a little fake one for around $8 that I had looked at, but didn't buy. Dh went back and got one that he wrapped and put under the tree for me. I don't know why but this goofy little tree makes me smile everytime I look at it.

I would contact the vender and let them know, but chances are with an inexpensive item like that they will tell you to keep it. At least this has been my experience.

We keep it in the fridge because, well because that's where my mom kept it. I've known several people who don't though, and restaurants don't of course. From what i understand the acidity of it prevents any bacteria from growing. I have yet to meet someone who has told me ketchup kept at room temp. made them sick.:tongue_smilie:

We do. We have a great GP who is a mother herself so she was a great resource when I was a new mom. There was only one Ped in the area when my oldest was born and I know of one case where he misdiagnosed a little boy twice. First he said the boy had the flu, then he said the boy was trying to get attention. When the parents finally took him to Providence Hospital in Anchorage it was discovered that he had two brain tumors. There was no way I was going to trust that man with the care of my babies.

Congratulations! What an awesome Christmas gift!

Haven't read the Wandering of Odysseus yet, but if it's as good as the Black Ships of Troy, by the same author, is so far then I third that recommendation.

Wow! Some people are just clueless. Sorry you had to be the target of her ignorance. Around here homeschooling has become such a popular choice that often when people ask about what school your children attend they add "or do you homeschool?"

My DS's (almost 9) big wants this year are a watch, an iPod shuffle, and a snowboard. He's getting a few other items but these are the things he has talked about wanting the most. Edited to add: I also agree with the pocketknife idea if you think he is responsible enough. DS loves his swiss army knife.

Our favorites are Sorels or Kamiks. They are both a bit spendy but definitely worth it in terms of warmth. The Sorels I have for myself have lasted 12 years. If the liners should need replaced they can be bought seperately. Both of these come in slip on styles and I know many of the Sorel kids styles are just smalller versions of the adult boots and are not childish looking.

My 15yr old developed an ovarian cyst a couple months ago that instead of coming and going unnoticed like most do, has instead ruptured and is now according to the radiologist bleeding into itself. There are only 2 gynacologists in our area that I trust and the first one has rescheduled her appt. 4 times now. I called the other last week and they were able to squeeze her in this Friday (hopefully that doesn't change). They were able to rule out PCOD, thankfully (according to GP there would be kidney damage and her kidneys are very healthy looking on ultrasound). It has just been incredibly frustrating and she is in constant pain. Physical activity makes it worse so she has had to give up karate until this is resolved. Thankfully she's HS'd because I have no idea how she would have managed going to school through all this. To make matters worse we don't have insurance so it's all out of pocket. FIL and GMIL have told us just to do what needs to be done and they will help. I hate that, but we don't have a whole lot of options and DH makes just enough that we don't qualify for Denali Kid Care. That is pretty much the biggest thing happening in my world right now.

Originally I had planned for the 19th to be our last, but the oldest has a Dr.'s appointment that morning so it will be the 18th. Next week we will do the basics, finish up our final Ch. for RS4K Chem., and a small writing assignment for history then we are done til the 5th of Jan.

I don't know about now, but when I was a teen it was fairly common here. Alaska had a very generous public assistance program before welfare reform and many saw it as a way to get out of their parents house and rules. Dumb teenagers, unfortunately it was the children they created that paid the price. Edited to add: Since welfare reform in the 90's it's not so easy because if they are minors they must live with a parent or guardian to recieve assistance .

I don't think it's worth forcing at all. Last summer I got rid of a large stack of hardly used coloring books (some of them were left over from when my 15yr old was a toddler). All three of mine love to draw and will happily color their own pictures, but see absolutely no point to coloring someone elses picture. I think drawing is not only more creative, but also better for developing those fine motor skills.

My 5th grader spends about 30min of the school day reading books of my choosing (usually history and science related but sometimes just books I feel are worth a read). I don't require free reading, but all my kiddoes are avid readers and will read an hour or more on their own most days.

I don't know other than the collectors edition of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" from Amazon which I know I'm getting because DH has had it on pre-order since August. I asked for season 1 and 4 of Lost from my mom. I had season one, but we lent it to a friend and never got it back. If I get them we will be having a Lost marathon before the new season starts Jan. 21st. I don't lend DVD's or books to anyone ever anymore. There are some practical things I could ask for, but I always ask for and get practical gifts and I'm kind of tired of recieving them. Just not as fun. ;)

Christmas day 1997 at 5:39am, after three year trying to concieve and one miscarriage, I gave birth to a healthy 8lb 9oz beautiful baby girl.:Angel_anim: All the material Christmas presents I've ever recieved put together don't even come close to what I recieved that Christmas morning.

Many children and adults who read very well struggle with spelling. They really are two different skills (decoding vs. encoding). She is only in 2nd grade though so I'm not sure that there is any problem yet other than being young and inexperienced. That being said spelling Workout was not a good fit for my younger DD, she needs oral practice with the words for it to really stick.

I'm with everyone else. If it were just the fever I'd probably go, but with the complication of asthma and possible need for breathing treatments absolutely not. I don't think it would be fair to the 14 yo to put that on her, and she probably doesn't have the knowledge or experience to know when a breathing treatment would be needed.

Thank you Soph. I'm not the original OP, but your post may have answered a question I've had about our dog. We have known that he couldn't handle corn, but now I wonder if he has other allergies too.:001_huh:

When our dog had a similar problem we were told to eliminate corn from his diet. Most store brands use corn as a cheap source of protein, but many dogs are sensitive to it and will get yeasty ears. He hasn't had another problem since we did this. We were finally told this by a wonderful lady at the local feed store after paying a vet $250 and getting 4 differant prescription medications only to have the infection return 2 wks after finishing the meds.

We have 2 mutts and both are wonderful dogs. Our older dog is a golden lab/mix (possibly germand shepard and rhodesian ridgeback). He is awesome. He definitely got the lab personality. He loves people of all sizes, was easy to train, very gentle, and loves water. Unfortunately he also inherited the golden labs tendency for bad hips. He weighs about 85lbs. Also he does like to chase the cats but it's all about fun for him and he has no desire to hurt them. Unfortunately they don't appreciate it Our younger dog was adopted from the shelter after having been fostered. We aren't completly sure what he is. Possibly shepard mix. One of the nice things about him is he was born with only about a third of a tail, so no knocking things off the coffee and end tables. He's about 45lbs and obsessed with the red laser pointer lights. Our yard is fenced and about a 1/4 of an acre in size. If you have dog allergies though I would reccamend looking at breeds that have hair rather than fur like poodles or yorkies.

Thanks for all the great advise and encouragement. I guess I just needed confirmation that what I was feeling was justified. DH and I will be discussing it and I think DH is the best one to talk to him. It's just tough when your talking about one of your oldest friends, but if he is the friend we think he is then i would hope he'd understand. Honestly I believe there is a bit of depression on his side, but I think staying here much longer is only going to make that worse. I do have to say that I'm kind of proud of my DD. She voluntarily gave up her room and hasn't complained once even though it's been longer then we thought it would be. DH plans to paint her room and do some decorating before we move her back in as a thank you. Thanks again, akmommy

I need some help from the diplomats among us, please. Back in late June we allowed a friend to move in with us because he had been laid off last spring and his savings had run out. During that time he gave us about $160 out of his hunemployment checks to help with groceries and what not. My FIL helped him get a good job (he's an electrician) that started about eight weeks ago. Since that time he has given us nothing (he has bought a few groceries). I feel like if he is going to continue living here he needs to pay some rent. He is currently staying in younger DD's room and has a TV, stereo, DVD, and X box going up there so I know our electric bill has gone up since he has been here. I really didn't think we would have to be the ones to bring the subject up as I didn't believe he was the mooching type. There is a lack of communication his part and at this point we have no clue as to how long he thinks he is going to continue living here or what his plans are. Shoot his job takes him out of town and last time he left I only found out because I asked him what his plans were for the day (nevermind that he has a cat that some one was going to have to feed). To be honest we would like to see him move on in the next couple of months so DD can have her room back, but in the meantime the deal needs some renegotiation. So we are left trying to figure out how to broach the subject of rent and what his plans are without it becoming confrontational. The friendship is more important then the money, but it's not right for him to take advantage of the friendship either. So I guess I'm asking for suggestions on how to do this gently so we can preserve the friendship.:confused: