:D That's what my folks do too.

Keep ice on it until it stops hurting. It will take a long while but it will work. :grouphug: Burns suck.

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Whew! I just did an order at Swimoutlet.com for my two swimmers. May your van perpetually smell like chlorine. I wish you speedy & successful hunts for lost swim gear. And I pray that those goggle stay unfogged and the caps unripped. Cheers to the new season!

:lol: We do. We've even told the kids not to pick up the phone in the a.m. because she's notorious for calling around 9 a.m. slurring her words because she's sooooo tired and the kids won't settle down for her. Of course, if she gets one of my kids answering the phones then I'm the bad guy all day because I won't let the cousins come over to play. She didn't go to work last night after all. But 9 a.m. sharp she called to "see what our schedule is like today." She came out with her kids to pick apples with us (7 bushels) and left with her kids! :) I have my afternoon to my family. I din't have to feed everyone lunch either.

No, because they get all huffy and defensive when you try to initiate any conversation about them doing things differently.

Congrats to your daughter's success!!! We just started 4H last year too. DD 13 went to the Horse project. She took a horse to fair and won a spot in "Top Ten in Show," overall. DS made a bird house and took home a red ribbon. It was a blast and they making plans for next year already.

:iagree: Neti pot, or saline rinse is the best help. My allergy kids find it's best to stop or severely limit milk intake. That seems to make their noses clog up faster and longer. Have you tried a teaspoon of local raw honey a day? My worst sufferer religiously takes this and his allergies are almost non existent this season. My other sufferer prefers to take Lorantadine OTC generic for Claritin. DH is religious with his Neti pot.

She has never offered to take my kids when her schedule permits. Occasionally she'll take one of my kids and leave one of her's in exchange. Thanks everyone for affirming that it's OK to say no. I'm going to be firm. I'll manage for the horse show. I'll put them to work in the food booth.

13, 11, and 7. If they didn't fight, not just bicker, so much it would work out. But those kids aren't able to get along. Ever. The 11 yo has aspergers--recently diagnosed according to the school district--and he flips out and runs away if someone challenges his sassy behavior. He's not like any aspergers kid I've ever met. I personally think it's a label to keep the parents from feeling like they've had a hand in creating his behavior. The school district has taken to calling my sister to come and pick him up when he has a tantrum at school. He's been expelled for biting & hitting a teacher too. I've never seen this at my home. My son and him are good friends and there's a bit of positive peer pressure in our favor there. The 7 yo does all she can to poke & prod her brother into having an outburst. Those usually require police & psychologist intervention.

My sister is a nurse. She works the graveyard shift and gets home between 7-8:30 a.m. Her husband works the early shift and leaves for work at 4:30 a.m. During the last school year their kids would spend the night at my mother's and she would get them up and ready for school. This summer the kids spent a boat load of time at my mother's because there just wasn't anyone home to supervise. My mother is burned out. She just can't do the night shift with the kids and get them ready for school. My sister says she can't afford to pay a sitter to come in for a couple hours in the a.m. after hubby leaves. And now for the last couple weeks before school the kids are home while she's trying to sleep--it isn't working. So .......... do I rescue her and offer to do what my mother was doing. Of course, it's sans $$. Or do I just nod and pat her shoulder. I really think she outta get a sitter during the school year for those couple hours in the a.m. I offered to come for $8/hr but she was like, "I can't afford it." Part of me asking for money was to help her realize what my mother has been doing for her. Of course there's the new $300 weber grill, new furniture, new electronic gadgets, new books, new cello & guitar + lesssons, etc. that I'm shown when go there. Then my sister calls tonight and she's sobbing, "I'm so tired. I had to call someone and cry on their shoulder. I don't know what I'm going to do Saturday when we both work the day shift." So the kids are coming here and I'll have to figure out how to juggle 8 kids, a horse show and volunteer hours in the food tent. :glare: Advice?

I make tea with a pinch of salt for my kids as a "pedialyte" when they've got the flu. Would that work? Just regular black tea, brewed then cooled, with a pinch of salt.

Running the canner twice for both sizes is a waste of time & resources IMO. Is there tool to be able to raise up the pint to the height of the quart? I tried my metal measuring cup but it was too high.

Do something for you. Sometimes I just make my whole world stop while I'm "selfish" for a pre-determined time period. I don't make dinners on Wednesday night. Won't, don't, and I selfishly guard my evening off. Fortunately there's Awana program at Church and dh takes the kids there so the house is quiet. But I have to really work to guard that time so I can: Meet my girlfriends for coffee at Caribou one evening. Go the library sans kids. Eat sushi without all the comments from the peanut gallery while watching reruns of Star Trek on Netflix! Take a nap, bath, or paint my toes! Go to the Y on my own without my usual gaggle of kids in tow. Plan for your day/evening off before you plan your school schedule. Everything else go in around that time. Guard it jealously because it is the reason you stay sane.

There's one like that on Star Trek Voyageur where Tuvok does the same thing, giving the kids jobs to keep them busy, while he worked to fix the shuttle and get them rescued. The twist is that the kids weren't really who and what they claimed. He lead them because in his perspective he was the adult and they were the kids. The truth of the situation was that the kids were from a species that aged in reverse. They were older, but confused, and didn't remember what their mission was.

:D Dr. Peppers are good. But your health is much more important. I loved them too but I don't miss them at all. Occasionally, very rarely, when I'm feeling deprived I do have a diet Dr. Pepper for a treat. Iced tea is good. You still have the caffeine. Limeade sweetened with stevia is good. If you're missing the fizzy add a little fizzy water to it.

Or get a post cards from every state! Get one, send one.

Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way I like the seasonal format of this book. There are 6 weekly menus for each season.

Yes & no. I have high cholesterol so I have to focus on the healthy fats & proteins. I dropped 20 lbs in 3 months and I'm still going down. Doing lots of greens & healthy proteins (chicken & fish), lower fats.

:iagree: You'll make new friends, most likely in 4H, who are country kids. Pretty soon going to the city and town friends you'll hear, "I don't want to go there, it's boring. All we do is sit around and talk or play indoors." :001_smile: I highly recommend 4H. There's a huge learning curve with it. But if you get one of the leaders to come along side you and mentor you through it it's a blast! Learning by doing is their motto. And it's learning real life skills in all areas of life, hands-on, leadership, community. Find out from your local extension office if there's a homeschool group. Get involved in that one. Our experience is that the homeschool group is more active. Hard stuff moving so close to the beginning of the year. But it'll be worth it.

My 11 yo daughter loves to write letters. She's loves to dress sharp, ride horses, play soft ball, and write her own stories.

At least you know exactly who it was. I'd call that realtor office, talk to the head hancho and complain the heck out! :auto:

I vote a border collie/Australian shepherd mix. :D We have one and she's all you mention. Except that she occasionally helps herself to one of my hens for a chicken dinner. :glare: