Washingtonians

[Stumpfarmer]

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I forgot how destructive young dogs can be; let this be a lesson to me et'c and so on.

Julia, I'm saving up for a solar fence-charger, myself.

He's 6 years old.

Youth is comparable: my younger dog is 13 1/2, and her father will be 15 in December.

 

[AriLovesChickens]

There are a lot of pallets available, but how would I get them? I don't have a truck or van. I have to take Ari everywhere. She needs to be in a carseat. I can't move heavy pallets around and watch her at the same time (not that I'm really able to carry pallets anyway). It's the same with old sheds or anything else I'd find. I'd have to ask people (whom I barely know, really) to take me somewhere and then help carry things; or I have to go to Home Depot, rent a van...then put the carseat in the van (which is a hassle) - and if they have trucks, you can't put a toddler in the front of a truck. Plus I'd have to be back home (from wherever) at 2:45 each day to go get my 6 year old from school (who would then further complicate getting anything done). It just gets too difficult for me for arrange.

 

[Kaneke]

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I wish I were closer to you, I could at least watch Ari ... and if it weren't too far, I could fire up my Trooper and help get pallets

doesn't she have a portable playpen? I know I couldn't have lived without one when my boys were small, and they used it until they were 4 ... I threw a sheet over it and told them it was a "fort" ... or upended it and it was a cave

the thing about pallets .. and I know a good place to get them but it's clear down in Olympia .. quite often they have been at least partially taken apart

so think "lumber", and you just need a good pair of pliers and a pry-bar, to get the nails or staples out of them

I'm a little surprised that no one closer to you on BYC, has offered to babysit or help load ... or offered you a conveyance of some kind

if you are a church-goer .. that is another place to look; many people really enjoy helping .. like my neighbor says, they're piling up 'treasures in heaven'

now our car is a small Toyota Yaris -- but last week we brought home ten 1x1s, 3 feet long; six short slabs of strandboard, painted on one side, and a dozen pieces of laminate flooring (I think it is) 1/2 x 6 and most of them 2 feet long ... plus a couple of 2x4s about 4 feet long (just barely fit in the trunk sideways)

with the old sheds, quite often if you offer to pay for delivery, the people would do it for you .. though they don't mention it in the ad

it may look dorky, but we've moved quite a few things by sticking an old mattress on top of the car, loading the "too big to fit inside" thing on top, then strung ropes across it through the opened windows and fore and aft to bumpers (if you don't have a mattress, a foam pad will work to)

there is ALWAYS a way to do it, and I have confidence that you'll find one, or more

 

[AriLovesChickens]

There was a listing for some decent looking ones in Kirkland: http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/zip/2624252713.html But honestly, I wouldn't really know what to do with them once I got them. I have no experience with building something like this, and it seems as if one either needs to have experience or have plenty of time to spend tinkering with it (neither of which apply to me). I returned an email to the guy in Grand Mound; we'll see if I hear back soon. I might also contact one or two of the people who responded to my Craigslist post.

 

[AriLovesChickens]

Look at this! http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/zip/2614548314.html

Not sure if it's still available...some people are bad about taking their ads down. But I'm checking.

ETA - On second thought, it's probably too heavy for me to mess with.

 

[Sudsy Chick]

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Well - I wont' offer either my husband or I to help build (you just have to look at the was-supposed-to-be-a-coop-that-is-now-a-toolshed in our backyard) but we were able to purchase a used one from Craigslist for $350 that is pretty cute and nice to look at

However - I will offer my husband's truck - it's a small pickup so it couldn't fit a huge shed but could fit a smaller coop. And I'd be happy to babysit - and also have a fourteen year-old that babysits and does pet care too!

PS - I love your cute chick pictures

 

[Ogress]

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I'll go! Soccer has us quite busy, it's not over till Thanksgiving assuming they don't go to the Turkey Shoot this year. Maybe you can do a half-birthday party in May where you have half a cake, people bring half a dish and wear half their clothes....

The year my daughter turned 4, she broke her arm in 3 places a few weeks before her birthday. Her birthday is July 4, and we were camping at a beach with a bunch of older boys. No fun for a girl in a cast! we held an Un-birthday party for her in September. It was really cute - this is when she still believed in unicorns and tooth faries. She wanted unicorn rides at her party. I said mybe we could borrow the neighbor's white pony and put a horn on it. The conversation was something like this:

O: "No mom! They have to be real unicorns!"
Me: " but where will I find them?"
O: "They live in the mountains near our house. You have to go up there at night and sing to them. When they hear you they will come to see you and then you have to catch them with a big net. It works best if there is a full moon."
Me: "But there will be no more full moons between now and your party"
O (without missing a beat): "Alex lost his tooth, it will be under his pillow tonight. That means the Tooth Fairy will be here. I'm sure if you put $20 under his pillow with the tooth, she will catch the unicorns for you."

 

[Ogress]

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I wish I had super-powers, but, much to the dissapointment of my kids, I'm just plain old ordinary Mom. Brainy enough to get in the AP classes in school, but not truly gifted like the other kids in the class were, so I did not fit in anywhere. I hated High School because of that, but happily discovered that I was the norm in college.

The social aspect of Autism is really starting to get to Alex now. When he finds someone who will listen to all his ideas, he does not know when to shut-up, so they listen only once. He hates group-projects at school, his IEP states he can do them solo, but I want him to first try and work with others. He doesn't ever have any friends over to play with or hang-out with unless they are sons of my friends. He's having a birthday on October 9, and wants a party at K1Speed. I'm having trouble coming up with the 6 rider minimum, and now they just e-mailed, they require 8 kids for a party! (There web-site states 6, so 6 they will honor!) How did you make it through Middle School?

I read this to my daughter (turned 15 yesterday) because she had shared with me an experience from her summer ASB camp. (She's president of her student body this year.) She had been so moved by a presentation given by various adults who reflected on their painful jr high experiences. They shared what it was like to be disabled, or foreign, or overweight or just not "cool" or popular. She said she and the other campers were in tears by the end of the presentation. She was so moved by this experience that it was the first thing she told me about when she came home from camp. She told me that she was going to look for students that may be having trouble and try to make a difference. So I read your post to her and she said she'd love to come to his party if there's room. She's a lot of fun and she's kind. Let me know if there's room. (She's not much into go-carts but she said she'd try

edited to add: Oh, applesauce, meant to send a PM. Sorry.

I'm still working on what we will do, but I may take you up on your offer. though if I can use my coupons, I may not book the party, and just go drop-in. Alex said he would rather eat somewhere else than have the pizza they serve there.

 

[Ogress]

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Nice!

 

[Ogress]

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Hmmmm .............. I think I need to become a helicopter pilot.