Amazing August Alaska Momma Chat

[roadfamily6now]

Welcome to August everyone!

[Rik-E]

*marking spot*

So what are everyone's plans this month?  School, state fair, camping, hopefully some berry picking, a couple birthdays.....

[hippiemommaof4]

my plans are packing,visiting family in Ohio/Kentucky and driving out west to montana and then get through canada and to ALASKA lol! Also hoping we find a place to stay and a house quickly because I'm not sure how long we can afford a hotel! If you're in anchorage/wasilla preferably wasilla and know of anything 3bdrm or 4 bdrm rent or whatever lmk. We want to buy too but we'll need a vacant house for poss early occupancy, we already have a realtor! :-)

[roadfamily6now]

the MLS site is amazing for house hunting.

http://www.alaskarealestate.com/

[roadfamily6now]

Well, school starts in 2 weeks.

My DD is going into the Military so we are prepping for the ASVAB and talking to recruiters.

We have DH's Niece up from Washington visiting for a month (1/2 over).

We would like to do some blueberry picking but I hate crowds, hate walking up mountains to get them and it's raining........ (days like this I miss Fairbanks)

We are definitely going cranberry picking and this year looks AMAZING for picking! Super excited. We scouted out our "patches" this weekend and there is an abundance of both cran and crow berries!!

I will do my best to avoid the Fair. (again with the crowds, we are a family of introverts)

We will harvest our garden which is doing much better then last year but still, the weather in Anchorage is not conducive to growing nice gardens with big produce. Just doggone disappointed AGAIN! Ugh.

And my son's Birthday is in 11 days!! OMG.

[Rik-E]

I second this!!!   ANd I'm not even looking to move. LOL

*whined in a super annoying voice*   But there is an awesome property near Trapper Creek that I really really reeeeeeally want............

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now 

the MLS site is amazing for house hunting.

http://www.alaskarealestate.com/

[Rik-E]

A rather off topic request:  >>>>> Anyone local to Mat-Su have a small breed puppy available? <<<<< Mixed breed would be great, preferably mixed with a breed known for empathy and loyalty. Needs to be less than 20 pounds full grown or smaller & young so we can raise it with the kids & train for my son as an anxiety support animal. He is having a lot of issues from losing his emotional support dog several weeks ago. We are on the lookout for a young small puppy that he can 'connect' with.

[happyblessedmama]

I registered 3 of our kids for school this morning (no issues with the vax exemptions, for those who are worried about that! it was a non-issue).

We will be going to the fair, hopefully together... possibly getting a babysitter and going with just adults!

Went and had an OB intake appointment for my pregnancy... have another real appointment set up for midmonth when I'll be almost out of the first trimester. I've been pretty sick.

[roadfamily6now]

Registered my kids for high school Monday. Also had no issue at all with the exemption form we submitted last year. Did not need to renew it. :) Yeah!

Senior year is expensive! OMG.  :)

[roadfamily6now]

School is in a WEEK!!!  this week is trying to get the kids back on to a schedule but so far it's not working.

Tomorrow my Oldest goes to MEPS for her military physical and all that.  Exciting and scary at the same time.

Thanks to the Moose who are enjoying my garden. At least they don't seem to like Kale or Potato plants.

[Rik-E]

Soooo not ready for school....   my kids aren't liking the school schedule again either!

I've been scouting the deals this week for the few things my kids need so shopping hopefully later today for supplies. Still need some sweat pants or track / work out style elastic waste pants for my son. Anybody know where I can find some for decent prices????  Wal-Mart & Target in Wasilla don't have any for less than $15 a pair.

[hippiemommaof4]

well we changed the driving plans, looks like we'll be going up through N.dakota now :-)...this whole move is stressing me out!

[roadfamily6now]

I would go  up through Sweetgrass Montana or north of Bellingham Washington. I would move through Canada as quickly as possible due to high gas prices and bad food.

[roadfamily6now]

Whaaa! So went to Arctic Valley last weekend and there were NO NO NO Blueberries!!!  It was weird.

[Rik-E]

We went up to Hatchers yesterday afternoon & got about a gallon!  We parked in the pull out right before the beaver ponds, below the MotherLode Lodge area. Then climbed the first small ridge & found a nice berry patch.
 

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now 

Whaaa! So went to Arctic Valley last weekend and there were NO NO NO Blueberries!!!  It was weird.

[brightonwoman]

We are here in Kotzebue, all moved in, getting settled...

I'm freezing (and it's still august!) but I know I'll adjust. It's been rainy and grey which I'm not very happy with, but soon enough it will be dark and then i guess i'll probalby wish for the grey again huh? ;)

I'm also dealing with the vax exemption for school thing...we're delayed/selective, and the public health nurse gave me a form to take to the dr to get signed because we are 'behind'...but i'm debating. Cuz I don't know if I can get a dr to sign it... the only medical 'reason' i could give is that *I* had a vaccine reaction a few years ago, and that I'm concerned about my kids so i want to just do one at a time. But none of them have ever had reactions, and frankly my reaction isn't why I'm delayed/selective, you know? I have thought about just printing off the religious exemption form and taking that in and just keeping my own vax records and not telling the school anything... Cuz if I'm claiming religious exemption then it kinda should be all or nothing, right? Like who is going to believe that it's a religious thing for me to 'partially vaccinate' right? (I did pray about my decision, does that count?!)

*sigh* I don't know. My oldest son was fully vaxed until last year when they started asking for the chicken pox booster. I held off a year on that, but he's 11 now and we discussed and felt like we should go ahead with the booster cuz he's old enough that catching the real thing could be kinda ugly for him. But my 4yo has been very selectively vaxed, and he is (probably) going to do preschool this year. So suddenly I'm having to figure this all out a year earlier than I had planned. On the one hand I can make excuses that I thought I'd have another year to get 'caught up' and maybe a dr will sign off for me on that...I don't know.

It's days like this when I wonder why I put the kids in school. We have discussed back and forth each year about what will be best for the kids, and it's always seemed like a good idea to go ahead and send them...but this stupid vax thing gets tiresome. *sigh*

Here's a positive vax story though. We all went and got shots yesterday, and also the TB screenings (which, to a kid, is like another shot of course). My 4yo told me afterward that he wished we could always just get shots in Homer, and could we fly back down there next time we needed one. I asked why--thinking that perhaps he liked our nurse there or whatever--but he said "because we only got one in a day there." So just when I had been starting to think that maybe the emotional trauma of a shot was bad enough that i should do 2 at a time (to get the list overwith sooner and have fewer times of going), he makes it very clear that one at a time is preferable. Okie dokie then, I'll just stick with my original plan. :)

[happyblessedmama]

I would guess, based on my previous experience with rural docs/hospitals that they won't be giving you a medical exemption.

We used religious, (it applies for us anyway, because we don't do the human-cell-line vaccines) - but it's all encompassing. I do not have to provide my child's shot record at all - they are completely exempted from having it. My kids are partially vaxed and I don't have an ethical problem with using the religious exemption.

I figure if you're going to use it, use it. I found the PHNs and hospital in Bethel very pro-vax/anti-spacing - there was a lot of pressure.

[hippiemommaof4]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now 

I would go  up through Sweetgrass Montana or north of Bellingham Washington. I would move through Canada as quickly as possible due to high gas prices and bad food.

we did the washington route on the way up the first time, it was a nightmare I'll never go that way again it's too remote there were times when there was nothing for us to stop to eat at etc we had limited food and nowhere to stop it just totally sucked . The sweetgrass montana way we did on the way back to here it was good no complaints. This route is the fastest and closest to where we are now and where we will be then, my friend did this particuilar  route and they said it was good. I'm looking forward to getting to see places I havent seen yet too.

[roadfamily6now]

Well that makes sense!
Enjoy your trip.

[roadfamily6now]

What's up with this CRAZY rain today in Anchorage! WOW! It's seriously coming down.

I love it but I'm not sure if my garden is enjoying it as much as I am. :(

I'm just thankful I made my kids get outside yesterday. :)