Raising6Ducklings!

My vehicle is a 1996 GMC Suburban. It's rear wheel drive and four wheel drive. We replaced the rear differential last year. Now the front one is going. I cannot find anyone locally that will even attempt to repair it - they just want to buy a new one. Which is *way* out of my price range right now. This is the only transportation we have for our family of eight. Hubby has a commuter car that will hold four of us. Is it safe to drive if the front differential goes out, as long as I don't use four-wheel drive?

TIA!

Help! I can't catch my dog and she won't come into the house willingly, despite trying to lure her in with treats. We got her at Christmas and she's just getting to where she'll occasionally let my kids pet her, but won't come when we call and always runs away if we try to lead her somewhere. It's 26 degrees F and snowing heavily. She has an insulated dog house full of straw that is heated, but refuses to go inside (despite us trying to entice her with two packs of hot dogs this week, she just takes them out to eat them). She hides under a bush, instead. Is she going to be okay?

She's a lab border collie mix, her fur is more like a border collie and she's about 4 months. Before when it's gotten really cold, I've had another adult to help me catch her and carry her inside - but I don't have anyone to help tonight and I'm worried about her. I'd leave the door to the garage open, but worry about her getting into something in there and getting hurt (we have furniture, boxes, tools and lawn chemicals stored in the garage).

We got a new puppy last night for our family. She is a border collie/lab mix, 4-months-old, and about 40 lbs. She was the last puppy to leave her mother (whom she'd been crated with the whole time). She is very fearful, cowering in the back of her crate all day. We gave her some blankets in the crate, some over the top to offer protection from noise, and left the door open. We put food (the type her original owner fed her) and water within easy reach. I have only forced her out of the crate 4x since she came here. Once for a bath (she was outside and it was muddy), twice to go outside for a bit, and once I just let her wander the house (she promptly crawled between the couch and wall to hide). My daughters were able to coax her to eat two small pieces of turkey (no bone). And I think she's drank a small amount of water. Other than that, nothing.

Also, when she is outside she seems to enjoy running around but whenever we bring her back in she cowers in her crate. I'd leave her outside, but it's too cold tonight (almost 10 degrees F). Tonight, I crated her with a ticking clock nearby (someone said it helps puppies recently seperated from mom) and with food & water. Any suggestions for how to help this pup feel safe and willing to eat?

Doing a white elephant this year with our extended family. Most are major Dr. Who fans. So I thought it'd be fun if my gift incorporated Dr. Who. But I don't want to spend more than $5. Any ideas?

Doing a white elephant this year with our extended family. Most are major Dr. Who fans. So I thought it'd be fun if my gift incorporated Dr. Who. But I don't want to spend more than $5. Any ideas?

I have mice in my backyard. Normally, I wouldn't worry about them. But they're damaging the garden, so I want them gone. But I have several friendly neighborhood cats that hunt in my yard (often leaving me presents). If I put rodenticide into the mouse holes, will the cats be hurt by it? I need to get the mice under control, but really don't want to hurt the mousers. They have been very helpful for keeping the mice population under control for the whole neighborhood. If rodenticide won't work, what are other options?

We bought a house where the previous owner filled in the basement floor drain with cement. We would like to finish this basement. Will a sump pump protect a finished basement from any flooding? Or do we need to reopen the drain

We bought a house where the previous owner filled in the basement floor drain with cement. We would like to finish this basement. Will a sump pump protect a finished basement from any flooding? Or do we need to reopen the drain?

My 4-year-old daughter wants to be Merida from Pixar's Brave for Halloween this year. She already has the bright red hair, but it is very fine and completely straight. How do I get the tight curls Merida has? And how do I get it to survive the antics of an active 4-year-old long enough to go Trick-or-Treating?

So, here's the deal. Monday night, I put chicken to defrost in the fridge for dinner on Tuesday. But I didn't make it home in time to cook it Tuesday night. My daughter had gotten the chicken out to put in into a casserole dish, and mistakenly put it back in the freezer instead of the fridge when I called to say I was going to be late. I discovered this yesterday, Wednesday, and put the chicken back in the fridge to cook tonight (Thursday). But now I'm concerned it might be dangerous to eat. I don't want to make my family sick (there are seven of us) but I really can't afford to throw it out if it's edible (not so concerned about taste, we can smother it with bbq sauce). What do you think?

I want my dog to go to his bed in the basement to eat treats, like rawhide bones. That way he's not eating them on the carpet or where the baby can interfere with him. I've already got his feeding dishes and his bed in the basement. He knows sit, down (as in lie down) and stay. I'm going to begin working with him on "place" - so that he knows his area is his bed in the basement and to stay there when I need him out from underfoot.

The dog is to do double duty as a family dog and big enough to scare potential intruders away when my husband isn't home. I'm thinking German Shepherd because I grew up with them and am familiar with them. I'm nervous about getting an unhealthy or unsafe animal, because we have five children. I also don't want a puppy because I have three children under 5 years old. We have a decent back yard and are in a good neighborhood for taking a dog for walks. I just don't know where to start looking. TIA.

We just found a book that my husband's grandmother had. It's a first edition autobiography by Will Rogers that he autographed. We're wondering how much it might be worth but can't find anything online doing google searches on will rogers autobiography 1948.

My dad used to use a program to plan trips that let him input the vehicle's mpg, start point, destination, how many hours a day we wanted to drive, speed we would drive, etc. It would then tell us how many gallons of gas would be needed for the trip (making it easier for us to calculate fuel costs) and cities to plan on stopping at each night (making it easier to book hotels).

Does anyone know of any online programs that will do that for free?

My children and I will be starting a bee unit study soon, and I'm in need of ideas. I have some picture books, a NOVA video, and some easy games and crafts. I have a fifth grader, second grader and preschooler. I feel I'm well covered for the preschooler, but need more in depth activities for the older children. Any ideas, preferably free/cheap?

Anyone have suggestions on where I could advertise my blog for free? I'd like to get more traffic for comments and followers. Thanks.

My husband is job hunting and will most likely end up in a US government job. Many of the jobs talk about geographic pay differentials, but don't say how much in the job description. We'd like to know exact amounts so that we can compare cost of living and cost of homes in the areas, so that we make the best decision of where to concentrate our searches and where to accept offers.

I have a name of a possible ancestor and the street he lived on in 1930. But my grandfather is not sure if the name he is giving me is exactly correct. I have done a basic search of the 1930 census using the name and ancestry.com, but no luck. So I would like to find the page(s) that include this street so I can look through the individuals and see if there is a name that is close.

Does anyone know of a way I can find out what enumeration district for the 1930 census a particular street in Atlanta would be in? I don't want to go through each district, because there are over 130 districts for Atlanta w/ 20+ pages of census data for each district.

Thanks!

My desktop's monitor died yesterday (two short days after the warranty expired). We use our desktop for kids' homework and websurfing, watching movies and backing up our laptops w/ carbonite. We don't own a TV.

So now, we are trying to decide. Should we replace the blown monitor with another computer monitor or a flat screen TV? We have the equipement to hook the computer to a TV.

We're looking at 22-23 inch monitors/tvs. Can anyone give me any tips on how to choose? I have no idea what the differences are between the two

Thanks!

My desktop's monitor died yesterday (two short days after the warranty expired). We use our desktop for kids' homework and websurfing, watching movies and backing up our laptops w/ carbonite. We don't own a TV.

So now, we are trying to decide. Should we replace the blown monitor with another computer monitor or a flat screen TV? We have the equipement to hook the computer to a TV.

We're looking at 22-23 inch monitors/tvs. Can anyone give me any tips on how to choose? I have no idea what the differences are between the two

Thanks!