Cheri - those arrangements are beautiful and what a great idea to give them BEFORE the holidays so they can use them as part of their holiday decor. I did that one year with sets of Christmas dishes for my daughter and DIL. I always get mine out on Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season so I figured they would like to use them ahead of time also. We have some very very talented people on this forum - keep the pictures coming...... Lynne

I was intrigued by this suggestion of shelf heights. I too am waiting and waiting for my first walk-in pantry ever....only took 50+ years! It will be so awesome to have all this wonderful storage. Post pics of your post-labelmaker project :) http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f8/e2/cb/f8e2cbc69140062aef90912fcff2422b.jpg Here is a link that might be useful:

I don't have any ideas on the attic but thought the "ladder to "no where "was interesting. Long ago I was in a couple of "Underground railroad" houses. 1 had false wall upstairs. GF asked if I noticed anything strange about her closet. I sure did, you never put molding in all around the back wall, I slid my hand down the edge & the wall opened to show a passageway. Papers in basement told about how scared the family was as soldiers were hanging out at their home while black folks were in the passage. Gf wanted to know how I knew right off. My dad built all of our houses so he taught me as we went along. I often held flashlight or light on end of cord, until I was old enough to hammer! Other house is why I'm curious. It had a birdbath out in yard,nice perennials around the base & large yard. Lovely large old house with wrap around porch, I loved it. Then 1 day we were in basement & I looked at walls & wondered why they were such a mess. GF told me good reason,stone in 1 area, brick in another, old dark stone,didn't match up with rest of house. The pretty stone part had a little latch & you could open a door that was so silent & moved so easy I couldn't believe it. inside was where her mom used to store canned goods but no longer did as the sod & timber roof didn't seem that "safe" any more to her dad. As you looked down that tunnel it was an optical illusion as it seemed to be a straight tunnel it was not. It went off to the right & then if you were to go in there it came back to the left thereby hiding many people even though they had found the door & tunnel they could go out birdbath opening & try to run. I knew at 1 time how many people you could hid in there. It was about 4 ft wide or maybe wider. You have all seen coal mines. It was supported by these old timbers with some cross pieces. I tried to figure out how the illusion worked, my dad showed me but that was 50 yrs ago so have no idea but builder was smart. So sapphire, you could have a strange assortment of walls in your basement. The latch was very close to the bottom within a ft. of the floor & I think the workings were all brass. Also no one would talk about it in town & people that had these houses kept quiet. I told dad & he told me never to talk about it I while I lived there. The houses were couple of miles apart. Could have been lots of houses around then or maybe just those, would have to do lot of research & if owner found papers in basement & didn't like what he saw might have destroyed them. So some warm summer night you might want to do a close inspection of your basement. Or the ladder to no where could be ladder to go up with hooks off to side to hang bikes or something on to get them out of way!! Enjoyed this thread!!

You say you've threatened to call the cops if they physically hurt their sister... it sounds like you may have to do more than threaten if it ever happens again. Physical abuse is a crime, and I don't think you have to be 18 to be accountable. There is a very clear line of what can and can't be condoned, talked through or otherwise worked out and physical abuse is over that line. The boys need to know very plainly and in no uncertain terms that if they hurt the girls or anyone else, they will be picked up by the cops. As for the other stuff (lying, refusing to do chores), well, obviously that's harder to deal with because it's more vague. But I think it's safe to say that in most human dealings, the best way to influence or improve somebody's behavior is to make it real unpleasant for them to continue what they're doing... to make it in their interest to change their behavior. And let them know the deal so there is no surprise or uncertainty so that if they choose to misbehave they have no one to blame for the repercussions they suffer but themselves. It may not prove a foolproof method, but I'd guess it's worth a try. Like for example: "Dude, you are NOT going to like what happens if I hear you call your sister a bad name again, because you're not going to like scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush and vinegar at 5:00 in the morning. Your choice." Or: "yeah I know you don't really feel like doing the dishes. And I don't really feel like cooking you dinner or paying for your phone either. If you back out on your promises and contributions to the family, I guess others in the family have a right to back out on their promises and contributions to you. It's much better for all of us if we all pitch in and do things to help each other out. But again, your choice." You as the step-parent who isn't even living full-time with the step-kids REALLY don't have to do anything for them. Their mom obviously has to provide a basic decent level of care and make sure there's food in the house for them to eat, etc. But at their age she doesn't have to cook it! There are plenty of "extra" things you and she can leverage and refuse to do for them until they learn to behave decently, without running the risk of being negligent parents. In the meantime, though, do proceed with family counseling. Even though the boys' behavior desperately needs changing, it sounds like there are some genuine adjustment problems and anger issues that need to be addressed. Especially with the older boy, who sadly sounds like he has had a lot in his life to be angry about. He just can't be allowed to continue expressing it in the ways that he has been.