A week is too long to be left alone. I don't have family or friends nearby so I asked at our vet's office for a pet sitter recommendation. They gave me the name of one of their longtime clients who did pet sitting. I spoke with the pet sitter over the phone and got references. I phoned the references and they were SO happy with the pet sitting services they'd been getting from this woman for years. I invited the sitter to our home to meet with our cats and tour our house. Hubby and I both immediately liked her. Gave her a house key and our travel dates and we've been delighted with her ever since. We've been using her services for well over 10 years. She keeps our house key and when I need her help we communicate via email. On her last day of sitting she leaves her invoice on our table and I mail her a check. We've arranged that she comes over once per day, brings in our newspaper and mail, leaves tire tracks and footprints in the snow so our place doesn't look abandoned. She keeps the cat food bowls filled, water bowls filled and scoops our multiple cat litter pans. I like the idea of having a responsible adult in our house every 24 hours. During one of our Christmas trips she phoned me to say our furnace wasn't working and our house was cold. I arranged for our furnace man to meet our pet sitter at our house and we had a working furnace within a half hour. Had we left our house alone with no one checking on it we could have returned to frozen pipes and really cold housecats! Our sitter charges $15 per visit. We have four housecats she tends to. I give her a bonus at Christmas. Never would I leave a house with animals in it for a week. Kessala

Our school lunches are $2.65. The lunches here seem decent. They offer 3 main meals each day. Everyday there is also a choice of Yogurt, Hummus or PB&J sandwich. With the above you get a choice of fruit, veggie or starch. There is also a salad bar option. I have checked the lunch menus all year and was THRILLED to see NO FRENCH FRIES EVER. I think that's great! Although there is pizza every Friday, but the portions are small and kid appropiate. We also have a credit system, where I place money on her account. Kids don't handle money at all if they don't want to. I can also get an itemized list of what she has bought. My DD brings her lunch 95% of the time. Once a month they serve "Breakfast for Lunch" (Pancakes, turkey sausage & milk) which she absolutely loves. But I am very happy to pack her lunch since I know it's healthy and foods she enjoys and will eat. Normal day she gets turkey, carrot sticks, fruit (like apple slices, grapes) and popcorn. Kids are not allowed to "trade" or bring Candy for the snack, but I'm sure it goes on. My DD is picky, so she would not eat a school lunch each day-heaven forbid the sauce touch the pasta!! LOL My issue is that kids may take the veggie or fruit option but not eat it. Or just choose the starches and ala carte "junkier" items. I think our school system does the best they can with foods most kids like (Baked chicken tenders instead of fried) Most of the breads are Whole grains each day etc. Nice selection of fresh fruits. When I was in school the lunches were so/so. I knew my mom's fresh food was better then the mass produced, waiting under a heat lamp school lunch. I normally brought my lunch as it was MUCH quicker too. But you could have spent your "lunch" money on a meal of Twinkies and chips! I could strangle the 15 year old me, for all the junk I ate and NEVER thought twice about!!! Here is a link that might be useful: Lunch menu for the month

Thanks Lazypup. I am going to look at Klein. I need other tools as well, so maybe I'll try to find a Klein starter set or something. Also, a friend of mine told me that Bahco makes good pliers, and I saw a Bahco Needle Nose Pliers online for about $24, so I guess the same price ballpark as the Kleins. Since I've already been paying about $12 a piece, except that I've paid that 3 times and thrown it away 3 times, I think I am OK with $25 if they'll last. Any opinions on Bahco? Manhattan42, I totally get what you're saying, but in my reality of being not very handy, single Mom hectic lifestyle, I grab whatever is available to make a quick repair as best I can. But I know certain tools are made for certain jobs, and I am courting trouble by trying to have one tool do things it's not meant for. Do you have any suggestions on a starter set that I mentioned above? Like what are essential tools I should have in a starter set for odd jobs around the house? Here is a link that might be useful: Bahco Website

I don't know how much you have to spend but I think boys (and girls) would appreciate either of these: Anker PowerCore 5000 Portable Charger OontZ Angle Solo - Bluetooth Portable Speaker (note $6 coupon checkbox on web page)