This is an interesting thread. My now 4 yo dd was never diagnosed as having low muscle tone but I had concerns about her when she was a baby. She was always at the bottom of the charts for weight but my other dc were too. I remember at 5 mos old she still had problems holding her head up. Sometimes her head would drop. She didn't walk until 17 months. (My now 6 yo ds didn't walk until 18 months old. But that is very consistent with his very cautious personality.) She had several food allergies as a baby and was always covered with eczema. I took a more active role with her when she was a baby to develop her muscles. I made her do things she didn't want to do--like laying on her belly, encouraging her to crawl. She seems fine now. Her fine motor skills seem okay. She is learning to write letters but doesn't seem quite as advanced with fine motor skills as my 9yo ds was at that age. But it is hard to compare since I think he was exceptional for his age. The constipation thing is interesting. When my dd had several kidney infections last year and the urologist did an ultrasound and CT scan, he said her bowels were compacted and had me put her on a mild laxative for a week or so. Definitely go with what your doctor suggests. Maybe my dd's "problems" were overlooked since every time we were in the doctor's office she had other problems like asthma and a few unexplained infections (most likely kidney infections).

I was very glad to see Desmond didn't die. We will still get to hear his accent. :) Did anyone catch the reference to the Black Rock?

What I would enjoy is a trip to the library or bookstore without kids in tow! :) A bookstore with a coffeeshop would be great. Other ideas: going out to dinner, once my MOPS group went to a movie theater that served dinner (that was fun), going to one of those pottery places where you paint your own plate or bowl, getting together at someone's house to play games.

I just watched the last part on PBS. That scene where Mr. Darcy comes upon Elizabeth Bennett right after she finds out about Lydia. They are so incredibly polite to each other in the midst of this crisis! I wish there was a little more of that today. :)

Lol! I can relate to that. I wouldn't mind so much if ds actually said something. It's the constant, meaningless noise that drives me bananas!

Good idea Aubrey. I'll move my answers here. 1. While I was pregnant with my first child, I spent two months up in the mountains of Idaho, all alone and 30 miles from the nearest town. True--I still can't believe I did this. Dh did come up on the weekends. He was staying in a tent trailer in a campground in Boise while doing construction work. We had already spent the entire summer at the cabin up in the mountains so I just stayed on a few more months. I was 3-4 months pregnant and chopping firewood. I kept the 30.06 handy because I was a little nervous about bears. I did have a puppy and cat for company. 2. I met my dh on a blind date and we got married 5 months later. True--we've been married 12 years now. 3. I illustrated a children's book that was published 4 years ago. False--I wish I could draw worthy of publication. 4. Our family of six lived in our motorhome last year for 10 months. True--we spent an entire Arizona summer in a 30 ft motorhome. We went to the community pool every day. It wasn't as hard as it sounds. You realize how many things you can live without. It was supposed to be for three months but turned into ten. 5. In college I fell asleep while driving and totaled my boyfriend's car. False--My brother did this with his girlfriend's car. They ended up getting married anyway.

Yes, I've ordered from Pinetree for several years. I've always been happy with the quality and very happy with their prices.

I moved my answers to the spoilers post.

1. True 2. True 3. False 4. False LOL at #5! I was going to say that as my false one, except the cheesecake bit. I was a huge fan and would have loved to party with them. I bet your story is true though.

1. True 2. False 3. True 4. False 5. True

1. True 2. False 3. False 4. True 5. True

All we have is an L-shaped sectional we got from Freecycle. :) And other than the TV and entertainment center that is all we have in our living room. All of our furniture is still in another state. We have no idea when we will get it.

1. While I was pregnant with my first child, I spent two months up in the mountains of Idaho, all alone and 30 miles from the nearest town. 2. I met my dh on a blind date and we got married 5 months later. 3. I illustrated a children's book that was published 4 years ago. 4. Our family of six lived in our motorhome last year for 10 months. 5. In college I fell asleep while driving and totalled my boyfriend's car.

There is a link called Subscribe in iTunes for each book. But what I found is that it only downloads the first chapter. What I did was right-click on the link of the chapter I wanted, then chose Save Link As... and downloaded the file to my desktop. Then I opened iTunes and imported the file. From there I downloaded it to my son's iPod.

The only thing I can think of is that maybe they are protecting the other people on the island who don't want to rescued. But then Sun said she wanted to raise her baby in Korea so I don't know what is going to happen there. I hope Desmond is one of the rescued. I don't think he would count as one of the Oceanic 6 though because he wasn't on the plane. I don't think Ben would count as one of the 6 either.

We like the Andy Griffith Show and Leave It To Beaver. When The Sound of Music comes on around Christmas time, I've tried to get the kids to watch it with me but they are never interested. When my girls are older, I can't wait to watch (and read) Anne of Green Gables with them. (Although I bet my boys would like it too.)

I need a little inspiration!

Never mind! I figured it out! Why do I always ask first and then figure it out later? :)

My palms do this a lot. I have no idea what it is. It usually happens when I first wake up in the morning. I figured it was some sort of allergy thing. It's very annoying!

Does anyone know if or how I can download books from Librivox to put on my son's iPod? That would be very helpful with lessons in the car!

I don't know. Maybe Ivory makes one? Maybe check a natural foods store. They tend to have more natural bathing products. Or maybe even a store brand would have a lighter scent. Try using a facial cleanser for your face instead of shower gel. That would be more gentle on your face. I hate how everything has such a strong scent.

Liberty mentioned Gallipoli. I cried for days after seeing that movie. Not the greatest movie in the world but for some reason Hope Floats makes me cry. I don't know what it is about that movie but it gets me every time. lol I've avoided Schindler's List and Life Is Beautiful because I could cry now just thinking about them. I think they would bother me way too much. I get into movies like that too much because they are based on true events. I think that is why Gallipoli affected me so much. Even Gettysburg (fake beards and all!) made me cry.

I forgot. I worked with a man at my grandfather's ministry who used to live in New York. His neighbor was Mario Puzo (author of The Godfather). He told me the only book of Puzo's he could recommend to me was Puzo's autobiography. I guess this guy is mentioned frequently in there. He also owned a nightclub in New York that was frequented by celebrities. He knew Bing Crosby, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, lots of 40s stars. I had to ask him all about Cary Grant. This guy said Cary Grant was such a gentleman. He said he was in real life just like he was in the movies. I was happy to hear that!

I went to high school with David Bromstad, a designer with a show on HGTV. I've never watched his show and I didn't realize I went to high school with him until an old friend pointed it out. :) He was two years behind me. I remember his older sister more than him. I had dinner with RC Sproul Jr. and Joel Belz, the editor of World magazine, at my parents' house. My dad invited them to speak at a weekend conference on developing a Christian worldview. He remembers getting a lot of phone calls from people wanting to know if it was some kind of video conference or if they were really coming to a tiny little town in the middle of Minnesota. It was a great night of conversation. I was a sophomore in college at the time. My friend and I were on a plane with James Cromwell. This was pre-Babe. We didn't know he was on the plane until after we landed. He was in first class. I made my friend go up to him. We knew him as the one Eliza Jane Wilder wanted to marry on Little House on the Prairie. When another lady overheard my friend talking to him, she pointed at him and said, "I thought you were somebody!" James Cromwell said sweetly and patiently, "Well, everybody is somebody." lol I was an extra in the first Mighty Ducks movie but you can't see me in any scenes. Emilio Estevez is incredibly short. He stood on a box for much of the scene we were in. And he was only there a short time. The stand-in did most of the work. I remember thinking that movie making was very, very boring. It's a lot of waiting around. My cousin is a theater actor in New York. He's been in shows with Julie Andrews and a few TV actors who do theater sometimes.

This is an interesting thread. I really have no idea who I will vote for. I like a lot of what Ron Paul says. He could never do half of what he would want to do but least he seems to be a step in the right direction, imo. (I had no idea Alan Keyes was running again. I've liked him in the past.) Dh liked Huckabee but I think dh is going to vote for McCain simply because he will maintain the status quo. He doesn't like the shift to the left Clinton or Obama would bring. I agree with the others who have said there really isn't any one to get excited about. It will be interesting to see who turns out to be the Democratic candidate (although I wouldn't vote for either one! :)) That has been an interesting race.