I can't help as far as what brand/company to go with, however I can tell you that we bought one with the mouse pad thing right underneath the keyboard...big mistake! I thought it would be convenient, better than having it at the side. HA! I have lost so many posts because all I have to do is brush it with my palm and my screen clears or it does all manner of odd things. So avoid the center mouse pad. ;)

I thought Palin did remarkably well. I've never paid attention to Biden before yet was impressed with him as well. For me, the best part was when Palin was addressing gov't taking over health care - her expression was priceless and a perfect portrayal of how I for one feel about trusting our gov't with such a responsibility. There were a lot of things in the debate that showed me that she understands things from the viewpoint of the average American, but that part of the debate was just great. ;) I loved her folksyness (is that a word?), I loved how she spoke directly to the people, I loved how she openly said that she might not answer the questions the way Biden or the moderator wanted her to. This was, IMO, a far better debate than the one last week.

We have one and are going to get another one off ebay. My dc love to practice their math facts using this and they also love that I had one when I was little (the one we had was my dh's).

I apologize if this topic has been asked before however following our science lesson this morning I felt very frustrated at what my dc are "supposed" to learn. We are studying plants and it's going well, except for today. The lesson this week is about plants that don't use seeds to reproduce. Terms such as "propagation" were introduced and honestly I could care less if my dc know that term! As long as they know that potatoes reproduce differently than other plants I'm happy. Is that bad of me to feel/think that way? I've been schooling for 7 years now and each year I am amazed and a bit upset at what I am supposed to require my children to remember. Who cares about the terms, really? Are general concepts enough?? I probably err on the side of not requiring them to know enough yet I balk at having them memorize things that have no lasting importance in their lives.

I'd always believed life began at conception, but after going through IVF and seeing what happened just days after sperm/egg meet...wow! It confirmed to me my belief. Even more awesome was to see a baby with a heartbeat just a few short weeks after seeing a morula...simply amazing!

"Why, God, knowing how rotten I would be did You not only create me but love me enough to die for me and offer me salvation?" I only wish I could understand/show a small part of His love for me to those in my own life. Person in history: Well, we just finished learning about the Founding Fathers and their faith this morning, so I would love to sit down with Thomas Jefferson, ask him his take on our world today and if our country is what he envisioned it to be: public schools, "separation" of church and state, etc. lol, I just thought of one other person...I'd like to meet Eve when I'm in transition come January and slug her a good one. Yep, she's on my bad list at that time. ;)

:grouphug: Wish I was there to hug you in person, my friend. I told my dh that if this baby didn't make it that I couldn't do this again...I've lost too many precious babies. We have 6 "totsicles" that I pray will give me at least 2 more babies in the future. After that, barring a surprise fortune being dropped in our laps for another round of IVF, we're either done or God will have to majorly surprise us (which I would love as I've always wanted 14dc at least).

I not only voted but left my thoughts on the certification requirement and the laughable "standards" of public education that the "experts" think homeschooled children should be held accountable to.

Well, I told dh on email yesterday that the machine was low quality so no good quality pix. And I didn't act at all excited yesterday so my guess is that he thinks we're having a boy (that sounds really bad...having a boy would be fabulous but I longed for just one more girl, so since I'm not all smiles he hasn't even suspected). I am very good at keeping a straight face (thank goodness!) and hope I can pull this off because already I'm walking around with my secret and loving it. :) I spent an hour online yesterday comparing my u/s pix and it sure looks girl, but I will have another u/s at 30 weeks to confirm - I do NOT want a surprise at the end thinking one gender and getting something different! I would not do well with that kind of surprise! Well, I have everything already (as you can imagine!) but will be changing the nursery to lavender, but I can do that during the day (sewing bedding, etc.) and wait to paint until after baby is born. So dh won't see me buy anything. I'm so glad you ladies are giving input on the names. I love them and wondered if I would ever be able to use either of them. Midwife never called me back so I have to call her. No decision made at all and I'm getting more nervous. One day I think total epidural even if it means induction, the next I think home water birth...ridiculous, huh? Thank you for remembering me! Oh, and no I didn't talk to my OB as she was mildly distracted yesterday and didn't really hear a thing I said (not like her).

You ladies are so sweet - thanks for responding. I don't have people IRL outside of church really to share this with. About keeping the gender a secret, I tried to last time but dh blurted it out the day after the u/s (I was NOT happy) but I kept the name a secret and that was such fun when baby was born to share my news! So this time I know I will adore having my own special secret. :)

Because if the u/s tech was right (which I think she was) then the boys in our house are going to be WAY outnumbered! We have a fort in our backyard they can move into and leave the house to the females since baby girl #6 will be here in January!!! I am trying to accept that I'm having another girl - I wanted a girl so badly yet was convinced it was a boy (as was everyone else) that I keep staring at the u/s picture, not believing what I see. I'm in shock!!! And I just had to share with someone because no one IRL will know (not even dh!). I want to surprise everyone (especially since they all think I'm having a boy) and dh can't keep a secret to save his life. So he gets a BIG surprise in January as well! :D So in 5 more mo. or so our family will welcome Megan Noelani (or Noelani Grace - can't decide!). Oh my goodness, now I'm all puddly-eyed typing out the name.

heehee, a friend told me that now I know what to get her for her wedding! I should get lots of grandbabies if I provide her with oh, about a dozen classical music CDs. :D

"Shaping Your Child's Sexual Character" by Mary Flo Ridley. Absolutely the best conservative teaching on sex I've ever heard! info@justsayyes.org I almost didn't go to her presentation when she was in our town because I am so far from liberal in this area, but I was wonderfully surprised and bought enough CDs to give to all my friends who missed it. The motto is: Preparing parents of young children to establish healthy sexual values in their home."

lol, I didn't notice him - maybe because he was so short in the movie? I do, however, have an embarassing crush/fixation on the guy who played the king in "One Night With the King". I was actually talking to my dh who was next to me on the couch when the first scene w/Luke Goss came on and I stopped mid-sentence and just stared (OK, maybe I drooled a bit, too). Good grief, the guy is beyond beautiful!!! Only guy I've ever said that about besides my dh (which I suppose is a good thing only LG remains too much in my mind - I don't dare watch that movie ever again!). ;)

Tonight I began a new tradition of playing a classical music CD during dinner. It resulted in good discussion on various music types and I was feeling all proud, when my 9yod said, "I thought this kind of music was only for honeymoons!" I about choked! My dc do not know what s*x is yet (believe me, I've discreetly tested them to see if they do and they don't) so where she got that idea I don't know! My 8yos had to ask what a honeymoon is so I told him it is a trip a man and woman go on after the wedding to celebrate the marriage. That satisfied him and I waited to see if there were other questions from anyone...thankfully not! So my efforts to introduce my dc to the world of classical music reminded me that a child's perspective of things is always interesting!

I'm meeting w/one midwife this week and will talk to my OB next week. I tried to talk to a woman at church who's had 5 homebirths, all in water, and I left crying. She wouldn't listen to me. She said I would have euphoria after the birth that would take the memory of the pain away (hasn't happened once in 7 births, why would it happen now??), she said every labor is different (well, the only difference in mine is that they have gotten faster; other than that, they've all been the same), and that I can labor at home then head for the hospital if I change my mind (despite my telling her several times that if I get to the point that I decide I want meds it will be too late, baby is on his/her way out!). She actually got angry with me, said I prayed so hard for this baby that I shouldn't care about the pain and it isn't about me, it's about the baby and I can handle any pain. That's when I walked away and went to my van to cry. Hopefully the midwife will not do something like that to me - if so then she's not the option for me. Again, thank you all for your responses. I really hope that in another week or so I will have an idea of what I want to do and have peace with that decision.

I so appreciate each of you taking the time to respond. I a puddle of tears (pg hormones, right?) just reading the posts. See, this is what I come to - that it is God letting me know now that I won't have an epi (or that it won't work) so better to not even try for it and be upset/stressed. As for the peace part, I am praying like mad that if this is what He is doing then He would give me total peace...which is hard to feel when panic is the overwhelming feeling I have. This describes me exactly: I'm already a basket case...what will I be like when labor actually hits?? I want the drugs but have a very strong sense that it won't happen, and do I really want to be in the hospital or at home with another option (water)? I've heard that this is true: Can you tell me why? I need to know all my options and the pros/cons. OK, I'm exhausted and crying so I'm going to bed. Really, ladies, thank you all so much for your kind thoughts, words and prayers.

Oh, ladies, I am really confused. I never wanted to homebirth, dh never wanted me to, my plan was to get an epi this time (I need a break from feeling natural L&D!), yet all my plans are being thrown around because of a nagging feeling I have that I am supposed to homebirth this time. The thought that keeps coming to me is that I won't get the epi even if I go to a hospital either because I go too fast (my labors redefine "precipitous") or the epi won't be able to be placed. This is not a one-time thought - it is constant and growing stronger. I know I would be MAD if I showed up at the hospital and had to go naturally as the only reason I want the hospital birth is for the meds. I am so, so, so scared. I think about going through that pain again and I literally start to shake, my stomach is in knots and I cry. What is stupid is that the worst part of my labor is only about 10 minutes yet those 10 minutes traumatize me to the point that I don't want to hold my baby, don't care that I have a baby and this is not for a few hours or days, it lasts for about 6 weeks; I miss my babies' newborn stage because of what my mind does in response to the pain (complete shutdown). As for coping during labor I've tried Lamaze, Bradley & Hypnobabies, but when one goes from 4-7 in 4 contractions and then 7-10 plus pushing baby's head out in one contraction (OUCH!!!) there isn't anything I've found that helps. I told my dh my thoughts and the stinker said (after 12 years of being against hb) "Yeah, we could do that!" WE?! Um, I'm the one going through it, not him!!! He just had to change his mind... Also, the only way I could see going naturally is water labor but can that be done if my water breaks? Sorry this post is so long and emotional - I don't dare post this on my pregnancy board because of the first-time moms...don't want to scare them!

I'm so glad this poll was done and am interested in who else is due in Jan.? It's just now sinking in that I stayed pg so now I can start to get excited...just a little bit.

An entryway is one of the requirements I had when buying a house. On one wall my dh hung long boards w/hooks for all the coats/jackets, and on the other wall we have a wonderful sofa table w/2 long shelves, and we have crates for each kid's shoes to go in. I don't know what I would do without an entryway as I don't want shoes in bedrooms (too smelly). Our entryway is (thankfully) very tidy because of the crate/shelving organization - like you, having 9 people's shoes can get a bit messy!

1.) How many kids do you have and what are their ages? 7.3 kids, ages in my signature 2.) What is your favorite food? Italian...yum! 3.) What is your favorite movie? Anything Bourne...totally addicted! 4.) Coke, Pepsi or neither? neither, don't like carbonated drinks 5.) What is your favorite book? hmmmm...can't decide and haven't read a book outside of the hs realm for a while 6.) What is your least favorite household job? dusting 7.) What is your favorite season? spring 8.) What is your favorite sport? to play - tennis; to watch - football 9.) What is your favorite holiday? New Year's 10.) What is your least favorite store you have to shop in? Wal-Mart...going on 5 years of boycotting it, yeah!

Honestly, this is what I've learned to do. My children are precious to me and if I try to respond it opens up a chance for more inconsiderate/rude/thoughtless comments; they believe what they believe and my words can't change them. I tried for years to engage in an intelligent conversation regarding family size; now I just smile, say nothing, and the conversation ends. Even if they don't mean to be rude, even if they are simply concerned for whatever reason, I think of the verse about "putting pearls before swine". My children are my pearls and I don't want their existence in our life to be trampled by those who do not appreciate the blessing my dc are to us. My inlaws don't even know I'm expecting and won't find out until after baby arrives because I won't allow them to have any negative affect on this blessing-to-be. I hope your mil comes around and both accepts and embraces your new addition. :grouphug:

We almost bought one of these! We got a Chevy Express instead and absolutely love it! It handles great, has tons of room, and we can take the back seat out for additional bike/grocery space.

Patty - I've not used it before, however my plan is to begin our vocabulary time with it: kids go through cards they already have, introduce new root, discuss and that's it. Nothing big. I'm looking forward to it because for years my dc have asked me why things have the names they do, and hopefully this will help us all understand the origin of words better.

I have 3 programs/books at this point: English from the Roots Up, Rod and Staff Grade 5/6 and Working With Words (Pathways). My original plan was to use R&S as a warm-up (we've covered grammar quite a bit in the past and I just want a fast 5-minute exercise on the board). Later in the day I was going to do spelling and vocabulary using EFTRU as an warm-up lesson (5-10 minutes) then WWW as the main program. Is this overkill? I really like all of these books and they all focus on something different (WWW covers vocab, spelling and grammar review). I don't want to overload my dc which is why I split up the R&S from the other 2 books (R&S is in the morning). Thoughts? Oh, my dc are almost 10, 11 and 12yo. Thanks!