On msnbc.com this morning there is this headline: "Mom Pregnant with 18th Child" and the headline directly below: "S*x is just one more chore on her to-do list"! Too funny! Susan in TX

I'm due June 18 with #9. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl. We are kinda hoping for a boy, since we only have one so far...he could use a brother, but my 5yog insists it MUST be a girl! If we do have a girl, it will put our boy right in the middle with 4 older sisters and 4 younger! Susan in TX

If it's a dog I know and I don't think it's dangerous, I ignore it. If it's an unknown dog, or a pit bull, I call animal control. Susan in TX

My plan is to finish R&S 8 by the end of 8th grade. That is enough grammar for anyone! In high school we will focus on writing, not grammar. Susan in TX

I want my MIL to be out of ICU and well enough for us to take the kids to see her in the hospital on Mother's Day. (She had a heart attack a week ago Sun. and open heart surgery last Wed. and is still sedated and on a respirator.) Susan in TX

"Big B, Little b, What begins with B? Barber, baby, bubbles, and a bumblebee. Big C, little c, What begins with C? Camel on the ceiling C, C, C..." I'm not sure if I got this exactly right, but Dr. Suess ABC was one of my oldest's favorite book. Susan in TX

I use speed drills that I print up free here http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/index.shtml

My Dad regularly drank coffee from the time he was 3, although it was diluted with milk when he was that young. He's 80 years old and in great health, so I don't think a few sips of coffee here and there will hurt your daughter. Susan in TX

We do live close by so we can pick up her mail. Unfortunately, she isn't conscious and won't be for at least a few more days. Susan in TX

My MIL had a heart attack on Sun. and open heart surgery on Wed. She is still sedated and in intensive care and will continue to be sedated for a few more days. Her condition is quite critical at this point and I don't know when she will be well enough to ask about any bills that need to be paid. I really don't want her to have to deal with the headaches of unpaid bills, late fees, etc. when this is all over but I have no idea how to take care of anything or even find out what bills she might have. Anyhow, anybody have any experience with this. BTW, MIL is single and dh is next of kin. Susan in TX

I just watched Juno last night too. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "current state of our high schools" but I have two teens in public school and I'd say that the reality (at least at their school) is much worse than what the movie portrayed. I was surprised that in the movie there was a stigma attached to teen pregnancy. There really is none at the high school my girls attend. In Sept. they enrolled 93 pregnant 9th graders! (The school has about 4000 students total.) The current issue of the student newspaper has a two page spread about the problem of PDA (public displays of affection) at school...and we aren't just talking about kissing and holding hands. There is also an article about the pain experienced by a teenaged Father who decided to give up his parental rights, as well as an article about the only married couple at the prom (who left their baby with Grandma for the evening.) Susan in TX

I personally know one woman who had a baby at 45 (we used to attend the same church). My Grandmother was 41 when she had her last child (her oldest grandchild was 9 months older than her youngest child), and one of my aunts was 43. Susan in TX

We've been married 20 years and have never spent a dime on a sofa. All of ours were either given to us by friends who were moving, or trash-picked from the neighbors. I'm not sure what I'd do if I had to buy one. Susan in TX

Basically, the rule around here is you don't have to shave (I don't) but what isn't covered MUST be shaven (out of consideration for others). Susan

I've tandem nursed before and frankly, nursing a newborn and a toddler is exhausting. Also, I have found weaning to be a difficult process, even for a 3yo! So I would never want to go back to nursing a weaned child (unless it was still an infant). Susan in TX

I really don't have much opportunity or time for friendships at this point in my life but I have found that the friendships I do have tend to be with women who have children the same age as my younger kids. I'm 39, had my first child when I was 20 and I'm expecting another baby in June so I definately don't fit in with the Mom's I know who have teenagers. They are all about ten years older than me, and they have just teenagers...it's a different world. So I think I'd probably have more in common with a 28 year old, and these days I feel more like a 28 year old than a 39 year old anyway. The funny thing is that when I was younger and my older children were little, all of my friends who had kids the same age as mine were at least 10 years older than me. Susan in TX

Same here. And when I have more than I can reuse, I put them in the plastic bag recycling bin at the store. Susan in TX

I'd let him go with the understanding that he can come back to homeschooling at any time if he doesn't like public school, and that you will pull him out of public school if he doesn't get good grades or has behavior problems. I have two in public high school and I'm homeschooling the younger 5. It really isn't hard to homeschool and have children in public high school. There is very little required of parents as far as public school involvement at the high school level. My teens have really enjoyed public school and they have gotten an excellent education there as well. Susan in TX

If it's any consolation, my dh would have responded just like yours did. And it does hurt. I think you just need to prepare yourself for the possibility that dh won't make it for the birth. The other thing you might want to consider, if you are having a hospital birth, is to request to be induced before Tues. I'm really into natural childbirth, but if I were having a hospital birth and I was overdue and really stressed about the possibility of dh not being at the birth, that's what I'd do. Susan in TX

:iagree: with this advice. I'd also sell the domestic car and get what you can for it. There's no point in having it just sit there, and you don't want to keep putting money into it. Susan

I had to choose "other" because I don't have a specific amount budgeted for curriculum but I don't "buy, and buy, and buy" either. I buy what we need when we need it. I use the library a lot and I don't spend money on curricula that isn't really necessary. Susan in TX

I don't allow my kids to IM until they are mature enough that I can trust them with the privilege. Right now my kids who are allowed to IM are 15 and 17 and I would consider any monitoring of their conversations an invasion of privacy. If I didn't feel I could trust them implicitly, they would not be allowed to IM. Susan in TX

If the way you raise your children and your beliefs are too different from the mainstream of society you run the risk of it being called "abuse". Honestly, I think this case boils down to religious persecution. I don't think anyone has proven that abuse has occured. Now, I'm not saying that there wasn't abuse, but I don't think these people would be treated like this if they were, say, muslim, or simply more mainstream. I can't understand why polygamists are still persecuted in this country when we are allowing for things like same-sex marriage. I also think these groups would do themselves a favor if they waited until girls were 18 to marry. Susan in TX

I have 118 items checked out right now. I request so many books that there is a section of the hold shelf just for me with my name on it! The librarians like the fact that we check out so many books because it keeps their circulation numbers up. One time they mentioned that they met their daily quota just with the books we checked out. Susan in TX

I have found that Wal-mart's clothes tend to be more modest than the one's at Target. I guess it's because they are less "trendy". Susan in TX