I told my first when he was a baby that he had to be a priest and wasn't allowed to get married. Lol! I've mellowed since then. :D

I have three boys and while I don't long for a daughter, I do struggle with the idea of being "done" or not. I'd love a fourth to round out the family, boy or girl, but unlike after #2, I do NOT want to be pregnant again. From the first time I ever contemplated the idea of having kids, I knew I'd be a mom to a family of boys! I have a delightful two-year old niece and I imagine I'll get plenty of girly time with her (if she's that kind of girl). All the fun stuff! I, too, pray for lovely DILs one day, and I'm taking notes on how not to be the MIL I have.

Would you share which one you like? I'm always looking for more veggie recipes. Thanks! I'd love the lasagna recipe mentioned too. :)

I'd love it!

I'm interested to see where Katherine goes with this and if she follows through. I hope Ages of Grace fares better than Letters of Grace. I was involved as a tester with that curriculum (she developed it with two other Orthodox moms) and it had a strong beginning but unfortunately petered out.

They were and they aren't. :( Hylands does have a teething gel, but I haven't tried it. There is another company that makes teething tablets similar to Hylands. I cannot recall the name right now, but someone else might.

I also meant to mention Laura Berquist's book, Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum. It is Catholic, and there is a corresponding school: Mother of Divine Grace. Perhaps taking a look at the book and/or syllabi booklists will help too. :)

How about http://www.rchistory.com?

This is my best friend's blog and she will be so pleased to know you find her site inspirational and helpful!

It's not putting babies to bed in separate spaces that causes stress and potentially life-long problems, it's ignoring their cries. As another poster pointed out, very young babies have no sense of object permanence. I can think of nothing crueler than forcing a young baby to stay in another room or bed alone, in the dark, against their will, when they have no idea where you went or if you're ever coming back. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth for any infant, but clearly YMMV. I believe there's nothing to be gained by forcing something on a young child before they're developmentally ready, and that can vary by child. My oldest at times continues to be very concerned about being lonely at night. So some nights he needs a parent to lay down with him at bedtime, sometimes not. I'd second another poster's recommendation of Dr. Jay Gordon. My second was similar to the OP's (though without such extreme crying), and a modified Gordan approach worked. Also, patting, shushing, etc. is not CIO. She knows you're there even if she's mad.

It's possible you need Adobe Digital Editions for non-Nook, ePub books. That's how I view library books before transferring to my Nook and I suspect it's a similar process for any PDF/ePub title.

We have a huge collection of children's audio books from iTunes and Audible. Almost anything you can think of is available. We have a lot of picture books from Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears to Mike Mulligan. If you want chapter books, Beverly Cleary, E.B. White or A.A. Milne might be a good starting point. Or Narnia! Or Jim Weiss! A lot of his work is available for mp3 download at Amazon.

Did you ever get any answers? I live in Syracuse now and grew up around Utica/Rome. Happy to help in any way!

No kidding! My sister and I had one as kids (early 90s) and we loved it! Who can recommend one that's available now?

But the phrase immaculate conception does not refer to virgin birth. I can find no reference to the phrase at all, outside of Christian tradition. Virgin birth and the concept of incarnation is pre-Christian, but so far the phrase "immaculate conception" seems to refer only to Mary's being conceived without sin. She herself was NOT born of a virgin, though SHE gave birth as a virgin. The phrase is commonly used interchangeably with virgin birth/incarnation, but doing so completely mucks up its intended use.

I think the PP meant "incarnation" not immaculate conception. The two phrases are commonly misunderstood, Christian tradition or not.

I did the same thing last year and went with Williams-Sonoma Everyday Dinnerware: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/m/products/everyday-restaurant-porcelain-dinnerware-place-setting/?pkey= I love it, but the plate sizes are slightly smaller than many other brands. Helps with portion size, however! We went with the 4-piece settings with salad and dinner plates, soup bowls, and mugs then added cereal bowls too. I found white serving pieces at Target and Pottery Barn.

Totally agree! My mother was my school's librarian and certainly encouraged this book and others with challenging content.

Yep, being released is punishment but also a means to ensure monotony in death. They even joke about it. Before he knows the truth, Jonas kids about releasing Asher when he messes up at a game or something. Lois Lowry is brilliant but this book is scary! Has everyone read the loose sequels? Gathering Blue and The Messenger. Jonas and Gabriel show up in the latter.

IIRC, the infant is actually killed by lethal injection. Remember? Right into his fontanel. Horrific. I was 12 or so when The Giver was published and that's when I read it. I've found it more upsetting the older I've become...especially reading now as a mother.

My 4.5 yo has a few too...he "brooms" the floor rather than sweeps it, and our attic has "installation" rather than insulation. I know I'll miss it, there are others he's corrected and I wish I'd written them down since I can no longer remember them all. :(

I don't think this is very well known, but it's possible to sideload books from the Sony store on the Nook using Adobe Digital Editions (which you also use with library books.) :) http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/NOOKbook-Discussion/Sony-e-book-gift-cards-discounted-at-Target-this-week/m-p/512176#M4916

The proposed increase was rejected: http://www.9wsyr.com/news/national/story/New-first-class-stamps-are-forever/0NVRlAjUIkG8NFsNXqzJlQ.cspx

I sort of do, but I don't always follow it! I have several options for each day that are mostly in the same "family." For example, Sunday is usually elaborate in the lines of a traditional Sunday dinner. Monday is my big cleaning day so I usually do something in the crockpot like chili or tortilla soup. Tuesday is lasagna or another spaghetti-type dish. Wendesay my DH has choir and eats on the way there from work so we'll have stir fry or turkey burgers. Thursday is usually Mexican or leftovers. Friday is salads or tomato soup and grilled cheese. Saturday is homemade mac and cheese or pizza. If we haven't had leftover night and the fridge is getting full, I'll skip Saturday cooking and bump the simple ideas to Sunday. It works well when I stick to it, but if I have more time or I'm feeling creative, I'll branch out. It's nice to have a "fall back" plan, however. ETA: Rainefox's plan is similar to what I've been striving for for several years, but haven't perfected. We also buy most of our dry goods and some organic cheeses in bulk (through a co-op), and it's nice to always have basics on hand for most meals.

The original post has been edited. :) Thank you for clarifying, OP. One of the primary differences between Catholics and Protesants is the role of tradition. Catholics believe that the Word of God includes both written Scripture and oral Tradition. Here's a helpful article: http://www.catholic.com/library/Scripture_and_Tradition.asp ETA: OragnicAnn and I cross-posted! Don't want you to think I'm ganging up on you!