I won't do treatments anymore, and I won't give them fluoride supplements. We do use fluoride toothpaste. We don't see any need for it. It can be very dangerous.

Congratulations grandma and mama!! Those pit labors are horrendous, way to go to your DD for getting through it!!! :hurray:

My OB said that as long as Twin A were head down, he would deliver Twin B breech, but a lot of doctors don't have experience with breech births. I was blessed, he had delivered breech, and had even had experience with homebirths. He knew I wanted a natural birth. Hospital policy was that I delivered in the OR. I didn't want that, so I labored at home as long as I possibly could, then delivered 1/2 an hour after I got to the hospital. :) They weren't happy, but they got over it. It was hands down my easiest delivery, and my first natural birth. (Only completely natural birth, my next baby, and my youngest so far, had presentation issues and I needed help.) I would definitely keep looking around. Are there any midwives in your area that might be able to help you out?

No and no. I don't borrow, b/c I'm scared to death the kids would ruin it. I would hate for that to happen. I don't lend, b/c the few times I have, it's never been returned. :glare: It's easier to just not do either, and search the used book stores and garage sales, or curriculum boards.

On my father's side, I know quite a bit. My grandmother traced our history pretty far back. I know that my great-great grandmother was Cherokee, and I know that someone in our family fought for the Confederacy. I believe there were some fighting in the Revolutionary War, as well, but I'm not 100% sure, I'd have to drag out the papers. I seriously doubt they were slave owners, although I can't be sure. Really, though, they were mountain people, poor as dirt, born and bred in Appalachia, so I would doubt it. I know we're Scotch-Irish. On my mother's side, I don't know anything past my great-grandparents, and only that far because she (great-grandmother) died when I was an adult. I do know that one of my ancestors was lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, and that we're English and German by heritage on that side. (I call myself an American Mutt, I've got so many different heritages. :D) Of my husband's family, his paternal grandparents came over from Ireland, but that's all he knows. He knows his mother's side is Irish by descent, but I'm not sure when they came over. My DD is working on a badge in AHG this year that gets into her ancestry, so we're making this study a family project this year. :) I'm hoping to get the papers and family trees I have better organized and give them out to any of our families that are interested.

Wow, thanks for the heads up. I was going to renew my subscription (I had let it lapse, so I didn't get this issue), but now I think I'll pass. I am conservative, politically and religiously, but I don't particularly want to hear politics when I'm looking for encouragment and ideas for homeschooling.

I voted other. All of mine were born in a hospital, but it wasn't for lack of trying! ;-) There has been a serious lack of midwives in the areas we've lived in, and we ended up not being able to afford the few there were, especially after you factored in their mileage charges. We're in a much more friendly area now, though, and if we're blessed again, we're planning a homebirth.

I consider myself a conservative Protestant Christian. But... I don't fit in well (at all...) with the general "Conservative" Christian that seems to be the "norm" right now. They consider us much too liberal. However, my very liberal father who is a pastor says I'm one of the most conservative people he knows. ((shrug)) Go figure.

My mom swears she breastfed me for 6 months. Knowing my mom, it was closer to 6 weeks, but... I don't exactly remember. ;) After that, it was formula, probably for a couple of months before that got too expensive, then milk. I'm not 100% sure, though, I should text her and find out...

3 years of reporting to the state. ;-) My oldest is in 5th grade, though. I did do PreK with them. So, more or less, 7 to 8 years, I guess? We did do one and a half semesters in Kindergarten. It didn't work.

I voted TOG, because that's what we use and love, but I REALLY think that this is going to be completely individualized for each family. What works for me won't necessarily work for you, so I don't think there's really a "best." Ask this question to 100 people, and you'll probably get 100 different responses. Since money is a factor, TOG is expensive, but once you own it (after 4 years, buying one year at a time), you own it through high school. You no longer have to get the curriculum. You would have to figure something out for the books. Most people use the library. At 8 and 4, your kids would be in Lower Grammar. You should be able to find most of the books at the library, and what you can't find is easily substituted at that level. It isn't until the Dialectic level (Logic stage) that it becomes important to have a specific book.

Thanks for sharing this, going to show it to my kids later!

I started last night, too! My problem this year is DD wants to finish out her Beautiful Girlhood doll collection, which, of course, can only be found on Vision Forum, and I've come to the place where Doug Phillips gives me the absolute heebie-jeebies, so I'm debating whether to buy them for her or not. She only needs 2 more. UGH!! And, of course, I've searched and can't find them used ANYWHERE. I did find one that looked REALLY similar, similar enough that she might be able to pass, but the African-American one, Abigail, I think, only VF sells. Of course. :glare: She wants all of the outfits, too, but I might be able to get away with getting some patterns and making them. LOL If I can figure out my sewing machine again. I'm definitely not a seamstress. For our family, though, we've got that figured out. We're making them high-quality, organic homemade vanilla extract. We have a few bakers in both of our families, and we think it'll go over really well. Except for my mom, who we're going to try our hand at making coconut flavored rum for. The boys... much harder. They want VF toys, too. Funny, we haven't had a catalog in the house since last Christmas, and they still remember!! Stinks that the theology there is so bad. The toys ROCK!!!

Raiders of the Lost Ark. I was 3. The Wrath of Khan the next year. And I did see E.T. that year, too. That was my first kids' movie. My parents were very strange.

Yes, I think it should be legal. I know people that have SERIOUS issues with it (my mother is one), and should never use it. But the majority of people who do don't have problems, and it's a huge waste of taxpayer time and money (money that we don't have, anyway, right now) to chase after every person who's smoked a joint. To me, it's like alcohol and alcoholics-- just because someone might become an alcoholic doesn't make alcohol evil. Same with marijuana.

Yes. I leave mine in the van with it running when I run into the gas station. My oldest two (10 and 8) are always with us, and the littles are always strapped into their seats, and can't get out. They haven't figured them out yet. (Well, the 4 yo has, but the way the seats are arranged, he can't reach it to get himself out.) BUT, we live in a VERY small town, in a very safe area.

I'm pretty sure Ryan White would disagree with Wilson and the crack-pot's take on HIV and AIDS. What ever lovin' morons. Scary, scary morons. I'm learning a LOT from this thread and from the DP one as well. That's one of the (many) reasons I love this board!

I write with my left handed, but do a lot of other things with my right, so I suppose I'm somewhat ambidextrous. So far, we have 2 righties and one leftie, who I learned today cuts with his right hand, even though he writes with his left. So he might be ambidextrous, too.

I think the first thing I really remember is the Challenger exploding. They pulled all of the G&T kids out of class, and we watched it by ourselves. I think they had us doing some sort of space unit study at that point. I was 8. I wanted to be an astronaut for years after that (until I was in high school and realized I really didn't have it in me), and Christa McAuliffe was my childhood hero. I seem to remember the Iran hostage crisis, and the hostages being released, but I was only about 3 at the time, so that's probably just hearing it and watching the newsreels a million times since then.

Thanks everyone, so much! I think we've pretty much set on me going, provided we can come up with the $$. The trip is the beginning of September. Wish me luck!

I'd be there two weeks, and I would have to get my passport, I know. That shouldn't be a problem, though I might have to pay to get it expedited. Vaccines I would need as well, but I don't anticipate that being a problem, either. I went on the state.gov site (thanks Dawn!) and a couple of others. It looks like the LRA has been pretty much kicked out, which makes me feel MUCH better. I don't know anyone who has lived there or been there recently, but I'm trying to get in contact with missionaries and see if they can point me in the right direction to get some first hand knowledge. And thanks for that site, Terri! I'll definitely be looking at them, too, maybe they can help give me some info. :)

It looks like we'd be going to Mbarara, which is relatively close to Rwanda. Uganda is pretty small, from the looks of it on the map (compared to the surrounding countries), and it's surrounded by countries that have been in serious conflict for a long time. Apparently, the LRA is or has been active there, as well, and other militant groups. Not people I'd care to run into. On the other hand, it's an incredible opportunity, and on that the communities there REALLY need. If the actual risk is small, I'd definitely consider going. Thank you for your insights. :)

I know there are a lot of world travelers on here. :) Has anyone been to Uganda? I've begun midwifery studies, and I have the chance to go on a clinical skills trip there, but DH and I are thinking about the safety of that particular area of the world. Any insights?

I try to use a red pen, because of the contrast. They really notice it when it's in red. But, I've also been known to use whatever sharpie, highlighter, or crayon I find laying around. ;) When I was a Teacher's Aide, the teacher in our school (small school) refused to use red. She kept saying that it hurt kids self esteem and such. She had plans on buying a bunch of green pens for me to grade with, but absolutely refused to let me use red pens to grade, so no grading got done for the entire first quarter. She kept forgetting the green pens. Seriously. Finally, the parents complained to the board, and the board made us grade the papers. In red ink. :D Far as I know, none of the kids went into therapy.

I think it's a very good possibility that she's being paid. Not by ACOG, but possibly by pharmaceutical companies, as much as she loves pushing for intervention. But... there's no proof, as far as I can tell.