Flylady does still carry some awesome calendars with big ole squares and all those stickers for the various activities. I love mine! I have four kids and really need to be organized, and this calendar does it for me. Love it, love it, love it! Here's a link: http://www.flylady.com/pages/flyshop_calendar.asp

and I STILL can't get my depressed Italian dad to go to counseling! So, I can relate...and I'm so sorry because I know how hard this must be for you. Take care of yourself and hang in there. I do have one suggestion that I don't think has been mentioned yet. I'd suggest that you start by encouraging DH to go in and talk with his medical doctor about possible depression (as opposed to a therapist) and see if some medication might be a good place to start. In my "professional" life (I'm happily a full time mom at the moment), I ran across many depressed men who would refuse to go to counseling. However, not too many of them would refuse to go to a doctor for a medical consult. At least most of them could view this as "solving a problem" whereas the counseling bit was too esoteric and seemed whiny to them (my DH included!). Remind him that he'd probably take an antibiotic if he needed one...an antidepressant for a medical condition is no different. A good dose of an antidepressant might give him enough of a leg up to realize that he needs some help and that counseling might be able to do something for him. Antidepressants can make a world of difference, though they aren't the full enchilada IMO. Even if he refuses counseling after medication, at least he'd be a little bit better or maybe more energetic. If he ends up on one, just make sure that he remembers two things: 1. many antidepressants take at least 2 wks to reach full strength and 2. if one doesn't work or has unpleasant side effects, he needs to try another one. There are many good ones available now. I'm so sorry. Prayers going out for you both.

as I am planning on using FLL3 next year with both my son, who will be in 2nd grade, and my daughter, who will be a 3rd grader. DD is about average on writing skills (but is a great narrator and does excellent copywork) and DS is above average in just about everything having to do with words. We have done a condensed year of FLL 1&2 with them this year and will move them both on to FLL3 in the fall. I'm not sure whether or not WWE 2 or 3 would be best for them...I'm unsure which to use as I think they could handle 3 but I don't want them to miss anything! Would love any advice on this...

She may either be drowning in paperwork or up to her eyeballs in nervous anticipation (been there, done that!)! Or, if she's had a hard time with the process or with infertility, she may not feel ready to handle baby stuff in the house until the baby is actually, physically there. I'm sure she's not trying to be inconsiderate...she's may just be caught up in what's going on. I'd recommend offering to drop them off at her house so she can go through them at her leisure. She can stick them in the garage and ignore them till she needs them. If she balks at that, tell her you've got to get them out of the dining room and you'll take them over to Goodwill. You sound like a great friend.

We do teach mythology, etc. here at home and have had no problem with it. We began by teaching/memorizing the 10 commandments (ie. You shall have no other gods before Me!) and relate that back to whatever we are learning about other "gods." My 6 yr old son has really internalized this well, and he usually reminds us that we are talking "gods with a little g!" I, too, find it very helpful for the kids to see that others believe differently than we do and to learn about what this means for their own lives. Often, it is a great contrast to Christianity and a forgiving, loving Creator/Savior and my kids will end the discussion commenting on the fact that they are lucky to know the real God (with a big G!). Jennifer