I'm not sure in which left coast state you live, but my left state is, surprisingly, non register. I was floored when I discovered this little gem of a fact.

I can shoot the 19 with no problem, but I have to wiggle my thumb around a bit to hit the mag release. I wish it were just a wee bit smaller....

I have a 9mm Glock 19. We have a 9mm Glock 26 on order. It has a smaller grip and is better for CCW. I really wanted a Sig Sauer, they shoot like butter, but they are about twice the price. Glock 9mm is what most law enforcement agencies use. It's very reliable, rarely jams and you could bury it in the mud, come back a year later, pick it up and it'd shoot just fine. I love my Glock and have pretty much decided I don't want my Sig afterall.

I just picked up the book at the library this afternoon. I can't wait to dive into it!

I did not mean to offend you or the idea of attachment partenting. I should have qualified my statement with "this is her idea of attachment parenting" She was very concerned with not ever causing her daughter any disappointment or grief or any other type of emotional discomfort. In her world ~ that is what attachment parenting is all about (we had a few conversations about this during prior meetings)

She is a very crunchy, earthy sort of mom that is very into "attachment" parenting. She believes that she can reason with her daughter and get her to understand why certain things aren't a good idea. ie: "The pony is so expensive and we have such a small yard, I guess it was foolish of me to even ask Mommy for one in the first place"....

I've met this woman (she taught the first gun course I took and we're in a women's gun club together) and she is fabulous! (She also homeschooled her whole brood of boys) :001_smile:

Stand two inches behind them and ask repeatedly?:lol: (as I'm typing this my boys are in the next room fighting over who played with the one Lego left on the floor last, and who should have to pick it up and put it away) :tongue_smilie:

Take off the pedals. My almost 5 yo learned in one afternoon once we ditched the training wheels and the pedals.

We were at a birthday party for a friend and I was talking to another mom (that I've met a few times through a mutual friend). It came up that we homeschool and she asked "Oh, that is so fascinating! But I wonder ~ how do you switch from mother to teacher? How do you get your children to do as you ask?" I sort of looked at her like this: :001_unsure: Once I collected myself I told her that it's the same as when I ask them to pick up their toys. They just, um, do it. She replied, "Well, I never tell my daughter 'no' and I'm not firm with her in discipline, so I'm not sure I'd actually be able to teach her. I wouldn't have any credibility as a teacher." This time it was more like this: :001_huh: I wasn't sure what to say. I just nodded and smiled and excused myself.

Almost all of my passwords are the same, or similiar enough to figure out. He is the same way. So, if he doesn't know one of mine, it's pretty easy to figure out, or he'll yell across the house "What's your password for xxxxxx?" We've been known to hack one another's facebook accounts and hijack status updates as well. :D

I not only do not agree with this, but I find it offensive. Gun safety classes are imiportant, however they are not a substitute for responsible gun ownership. A responsible gun owner will take a safety class, but taking a class will not, necessarily, make a gun owner responsible. Responsibility is a learned behavior, with guns, with cars, with anything really. It's about modeling responsibility to our children. The OP expressed concerns about her own husband's responsibility. That would give me pause, for sure, about letting my child go hunting with him.

I consider this to fall under protection. Protecting oneself from animals is not always a life/death situation. I'd protect my dogs from predators, my crops & my property from nuisance animals.

Beyond the universal rules of gun ownership I mentioned, the first thing we taught our children was "If you kill something, you eat it." We do not kill animals for fun. We kill for food or for protection. Period.

Not at all! Most gun owners are very discreet and you'd be surprised who was walking around armed and never let on. :001_smile: I've never met a gun owner who (also had young children) who would be offended by the question. In fact, I'm in a babysitting co-op in my MOMS group and the questionaire covered food allergies, pets, swimming pool, etc...but didn't have any questions about firearms in the home. I'm the one that suggested we should add that question! LOL!

Each state has different gun laws. What one person is responsible for in one state will vary from what they are responsible for in another.

I've had people ask me before and I'm always honest and up front about it. Some of my friends were uncomfortable at first, but as they, themselves, spent more time at my home and never ever saw any evidence of a firearm (it's not like they are laying on the coffee table), they became more comfortable with their kids at my house. I have two very large dogs and to be honest, more moms have issues with that than they do about firearms (and the dogs and guns are ALL locked up when we have company!) :)

I do not intend to hijack this thread, but I'm very passionate about guns and there is something I have to ask: To those that are very anti gun and claim their children will never be around one (and I respect this decision, I do not wish to change your mind), have you at least spoken to your children and do they know what to do if/when they are not with you and they are confronted with a firearm? For instance, they are at little Jimmy's house and little Jimmy says "Hey, I know where my dad keeps his gun, wanna see it?" Do your children know what to say/do? I only ask because I have a lot of anti gun friends and this scenario seems to not even be on their radar. They believe that because they don't have guns, they can simply ignore the issue with their children. And that, I belive, is tragic. Off my soap box. :D

I agree with this completely, which is why DH will only take DS when it is just the two of them and DH can focus 100% absolutely on our son. I would not allow DS to go in a group.

Neither my DH nor I grew up around guns, but we both now are lifetime members of the NRA and both have our CC permits. My DH is a commercial airline pilot and takes part in the armed pilot program. I knew if he was going to have a gun in the house, I was going to have to get comfortable with it. I had him take me shooting at the range and then I took some basic hand gun courses so I could understand how the gun works and begin to feel comfortable with it. Once the gun lost it's mystery to me I began to see it as a tool and I wasn't so uncomfortable with it. Last year was my DHs first year hunting and he's going again this year with some friends. We live very close to the hunting area (within an hour) so we have discussed my husband going back out in the afternoons with our oldest DS (8.5 yo), but it would only be the two of them. I wouldn't be comfortable with DS going with "the guys" just yet. My son has his own .22 rifle and that's what he'll take. My husband's hunting rifle would be way to powerful and would knock DS on his bum (me too. I refuse to shoot it). In your situation, I'm not sure I would let my DS go. In a big group, and with a family you don't particularly trust just seems to raise red flags for his first time out. If your DS does end up hunting, there are universal gun rules that he must know and always follow: 1. Every gun is always loaded. It doesn't matter if you just unloaded it and answered the phone. When you walk back, it is loaded. Period. Treat every firearm as such and you shouldn't have any problems. 2. Never, ever, ever point the barrel of a gun at something you do not wish to destroy. Even if you think its unloaded, its not (see rule 1). 3. As a child, never ever handle a gun without a responsible adult present. Period. Children and guns can be a fun experience, but they have to respect the firearm and understand how it works. Also, if your son does go hunting, make sure he wears plenty of orange. Especially a hat. His head will be lower than where other hunters will be looking for fellow hunters.

I get it by natural sunlight (I don't use sunscreen until we've been in the sun at least 15 minutes) and through my raw milk (the vit D added back into pasturized milk is not as bio available to our bodies)

We didn't, but my DB & SIL did. They had told everyone my neice's name was to be XXXX Abigail. I had a beautiful picture frame engraved with the name and showed up at the hospital the evening she was born and was told her name was XXXX Olivia. I gave them the frame anyway and they put a picture of the baby me and me in it and displayed it in her nursery. It became a bit of a family joke. :D

I haven't read all of the replies ~ but here are my (opinionated) thoughts on the flu shot: I never got one as I was allergic to eggs (all food allergies disappeared after having children). When I married DH was all gung ho flu shot and literally hated the fact that I couldn't get them. We had children and I was able to get them (allergy tests revealed all food allergies gone) so we started getting them for the whole family. Three years ago, Dr says "How about the Flu Mist instead of the shot for the kids?" Yea, sure, ok. Less than 24 hours later Boy 1 (six years old at the time) is in the hospital with a pulse ox of 89 (it needs to be 95 or higher). Steroids, nebulizers, albuterol and chest x rays are now a common, ordinary part of our lives. My son did not have asthma before the Flu Mist and had never exhibited any symptoms that led me to believe he would ever develop it. The doctor that treated us during the episode was hesitant to say it was the vaccine that caused it. Our regular ped says there was "likely a connection", however he feels the vaccine just triggered the inevitable. Personally, DH and I believe the vaccine weakened his lungs and while he may have eventually developed asthma, I don't think it would be as severe as it is today. And still, our ped asks about the flu shot every. single. year. I just smile and say "No Thank You. We're done with flu vax."

I also recommend couch to 5K ~ also get him started on resistance training (weights, dumbells, etc...) There is also a program called 100 pushups (they also have a sit ups program) or something like that. Cut out any processed junk food and get him on real food asap. Lots of water to flush his system. He has a long way to go, but I'm sure he'll be able to see significant improvements if he buckles down and works hard :)

Does anyone know of an online source for organic/pastured lard? I do not have access to pastured pork (at this time) to render my own. Thanks!