:grouphug: I agree with what others have said. Ultrasounds aren't always right. Also, you can look at statistics and signs, but they don't tell you what will happen in your case. Take good care of yourself, and enjoy your baby's precious life. Praying...

Congratulations! So jealous. :D I'd love to hear what you think of it!

Update - DH worked with the horses for a couple hours this morning. We ate lunch at MIL's, then had ice cream & horseback rides over here. The horses did great! :001_smile: (The horse who was limping seems fine. I bought another little kids' helmet - but it's still just a bike helmet to get by until we get another riding helmet.)

Good. :001_smile: They're hanging on the wall now, and I love them! I want to redecorate now...

Would you hang plates in your home if they had lead-based paint on them? Someone just asked me if I wanted some decorative plates and a plate rack that she didn't want anymore. I said, "Sure!" And they are pretty. Then she told me they had lead paint on them, and it felt awkward to say I didn't want them after all. She made a big deal about washing her hands after she touched them. :confused: One of her kids has a mild delay, and she seems to be getting rid of toxins in her home. Would you be concerned about this? Do you think they'd be ok on an out-of-reach wal

That's how I feel - I mopped already today, but it needs it again. I don't actually want to be awake, but I may have guests tomorrow, and today's cleaning didn't last long. :tongue_smilie:

That would make this much more fun!

Midnight here. Trying to decide whether to risk vacuuming. :001_smile: The kids are sleeping pretty soundly.

This is very simple, but one year my mom started the morning by serving cinnamon rolls in which she'd replaced the sugar with salt. My brother thought it was hilarious, after he got over his shock. Then she brought out the good cinnamon rolls. You could do something like that with any favorite from-scratch food.

:lol: Yesterday I spent a chunk of time filling in my regular planner... sigh.

:iagree: In the three cases I mentioned, the gunmen did not attend the church [ETA - and they were there with strong anti-religious motives]. Unless the church was checking people at the door (a very bad idea, IMO!), the church policy wouldn't have prevented anything.

Thanks, everyone! I was worried that I was overreacting, but after reading several of the responses, I'm really glad we're not attempting this today. Our horses are still relatively young, and the most reliable one is limping after a frolic through the pasture. MIL moved here last fall, and she hasn't worked with them much at all over the winter. She had a trainer where they lived before, but they haven't found one here yet. (She's capable of doing the training herself, if she has time.) We only moved a few months before they did, and DH has some work to do to get the round pen more suitable for training. We have a great helmet for older kids, but we only have bike helmets for the younger ones. Any tips on finding good helmets for them? I will ask DH to work on some lunging or ride the horses a bit before the kids ride. Obviously, I didn't grow up around horses. My older dd has inherited her grandma's horse craziness, so I'm trying to get involved for her sake. I hope we can take riding lessons together this summer. We'll count it for equestrian studies. :001_smile:

I called DH at work. He pointed out that the horses haven't been ridden all winter, so people should be extra careful. So I called MIL, and the conversation went surprisingly well. If they come over today, we'll just go for a walk or something. Tomorrow we'll have lunch there and then maybe horseback rides over here (if there's time), when the guys are available to help.

I agree with what others have said. What's the purpose of this regulation, and how would they enforce it? If your church has armed security guards, it would make more sense. DH's family knew the parents of one of the girls who died in the CO Spgs church. A volunteer security guard shot the gunman. I think of that every time I wonder whether our greeter/security guards are armed. There was a pastor who was shot at the pulpit in recent years, too, plus a church member in our city who was shot in his church (but he was singled out as the victim for other reasons). I think churches need to have security plans.

I know I tend to be anxious, so I was trying to approach it from a logical perspective (is it safe to have so many young kids around horses with few adults). But you're right. Waking up suddenly with a strong thought isn't normal for me, and I should pay attention. In fact... MIL had another daughter who died almost eight years ago. That SIL and I didn't see each other often, so it was unusual for me to have a slightly disturbing dream about her one night. I brushed it off. She died in an accident 24 hours later. (I wasn't the only one who had dreams or bad feelings.) I don't even know what to do with that... This family has burned me out, but I don't want to be rude to them. They're extroverts, plus they have different expectations about getting together than I do. I considered letting them ride horses while I'm not there, but they'd probably come into the house, too. I'd want to be there for that. It's still early here, so I'm going to wait an hour and a half before calling MIL...

MIL has three horses that she keeps at our place. Later today SIL is coming from out of state to visit MIL. MIL wants to bring everyone over to our place to give horseback rides to all the kids, including mine. DH is working today, and I had specifically not invited everyone over for today (in spite of their hints), but I can't tell MIL what to do with her horses. They're coming over anyway. There will be kids everywhere, including one kid (not SIL's) who has to be watched constantly around my kids. No husbands will be here to help. SIL's four kids are a bit older and spaced further apart from my kids. I have a 20 month old toddler, a 3 1/5 yo, and twins who are almost 5. I don't think SIL or MIL keeps mind what it's like to keep up with that many little kids even on a normal day. Add extra kids (including a troubled one) and horses into the mix... I hadn't thought of all this when I agreed that they could come over for horseback rides, but I woke up in the middle of the night with a foreboding feeling. I just think this is a bad idea, but there doesn't seem to be any good way to keep my kids from riding the horses without DH there to help. We were all planning to go over there on Sunday for lunch. Arg... I could invite them over here instead. That means that I have to get the house extra clean today to host even more people tomorrow (husbands will be there then), but we could do horseback rides afterward. I could just ask them to come for hikes on our property today, but I feel silly saying that. From their perspective, this horseback ride idea is perfectly safe - and I didn't question it, either, until I woke up with that funny feeling. WWYD? Ignore the feeling and hope for the best? That's the default plan, so I don't make unnecessary waves...

Same here. I have everything picked, but I'm waiting (very impatiently) for mid-April, when I can place the order!

Thank you for posting this. I'm at a bit of a loss for what to do with my kids next year, too, and this helps.

Great! Will she eat yogurt? That can be a soothing food for an "anxious" digestive system. It should have active cultures. [ETA: The all-natural, plain variety, or some of the "Greek" brands will have all the fat in them. Mix in frozen berries or juice concentrates for better flavor.] Guacamole and chips are a fantastic suggestion. You can add more fat with sour cream. Ritz crackers are pretty high fat. There's a whole wheat variety, if she'd be more likely to eat those. I second the idea of adding cream, butter, Ranch dressing, etc. to any food possible. Take advantage of other soothing favorites (hot tea?), to find ways to add some calories. My parents tried protein powder at one point. I tried it for a while but internally turned up my nose at it. I needed a different attitude about food, but it sounds like you're working on that! :iagree::iagree::iagree: Responsibility for herself is a good thing.

She sounds very similar to the way I was. Even if you don't turn it into a big deal, you can't stop other people from making comments about how tiny she is. I didn't get good help for it. I did have a family practice doctor, finally, who recommended "Dr. Reuben's Quick Weight Gain" book (here). (I sought help as an adult because I couldn't have kids.) I'm not sure Reuben's book is the best for healthy weight gain, but it snapped me out of my obsessiveness about healthy foods. After reading Dr. Reuben's book, I just tried to get enough calories to put on some weight (lots of Ranch dressing). Emotionally, that was very good for me. Now I eat healthfully again, but my weight is normal. I don't know that Dr. Reuben's book is the best, especially for a younger girl. But maybe a similar resource could help her see the importance of eating heartily? (Or it could give you some ideas for her.) Also, have you asked her how she feels about eating at school? Would she tell you? I was extremely nervous about eating in front of my friends, so I'd skip lunches. I don't know if I could have verbalized that. I would have done far better at home, but that wasn't seen as an option back then.

We used to live above 7000 feet, and we'd occasionally get phone calls warning us about mountain lions in the area. DH required me to learn to use a gun. I hate guns (for my own use). I'm also pretty small, and the kick from a rifle is enough to deter me from practicing with one. DH bought a hand gun for me instead. I got to be a decent shot with that - it was much more comfortable to use. You might start by looking for gun safety courses in the area. You'll have to take one anyway, and the people who teach them might be willing to give you some tips.

Although I don't hold my keys like a weapon (they don't seem very sharp to me :confused: ), I do have them in hand before I leave the store, so I'm not fumbling for them in the parking lot.

I lock my car pretty much all the time. I look around to see who else is in the parking lot. (One time a guy tried to approach from behind while I was buckling my kids. I whipped around and gave him a rotten glare, and he muttered something and walked away. I have a hard time thinking my glare would do any good if someone intended harm, but I try to let people know I see them anyway.) I talk on my cell phone. Before I was married, I'd call my dad, who would ask me questions about my martial arts accomplishments (which are none). :001_smile: I've been told that talking on the phone is not advisable, because potential attackers will think you're distracted. I still do it anyway - I just make sure I'm looking around.

DH is good at deflecting questions that don't need to be answered. In this case, though, he doesn't mind telling coworkers that we homeschool. He's such a busy person that I don't think most people spend time questioning him. If anyone says anything behind his back, he doesn't really care, but few people say anything negative directly to him unless it's lighthearted joking. He just isn't particularly sensitive about other people's opinions. (This is baffling to me - I wish I could be more like that.) The only person who has questioned anything at all is MIL, who tells me I'm trying to be too scheduled. DH has seen how our household runs with and without a schedule, so he and I are in agreement here. We let MIL's comments roll off.

I should add my mom... I was her fourth baby, and she was in labor for all of 20 minutes, essentially painless. I was past 40 weeks, though.