I like it! It definitely makes me want to read more. :D

I thought the Muzzy storyline was really creepy. I didn't want my kids watching that again and again, so I sent it back. Weird, weird stuff IMO. (And my kids do watch television/cartoons, so they're not completely sheltered.)

hahaha! That's awesome! If your husband doesn't mind, you should share that picture with us. I'd love a real "hey girl" thread. My husband is actually pretty awesome and has plenty of his own great moments I could share. :D

And a little info about this school: This is a small school, with little kids that can easily go home to eat their potatoes for lunch.

No, this is a ban because there is a child *in that one school* who has a deadly allergy to potatoes. The entire province hasn't banned potatoes from schools. And I'm willing to bet that this one school isn't holding some anti-PEI grudge that is resulting in potato banning. While I agree that banning foods is not a great solution overall, I think it makes perfect sense to try and keep an environment safe for a very real child with one specific, very real issue.

A few months back I was talking to a local teacher (I live just oudside Halifax) who was telling me about a boy at her school who had just experienced a severe reaction to potato, which they assume came from the water fountain. I'm not sure that this is her school (I will ask the next time I see her), but it seems to rare to be a coincidence. So it sounds like this is the school's response to what was a very scary, life-threatening situation for that little boy. My reaction at the time was that if I had a child that allergic I would strongly consider home educating him, even if there were no other reasons to want to do that. But of course, not everyone has that option, and this might be one of those cases. I can't even imagine what it must be like for that family to have to deal with all of this, and I'm sure they're getting plenty of backlash from people who don't want the inconvenience of complying. (There were two other women in the room when we had this conversation, and they both seemed pretty dismissive of allergies in general, bordering on questioning them all together. I was appalled.)

My just-turned 9yo reads for 5-7 hrs every day. She averages about 2500 pages a week. It is her favourite thing to do, by far, and that is how most of her schooling happens. She will read anything I put in front of her! When people ask her about going outside to school she replies "I don't think I'd like it very much, because I wouldn't have as much time to read." My 6.5 yr old is not yet reading on his own. I do hope he will love it as much as his sister does when it clicks for him.

YES! I totally agree. And I feel there are so few true surprises in the world, that it's pretty special to have that BIG surprise moment of introduction at the birth. :D The only time we found out in advance was with our third, at a 37 week ultrasound, because the tech pointed it out to me. But I felt I knew the gender in advance with all four of my children, and was right every time. All that said, I think you should do whatever feels best for YOU. It's your baby, so go with your heart. :) ETA: I also don't plan anything... we don't decorate because babies sleep with us, so there's nothing to decorate anyway. We buy whatever sleepers we like the look of, and could care less if our girls wear blue cars and our boys wear pink polka dots. We do have to pick names for both genders, but I find that to be a lot of fun anyway. :D

I think it's a good idea to look at the goal of the punishment, and whether it has a chance in heck of reaching that goal. On the one hand, you want the punishment to make the children aware of the inappropriate behaviour and to feel remorse. From your updates, it sounds as if that has already happened, so perhaps the 30 day thing is irrelevant -- what more would it get you? I think it is completely acceptable to explain that to children and allow for some grace. I think that would teach them a much more positive lesson than sticking to the 30 days because you said so ever would. On the other hand, you want the punishment to get your kid to stop doing the unwanted behaviour in the first place. Considering it sounds like an issue of impulse control, I'm not sure that's going to work whether it's 3 days, 30 days or 300 days.

Yeah, I know her from another online forum, and she's pretty awesome. :D

Five days to go, and the project is almost funded! If anyone is looking for a good cause to throw a couple dollars at, this might be it. :D But either way, you really have to watch the video!

Excellent post. My mother gave me grief over our homebirth plans during my last pregnancy. I had already explained the whole situation to her, gave her the statistics, etc. Then, a couple weeks later, she played the worry card again and I told her in no uncertain terms that I did not need the stress of her giving me grief about my birth choices, or any of her negative mojo, and was not going to waste my breath repeating everything to her again when she clearly wasn't interested in being informed or listening to what I had to say. I told her I wasn't stupid, had researched my options well, and wasn't about to put myself or my baby at risk. That meant she could trust me and keep quiet, or stay out of my way. She knew that I would absolutely cut contact until after the birth if it was a choice between that and unwanted interference. And that was the end of that. Wishing you all the best for a happy, healthy, stress-free pregnancy. :grouphug:

This. Scratching my head at all the PW criticism. Obviously it's not a full picture of her life -- how could it be? But I love how she makes little things seem interesting, and focuses on the happy, mundane moments of life. We'd all be happier if we could remember to do that more. And that right there is enough of a reason to give her a pat on the back, for me. I love upbeat people! I could care less if it's real or not, as long as it's uplifting and harmless. Good on her.

That sounds awesome! Love that the teen boy opened the polly pockets. :lol: So glad you had a good time. :D

Well, you know the situation best. If you think it's no big deal if you don't go, then don't go. :)

But what if all the other families are having this same conversation today? I'm reminded of all those threads about homeschoolers committing to XYZ event and then canceling at the last minute, leaving the coordinator with an empty showing. Ack! I think if you agree to do something, you should follow through unless you have a really good reason not to.

Sarah, I think you're amazing. I'm sure it's not all roses navigating through this, but the gift you are giving your children is simply wonderful. One day they will be able to look back with adult eyes and see just how blessed they've been to have you as a mother. Spoken as a child of divorced parents. :grouphug:

My first thought was treadmill. I can't wait to hear what it is!

1) Let the kids decorate. Hand them some paper to cut snowflakes, and stick them all over the place. Paper chains are good. With little kids in the house, that's the kind of holiday decorating I expect to see. 2) Hershey's Kisses rock. Store bought cookies are fine. Don't stress yourself over holiday baking if you don't want to do it. Or even ask the family to bring some along to share if they have already done their baking. Just be honest and say you didn't plan to bake, so if they have some to share that would be great. You're allowed to ask for help with last minute changes like this! (Or any time, really. People generally like to help.) 3) My family makes a fabulous "barbeque" chicken that is always very well received. Mix a sauce with a can of condensed tomato soup, a can of water, a cup of white vinegar, a cup of brown sugar, some salt and pepper. Add some chopped carrots and chopped onions. Throw it all over the chicken in a slow cooker, or cook it for a while on low in the oven. (Double or triple the sauce as needed to cover the chicken. If you don't have tomato soup, tomato sauce works. Or my mother likes to use ketchup. It's very forgiving!) Serve with rice and whatever sides you'd like (salad, broccoli, etc.). Yum! Have fun! You'll do great! :D

Hmm. When I look at the pictures of the kits here, it looks like the kits are similar to what's out there now: some small kits with very little building, and some bigger ones with lots more bricks. I'm looking forward to getting some of these for my kids!

You might want to ask about this on the Raw Food Talk forums. The suggestions are going to be raw vegan, and they certainly aren't going to talk to you about meat (or cooked foods at all, really), but they have an active juice-fast community there, and so there will be lots of knowledgeable folks to help you ease back into solids. Congratulations on a successful cleanse. I'm impressed!!

Yeah, isn't Kickstarter awesome? I heard about it once many moons ago and then promptly forgot. Now I've signed up for their newsletter so I'll remember to poke around once in a while. I love how this makes it possible to invest in people who are creating their dreams. So cool! This video is inspiring me so much today. Both by the mission of the business, and by the creative brilliance of the video itself. Really fabulous stuff.

This. No televisions in bedrooms in our house.

I just watched this Kickstarter video for Little Bee Pops, and it's all sorts of awesome! Be sure to watch right to the end, especially if you're a sci-fi fan. :lol: I know this woman from online, and she's amazing. Great homeschooling family. :D

Thanks for all the additional links and book recommendations. I'm looking forward to digging into this whole subject some more. I'm still only part way through (no reading time the past couple days) but so far, I haven't gotten the impression that it's all about rural homesteading. I personally have no interest in getting chickens or any other type of farm animal (we don't even have any pets right now), and I don't grow any of my own food (and probably won't manage a lot of gardening while I have littles under foot), and yet the book is still speaking to me. In fact, there's a passage in there that talks about how being a radical homemaker isn't all about having animals, or growing your own food, or any other specific activity. But again, I'm only part way through so maybe the actual examples are all about those things? With regards to how-to resources... a friend of mine recommended Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living for how-to instructions on everyday tasks. It sounds like it would be a useful resource regardless of where you live. Kiana, so cool that your mother is in the book!