Well, honestly, I don't think daily showers are necessary. Teeth brushing, yes. General washing and cleanliness, yes. But I think daily showers and hair washing is actually a bad thing.

Nope. We took off to Vegas and eloped so no one even knew we were married until a week after the fact. But we had been living together for four years at that point and were already trying to have kids, so it would have been sort of silly to ask permission from anyone!

Thank you all for the feedback! I didn't even realize that HSBC has the non LT version... the lifetime subscription price is the same as a 6 mos sub for the LT! I don't think my kid cares as much about the LT characters (nostalgia for me, perhaps? ;)) so maybe we'll just go with that. Thanks again!

I would try not to read more into this than what was actually said. He didn't call you dull. He said he wants you to have hobbies so that *neither of you* ends up dull when the kids have left the nest. I've had those same conversations with my husband, where *I* was suggesting that we better not find ourselves like those older retired couples that don't have anything to talk about and barely know each other -- or don't want to know each other. Talking about how to ensure one doesn't become dull 20 years from now isn't the same as suggesting one *is* dull today. Engage your husband in a conversation about this. You might find it far more interesting and helpful than you'd imagine. :grouphug:

HSBC is offering Looney Tunes Phonics this month, and I'm intrigued. My son did the sample lesson and enjoyed it; I'm thinking it might be a good fit for him. Has anyone had experience with this, or with the non-Looney Tunes version? Did you find it to be a complete phonics program, or was it only suitable as a supplement?

Oh goodness, you are going to be so pleasantly surprised! :lol: The baby will sleep a lot while you recover to your former glory, and every day you will wake up and cheer for the increased mobility, energy, etc. that you are getting back to. You should have seen me the day my feet finally settled back to their normal size! I was forcing everyone to admire their slim appearance with me. :lol: And being able to put my own socks on... oh, the joy! Then there's sleeping laying flat, not needing to pee in the middle of the night, being able to eat without feeling like your stomach is in your throat... oh yeah, lots to appreciate as it comes back to you! Plus, with the ages of your big kids, you will have a lot of help and other people to sit around and admire the baby with you. They will be completely smitten (as big siblings always are) and neither of them is so young that you have to worry about them eating the baby when you go pee! :D

Aww. I so feel for you all! The last of my recent (and LAST) pregnancy was really difficult. I had to sleep sitting up, my feet were so swollen I could barely walk, I had sciatica and SPD, and the heartburn was driving me insane. Now here's the good news... dealing with a newborn is a cakewalk compared to the exhausted yuck you all are describing! Even with the lack of sleep from a nursing baby, I'm still more rested than I was at the end of pregnancy. And of course, there's the whole part where I get to snuggle with a new baby, which makes any day a treat. Oh, and it's nice to be less cranky, and therefore more able to actually deal with the other kidlets. :D Dawn, I think your plan sounds great. I would also think it a great plan to turn to nothing but reading for the kids and looooong naps for Mama. Or anything else you can think of that will work for you. Now I'm off to stare at my sweet newborn again... she's sitting here smiling at me, the little sweetie! (7 weeks old already!!! It goes so fast!!) Sending out lots of love, and wishes for easy transitions for the pregnant mamas! :grouphug:

Any time he's not in an important meeting that shouldn't be interrupted. I would expect reachable to be the default, and my husband to only turn his phone off when necessary. ETA: Not that I would be calling all that often... I'd just want to know I could reach him if it were an emergency. I probably wouldn't call otherwise, and would leave it to him to check in at his convenience. A good night call would be nice.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/phizzychick LOVE her style! http://www.etsy.com/shop/DancingGoddessDolls I have a couple of her dolls -- so gorgeous!

I host a forum that lines up with the types of materials HayHouse publishes/broadcasts. We do have some homeschoolers in our group, but it's not a HSing site, or a site specifically for those who self-identify as liberal. I think HHR is more about spiritual philosophy than political leaning, which is usually what the term 'liberal' refers to.

:iagree:Excellent post. "When you change the way you think about things, the things you think about change." -- Wayne Dyer Along these lines, when I find myself annoyed by one of my children I find it extremely helpful to write an appreciation list about that child. It completely shifts things for me. Good luck to you! This parenting thing can be hard. :grouphug:

Anyone?

Awesome Ancient Ancestors has some info on the Maya.

These are fun: You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mayan Soothsayer You Wouldn't Want to Be an Inca Mummy

I see that Grammarlogues is available for 50% off at Homeschool Buyers Co-op (here), and am wondering if it would be effective for kids younger than the listed grade recommendations (6-12). My daughter (gr. 4) has not had much formal grammar instruction but has a strong natural understanding due to the quantity/quality of her reading. Looking at the samples, I don't see anything I would think beyond her abilities. But the examples are limited, so... Has anyone here used grammarlogues with a younger child? Did you find it effective? Is it something you would use as a stand alone, or would you only use it as a supplement? Would I be better off waiting another year or two? Thanks for any input!

:grouphug: Holding you all in a vision of peace and love.

Exactly. These are the big reasons I prefer self-hosted WP sites.

Ok, based on all of that, I would say to get a host (Host Gator is my first personal choice), install WordPress, find a template you really like, and then export your blog posts from your current site and into the new WP site. Now, you can also do this without a hosting plan and just pay $10 to WP to have the site use your domain name. However, I find it much better to manage my own hosting for a variety of reasons, including greater control, options for monetizing, etc. I could probably go on and on about this, but I won't bore you with endless details and opinions unless you want me to. lol!

I like using WordPress, and both GD and HG make it easy to install a WP site. (Actually, most hosts have easy installs for WP these days.) The advantage to WP is that it's easy to use, you can use it as a blog or a more traditional site format (or both), and there are lots of fabulous templates and plug-ins available for enhancement. So my preference/recommendation is almost always to go with a self-hosted WordPress site.

I have used Go Daddy and Host Gator and am a fan of both.

My 4th was born 5 weeks ago. It really does go by so fast!! Oh, and I'm also one of those 'advanced maternal age' (ha!) mamas -- 37 yrs old here, too. :D

Women often wait to go into labour until things are 'safe', so chances are good that you will naturally have this baby when your husband is there and you're feeling like it's a good time. :grouphug: I personally wouldn't medically induce because it increases your risks for all sorts of other things that would make recovery a longer/harder process. But there are natural induction things to try when/if you feel a need to do that. Either way, I'm sure it will all work out beautifully, and I will hold that vision for you. :D

We have similar aged kids, and I also just had #4. My husband was around for 10 days after baby was born, which was super helpful. Then I had a week alone with them, followed by a visit by my mother. So I did get time to rest, which was much needed as I had a postpartum hemorrhage after her birth and was pretty shaky the first week especially. So I'm joining the choir and saying yes, rest! We've done too much television (I'm singing Wiggles songs in my sleep!) these past weeks, but the kids will survive it! One thing I've found super helpful is doing "monkey plates" for lunch. Basically we have fruit, veggies, crackers, cheese, meat, etc. all chopped up and each kid gets a plate with their preferences. No cooking, easy to eat, and they're actually having more well rounded meals than some of the cooked options I would be otherwise serving at the moment. Plus it's really helpful for me personally to have lots of healthy snacks ready to eat, because I tend to not eat at all otherwise. Enjoy your babymoon, and all those newborn snuggles. This time goes by sooooo fast!!

Coconut rum with pineapple juice and club soda (or Sprite, but that's sweeter). Best drink ever!

Sounds like the recent birth of my 4th. 9lbs 8oz, born at home (awesome water birth :D), about 20 min of pushing (could have been less but my position wasn't the best the first couple pushes), shoulders presented transverse, and no tears or need for Peri bottle at all. And I'm also 5'2" with a small frame!