anita blake vampire hunter series (not at all quality literature, but fun!)

I am very sensitive to smells and find that it's important for my environment to be 'clean' so I don't get overwhelmed. That means unscented bath and body products (for everyone in the house), natural/green cleaners, no perfumes or air fresheners (especially no air fresheners!!), no fabric softener, etc. Basically, my home is as chemically free as possible, and that helps me to cope with unwelcome smells when I do encounter them. Best of luck to you!

Awww... he's so adorable!!

I just had #4 (home water birth) and I was nervous going in, just as you describe! I figure that must never go away no matter how many times you've done it. (Pretty sure this is our last, so I won't be testing that theory. lol!) But I will say that this birth was my fastest and easiest, so maybe you'll be blessed with that same experience. :D Lots of good thoughts for your big day tomorrow! I look forward to hearing your good news. :D

I had the same thought. I think a lot of people move in such a way when they are working on healing of their own issues. Extremes abound.

twoforjoy, I really loved what you wrote about extending love to this person. I'm not a Christian , but I still feel it is entirely relevant to how we should meet anyone in life. So I went to read a bit more about this woman, in hopes of understanding her a little better. Here's her conversion story, for anyone else that's interested: http://whyimcatholic.com/index.php/conversion-stories/protestant-converts/baptist/item/73-baptist-convert-stacy-trasancos I do think what she wrote about the experience of witnessing her childhood church not embracing the single mother is interesting in light of some of the comments here about her turning her back on others who don't fit her version of 'right' living. I wonder if she recognizes any parallels there.

Maybe you'll find this list of 100 famous artists from Angela at Satori Smiles helpful: http://satorismiles.com/curriculum/art-appreciation/100-famous-artists/ You can sort it by date to find artists for your time period. Two books that I've recently looked at and found helpful are Art History for Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History. The names aren't the greatest, but to be honest, it's pretty fitting for my personal knowledge on the subject!

I was born in Gander and spent some of my later childhood living there (and the rest in other parts of Newfoundland). I know this was a big deal for everyone, and many people made lifelong friends through the experience. It is good to see this positive side of people in the face of such tragedy. It's nice to be reminded that the vast majority of people in the world would meet each other with love and kindness.

Thanks Denise! That does look interesting... and affordable! I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience with this product, or something similar. Maybe someone will chime in and give us some feedback! :)

I am looking for some beginner resources for making books. Ideally I'd like something that is a little more involved than the Big Book of Books (which I love), but doesn't require lots of speciality tools or get into advanced book binding techniques. Any suggestions? And while I'm at it... I'd love any links or favourite books related to altered books. I would consider that lovely eye candy to pore over while nursing my little bit. :D Thanks in advance!

I must say that I am sometimes a little more grumpy when my husband is at home, and after some self-reflection I realized it's because 1) when he's here I can let go a little more and 2) sometimes complaining is my way of "asking" for his help. (i.e. I get grumpy, and he steps in.) Just throwing that out there in case it resonates with you. As for the milk connection... I've seen all sorts of strange reactions to food sensitivities, so it wouldn't surprise me. I would suggest avoiding milk for a little while and seeing if it makes a difference for you. That should help you easily determine whether or not it's an issue for you personally.

We loved Wise Child, Juniper (and Colman, though the main character in this one is a boy) by Monica Furlong. His Dark Materials trilogy ranks as one of my all time favourites. More to come...

I think this is pretty common when you have a few pregnancies under your belt. I know I had lots of BH contractions this last time, and they were definitely more frequent/noticable than with my previous pregnancies. For me, it helped to bless them as they came and acknowledge that it meant my body was paving the way for an easy delivery. (And it was my fastest/easiest delivery yet: 3 hrs from water breaking to baby out, and only half of that was very intense.) Having a drink of water and laying on your left side should make things slow down/stop if it's not true labour. But if you're at all in doubt, then maybe you should call your care provider for an opinion.

If I were your neighbour, I would be more concerned with your response than with the original act. I'm also feeling sorry for your son. I don't know that it's fair that he alone pay the consequences for what appears to be behavior his parents have modeled as acceptable. Perhaps you should both spend some time volunteering at an animal shelter.

Maybe you'd do better with History Odyssey? They have a great try before you buy option so you can really give it a good test run to see how she'll like it. http://www.pandiapress.com/?page_id=20 They're also having a sale right now on their ebook products. :)

No advice for weaning, but thought you might find this article useful: http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/lasik-eye-surgery.html

Ha! I am snuggling a 2-week old as I type, and this is exactly what I was thinking. We had to drive about an hour to the midwife last week and I was a blubbering mess listening to the newborn cry while waiting for my husband to find a place to pull over so I could nurse her. I'd have been a danger to other drivers were I behind the wheel!

http://allrecipes.com has that feature.

I just throw a couple into a glass of water, give it a shake, and sip as needed. Honestly, I think the only reason there's dosage information on homeopathics is because people feel it necessary to have that information written on their 'medicine', and I suppose there's some regulation that says it must be there. But a homeopathic dose can be three tablets or a whole vial -- it's the same dose. In fact, some products will suggest you take the entire vial, which I would never do because it's a complete waste of money! ;)

Right. You could also add a dose to water and have the child sip it so they're getting a more continuous dosage. That would be especially helpful for something like car sickness, which will be ongoing until you reach your destination.

And for your older... Snap Circuits. My kids *love* these!

We have several of the Mary Ann Kohl books and love them all. I also quite like everything I've seen from the Little Hands series. My 6 and 8 yr olds are currently in love with the Simon Basher books. If you don't have it yet, Family Math is well worth the purchase.

We had this issue with my 4-5 yr old, and what worked for us was a points based reward system. Each day we awarded three points (at meal times) for a conflict-free period. If there was any hitting or bad language during the preceeding period, the child did not get the point. If there was hitting, there was also an immediate loss of a point. Points were then accumulated and 'cashed in' at a rate of 5/$1, typically saved up and spent on a desired toy or treat. This worked really well for us because the reward was fairly immediate, but also had long-term benefit. It was also very clear what the expectations, benefits and consequences were, so it helped to take me out of the adversarial role so I wasn't fighting fire with fire (a big issue with my boy). I would caution against setting up a system where one child is rewarded for another's negative behaviour. Around here, that would cause a lot of resentment, which is the exact opposite of what I want to foster between my kids. I also think that would cause my son to completely shift his focus from what he did wrong, and onto what the other kid was getting out of it. Again, not where I would want his attention... I want him clearly seeing the benefits/consequences *to him* for his behaviour, and I don't want him thinking that something good happening to someone else is something negative happening to him. Just my opinion based on my own son and our sibling dynamics. Also, a big yes to role play and to helping to make it right with the injured party. Both helpful here as well.