I have a suggestion as far as a pump: around here anyway, you can go either to the WIC office or to the lactation consultant at the hospital and they will give you a free manual pump. It's not great, but it might allow you to resolve your fore/hind milk issues. If I hadn't already got rid of it, I would send you mine! :) Hope things get better for you and little one.:grouphug:

Amen!!

Words fail me.:confused::confused::confused: :grouphug: to you and your DC and DH through this nonsense.

I think Austen is a GREAT idea! Choose one of the more accessible ones, and she'll be a fan for life! Also, the Recorded Books version of Huck Finn is INCREDIBLE! The reader does a fantastic job at the accents, and really brings out the humor. I also enjoyed I, Claudius and Claudius the God at about that age (and still do--some of my favorite books). Oh, and the BBC dramatized Lord of the Rings is excellent too--the audiobook we had when I was growing up had the world's most annoying reader, so I am leery of recommending that, but perhaps it's been redone, or another company than Recorded Books has done a version. But the radio drama is excellent--very enjoyable, and quoteable! Enjoy the journey!

:lol::lol::lol::iagree:

Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig anything by Shirley Hughes Frances books by Lillian(?) Hoban

LOL! I think your DH has got the wrong first name if he wants an "up-to-date" middle name!:D I think Jane is good! But, IMNSHO, Hadassah would sound silly followed by a trendy, up-to-date name. Classic goes better with classic. :)

I don't think you need to wring your zukes, but see what others have to say. I am sure they will be scrummy!:001_smile:

Me too!:iagree:

I third the "Pearl" suggestion. :) Or maybe Lily? May? Joan? Leah? Louise?

Nope--you're not alone. I spend entirely too much time here. I told Dh that when we start school, he is going to be taking the computer to work with him! :)

Our city's park and rec department has community centers with classrooms available to reserve, as do the public libraries. Have you checked those avenues? Good luck! I'd join your coop! :)

Miriam?

Christian content

I am in agreement with you. I never never experienced a vocab program until high school, and at that point I had the largest working vocabulary of anyone in my class. I still get a hard time for the way I speak--too many words, and too highfalutin. :) So, I think that if your kids are exposed to a large, rich, elevated vocabulary through their reading materials, then, no, you don't need a vocab program. Use your time on good books instead! :)

Raw Minerals runs an almost free sample--I think it's 5 bucks--but if you decide to keep it after the 14 days or whatever it is, then they will bill you 90 bucks. I did it, and I like it, and it WILL last forever, as you only need a tiny bit, but of course, YMMV. :) Good luck in your choices!

Impish, I am glad that you all survived the invasion. I just wanted to say to you how much I enjoy your posts, and that this part really made me smile. I know what you meant, it was just a funny moment. I hope Wolf makes a good decision for your family.:grouphug: Take care!

I have read 55 of those listed, and I am 31. So, more than half's not bad, right? But I agree that some of them shouldn't be there, and some are there more than once. :)

We must be sisters under the skin! :) It's nice to find others who share your tastes isn't it? BTW, Gone-away Lake seems like the perfect testimonial for free-ranging your kids--things influenced me that I hadn't realized. :) Understood Betsy informed my views on childrearing too--have you read that one?

Working on being more Free-Range here, too. It helps that we live in a rural area, but I think(hope?) that I would strive for it anyway. :D

I vote for the Joy of Cooking or else for one of the King Arthur cookbooks. :) King Arthur is great for pies, and stuff like that. Joy of Cooking for everything else. :001_smile:

Well, I have 6 kids, and I just turned 31, so I get it coming and going--"are all those yours???" AND "you're HOW old???" But my biggest challenge is just the vehicle to drive. We're going to need to size-up, as while we all fit in the minivan, we can't take DH with us anywhere. ;) Apart from that, I don't really have major issues. I do get sick of all the comments, but frequently, especially from older people, I get "what a lovely, well-behaved family/kids you have," which is always heartwarming. :) My gut reaction to most things that people say to me about most things is "you have no idea what you're talking about," so this additional thing doesn't really bother me. My biggest challenge at home is that well, we're messy. I am, DH is, and we have produced 6 messy kids. Now, although I am messy myself, I still get SICK of the constant drift of debris I am forced to live with. If you're naturally neat, you probably won't suffer from this issue. Enjoy your bigger family--you'll have more friends when they grow up! ;)

I love these--and reread them every year or two. :)

Count me too! :)

Thank-you.:iagree: