I gave it up completely. Because it made me nauseous for like the first 15 or 16 weeks (soda, too)! :P And by the time I didn't feel queasy by the very thought of it, I figured may as well not bother with it for the rest of the pregnancy. This was with my son, with my daughters I hadn't been a regular coffee drinker anyway.

Just keep reading :) List the books you've read and see what happens by the end of the year. Some people read way more than 52. Some people don't make the 52. Either way you're still reading, discussing, getting ideas, and aiming for reading a lot, so it's all good! :D Plenty of people will come on and say they're "still" reading the book from last week or whatever. I wouldn't stress over it. It's meant to be for fun. Feel free to join in!

52 Books In 52 Weeks 2012 COMPLETE 1. Envy, by J.R. Ward (Fallen Angels series) 2. Kiss of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 3. The Ramayana, A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, by R.K. Narayan (with my daughter for school reading) 4. Dark Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 5. The Immortal Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 6. Spell of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 7. 11/22/63, by Stephen King 8. The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 1) 9. Into the Dreaming, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 10. A Judgement In Stone, by Ruth Rendel 11. The Dark River, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 2) 12. The Golden City, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 3) 13. Forbidden Pleasure, by Lora Leigh 14. Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 15. House Rules, by Jodi Picoult 16. Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian 17. Wind Through the Keyhole, by Stephen King (This just released a few days ago and is part of The Dark Tower series- it is meant to fit in the middle of the series, it is not a continuation after the end of the story. It consisted mostly of Roland telling stories about his youth to his companions and I read it in two days. It held my interest but didn't add more to the story itself, just kind of more of Roland's background). CURRENT 18. The High Flyer, by Susan Howatch. "Successful London lawyer Carter Graham has power, sex-appeal, and a well-ordered life. Everything has gone according to plan, including her recent marriage to Kim Betz, an investment banker with the right combination of looks and position. On the surface it appears to be a match made in heaven. The only problem is Kim's ex-wife. Sophie begins to follow Carter like a shadow, making outrageous claims about Kim's involvement in the occult. Convincing herself that Sophie is mad, Carter moves ahead with her life. But something is amiss- and as Sophie's stories are corroborated by other unwelcome disclosures from Kim's past, Carter is thrown into a terrifying web of suspicion and betrayal, pushing her sanity to the edge. In desperation, Carter seeks help from Nicholas Darrow, the charismatic priest of St. Benet's Healing Center. Though a religious skeptic, Carter hopes to stem the tide of darkness that threatens to envelop her life- and begins a compelling journey into the very nature of good and evil, wisdom and redemption."

You created the group. You get final say. She sounds too negative to be in a leadership position, especially if she's causing people to leave or feel uncomfortable, and it seems ridiculous to me to not allow new members in. It bothers me that you've told her this before and she keeps pushing you and your boundaries and doing whatever she wants anyway. Awkward as it may seem, I think I'd have to tell her (whether in person or in email) in no uncertain terms that I had a very specific vision for this group and I expect it to be run that way and expect my admin team to help make that happen. If she keeps doing the opposite, I would have to ask her to step down and be a member rather than an administrator because it's causing too many problems for you and for other members when she keeps doing these things.

We quit for the year, regardless of subject. Like someone else said, I like that we finish more things the closer to the end of the year we get, so as the nice spring weather comes and we're all fed up with winter, we can have less work to do and get outside more, do more field trips and so on.

I never do, but my husband does (he stands in front of a counter-height glass and metal jewelry display case at work a lot and I think it must rub or something)!

Yep. I first encountered it on a Weight Watchers forum many years ago!

:iagree: I had a hard time following the logic on that site. I am not Christian and I lean pro-choice so I'm not the type of person you're asking this question of. Nevertheless, I had an ectopic last summer for which I allowed my doctor to administer methotrexate at their recommendation. It was a pregnancy that was very much wanted (I'd been trying for months and was in my late 30's and really wanted another baby before it got to be too late for me to have one). So I do not even remotely consider that I "had an abortion." I had a medically necessary procedure in order to not put my own life or fertility in more danger than necessary, and in order not to leave my three kids without a mom. I spent the last near year recovering and then losing a lot of weight in order to get myself healthy enough to try again, which I'm finally doing as of this month (just before my 39th birthday). I hope I am able to conceive again, and I hope that I do not have a m/c or another ectopic, a scary thought, because I still very much want that one more baby. So if someone were to tell me I did something immoral or "had an abortion" last summer, I have a suggestion as to what they can do with that opinion.

I think you should have Molly send a private message to the woman saying, "You misinterpreted the "Oh! Great!" comment I left on so and so's facebook page. You made an assumption that I was being sarcastic, when I was actually being sincere. I am happy they are friends again. I never had a problem with either of them and I'm glad they've resolved their issues. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you would delete the negative comments you made about me on her page. They were hurtful and unnecessary." Coming from a kid this may just shame her into feeling like an idiot and deleting the comments, as opposed to coming from the kid's parents and making her feel like she needs to get stubborn and confrontational. After they were deleted, I would block her. As others have said, you don't need to be friends with someone to block them. Then you guys never have to see anything this woman says and this woman can never see anything your daughter posts. If she refuses to delete them or just doesn't do it/respond, you can always contact Facebook and explain that an adult made those comments about a kid and you want them deleted. She might also want to privately contact the girls and without saying anything negative about the woman she can just matter of factly mention, "I just wanted to let you know that when I said "Oh! Great!" on so and so's facebook page, I meant it sincerely- I am glad you two are friends again. I just wanted to make sure you understood this since I saw that so-and-so misinterpreted it as me being sarcastic when I wasn't."

Er, no. I like my strawberries to taste good naturally. I'm weird that way. :D

Grab some and put them in a plastic baggie to take along. If I was feeling leisurely, I'd go digging in the box under the sink. If I was in a rush/running late and it was quicker/more convenient to grab from the jar, I probably would (and would worry about refilling later or let someone else deal with it). :D But then again I don't bother putting q-tips in a fancy container, we grab from the box always lol.

Unfortunately, no. It's much fluffier, not all of the books follow the same characters, it's more a romance story with a highlander theme and with a bit of fantasy stuff (a little bit of paranormal/time travel) mixed in. A fun read but nowhere near the depth of or as fascinating as the Outlander series! I read them because I liked the "Dark" series by the same author (Karen Marie Moning) and thought I'd check her other series out. I liked the Dark series much better- that's like an "urban, paranormal fantasy" series and if you like series about vampires and the like, particularly by authors like J.R. Ward, Laurel K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, etc., you'd like those.

I used Mirena for a while after my 6 y/o son was born. They told me after the initial spotting and so on I'd end up with lighter periods and that some women never got them at all anymore. My "initial spotting" lasted months and months. Way longer than they said it would. When it finally stopped, I did indeed get lighter periods. However, I got them more frequently, like every two weeks. I finally got sick of the almost non-stop bleeding (even though it was very light) and had them remove it.

My favorite book series ever is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. "The year is 1945. Claire Randall is traveling with her husband when she touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is hurled back in time to a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord 1743. Catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, she soon realizes that an alliance with James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, might be the only way to survive. Thus begins a work of unrivaled storytelling that has become a modern classic." The characters are so good, the series has everything- history, romance, drama, fantasy, sex, war, everything all rolled into one! And it's almost impossible to end up not having a crush on Jamie. :D I also like Laurel K. Hamilton's "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" and "Merry Gentry" series, but you'd have to be into paranormal/vampire stuff. If you are, I also recommend the Black Dagger Brotherhood books by J.R. Ward, though they are a bit more graphic than Laurel K. Hamilton's books. And another series along those lines is the "Dark" series by Karen Marie Moning Moving away from that type of paranormal stuff, I like almost every book by Jodi Picoult, too. Those are more drama and sometimes suspense. ETA: Oh, and I also love Philippa Gregory for historical fiction novels, particularly about royalty. Margaret Atwood has some good ones but like others have said they tend to be pretty "heavy" and for me personally they are hit or miss as to whether I will get into them or not. The Handmaid's Tale will probably always be my favorite by her.

I am so sorry for your loss! :grouphug: Don't take on any more on your plate than you have to. Call somebody about the yard sale and tell them you just had a death in the family and you cannot run it and they need to find someone else. They'll manage. Take your clothes to a laundromat- better still, one that for an extra charge will wash, dry and fold all your clothes for you. Don't worry about being a week behind on school. It doesn't even matter in the grand scheme of things. Consolidate, skip the unimportant things, modify to shorten some things, and consider it a couple of days worth of work to catch up on rather than a whole week. Sometimes family/personal matters have to take priority. Don't stress over a ton of cleaning, do the bare necessities and enlist help if possible with any other errands etc you have to do. I hope you feel better soon and that things work out with your car- if you can do something nice for yourself, please do, it sounds like you could use it! I know how awful it feels when it seems like everything is piling up on you at once- even the little things suddenly become major, but right now just focus on what's absolutely necessary, give yourself time to mourn, and be kind to yourself! :grouphug:

COMPLETE 1. Envy, by J.R. Ward (Fallen Angels series) 2. Kiss of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 3. The Ramayana, A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, by R.K. Narayan (with my daughter for school reading) 4. Dark Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 5. The Immortal Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 6. Spell of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 7. 11/22/63, by Stephen King 8. The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 1) 9. Into the Dreaming, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 10. A Judgement In Stone, by Ruth Rendel 11. The Dark River, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 2) 12. The Golden City, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 3) 13. Forbidden Pleasure, by Lora Leigh 14. Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 15. House Rules, by Jodi Picoult CURRENT 16. Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian: "The time is 1981, and Sibyl Danforth has been a dedicated midwife in the rural community of Reddington, Vermont, for fifteen years. But one treacherous winter night, in a house isolated by icy roads and failed telephone lines, Sibyl takes desperate measures to save a baby's life. She performs an emergency Caesarean section on its mother, who appears to have died in labor. But what if--as Sibyl's assistant later charges--the patient wasn't already dead, and it was Sibyl who inadvertently killed her? As recounted by Sibyl's precocious fourteen-year-old daughter, Connie, the ensuing trial bears the earmarks of a witch hunt except for the fact that all its participants are acting from the highest motives--and the defendant increasingly appears to be guilty. As Sibyl Danforth faces the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience, Midwives engages, moves, and transfixes us as only the very best novels ever do." I felt the same way when I read it! The depictions of the town and the people and the time travel and so on were more interesting than the historical stuff/stuff about Oswald! Really enjoyed the book overall though! Ooh I love Disney theme parks! :D Welcome back!

Congrats! That's awesome! I totally caved yesterday and ate carbs for the first time in forever. Once in a while you just have to lol. Back on track today! :D

My 11 y/o daughter takes judo classes (although he actually mixes in a couple of other martial arts, too) once a week for an hour long class and I pay $25.00 a month. Any subsequent kids I signed up would go down $5.00 a month each (so $25 first kid, $20 second, $15 third and so on). They even recently started an 'advanced' class and moved my daughter into it along with a few other kids who had been there for quite some time and are older and so on and didn't raise the price for it or anything. It's a great deal as far as I'm concerned!

Surviving the Applewhites has somewhat mature themes for a 7 y/o in my opinion (and also depicts the homeschoolers as "weird" anyway). Ida B may be more suitable but is sad in spots as the girl's mom is dying of cancer and she has to go back to school. If you're interested, I have an entire (very long) list of books featuring homeschooled characters on my blog, with summaries, notations as to whether they are religious in nature, and what age range they are meant to be for, if you want to see if you can find her some books featuring homeschooled kids you think would be suitable for her. Here's the link to "Part 1" and then there are links you can follow to Parts 2 and 3 as the list got quite long! http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/167361.html

No, I wouldn't! I'd wait and read them in order!

That's my favorite.series.ever! LOVE those books! okay, I'm a little behind and haven't posted to this thread in a few weeks, but here's where I'm at: COMPLETE 1. Envy, by J.R. Ward (Fallen Angels series) 2. Kiss of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 3. The Ramayana, A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, by R.K. Narayan (with my daughter for school reading) 4. Dark Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 5. The Immortal Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 6. Spell of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 7. 11/22/63, by Stephen King 8. The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 1) 9. Into the Dreaming, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series) 10. A Judgement In Stone, by Ruth Rendel 11. The Dark River, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 2) 12. The Golden City, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 3) 13. Forbidden Pleasure, by Lora Leigh 14. Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child CURRENT 15. House Rules, by Jodi Picoult

Yeah, I'd definitely ask about this. I'd never leave two 11 year olds home "in charge" of that many younger kids for that many hours. I would just say to the mom, "I know you have to go to the airport on Sunday...I just wanted to make sure your older girls were willing to stay home and watch the kids while you were gone since I'm not comfortable with just the 11 y/o's being in charge. It's a lot of younger kids at once, and you know how the older boys can be when they feel like the girls get bossy and all, so I just wanted to double check. Can I chip in a few dollars for the older girls to babysit or anything?"

It sounds like you've handled it well. Maybe just more roleplaying and more reminders. Each time she's heading outside, give her a specific reminder about not leaving the yard or going anywhere else without permission (even though you've told her a bunch of times before) so it's fresh in her mind right as she's walking out. Remind her that she doesn't want to have to sit inside a whole day again as a punishment for not listening. Continue the conversational/roleplaying games frequently. The walkie talkies are a good idea!

Nope, or any other holiday/occasion unless it were a party specifically FOR said holiday/occasion.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions that the parents said this first. It's quite possible the boy could have decided this on his own, or that other friends of his made negative comments when he mentioned having a homeschooled friend. I would not limit his contact (if it were me); I'd leave it to the two of them to work it out, letting my child know several different ways s/he could handle something like that, then letting him/her decide how much contact s/he still wanted to have with the other kid. Possible suggestions to my child: 1. You can just ignore it. You know it's not true. Sometimes people make negative comments about things they are jealous of or that they don't really understand or just to get a reaction out of someone. Hopefully he won't say those things again, so you could decide to just let it go unless/until it comes up again. If it begins to be an ongoing issue, you might have to come up with a different solution. 2. You can speak to him about it, nicely, the next time you see him. You've been friends a long time, you could just try telling him how you feel. That the things he said bothered you, and weren't even true, and you would appreciate it if he would not say negative things about your parents or your schooling to you if he's really your friend. Sometimes people don't even realize that the things they are saying can be hurtful unless you tell them. 3. You can ask me to mention it to his parents. I could go over and talk to them and let them know what was said and ask them to talk to him about it. But realize that he might feel like you were trying to get him in trouble and it might affect your relationship. 4. When school gets out for him, we could have a "Bring A Friend To (Home) School Day and invite him to sit in on/participate in a day of our schooling. Let him see how we do some subjects he probably never learns about in public school, which might make him think twice about his impressions. And of course have a cool/fun project or activity lined up as part of the day, too. With a mention of what fun field trip or outing you'll be rounding it out with later on. Let the kid see he was wrong. Maybe he'll then have something positive to say instead of something negative. 5. You can decide that someone like that is not a real friend after all and choose not to spend time with him and just not be around him anymore. But sometimes if you've been friends with someone a long time it's worth trying to patch up your differences by talking to them and letting them know how they make you feel when they say or do certain things, and give them a chance to be a better friend. If they do so, great! If they don't, then you know you tried and that they just really aren't worth being around anymore. If you decide you'd rather just have some space from him and don't want to be around him as much anymore, that's okay, too. It's up to you who you want to spend your time around. ....that kind of conversation. I'd want to give me kid tools and choices for how to deal with conflict or criticism or friends making you feel bad etc. We'd also chat about not letting silly things other people say affect your moods and life too much, that you can have the strength and confidence to brush it off and not feel you have to change yourself just because of things people say, like with your son thinking maybe he should go to public school. But I would not just make a snap judgment that it must be the parents' fault and that I needed to enforce a blanket rule to limit contact on my child's behalf.