:grouphug:

Awwww!!! A very happy birthday to your "baby"! :) Enjoy her while you have her. :)

OOOOH congratulations!! I have to say I am amazed that you just gave birth and are already posting!! You are one dedicated lady!! :) hehe God bless you and your family and your brand new baby girl!! My heartiest congratulations! :)

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Wow!! What a cool site!! Thank you kindly for the link. I cannot believe 171 earthquakes in the last 7 days!! That's incredible!! :eek:

hehehehe Certainly ma'am. I'd be happy to! :grouphug:

I'm curious though, did any of our Aussie and Kiwi friends here feel the quake or was it too far out at sea??

:iagree::iagree::iagree: And will add also that as the number of homeschool graduates increases that more and more people will "know" a homeschooler and as homeschooled children (on the whole) are extremely well educated there will be that many more "known" successful cases of homeschool and therefore I think it will only increase it's acceptance as a viable alternative to the PS system. Plus a taxpayer pays into a school system that they don't use, takes the burden off of their local school for their children and turns out top notch students that can then go on and prove a productive member of society... it seems to me to be a win win for the State.

I don't have any advice, but I just wanted to send you lots of :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: and support. I'm so sorry for your poor dd. I will pray for you and her. :grouphug:

Satori, I just showed my daughter the picture of your reading room and she asked, "Can we go to her house?" hehehehe :p That is just beyond gorgeous!! What a happy, pleasant oasis!! :)

We've never had cable, but that doesn't keep my hubby from finding something to watch. hehehe He just loves tv so much. He's a smart guy, but I think he just is a very audio person. To me I will listen to music and enjoy that a great deal, but for "voices" I would rather do without. I would rather curl up with a book in the quiet than listen to a book on tape or have the tv and radio on in the backround. I think my hubby must get some kind of comfort from it to have all that backround noise or something because there are times when he will have the tv on, the computer playing a video from a podcast or news commentary and will have the radio on talk radio ALL. AT. THE. SAME. TIME. I feel like I'm going insane!! I dont' know how he can stand it!! But he grew up with a lot of extended family in the same house and so I'm sure the voices are a comfort to him. Maybe I just need to invest in some ear plugs! :p

hehehe I have to remind my hubby all the time how far his voice carries. He just doesn't realize it. :p hehe :grouphug: I feel your pain!! :( Mine doesn't get subtlety at all so I have to be blunt with him. He doesn't mind because he knows that I respect him so he takes it fine. :)

No she didn't write it, it was in her LA book and she remembered it when she was reading this thread over my shoulder. :p hehe I don't know who wrote it actually, it didn't name and author.

If I find a recipe for it I'll let you know! ;) :p hehe That's a really good suggestion, Kalah!! I know I have to do something. Moderation would be great, it's better than nothing. Oh my gosh that reading room is GORGEOUS!! Yes I definitely want to come play at your house!! :) Wow!! I would love something like that!! I am a reader too and I have always wanted to create a little reading nook in my bedroom with my bookshelves behind on the wall, a nice comfortable plushy chair by the window and a round table to keep a book on or a magazine, something to make it look inviting you know? :) BTW, here is C-4 :p hehe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-4_(explosive) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdBQtfRS6mI I sometimes stay up ( okay I'll admit it I A LOT of times stay up) very late at night just for the sake of the quiet. I need it to settle my nerves and calm down before I go to bed or I just cannot relax. Last night I stayed up late cleaning the house before going to bed and I couldn't relax at all and I tossed and turned for hours before sleep finally came. For me I just have to have some quiet time to decompress. I think we should all go read at Satori's house! :p hehe

My daughter just handed me this poem and suggested I put it up here. Here it goes. Enjoy. :) When Mother Reads Aloud When Mother reads aloud, the past Seems real as every day; I hear the tramp of armies vast, I see the spears and lances cast, I join the trilling fray; Brave knights and ladies fair and proud I meet when Mother reads aloud. When Mother reads aloud, far lands Seem very near and true; I cross the desert's gleaming sands, Or hunt the jungle's prowling bands, Or sail the ocean blue. Far heights, whose peaks the cold mists shroud, I scale, when Mother reads aloud. When Mother reads aloud, I long For noble deeds to do -- To help the right, redress the wrong; It seems so easy to be strong, So simple to be true. Oh, thick and fast the visions crowd My eyes, when Mother reads aloud.

Ay, that is sooo sweeet!! I wish my husband and I read together in the evenings!! I wish we could have family time around a book. sigh. Aww that is awesome!!! Way to go mom! :hurray: :grouphug: :)

Awwww!! hehehe That's just too cute!! :grouphug:

to stick some C-4 on to the t.v. set and blow it to smithereens!! I swear I can't stand the darn thing!! It is ALWAYS on!!! My husband turns it on the second he comes home from work and it stays on until he goes to bed at night. It stays on even during dinner when he watches the news! With the kids home all summer and the noise level from them all day long and then the tv all night long I feel like I"m losing my mind!! Can I just say how lucky you ladies are that do reading in the evenings!! Can I come play at your house?? :p ;) hehe :rant:

ROFL!! :lol::lol::lol: YES!! That is true!! hehehehehehe Actually, I'll tell you exactly where I live.... I live in a la la land called Autism on the border of OCD and ADHD and just north of Crazy!! ;) :p

Oh I LOVE Don Quixote!! My grandfather used to tell me the stories from it when I was little!! :) If you read it in modern Spanish it's easier to get through. :)

Wow!! This is amazing to me. I mean, I know that we live on a volatile and ever changing planet but stories like this always make my jaw drop!! I didn't even know there was an earthquake last week. Sheesh!! I really must live under a rock!! :rolleyes: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090722/sc_afp/nzealandquakescience

That's so nice!! :) My daughter doesn't particularly like me to read to her anymore unfortunately. She's at that age where she has to buck all authority, but I make her sit and listen anyway. She sighs and acts bored but then she will peek to see if there are any illustrations. ;) :p hehehe I've never heard of War Horse... is it good?

hehehe Mine does the same thing. He'll be standing right next to me in the bathroom brushing his teeth (the kids' bedroom is right on the other side of the wall) and he talks SO LOUD!! I shush him and say, "I'm right here!! You dont' need to be so loud!!" hehehe No, I don't think it's bashing, just venting. My hubby knows he's a loco so it's nothing new. hehehehe :p

Ay, I feel you too!! My husband is so noisy!! He bangs cabinets and seems to find every single floorboard that creaks loudly. He sneezes loudly... He's a menace!! hehehe And then of course I am the one who has to be up when he wakes everyone else up. grrrr.

I still read aloud to my 12 yo dd everyday. I enjoy the time sharing a book together, but I heard a program on NPR once that talked about how parents should continue to read to a child after they can already read on their own and that to quit reading to your children as they get older is a mistake that a lot of parents make. She went on to cite studies and statistics as to why reading to your child at all ages is good... I can't remember the facts, I just remember feeling a sense of validation for my choice to still read to my dd. :)