austrya

The point isn't that they didn't have acess to birth control, the point is that they want to get pregnant.

I'm sure all of the magazines at the grocery check out will show pics glamorizing Jamie Lynn and her baby too. That doesn't help.

Just look at the profiles for girls ages 15-18 on myspace. It's like having a baby is a cool thing to do.

I'll have to put Red River on my wish list. I'm currently reading: I love Michael Pollan I'm also currently re-reading this set: It's the complete set of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Only mine are all blue and from when I was a kid.

I guess I should add that I'm not talking about inner-city types of big families. I'm talking about the people who live in my area and the people who frequent the message boards that I am on and the blogs that I read. I'm not talking about every single large family. A lot of large families do those things out of necessity. Growing a garden, composting, homesteading, etc because it's cheaper to grow your own veggies and have eggs from your own chickens than it is to go to the grocery store and get them. I have 4 kids and I can tell you that as a family, our carbon footprint is smaller t

No, I was replying to nickerson and forgot to quote. I was just saying that I know a lot of people with big families (4+ kids) and most of them are socially responsible.

I came by that information from personal experience. When you have a large family (or a sort of large family) you tend to socialize both in real life and on the internet with people who also have big families. I'm not saying that everyone with a large family lives like that, but most that I've talked to do, and I've talked to a lot of them...

So it's ok have 1 kid and live in a 3000 sq ft house, but it's not ok to have 4 and live in a 1700 sq ft house? If it's about the environment, I'm happy to report that most people with big families are very socially responsible when it comes to that. Yes they drive SUVs and vans, but they're full, it's not like they're out driving an SUV with one kid strapped in the back. Most grow huge gardens and most do it organically. Most recycle and compost Most wear second hand clothing Most live in homes that are in most people's eyes, too small. Most don't live on government assistance

So how many kids are too many? Why is a big family such a bad thing? Plus, just because you wouldn't be able to handle 8 kids, doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't.

It would be a lot easier for someone to step up and care for children whose 15-year-old parents can't care for them if there wasn't so much red tape and headache when it comes to adoption. I have a friend who is trying to adopt and has to seek an international adoption because domestic adoptions are too hard and they're too expensive. She's been on a waiting list for a couple of years for a baby and has yet to get a call. And I would vote to fund their care.

If vaccuuming is gay then so is my husband. He likes to vaccuum.

Actually, from what I've seen online, that pic is legit. Only it's not a tornado, but a mesocyclone or whatever it's called. I don't think it actually touched the ground.

That's so sad

Yeah, I'd say you'd be able to. We had two last year and that was enough for us but we didn't can or freeze any. Didn't anyone tell those tomato growers not to put all their eggs in one basket?

It's 85.8 here right now, but it sure feels hotter than that. The humidity is awful!

Yeah, one of the upsides is that we're staying home more and going for walks through our neighborhood and eating at local restaurants instead of the chain restaurants in Ann Arbor. But I do miss taking the kids downtown to window shop and to U of M campus to walk around and stuff like that. But then again, when we do get to do those things, it just makes it that much more fun. One thing that sucks is that when you have 4 kids and 3 of them are in car seats, you need a big vehicle. At least Jay can drive a Civic.

The Pokey Little Puppy was my favorite as a kid!

Wow, Tim!! Congrats!

Oh, I'm sure that's why it's illegal. I wouldn't let the kids drink it. I don't drink milk, I just want to use it to make cheese to see how it turns out. Pasteurized milk doesn't seem to work as well and ultra-pasteurized doesn't work at all.

I think milk that is ULTRA pasteurized lasts longer. Most organic milk is ultra pasteurized. I'll just stick to the hormone free pasteurized stuff until I can get my hands on some raw milk. I need to make friends with a dairy farmer though as it's illegal to sell it in Michigan.

I've noticed that the Narnia books are in different order in some sets too. I wondered what was up with that. I'm reading them in whatever order the movies are in. I love the Narnia books. I just wish my kids would appreciate them.

I'll use food past the expiration date as long as it looks and smells ok. Medicine and stuff still gets used. If it's a couple years past the expiration date, that's different.

Another incentive to avoid processed food And To eat local

These are the food rules in our house: If it has high fructose corn syrup in it, don't eat it. We opt for things that are sweetened with honey or some other unrefined sugar. You really have to read labels, it's in just about everything. If it has partially hydrogenated (or fully) oils in it, don't eat it. Hydrogenated oils are a bad thing. We eat real butter and real whipped cream, we just use less of it. Your body doesn't know how to metabolize proccessed food the way it does natural foods. If it's made with enriched flour, pasta, rice, etc, don't eat it. Opt for whole grains.