Book #7

The Duggars: 20 and Counting! by Michelle & Jim Bob Duggar

My mom loaned me this book because she said it had some homeschooling advice in it. I have to say that after reading this book I love the Duggars! I used to always say that I didn't like Kate Gosselin (of Jon & Kate Plus 8) but I could relate to her more than to Michelle Duggar. That is no longer true. The long skirts (the the 18 kids) threw me off, but I actually have way more in common, as far as beliefs, values, and principles go, with the Duggar's than I ever will with the Gosselin's. So I've switched allegiances, so to speak.

What I found to be most encouraging was the information they gave on how they raise their children, young & old, and their frugality. They actually live what I believe when it comes to having no debt. I mean, I firmly believe in living debt free, yet I'm willing to have a mortgage. They truly owe no one anything. That is admirable.

I think I'm going to read some books on staying at home/homeschooling next. One of Keith's friends from work has 8 kids and his wife homeschools them all. I gave her a call to talk to her about it and she loaned me a few books. I figure I better read them and get them back to her as quickly as possible.

One piece of really exciting news...Keith & I are going on a weekend getaway to Mackinac (sp?) Island this summer! My parents are going to watch the boys. We're staying at a bed and breakfast. It looks so quaint. I cannot wait!

Book #6

I finished 1984 by George Orwell while on vacation. Definitely a great classic! I have to admit though, it took a couple of days to fully absorb the ending, for it to really sink in. Also, I was expecting more parallels (sp?) to today's political climate and didn't find very many. Then again, they could've gone right over my head.

Next up is the Duggar's book Twenty & Counting.

Also, while I'm at it, vacation was great except for the boys being so sick all week. They both had terribly runny noses and coughs all week long, fevers off & on, and Isaac had some GI issues I won't go into detail about. The climax of all the illnesses was actually yesterday when we were in North Carolina, driving home, about two hours away from where we were going to stop for the night, when Isaac vomitted all over himself and his carseat. So that was a drama, getting that all cleaned up. Then he continued to be sick for the rest of the evening, and when he did it again at 1:45 am, we just decided to pack up and leave for Pittsburgh then. He's still having GI troubles today.

Back to vacation though...the resort we stayed at was beautiful. We were there with Keith's dad, stepmom, brothers and sister, and his sister's two kids, Austin and Dominik, who Isaac absolutely adored. We got to do lots of swimming. Isaac is fearlessly suicidal in the water! We did have one really chilly day, when we decided to go to the Magic Kingdom. It was so cold though that I fear we made the boys' coughs and colds worse that day. The next two days we went to Universal and Islands of Adventure-LOVED both parks! Only downside was I couldn't ride very much because I'm pregnant. Also, Isaac wasn't tall enough for a lot of the rides, and I couldn't hold Josiah on my lap on many rides either. It was still great though. The parks are beautiful and cute, and I can't wait to go back when I'm not pregnant to ride The Hulk and The Mummy, among many other things! Islands of Adventure does have a section called Seuss Landing, which was so adorable, and Isaac could ride everything! Josiah even rode the Caro-Seuss-el! A big thank you to Keith's dad and Roxanne for inviting us along!