I've designed a new t-Shirt just in time for Father's Day.

Have your kids brought home the Silly Bandz yet? Mine have. I even wear a few some times! If you haven't heard of them, where have you been. lol. They are the latest thing. Silly Bandz are colorful plastic bands shaped in all kinds of fun topics like animals, boats, and even instruments.

I thought it would be cute to make a play on words to show off the fact that many large families have built in musical talents. Some even take their groups on the road!

Not sure if anyone noticed, but the site had a few internal errors as I moved servers over the week. It was a minor problem that caused major page display errors, but it's all fixed and no data was affected at all. So all your stuff is still intact. Thank you for patience. If you like techie info. I moved the site to cloud servers which have proven more secure and reliable than the shared servers they were previously on. That means we're a movin' on up. So tell all your friends to come on over and hang out at LFR. I'll be updating the blog here with some new article. I've also got some great T-Shirt ideas cooking in the ol' noggin' so be on the lookout at the LFR Cafe Express Shop (Link below). They make great conversation pieces. hehehe. I'm also open to YOUR ideas for what would make the site better, so drop me a line and let me know any time. Talk to you all later. Jen Admin @ LFR

http://www.wishtracker.net I wasn't sure if anyone had seen this site yet, but my family has been using it, and we love it. We setup our wishlists on the site. I can go in and see each member of my family's wish list, and mark an item as purchased or whatever. However, the person never sees what has been purchased, so the surprise is never ruined. I have found that this is a HUGE time saver, and I'm a lot less stressed about getting the perfect gift! Ha ha. Hope this helps someone!

Q: ok.. Iive tried to cut down the basics but can't get under 150 and not run out of milk or bread by the middle of the week.. need help on this one..

Q: what about diapers are they included in the groceries as well.. unfortunately no aldi here in the southern end of tn at least not where im at..

A: Do you have a Save A Lot? I used to get my diapers and wipes from them, but only if they didn't leak for that particular child. 2 of my kids could only wear Huggies and not leak. It really depends on the kid. And it's worth the extra money to buy the brand that works best for that kid or you're doing way too much laundry to justify the savings. I don't have any more children in diapers. And I haven't had to buy any cleaning supplies lately.

1. Are you regulated by the state re homeschooling? Do they dictate your curricula or make your kids submit to standardized testing?

Answer:
(taken from http://tnhomeed.com/HSLaw.html)
Tennessee laws regarding home schooling are varied. There are choices. In Tennessee you have 3 options for registering as a "homeschooler":

* with the Local Education Agency as a n " independent homeschooler"
* with a Church Related School as a "homeschooler"
* with a Church Related School that considers your home a satellite campus of their school. You're considered a "private schooler" as noted below.Technically, this isn't homeschooling according to the Jeter Memorandum but enrollment in "private school". This is an important legal distinction you'll want to remember. But since it's done at home by the parents--most of us call it homeschooling.
* Enroll in the distance learning program of a school accredited by AdvancED per the Tennessee State Board of Education's Category III definition. This is also not homeschooling but private schooling.

I use the 3rd option, so technically I'm a private schooler. It amounts to the same thing but it offers me more "protection" as well as options.

I'm registered with Home Life Academy in Memphis. They do not require a certain curriculum nor standardized testing. I am in complete control. I chose this school primarily for those reasons. My personal educational philosophy poopoos standardized testing as a measure of intelligence. I think they were invented to gauge teacher performance and help with budget reviews. I don't believe every child learns and grows and develops at a "standardized" rate, so I choose to educate my children with a focus on their individuality.

Now, with that said, the state can, at any time, question us. If that were to happen, I would of course refer them to Home Life Academy, but I do keep examples of the kids' work. I try to journal what I can, and I use a computer curriculum that keeps track of their attendance. It also quizzes and tests them.

I'm happy to answer questions.

How do you avoid an US against THEM attitude when there are so many people who think you are backwards?

I was recently involved in a discussion about overpopulation. Boy, large families really offend some people. See the comments on http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102005062. Careful though. If you've made the decision to have a large family for whatever reason, you may be offended. I was. I am.

Now, no one likes their choices attacked or described as "whack", but perhaps we can help dispel some of the conflict by walking in love rather than taking on a battle attitude. The truth is we're all in the same boat. We're not at war with those who disagree with us or even those who think we are crazy - not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers. It's important to pray for those who despitefully use us.

If you're out there having kids to build a militia for God, you're asking for the kinds of comments posted on this story. God isn't building an army. He's building a family. He's Father, remember?

Now commenters bring up the issue of overpopulation (Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpopulation) which is laughable. Overpopulation is a micro issue (Can you sustain your family? Can your community resources sustain your family?), not a macro issue (Can the world sustain the population?). Overpopulationists have been with us forever. We're not going to convince anyone who is bent on blaming everyone else for their woes - real and imagined.

The bottom line for me is that whatever the reason someone has a child - each individual has value and potential and a destiny. I don't like some of the reasons people have kids. I don't like the lifestyles some kids are born into, but I would never negate the validity of a life to be born and lived.

It's arrogant to do so. (I wonder if overpopulationists would commit suicide to alleviate the burden they are so concerned about). The slippery slope is to eliminate those who put a strain on resources rather than add to them. It's a silly argument really, yet some intellectuals extol the concern.

I would love to get your thoughts on this. I'm aware that this topic can cause some highly flammable emotions, but try to keep it respectful please - whichever way you lean. Do you regret having a large family? Do you feel guilty for having lots of children? Do you feel guilty if you use birth control?

I must admit that sometimes I feel sorry for people who can't get past their own stuff, and choose to only have one or two kids. I don't think less of them, but I wish they could have as much fun and fulfillment from lots of kids in the house.

What kinds of benefits do you see in your large family that you didn't have before all the kids?

Question:  Do you have to sacrifice creativity in order to gain structure?

 I think about that movie, "Yours, Mine And Ours". There's a scene where the extremely creative leading lady throws a fit because some of the children organized her work room. It had looked like a mess, but it was one she was comfortable with. In fact, she felt paralyzed by the rearrangement.

I also think about a foreword by Jim Henson's daughter I read once. She said the house was always a wreck - a creative chaos. 

We've all heard of Back to School, but occassionally I go "Back to Schedule"!

Today is that day for me. I've been having urges to recreate our schedule, but the final straw was really the dog. She keeps pooping in our closet. It's totally gross and it's because we don't get her out first thing in the morning. When talking to the kids and warning them that we'd get rid of the dog if this kept up, I realized it was MY fault. Yes, the dog is THEIR responsibility, but I was not keeping and enforcing a schedule to help them remember. 

So I got up today at around 6am and took out my trusty Managers of Their Homes (MOTH) book again. (www.titus2.com).  I worked out a tentative schedule for each member of the household - tentative because it takes a few days to really nail it down. It's a balance of what you want/should be doing and what has become a natural rythm for your family. 

There's a surefire way to get your kids to do something - tell them they can't. We laugh about this sometimes, but it's a truth we, as parents, ought to heed. 

There's a story about a study being done in an elementary school. The researchers planted some flowers on the playground and let them grow. All school year the flowers bloomed and the kids barely noticed them. Then one day near the end of the year, one researcher came into the class and said, "Now kids, see those flowers out there? Whatever you do, don't spit on them. We want them to keep growing and it's really important that you don't spit on them." They secretly video-taped as over the next few weeks every single kid went up to the flowers and spit on them!

It's really easy to just set up the rules and expect your kids to obey, and if you're tough enough you might get them to fear you enough to do as you say, but there's a better way. 

Stories of identity theft are scary to say the least. They are increasing in both quantity and spread. Anyone is susceptible. With the rise of technology comes convenience, but it also makes it convenient for criminals to do their deeds in some cases.

I'm writing a series at www.technichick.com on how to protect yourself online. I am very active in many online communities. If you enjoy meeting people or shopping or researching online, you need to take certain precautions just as you would in the real world. 

In the real world, there are places with bad reputations, and you simply don't go there after dark. Take this common sense into cyberspace. There are 'dark' places online, and they are obvious. If it doesn't "feel" right, pay attention. If there are links to porn sites or torrents or "you've just won ...", be on your guard. Some sites gather more info than you think you're giving and place spyware and cookies on your pc to track your online activities. Usually they just want to sell you something, but sometimes it's more devious than that. And you need to be aware while online.