What makes teens happy?

Family and friends:

So you're between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried parent might imagine the answer is something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock 'n' roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.

Turns out the real answer is quite different. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey -- more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 -- conducted by the Associated Press and MTV.

When asked what one thing makes them most happy, 20 percent mentioned spending time with family.

Surprisingly, no one said money made them happy.

And a majority of the kids believe in a "higher power:"

Close to half say religion and spirituality are very important. More than half say they believe there is a higher power that has an influence over things that make them happy.

(via)

A Bedtime Song

Ahhhhh! This is so cute. It reminds me of when my daughter was younger and the many nights I would be started awake by a looming presence above my sleeping head as she waited for me to wake up so she could join me in bed :-)

(via)

Because I said so!

Mommy threats set to music.

Michelle Duggar gives birth to her 17th baby!!!

Doesn't she know that she's contributing to global warming? :-)

It's a girl - again - for the Duggars. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar welcomed their 17th child, and seventh daughter, into the world Thursday.

Jennifer Danielle was born at 10:01 a.m. at Saint Mary's Hospital in Rogers, Ark., the Duggars said in an interview. Jennifer weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and arrived five days after Michelle's due date.

Less than 30 minutes after giving birth, the Duggars already were talking of having more.

"We'd love to have more," Michelle said, adding that the girls are outnumbered seven to 10 in the family. "We love the ruffles and lace."

Jennifer joins the fast-growing Duggar brood, who live in Tontitown in a 7,000-square-foot home. All the children - whose names start with the letter J - are home-schooled.

The oldest is 19 and the youngest, before Jennifer, is almost 2 years old.

"We are just so grateful to God for another gift from him," said Jim Bob Duggar, 42, a former state representative. "We are just so thankful to him that everything went just very well."

Jennifer joins siblings Joshua, 19; John David, 17; Janna, 17; Jill, 16; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 9; Jedidiah, 8; Jeremiah, 8; Jason 7; James 6; Justin, 4; Jackson, 3; Johannah, almost 2.

[...]

Among the "fun facts" listed on Discovery Health's Web page devoted to the Duggars: A baby has been born in every month except June; the Duggars have gone through an estimated 90,000 diapers, and Michelle, 40, has been pregnant for 126 months - or 10.5 years - of her life.

When your kids hit the teenage years any kids you have after that are just gravy because those older kids are like having built in babysitters. If I had started having kids in my twenties, I might be tempted to have another child now that my oldest in a teenager.

One thing I can't understand is how she gets her kids to dress alike. My girls refuse to do that.

Not much blogging today...

Because I was on the road. I had to meet my in-laws in VA to get my daughters. We meet in VA because it's halfway between SC and NJ. We just got back and are going to get something to eat, blogging will resume when I return :-)