Yes, depending on the discussion. Sometimes I've come away thinking, "You're all insane!" 🤣 Sometimes I've come away with, "Holy cow! How did I not know that!" 🤯 But mostly, it's been more gradual, introducing and exploring new ideas and lines of thinking that I'd never crossed before. I've learned a lot from discussions like this on the Hive.

We have male cardinals that do this all. the. time. I read that it's because they're territorial, and when they see their reflection, they try to fight it. I'm not sure I completely believe that's all that's going on. These birds fly up to the sill and perch and peck and eye the person inside. I think they just want inside. LOL

I didn't follow the links, but one thing about Amazon reviews is that sometimes they're not all for the same product. For instance, there can be multiple options/colors/varieties of an item and all the reviews are listed together. And I don't mean just like different colors or sizes for clothes. For instance, I've seen 3' usb cables and 10' usb cables in the same listing. I've found that the longer cables often don't hold up as well or charge as fast, so I'd expect different reviews for those. Something else is scamming done by the listing company. I've seen them replace a highly rated item with something new that is totally unrelated. For instance, I once bought a French press, then I went back to see about another one and while it says I ordered this item, the item listed was now a can opener.

My answer is twofold: One, as others have noted, they ARE careful/skeptical in other areas, but the vaccine issue gets way more press. I think that one reason why it's such a passionate issue is that it's not a matter of you-do-you/live-and-let-live. A vaccinated/unvaccinated society affects everyone. If Mom decides to ban plastics from her house and cook everything from scratch, that really affects only her and her household. But if Mom decides not to vaccinate, this carries risks to those who can't get vaccinated. Two, is how much and how many vaccines small infants get at a time. The 3 mos old gets the same amount that the adult gets. Many (most?) parents are extremely careful what their babies ingest, especially that first year. As the child grows, those concerns typically are reduced. The child has developed enough that they don't need to worry about as many things. But so many vaccines are recommended in the first year that I think some parents see a disconnect.

I have taught mine to take a deep breath and then blow it out as they are getting the shot. By 12, they do it on their own. But the 8 & 10 yr olds still sit on my lap while I coach them. It doesn't eliminate crying, of course, but it does give them something else to focus and act on. If they've never done it before, they might still need someone to coach them: telling them when to take a breath and when to blow out. You could also coach while they're looking away, but I've never told mine to look away. Looking away does not help you prepare mentally, nor does it make it hurt any less. Sometimes you just have to learn to deal with it. I've known more than one woman who was forced into facing their fears of needles when they got pregnant, cause there's no getting around needles at that point (if you do standard prenatal care here in the US).

I'm with you! And I dislike phone conversations! I don't know why, but I just don't like them. However, texting is NOT meant for long conversations! Even I get to a point where I say, "Let me just call you." And with both texts and emails, I have found that I cannot rely on people to read the whole message! If it's three paragraphs, they only read the first. But if it's only three sentences, they still only read the first sentence! So if I have multiple things to convey, I do them separately, one at a time, in separate texts/emails to make sure that each one is addressed....or I pick up the phone!

I don't expect privacy online. Anyone with enough skill or money can get whatever info they want, so I don't have high standards for Facebook or really anything related to the internet. I consider it a cost of enjoying the benefits of the internet and smart devices, etc. However, I do admit that the reading and sharing of private messages really chafe me.

If I donned the tinfoil hat, I'd be inclined to think that the only reason Facebook is even in trouble is because the government hates competition. 😛

I've used pet pajamas as an alternative to cones. This was on cats. Neither cat was fond of it, but it was way better than the cone. It was almost impossible for them to eat or drink while wearing a cone. I think the concept would work fine for a dog, too. Maybe find some kind of doggie overalls that completely covers the front legs...probably have to be both legs so it will stay on? I bet you could make something with an old sweater. This is what I used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078GPYH6M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

On her part, it means that she's committing to taking the cat with her. Getting a pet is a long-term commitment. It's not fair to the cat to get it, bond with it for a year, then get rid of it. It means she'll most likely have to find an apartment instead of living on campus. So she has to choose between living in campus dorms then or getting a cat now. On your part, if she fails on her commitment, then that means that you have to be prepared to either adopt it yourself or find a new home for it. Cats and dogs generally live much longer than 5-10 years. Even with your ds, the dog should still be around when he goes off to college. What was/is your plan for the kids' pets when the kids are in college?

If I was the 17 y/o, I'd be upset. I'd think that I'm quite capable of taking care of a cat myself [and I'd be right on that part] and Mom's just looking for an excuse [not true, but I would not have the experience to understand Mom's POV]. As the mom, I couldn't give a promised pet to one child without doing it for the other. BUT, I'd also be expecting the 17 y/o to be doing 90% of the work of a new pet. And I most assuredly would NOT be changing litter boxes for the 17 y/o's cat! Cats that go outside to do their business are hands down the easiest animals I've ever owned. And that's out of dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, and birds. I installed a cat door into a board that was cut to fit inside a window. The cats come and go as they wish. The door can be locked if I really want it to be. Beats cleaning a litter box any day! And I don't have to constantly let the cat in and out (unlike my needy dogs). At 17, it's completely workable for her to get a cat...but she's got to commit and you've got to insist that she deal with it! My sis is notorious for giving in on animals and then she's the one left taking care of it. Don't let that be you. If the dd is home now and can give a kitten the attention it needs, then I'd her do it...but again, I'd insist that she do it! She's old enough that she really doesn't need mom to help with this. Cats, IMO, grow up more quickly than dogs, so by the time she's in college, the cat should be grown and fully house trained. However, if she's out for most of the day now, I'd look into an adult rescue cat.

I do think they're the quickest to show new listings, so that's a plus.

I think the "Zestimates" are screwy. We've been looking to buy for almost 3 year now, and I've totally stopped looking at their estimates. I've also learned to double check the listings with the actual mls site, cause soooo many times, the property is pending or already sold! Zillow does fine with CHANGES in the asking price, but once it's actually under contract and/or sold, it takes forever to update!

Thank you all for sharing your experiences! I figured that the answer was no, but if there was any way of getting rid of the smell without replacing and repainting, then the Hive would know!

LOL, well, I was hoping! ?

We've finally found a house that we like, that has the space for us, and that we can afford! BUT (you knew there was a 'but' ? ) The current owners are smokers. It seems that the designated smoking area was a screened porch with outdoor carpet. The rest of the house doesn't have as a strong of a smell, but you can still smell cigar and cigarette. Is it possible to get rid of the smell without painting and replacing the carpet?

I think locker rooms should be supervised. Let's say you have 30 other students in a locker room and one teacher. If something untoward was going to happen, odds are that it would be from one of the other students. And if one student starts, it's very possible that others will join in. Any decent adult is not going to gawk at a bunch of sweaty, stinky kids in a locker room. If the teacher isn't decent, then that moves into a whole other area of conversation that involves screening and reporting procedures and believing students if they complain, not victim blaming, etc. What I don't understand is this gag order. So this "obvious girl" is changing with the boys... but the teacher is going to out him by simply saying something???

It's working again for me. ? Interesting that this just happened a few weeks ago with YouTube. Two major social media sites down within a month! I bet conspiracy theorists are having a field day! ?

It's not working for me, and apparently, it's not working for a lot of other people. Does it work for you? A class I'm taking has a private group on Facebook for questions about the material. Guess my question will have to wait. *sigh*

Sadly, it took me a minute. I took multiple looks from my calendar to the date on this thread trying to figure out how we're talking about the 10th when today is only the 8th before I thought to look at the YEAR. ?

I voted no on both, but I also wanted to clarify: I think that having an advocate for the patient at the hospital is important. In my family, if anyone is in the hospital SOMEONE stays with them. We'll swap out turns usually. (Thankfully, I come from a large family, so this is relatively easy to do.) If I'm in the hospital, I like having an advocate for me, too. But that is totally different than just "visitors." In full disclosure, I am an introvert.

I would be looking at neutrals. I think I would probably look at grays. I think the blue sky in the picture would really pop against the gray but be washed out against a blue wall. I'm having a hard time picturing the cherry with brownish/beige walls, but cool gray would go well with the red tones in the cherry. However, I'd definitely be trying several shades on the wall directly to make sure that the color stays looking good all day, both in the western sun, the morning ambient light, and the evening lights. I really like the track light idea. I think we put the exact same lighting in our last kitchen. It was relatively easy to install, like you said, no re-wiring! And we really liked how it spotlighted our workstations. It really looks nice and brightened up the whole room.

At this point, it's hear-say: brother said sister said that sister's friend said. I can think of several scenarios that could happen where kids mishear, misunderstand, exaggerate, etc... and the game of telephone ensues. But there are some possibly very serious problems that could happen and possible serious repercussions, so I'd definitely be talking to my friend (friend's mom) and dd, if it were me.

check FB & Craigslist for firewood providers, too, they might have something they could save before chopping it into wood also, you could try putting an "I want" ad on both places\

We're house hunting, too. We're renting right now, and everyone is stumbling over each other while we're trying to find a larger place that will suit us in the area that we want. I am soooo ready to get a new place! I made a list, and I'm trying my best to stick with it, cause it's what I really want....but yeesh. I'm frustrated, too. I'm right there with you. But I cannot imagine anything more practical than granite counters, tile, and solid wood. I have six kids. The oldest is now 21. The youngest is 8. There are few things that stand up to the wear they give than solid stone, tile and wood. Regarding countertops, I told dh that I wanted granite or solid surface counters (our last house had Corian....it was awesome! our current house has granite...it's awesome!). If we find a place with laminate, plan on replacing it. I've lived with laminate. It would chip and stain. It couldn't handle the CONSTANT use that it gets from a large family being home all day. I just don't want to deal with that again. Granite and Corian counters look nice, but they are also super easy to clean and super durable. When we redid the kids' bathroom before selling our last house, I made sure to put tileboard on the wall, sunk hooks in solid wood for holding towels. If I could've afforded actual tile, we'd have done that. Paint doesn't scrub like tile. Even tileboard is better than paint. Hooks set in studs are the way to go with kids...anything else eventually rips a huge hole in the wall. It took longer to sell our place than we planned, so I ended up living with that bathroom for a while....and wishing the whole time we'd taken the time and money to fix that bathroom sooner! We put beadboard in another bathroom and the breakfast nook. It's soooo much easier to keep clean than the painted walls! And it doesn't get the dents and holes that the drywall does. Our current rental has tile floor in the kitchen. I thought I'd hate it, but we aren't planning on being here forever, so I could deal temporarily. I've discovered that I LOVE the tile floor. It takes anything! Dogs, kids, dishes, food, grease, dirt, water spills....you name it, that floor can handle it! Yeah, it's hard, and dishes will break...but I have to say that as lovely as it looks, it really rocks the durability! As far as the wood panelling, you can paint it. You can also drywall right over it. We looked at a really old house from the turn of the 19th century house that had old wood paneling/shiplap in every single room. We were so close to getting that house! But we lost it at the last minute. ? However, as much as I hate painting over real wood like that, it was just too much in that house. I was planning on doing a whitewash on some of it, and covering some with drywall. I wanted the wood to be something that was an accent, not the entire house. And I needed the house to be brighter. The wood was too darkening. You could totally do something like that, too. So just trying to give you a little encouragement. ? Some things (like the counters and backsplash and tile) might not be the best colors, but they may be more practical than you think. Spend a little time on Pinterest and see if you can get some ideas to really make look like something you like.