Firstly, thank you all so much for your thoughts and advice, and especially for sharing your own experiences. This board is so invaluable; I can't think of another place like it. Thank you all, truly. I agree with some of you that mentioned my sister's reaction may not have been the best under the circumstances. I know she made her son afraid of getting in trouble. In her defense, (I'm not suggesting she's being attacked) since having a daughter she worries a lot about keeping her safe, and I think seeing her son telling her daughter to touch him "there" made her react with fear and anger instead of keeping her mom face on, so to speak. We all react in the moment sometimes and regret it later! Also, she's under a lot of strain from marital problems, (if you're in the habit of praying for total strangers, please say a prayer for her and her husband, thank you). When she did calm down and talk to her son, it turns out they were playing some kind of a game that seems innocent enough. My sister got the impression, like many of you said, that it was a "this feels good and is funny" kind of a situation instead of a perverted one. She talked to him about what's appropriate and what's not. But anyway she is going to be closely observing his overall behavior to see if there's any of the troublesome signs you all mentioned. He does spend time away from the home with his grandparents (her husband's dad whom my sis doesn't know all that well), so she is not ruling out the possibility of abuse. She is also going to speak to his pediatrician about what to look for and when to worry. Your responses were so helpful, thank you again.

I am saying a prayer for your friend right now {{{hugs to you}}}

My sister just called me VERY upset (understandably, as you will see) because she found her almost four year old son encouraging his newly turned 2 year old sister to "tickle" his pen*s. He was telling her "you have to tickle it to wake it up". My sister burst into the room and grabbed my niece away from my nephew and then asked him "did you tell her to touch your pen*s?" at first he said no, but then he admitted yes he did. So she put him on his bed and left the room very upset, at which point she called me. I have four kids of my own, youngest is 10, but I have never dealt with this situation. Her fear is that someone is molesting him (it would have to be a family member, because he is not around anyone else). She said that kids who are abused act out sexually towards other children. She wouldn't be concerned if he was touching himself but the fact that he was telling his sister to do so and using terms like "tickle it" that makes her afraid someone has taught him that by doing it to him. She is going to talk to him of course when she has calmed down enough to face him calmly. But she asked me to ask you all here for advice or if this has ever happened to you or just your opinion whether you think it's normal child curiousity or something more sinister. Thanks so much for listening. My nephew is very precious to me (unfortunately I live in a different state) and I'm also upset by this.

Thanks so much to everyone who replied. I'm taking all your info into consideration and sharing it with my dh. I'm really hoping he gets on board with the plan. If he does, you'll hear about it here because I won't be able to contain my excitement! Thanks again!!

So, I have really shabby carpets. We moved in five years ago, and the carpet was in good shape but not new. Now it's just yucky. Granted, we've never had it professionally cleaned. No, not once in five years. It's actually not awful because we take off our shoes and don't allow eating in carpeted areas, but it's just dingy and the cats have torn out big chunks of it in all our doorways. We have two cats and a dog (sheds a lot) and I just don't like carpeting. Anyway, Lord willing, my husband will be getting a bonus in a couple of weeks. I know he thinks we can't afford wood flooring, but it would be my dream come true if we could get it in at least part of the house. Our downstairs area is about 2000 sq.ft. We have a carpeted bonus room upstairs but that can stay carpeted; it looks fine. Anyway, I wouldn't even care about the bedrooms being wood, just the main living room and hallway. So I'm thinking like 1000 sq.ft of wood flooring sounds about right (I know I need to measure and everything). So, how much do you think this will cost? I'm just asking from your personal experience. I know I need to call places, look online, etc. It doesn't have to be real wood, I'm fine with laminate or bamboo or whatever is cheaper but still nice and durable. I'm thinking if I can keep it to $3k or less I might talk my dh into it. Do you think that price is possible? Thoughts? Also, I know it's cheaper to install it ourselves, but that's not really an optin. DH isn't handy and I don't know if our marriage could survive such an undertaking. ;-) Thanks so much for reading my rambling questions!

Prayed!!

Praying {{{}}}

This sounds like my daughter, too. They're her favorite books (she's 13).

The Warriors series by Erin Hunter are my dd's faves. She's read them multiple times. She just turned 13, but she started reading them when she was almost twelve. HTH

to freeze it in a disposable pan. The pan is not cast iron, or stainless steel. Or glass. I don't know what is? Cookie sheet type metal...kwim? Thanks!

I saw your name as the winner, and I couldn't believe it was someone I recognized from these boards!! It gave me hope that maybe I will win someday. If the world is small enough for someone I'm remotely acquainted with to win, then why can't I? :) Anyway, enough about me, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

I know I should post this on the curric board, but more people are viewing here. Please tell me what you're using for grammar with your kids this year. Especially if you happen to have a 6th, 8th, or 10th grader. (I'm using FLL with my 3rd grader). I need to place an order like now, so if you could take a minute to reply I'd be very grateful! Thanks!

Is this for use with 4th graders? Thanks!

Does Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day include pizza dough recipes? Thanks!

I received the Lakeside Collection catalog the other day, and I was pretty surprised at how inexpensive some of the stuff in there is. Has anyone here ordered from there? Can you tell me anything about the quality of their merchandise and service? Thanks!