When I lived in Paris, one of my favorite treats was a crepe with a piece of ham and a sunny side up egg in it. Soo good and simple. These days, I use smoked turkey for the ham and it's just as good. I also loved nutella and banana crepes….or jam and powdered sugar. There used to be a restaurant chain called the Magic Pan that was solely crepes. Here ae some supposed recipes http://www.pinterest.com/barbhauer/magic-pan-crepes/

Honestly, I don't know which happened first. A friend said to try contacting our local police department as some have social workers that work with them to handle such a thing. We live in a small town, so I'm not sure of the resources, but I'm going to try anyway. Our local hospital says that all holds have to be voluntary. It could be bipolar…I didn't think of that. Had a friend who went through a bipolar episode which found him naked in town. Ugh. I hate this. I have this horrible fear of seeing something on the news…and the old "why didn't anybody do something?"

I pretend to be a SAHM with four kids, but really I'm a lowly product director for Just Born and I scour the internet looking for opportunities to tell people about the joys of marshmallow Peeps ®. ;)

So, apparently a neighbor is doing the hearing from God thing…almost. He's saying that the Mahdi (which is kind of like the Messiah in Islam…shows up with Jesus in the last days)…. gave him a secret message about a tsunami hitting Spain, etc. He's also going seriously survivalist…stocking food, water, guns, etc. This is all rather sudden. Coupled with the fact that he was kicked out of his long-standing job, has financial issues, and is reportedly losing his house. He seems too old for the typical onset of schizophrenia. I realize that survivalist stuff is more common these days, but hearing secret messages from God or his friends is not. (At least that's my assumption….God has yet to warn me personally of natural disasters.) Also, everything mixed up together makes me worry about familicide or him going postal or something. Of course, he could be completely nonviolent, but …. what if he's not? What do I do? My understanding is that the police can't do anything unless a crime is committed. He's an adult…so I can't get him committed. Help.

I suppose I should not tell you that Peeps make the best darn S'mores…because the sugar on the outside caramelizes. We used to make them in the toaster oven. It was kind of disturbing to watch the little bunnies and chicks cook…but then once you took a bite, you got over it. :)

How is her height? Because if she continues to grow in height, I probably wouldn't be as concerned. Also, if you chart your weight percentile over time on a graph, has she always been around the 5th percentile? Or was there a recent drop? What foods does she like to eat? Are there ways you can up their calories..such as making a milkshake with Haagen Dazs vs. normal fat ice cream. (IMHO A Haagen-Dazs milkshake is healthier than Pediasure, because you can pronounce everything.) Add in avocado, coconut, etc. Use full-fat milk and dairy products. Buy whole milk yogurt. There's a brand called Liberte which I've seen at Target and my normal grocery store that is regularly 200 calories +/container. You can make a yummy pudding using avocado. You can add in coconut to baked goods. You can add in nuts to rice to add calories…almonds, pistachios, and pine nuts are all good. What about adding in weight lifting? Honestly, I'd just try to encourage her to eat to her appetite and be healthy…assuming you don't suspect anything else is going on regarding EDs, etc. (Has your dentist checked her teeth to make sure that there aren't any bulimia signs?)

Erosion of religious liberty in the US for Christians? Really? Bwahahahahaha. You're speaking to a Muslim…try googling "Murfreesboro Mosque" to get an idea…or look at all of the elected legislators who regularly demonize people of my faith….pass stupid bills regarding Shariah law…or what not. See how justice compares for a Muslim accused of a crime compared to a Christian. Oh wait? A Christian's faith rarely comes up in trial…what was I thinking. Sorry…I find your statement beyond funny. Need to come out beyond the religious majority bubble.

Oh that poor woman. Prayers for her healing. I too found Farris's comments to be interesting…and although I rarely agree w/him, I'm glad he said what he did.

I'm OK with it….although I voluntarily paid to have my and my kids' DNA analyzed…so take that for what it's worth. I have three sons, and one daughter. My general philosophy is if you haven't done anything wrong, then it shouldn't bother you…and I'd probably say the same to my sons. I'm happy that they are taking a sexual assault against a woman so seriously, because usually it isn't. With what happened with the Madrid Train bombings and fingerprints, I expect we'll se more of this. I do know there is the potential for abuse, but then again, it's so darn easy to get a sample of anybody's DNA that I'm not sure preventing this solves those worries. On a side note, "presumption of innocence" was, I think, part of the Napoleonic Code…but does that prevent this? I don't think so.

I think you'd enjoy it. I used to get it back when I lived in DC. You can read some stuff online to gauge if it works for you. I found the article about the Rockefeller heir interesting/spooky/disturbing. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?next=/history/What-Really-Happened-to-Michael-Rockefeller-180949813/

Yes, buy a box of croissants at Sam's, Costco, BJ's, etc. Then slice it open using a serrated knife…. I would add some dijonaise… soft butter….and then whatever ham/cheese you love. Wrap in foil, and heat at 300 for 7-8 minutes. Yum. :) And then I'd buy a second box, and do the same thing, only using half of my favorite chocolate bar, or even add in some Easter candy…Peeps perhaps with the chocolate?

I hate finding doctors. We've moved almost every 2 years for the past 10 years so I've faced it way too much. In general, I: 1) Used to post on a parenting board called Mothering in their finding your tribe area for a suggestion. I was not as crunchy as some of the Mamas, but I did get wonderful recommendations for a midwife and OB. I don't post there anymore, so I tend to skip this part. 2) Google for names…and also use my insurance company's find a provider tool 3) Take those names to Vitals.com I tend to ignore the negative reviews (well, see if the positives balances them out), but try to find a doctor with at least 5 positive reviews. It's pretty easy for somebody to be upset and write a negative review…I think it takes more motivation to write a positive one. And then given that, I also look at drive times, etc. In general, I'm not willing to drive more than 30-40 minutes. When we lived in Brooklyn, I preferred walking distance and then a direct subway route.

Is there a Unitarian-Universalist church near you? That might offer some solutions. I seem to remember one thing they do in Religious Education is have the kids create their own moral code, for lack of a better word. OK, tried Shaykh Google as us Muslims call it, and this came up. Not what I was searching for, but interesting nonetheless :) http://www.meadville.edu/uploads/files/150.pdf Also, there are various serious of Family Values books…that were put out by the Bahai faith, I think. http://www.amazon.com/The-Family-Virtues-Guide-Ourselves/dp/0452278104/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1397492032&sr=8-2&keywords=family+values And yes, the Golden Rule transcends religion. There was actually a good book about it that we read a few years ago. I'll see if I can find it. http://www.amazon.com/The-Golden-Rule-Ilene-Cooper/dp/081090960X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397492054&sr=8-1&keywords=golden+rule Being an atheist or agnostic does not mean that one does not care about others, morality, or what not.

Does anybody remember the tunnel of fudge cakes from the 70s/early 80s? A friend's Mom used to make those and I thought they were the coolest thing ever. That, and the Jell-o poke cakes. :)

I've been lusting over them for about two years. We have four kids, so I don't really see one in our future for us…but we're hoping that when we can afford to buy a house, we'll have enough land to build one in the back for my parents.

Has to be put away because that is the bottleneck in our house. I'm great at washing and drying. OK at folding. Horrible at putting away. I fantasize about one of those family closet/laundry rooms some days.

Ours are done for federal, but I just found out that because I work remotely PT for a nonprofit in New Mexico, I have to file there too. Bleh. I love the fact that FL does not have state income taxes…but I still have to do a state return. No fair!

Wow..68 is young. :( Sounds like she's had a tough few years….kidney transplant, blindness, and a stroke. I hope she's at peace now.

Skeptical me says…"nobody." There aren't any durable ones…. especially for children, so I'd buy the cheapest ones I could. Sometimes on Amazon, you can buy them in bulk.

I just saw that on Facebook. How incredibly sad for her family. My thoughts and prayers will be with them. Did he have cystic fibrosis or another chronic disease? Sounds like it was something they struggled with for a very long time. :(

Yes, and I'm sad…but I'm trying to hold off judgement until I see what he does with David Letterman's show. These days, I actually prefer Colbert to Stewart…..and I miss Ham Rove. I hope Colbert brings him back for the next election.

BBC, PBS, NPR….rarely MSNBC (I'm not a fan of pundits of any political stripe)….used to read the CS Monitor. Our PBS station has the BBC news every night around 6:30 p.m. Sometimes Al-Jazeera (website) as we don't get Al Jazeera America on our TV. I usually check the Huffington Post, Politico, CBS, and NBC websites. And…Comedy Central (Jon Steward and Stephen Colbert) :blush:

But as somebody who does wear hijab, I will not deny that there can be enormous societal pressure to wear it. It's not true for every single Muslim women or girl…but it is true for some. It's no different than if I am a lawyer, it's considered appropriate for me to wear a suit. Sure, I could wear something else, but there are cultural expectations regarding dress for lawyers. And there can be enormous cultural expectations regarding religious dress as well. In Muslim society (and no I do not agree with this), women are judged by many based on whether or not they wear hijab. Just as non-Muslims put way too much emphasis on it, and many non-Muslims see women who wear hijab as being extreme or super conservative Muslims or not wanting to conform to Western standards….. Muslims put way too much emphasis on it…and view women/girls who don't wear hijab is being "not Muslim enough", not willing to be publicly Muslim thus ashamed of their faith (of course…said by men who rarely stand out (eye roll)), being too Western (which is a way of assuming that she will date, have premarital sex, etc.)… etc. Having said all this, all of my kids (boys and girls) have played with my hijab…worn it…pretended to be Mommy. They see lots of women at the mosque in hijab…so that's what they think of as a grown Muslim woman right now. (They see non-hijab wearing Muslim women too, but more tend to wear it when my kids are seeing them as women do cover their heads for prayer, regardless if they wear it "in real life.") I am sure in Gothard circles there is enormous social pressure to conform appearance wise, especially as there is a submissive aspect to some of the teachings regarding women. Many girls grow up seeing their Moms and other women with hair styled like that….they think they look nice (yes, my kids think I look beautiful in hijab…and my daughter tries to pick out pretty hijabs for her fashion-challenged Mom)…so they imitate them. And they also probably see how girls who "rebel" with perhaps a nice bob are treated, talked about. Most Muslim women in America will insist that hijab is their choice….but there are definite social/cultural implications that lead to that choice. And if you want to know the reasons why I wear hijab…it's a whole different thread… ;)

Re the name, I keep thinking landshark from classic SNL. :)

This is the first year we've faced the dilemma. DS1 was in public school last year and took the FCAT and did extremely well. He was super proud of his achievement, so actually asked me to take it again this year. If I do, it makes my life easier w/the State as well…so we're going ahead with it. Unfortunately, I have to drive 45 minutes each day for four days (next week) for him to take the test at the main county homeschooling office. Other than that, I don't have an opinion. I told him that he might not get 5s this year because we really haven't done much test prep, but he thinks he'll do great. I know he's learned a lot as he's a very curious, self-motivated learner, so I'm not really that worried regardless of his performance. I regularly did horrible on standardized reading comprehension tests, but was always an excellent reader…and went to great schools…and performed well in undergrad and grad school. So I know that they don't always give an accurate picture.