Yes, you are right. :) My biggest concern is to not actually inadvertently *purchase* books like this for her. I can't control (and don't want to- control is such a harsh word) everything she reads but I do want to make sure I am making good choices on which books I spend my money on. (I tend to buy her ebooks instead of running to the library all the time- the cost (when on sale) is worth not having the hassle of taking all the littles to the library and paying the inevitable late fees. :)

As my kids get older they are broadening their selection of books they want to read. So far I don't monitor what the older kids read but I do want to make sure they are not reading crap. I know around my 12yo's age I got into VC Andrews (bleh) and I don't want my dd to inadvertently go down that same path at this time. Is there a site with reviews on books so I can at least get a basic warning about what the book contains without having to preread? Again, I'm not big on censorship but I would like to keep the crap out of her reading for a while yet. I don't always know what a book is going to contain. For example, she read Life of Pi last year. Is it appropriate for an 11 year old? I have no clue. She had seen it on my shelf (I bought to read for myself but never got around to it) and read it in an afternoon before I knew she had. I'm not upset by it, I simply don't know what's in the book. I probably should but it hasn't interested me again to read it and I have other things I would like to read instead. Still, I'd like to know what's in the book. :) Same for the new series starting with the novel Divergent. I briefly saw that some ladies here are reading it but I don't know what age group it is for. Also, Amazon is full of reviews but isn't clear as to what age some of the books would be most appropriate for, especially when they just pop up on my home page. I do lean towards being more conservative with the topics brought up in books but not to the point of being controlling. Does that make sense? Really, I just want to have a clue what she is reading and if there is anything in the book that I would like to discuss with her (more so than just banning the book). Also, there are a few books that have popped up in Amazon as being recommended to me for my 9yo, who is a more sensitive reader, but I hesitate to purchase a book without knowing too much about it. Anywhere I can go for information such as this?

If you've read a non-fiction book in the last while that had an impact on you or have an all time favorite-please share it here. I'm open to all kinds - personal finance, self help, homeschooling, relationships, history, parenting, sociology-you name it. If you thought it was great or it inspired you in some way, please tell me about it. :) I'm mostly looking to fill my audible.com wishlist and I've learned that I much prefer to listen to non-fiction while I am working/doing something else than fiction.

I recently started up again after a several year hiatus. I used to get ideas/inspiration for page layouts from magazines borrowed from the library but my library doesn't have scrapbook magazines or they are all out whenever I go. This isn't going to work for me so I need a new way of finding page layouts. What do you do for ideas? Since it has been several years I'm sure there are new techniques and layout ideas that are totally new and fresh and I am eager to try some new things out I'm willing to pay some money, but hopefully less than just paying for an issue at the store. I was thinking maybe iPad subscription? Or do you just google layout ideas? Part of my problem is I don't want to get sucked into hours spent on the computer looking for a layout to use- I know that one can get on top of me real quick. :o

If you've read a non-fiction book in the last while that had an impact on you or have an all time favorite-please share it here. I'm open to all kinds - personal finance, self help, relationships, history, sociology-you name it. If you thought it was great or it inspired you in some way, please tell me about it. :)

We have a Bamix very similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Bamix-Gastro-Professional-Immersion-Blender/dp/B008ND7KYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388632476&sr=8-1&keywords=Bamix We have all three attachment heads and the processor/chopper basket. Have had it for 14 years and it is still going strong. :). It is pricey but has lasted and served us well. And yes, the aerating attachment is great. I make whipped cream out of regular milk (or did back when we ate dairy products). It whips up great but you need to eat it sooner than whipped cream as it does tend to get runny sooner (not excessively fast, but sooner)

OP here. That's what I'm trying to sort out in my head. :) if my kids would have better immune systems if they washed their hands less (although I'm not obsessive about it) or if it is what it is and my kids just have the immune systems they have regardless. I don't care much for washing hands if the kids have been in dirt outside. It's more the grocery carts and children's museums and handrails that make me cringe. I wish my kids had super immune systems like some of the posters in this thread. But, based on how many "dr hive" threads we get here I'm thinking my family is more like the majority and that those fortunate ones who never get stomach viruses are part of the elite to be envied. :)

Ugh. I'm so sorry. :( my kids seem to get it at either Christmas or New Years for the last several years. It sucks the joy out of the holidays like nothin else. :(

So do you think that your kids get no stomach flu because you don't wash hands much? :) I think we avoid it by sometimes by handwashing. Maybe it's just genetics and luck? I have not found a way to avoid that darn stomach flu- we get it at least once per year. I don't know why. :( I never had it after I was 10years old until after my first was born. Not in high school or university or as an adult. Now it is every year at least. I did start having the kids wash their hands more the past few years but the first few stomach flus were back when I was far more lenient about washing. I was rather clueless about hand washing and only washed after using washroom and before food prep. I'm not seeing a correlation. Maybe I'm not supposed to? Maybe my kids are predisposed to it? I don't know. I would love an answer to this. Why some families never get the darn thing and others (like my friend who never washes) get it 3-5 times per year. Truly. My friend who never washes- so much puke in her house. :(

Seems to work here too but I've been thinking lately that maybe I am doing my kids a disservice by washing hands? I don't understand the difference between "excessive" and not and I certainly don't want to do harm to my kids' immune systems because they wash hands. I don't think I am excessive- we wash after bathroom, when coming home, and before eating with our hands or preparing food. Some would say that's excessive because it doesn't occur to them to wash when they come home and that it's unnecessary to. Would my kids be healthier, say 5 years from now if we all just stopped washing hands and came down with all the crud out there for the next 5 years?? Can you build immunity to things like Strep? Or would we just be miserable for 5 years and still sick? For example, we never got H1N1 the first time it came around in a big way in 2009. We washed hands a fair bit then and spent more time at home (not excessively, but I did avoid the germier places like MacDonalds play place and I did wipe down the shopping carts). Now that H1N1 is making headlines again (more so than last couple of years) we don't have that immunity from not having had it the first time around. Should I have allowed them to just get it the first time or did I do the right thing but now we will always just be at risk. Or maybe I'm just watching too much Walking Dead and feeling overly vigilant about things at the moment. :lol: :lol: The thought has occurred to me as I watch that show- why fight so hard to live when eventually you'll likely succumb anyways? :huh: Yeah, I don't necessarily care to be the last person left on earth. :coolgleamA:

This is a sincere question- I don't want to appear to be picking on you - but you said you're not excessive about it. What does that mean? Where is the line drawn into the being excessive category? I'm trying to figure if I do too much, not enough? And if my kids would be healthier (or less so) if I changed my ways. How do I know if what I am doing is working/helping or what if they don't get too sick because I wash their hands when we get home. And if I didn't do that they would be sick more? That wouldn't be because of their immune systems- it's just getting rid of germs before the germs get inside them. So am I holding their immune systems back? I'm very confused.

The whole handwashing "thing" confuses me. I always hear during "flu season" that frequent hand washing is best to avoid disease and influenza. I get that. But then I also hear that washing hands too much is not good and kids need to be exposed to germs. So... which is it? Are kids supposed to not wash and get influenza or are they supposed to wash when they can? Because I can't really do both train of thoughts. So what is one to do? I'm all for building immune systems but at the same time I do remember reading on a website that for things like stomach flu (norovirus and rhotovirus or gastroenteritis or whatever people call it) that you are never immune to it. In fact, in my family, my oldest is the one who gets the sickest from a stomach virus even though she's had at least 3 or 4 more than most of her siblings. I know people who wash hands whenever they get home. I know people who never wash. The people who never wash are always sick. Always. It's actually gross because whenever I would ask this friend if she wanted to get together she'd say one of her kids (or more) are sick. Bleh. Will this pay off for her in a few years? Perhaps. But for the first 8 years of her oldest's life he was always sick with the rest. We've lost touch so I don't know how things are for them now. I do know she gets sick with the kids too. I really don't think never washing hands has worked too well for them but maybe I am wrong. My kids are quite healthy. We do get the odd crap but it doesn't usually turn into worse things, if that makes sense. But they do wash hands a fair bit. Am I doing them a disservice? I really don't know anymore because they still do get sick. Were they not exposed to enough when they were little? Did we not get enough "stomach flu" when they were young? Geez. We have had our fair share of that crud. Ugh. I will admit that anxiety is an issue in my life- one that I have to be vigilant about. And yes, the more kids I have, the more anxiety I have about one getting sick because, well, if one starts puking, those of you with big families know, it's a whole lot of puke that has to go around before it's safe to see people again. :thumbdown: A horrific cold can keep my family in isolation for weeks- a large part of this is incubation times and not being able to drive big kids around when I have very sick littles or am sick myself. And finally, is it just me but does "flu season" seem to last a lot longer than non-flu season? :glare: I'm rambling- but which is it? Wash hands or no?

Do you have one and use it frequently? Do I want one? :) I'm looking for items to help simplify my day to day life and cut down on time. Would a food processor be something of significant use to me? If you use yours a lot please tell me what you do with it.

What is the other side of your duplex like? Could you and dh "switch" sides for a while and he can do the repair work that needs to be done on your "home" side and then switch back again? That way the work would get done but you will both get the separation that it sounds is much needed at this time. Of course this would only really work if he is willing to put the effort in to fix up your home for you and your children knowing he may not live there long term. :). Perhaps you can hire out some help of he's not? I'm very sorry you are going through this.

I've asked for suggestions before but the board is always changing and I'm ready for a few new ideas. :) I need to place an order with RR and am once again looking to fill it with some ideas that will keep my 2yo boy interested and occupied while we do school when things start up again. Anybody have a 2-3yo child who got something for Christmas that they just can't put down? I need to know what it is they got! ;)

I need to place an order with RR and am once again looking to fill it with some ideas that will keep my 2yo boy interested and occupied while we do school when things start up again. Anybody have a 2-3yo child who got something for Christmas that they just can't put down? I need to know what it is they got! ;)

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate being able to bounce ideas off the collective Hive and the chance to learn from the experiences of others. I said it upthread and I have thought about it some more and I am not going to say anything. I agree with what a lot of posters have said, on both sides of the issue. There have also been some perspectives I hadn't considered. In the end the desire to butt out of it wins over. I really don't want to be involved. I know that *I* would want to know but the PP who said that everyone says they'd want to know but perhaps they don't, really resonated with me. I'm not a believer that ignorance is bliss, but that's just me.... and if there's one thing I've learned from years of participating in this forum, it's that not everyone thinks like me. :)

There are so many to choose from that I'm finding amazon a tad overwhelming. I'm looking for a recipe book for baking goodies that are GF. On the simpler end of the spectrum, verses very fancy would be preferred. Can you recommend one that you have used fairly extensively and had good success using? I'm hoping maybe the Hive can agree on one or two books. :D

I'm not certain she doesn't know. :)

Honestly, it's just because you don't know the whole story. If you knew the whole story you wouldn't bat an eye as to how I know. It sounds way worse because I am purposely being vague and withholding details. I bear no ill will towards this couple, quite to the contrary, and I am not involved at all in what is going on. I just happen to be in the know. I'm not angry with *what* the dh is doing. I'm more disgusted by the secrecy of it and the reason behind the secrecy. I don't really want my friend to know. It will hurt her. I know this much. I don't know if she would want to be told. I know I would but everyone is different. Plus it's easier to ask advice on a forum of people who have no friendship or connection with the people.

It's difficult to gauge (for me, in this situation) if this is a "minor" thing to this lady or not. One thing I've learned from years on this forum is that what one person sees as major is just meh to another and vice versa. Also, it's not a one time thing. For example he didn't sneak out to *A* football game once. He's going out to all the football games. Maybe this was a poor analogy but i am trying to remain vague. Please don't tear my example apart. :). That's more why I felt she should know. If it were a one time thing there is the whole bad judgment call, moment of weakness thing. Now it's premeditated and purposeful.

I am 100% sure this is going on and 100% sure that he thinks she doesn't know. As to whether she actually does know? I don't have the answer to that. He does not want her to know (obviously) as it will cause great discord in their marriage. I probably won't tell her. I don't see the good it will do. But I really can't look at him without disgust. I have zero to little tolerance for secrecy and lies and even less so within the bounds of marriage. The whole situation makes me ill but the more I reflect on it I don't know that her knowing would change what has been going on. All it will bring about is hurt and anger. So I'll just be angry for her. :-p

Yeah, there is that. :). But posting what I know on a public forum would be a big no-no. ;) lol

It's not infidelity.

I need to be vague but I am tormented by this and am not really thinking rationally. For some time now I have been made aware that my friend's dh is keeping a secret from her. I can't go into details for so many reasons. It's likely not marriage breaking but I know it would make her very mad and hurt. I'm mad that I am in this situation of having to know this because I don't know what to do. If it were me, I would want to know. But, because I am on the flip side, I don't want to cause unnecessary discord in a marriage. I truly don't know if she has suspicions or if this would hit her out of left field. This isn't hear-say or rumors; it's fact. Her husband is _________ so it's not like I would be stirring up trouble based on a rumor. I think I should let sleeping dogs lie, but it makes me so angry whenever I see him and I hurt for her that I know and she doesn't. And I don't want her to find out I knew all along and never told her. Ugh. The things I ponder on Christmas night. WWYD?