Dh put my paddle in the dishwasher (stainless steel) and it isn't as pretty shiney anymore, but it's just fine otherwise. Also, I tended to throw my unused mixer piece on the bottom of the stand after I had taken my bowl out, it must have scratched it enough... to make little rust spots! It's my fault though :( Just beware....don't do that!

I have a bigger version, the Professional 600, and I love it. My sister had a smaller version, I think the artisan series, and had trouble with the bowl popping of the stand when she'd try to make a bigger batch of bread dough, so she upgraded, too. I think the bigger one is worth the extra money if you can do it. FWIW, my MIL had 2 'rebuilds' (that's not the right word, I'm having a brain-fart! but it's when they fix a broken one and sell it at discount) and they both were broke in about a year. She did use it a lot though. I've had mine for 3-4 years I think and use it about 2-3 times a week and it still works great.

My kids have a bacterial type... they've been hanging onto a nasty virus for weeks, then started growing a bacteria and coughed their contagious pneumonia germs all over each other for days until everyone eventually ended up with it. I don't know if it's walking pneumonia. I think it is, but Dr.'s don't seem to care to track it or test it, they just treated them all and called it community acquire pneumonia. They said pneumonia isn't contagious, the bacteria or virus is. That's like saying colds aren't contagious, viruses are. !??! Of course not EVERYONE gets a cold if they are exposed to a virus, I was just wondering what my chances are on the pneumonia/bacteria end. Nobody would give me a straight answer (except all of you!) I have been coughing up green phlegm, soooo they let me have antibiotics, too, because I'm probably growing what they have. Everyone is much better now though!

:grouphug: Good thing is that the baby will take 9 months to get here :) Don't worry about telling anyone. It's not their business. Everything will be okay.

My baby was tested for RSV because she started out with bronchiolitis, then developed a fever a few days later, that's when they started antibiotics on her because her chest xray was questionable. It's been downhill since then. I have some sinus pain and a sore throat, but no fever or much of a cough. I wonder how fast it comes on and how long I should wait before going in... I don't want to walk out empty handed, and I'm tired of being so pushy with doctors who don't listen! Today in general has been much better. No fevers :) My mom came over and a lady from church brought a meal. I'm hesistant to have too many people come, I want to quarrentine ourselves from everyone.

So, my 4 young kids have been coughing for a couple weeks, I'm assuming from a virus. There is no coughing manners because of their age. Now all 4 have been diagnoses with pneumonia within the last week! They started with fevers and coughing til they puke, 2 with also ear infections. Pertussis test was negative. My kids usually aren't sick, and yeah, this winter is sucky long :p But now I'm not feeling the greatest.... I'm assuming that they have some contagious form for all of them to get it, but I was hoping that since I'm an adult and didn't really get the original cold that has dragged them all down that I wouldn't get it. WAAAAHHHHHHH I want to cry I'm so exhausted. I've been to the clinic or hospital 5 times in a week :( I don't want to have to drag myself in..... I'm having a pity party, thanks for listening. Has anyone had their family all get pneumonia??? I think this is so bizarre.

Well, you could list everything that you do and have done... Yes, I am a housewife, homemaker, and I have spent the last 20-something years training and discipling the youth that I bore to be productive members for their homes and society in which I have received eternal payment :) The best thing you can do is be prepared to answer such questions with confidence, no matter what term anyone uses. Those terms are used and thought of differently by everyone.

Have her hormones checked out - thyroid, adrenal, or maybe she's had a major change with estrogen from menopause? Just a thought.

I can add that the Bean Queen diet is basically Paleo plus beans - atleast that what she eats and recommends for type 2 diabetics.

Check out the Bean Queen - she explains the physiology and everything. In short, the soluble fiber in beans binds to cholesterol via your bile (your bile is made up of cholesterol), then you can poop it out. If it's not bound to soluable fiber (which can't be absorbed), your bile (and cholesterol) keeps getting reabsorbed and has a compounding effect. The more bile you bind with soluble fiber and poop out, the more cholesterol is taken from your bloodstream by your liver to make more bile (cuz your getting rid of it!) It's a good article, I know people personally helped and healed by this nutritionist. One smart lady. http://www.karenhurd.com/pages/healthtopics/specifichealthconcerns/ht-shc-highcholesterol.html

ugh. I woke up today to my 3yr old screaming because she was covered in vomit. I was just in the clinic the past 2 days - a 4yo with ear infection and start of pneumonia and a baby with bronchiolitis who needs updrafts... but has no fever. Yet. Now the 3 year old has a fever, but it doesn't appear to be stomach flu (yay), just fever induced vomiting. SIGH. Guess I just wanna say you aren't the only one. Hope quick recovery. I'm worn thin from 2 weeks of sick kids.

If the doctor isn't listening to you, see another one, and another one, and ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist until you get one. She can have a simple abdominal x-ray taken to see if she has a distended, fecal filled colon. I've seen them on xray. Make sure you take your list: abdominal x-ray, gluten and allergy tests, and fire any doctor who doesn't listen to you. You are paying for their time. Take someone with you if you are to shy to press for answers. Sometimes you need an advocate to get things done. This will only affect her self-esteem worse and worse as time goes on, as well.

I don't know if you may be interested in dietary changes as well. I heard a nutritionist once say that eating good fats (mainly nuts or seeds, 1/2 cup daily) and eating no sugar (ever) helps calm down the inflammatory process. I don't have experience with it personally but it may be worth a try! HTH

Thanks! I love the idea of the little indoor garden :) We are in Wisconsin and covered with snow, so grass would be such a refeshing sight! I like the resurrections eggs, too. I have heard about it before but never tried it. I like that both will last over a couple weeks. Thanks again!

I want to do some crafts or short unit study for Easter (Christian, about the death and resurrection of Jesus.) Anybody have any ideas to share? What traditions you do? I have 4 kids 7 and under. I lack the creativity, or the ability, to come up with something before the day is already on top of me or gone :) TIA!

Wow. Atleast you have a way to make him better! I hope he's on the upswing now. Time to throw out the sunscreen and play outside. A few wrinkles and sunspots aren't as bad :)

Can someone tell me what this program is all about? The basics, the philosophy, a general outline and progression of how it works? The website makes my head hurt (most do...) No abbreviations, please :) Thanks!!

I was thinking the same thing.... I'll be tuning in as well. Some people say MFW Adv. science is 'light' - I guess it depends on how much you want to do. I haven't bought it yet but am planning on it. I was actually thinking of adding Noeo if I decided add anything.

I can't help, but I'm curious too! We have been using MM and I'm not sure if my ds would benefit from 'seeing' math with MUS... other than what his mom tells him that is! I've been curious if we should go this route.

You know, I guess we've done a lot of that! My dad use to do that with us. He'd be like "sh.... what bird is that?" And quiz us just on the sound. I like the idea of keeping a daily notebook and just writing something, even if it's just a sentence about the weather. I think then we'll have something to look back at to read and remember. (Maybe it's the sentimental me that wants the notebook.) We have a lot of wildlife - yesterday a wild tom turkey and 2 hens went walking 15 feet from our garage... through the yard. We've have bald eagles that live nearby, I saw one today. My goal is just to be more intentional and interact with my kids. Time to slow down. I think I've been taking our nature haven home for granted.

Thanks for the ideas! I was stuck on the notebooking and how that was suppose to work. I'd still like to do it, but I think I'll pass and just enjoy what we see and talk more intentional about it. I think I'll study up so I know what I'm talking about! :)

So, I am interested in doing nature study as science. Right now we are just reading occasional books on whatever we get from the library but aren't doing anything activity-wise, but I know they'd like it. We live in the country and have a lot of nature around us! But what exactly am I suppose to do? I tried searching the forums but it was taking to long to find anything worth reading (send me a link if this has been discussed before.) Mainly, how can I get my kids to draw what they see? They like to draw, but it will likely be unrecognizable and they'll complain they don't know how. Should I draw it? Take a picture of it? Or forget the drawing? I'd like to have some picture of what they are studying (say, tree bark this time, or wild seeds, etc...) to that we can have a neat notebook! Plus, they can't write much but I can write down their narrations, I don't mind that. Should I just scrap the notebook idea and just talk about what we see and how it compares to what we read? My two oldest are 5 and 7.

Something cheap and extra easy is go buy a BIG can of baked beans - open it and dump it in the crock pot. Add sliced hot dogs if you feel so inclinded! or get a few boxes of those cheap premade scalloped potatoes (I think you just add hot water... I don't know, I don't buy them! But I like to eat them.) hth

Wow. I think it is definately genetic in your family. When you say your daughter didn't grow for three years.... that makes me think that now... my 4 year old dd and 2 yo dd are the same size. My 4 year old is small and I have been worried about her. Hmm maybe I'll need to get that checked out. But she never wants to eat anything and the 2 yo loves food and I figured that was the issue. No one in my family has really any auto-immune diseases though. Mine came after my 2nd pregnancy (which is my 4 yo dd that is small now) but I was malnourished (by protein blood levels were low as) and I was sick all the time from a bad immune system. I wasn't eating right or enough to sustain pg and nursing constantly. Glad you we finally were able to figure out how to stablize your dd.

Mommymilkies ~ do you feel like your thyroid issues contributed to your dd's? I always wonder if I'm passing antibodies to my babies inutero or via breastfeeding. I feel like drs think I'm quacky for answering questions like that. I know they don't know the answer because there is probably no research.... but I would like to have an intelligent discussion with a doctor about such things but they're never up to it :glare: . I have concidered asking about the brand name but haven't. I normally feel great on levothyroxine, just not during the postpartum adjustments.