Wow! I love the help you all are giving me! I actually remeber some of these titles! My memory just needed a little boost. Thank you. Now, off to spend a small fortune on my littles future love of reading!

pinkmint... We are actually making a few purchases this year for our adult children, grandchildren and young ones in the family, but it is the first time in two years. Due to unemployment, we found ourselves not spending a dollar unless it was considered a need. Thankfully my husband is now employed, but we are still struggling financially and are only making a few small purchases. It was difficult and we felt like scrooges, yet I know we had no other choice. My adult children were struggling as well, and were also grateful that we weren't exchanging gift and they didn't have to go shopping. Sometimes it is best just to enjoy the company of family and cherish the true meaning of Christmas. Tech Wife.... I am so sorry for the great loss you have suffered. It is difficult enough to lose one parent and I can only imagine that losing both parents so closely is devastating. I will say a prayer for you.

I have completed the toy purchases and now am looking to pick out a few books, but find I am at a complete loss for some reason. I need ideas for books that I can purchase for the youngest in my family. Soon to be granddaughter of 1 year 2nd grade boy 3rd grade boy What were some of your favorites?

I was just preparing to buy gift cards for a family member from Sears! I think I will make a purchase from another of her favorite stores. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you to everyone that took the time to share their experience! I have been looking at rugs on Overstock.com and am still undecided. My dogs are potty trained, but there have been bladder infections that caused them to have potty accidents. Then of course, there is the vomiting, or the butt dragging that happens on occasion. Yuck! THAT is when I pull out my trusty shampooer and I feel like the world is good again! I guess I need to look into the dry shampoo for the wool rugs and read up on it.

I am preparing to purchase my first large area rug and am conflicted on which type of material is best in a home with pets. Google has left me confused! Even though I would like a beautiful Oriental style rug that will last several years, what is most important to me is the ease of cleaning up a pet accident when it occurs. What has been your experience? If you have a wool rug, have you used a household shampoo/extractor machine and did it harm the rug? Maybe I should just get a synthetic one or one made of Polypropylene?

What a wonderful gift idea! I'm always looking for ideas that are practical, yet sentimental. This is a winner! This lurking mom thanks you!

Years ago I painted our previous deck two toned and loved it! The floor was a terracotta color and the railing was a tan color to match the house. It looked great and lasted several years. If I was doing it today, I would paint the flooring a charcoal color or brownish color. It would show less dirt and dust. I learned to use a bucket of soapy water and a long handled brush and followed up with the hose if it needed a quick cleaning. Take a look at Pintrest to decide which look you like the most! Just type in painted decks and you will see a great variety of decks.

Wow. How has two weeks almost gone by? Thank you for the advice that you all gave! I've been busy with a family emergency, so my poor baby still has not gone back to the vet. She doesn't appear to be worse, but the antibiotic didn't clear up the bumps on the chin. They aren't terrible right now. We do not use plastic bowls at all, so that isn't an issue. Plus the bowls get washed in the dishwasher every three days or so. I will ask the vet about the special soap and see if that works for the chin bumps. My main concern is the blister on the gum line. It has burst and there is an indentation in the gum as I said previously. I'm currently using a rinse designed for human use on it. I soak a cotton ball and hold it on the blister for a minute or so. I was hoping I'd see some improvement with this over time. I will probably return to the vet and proceed with having the gum scraped. Thanks everyone!

Before I return to the vet, I thought I would see what the Hive has to suggest. A few months ago I took my dog to the vet for bumps on the underside of her mouth and she also noticed a blister in my dogs mouth, just above her teeth. The vet prescribed an antibiotic for the bumps under her mouth, thinking bacterial infection, and said to watch the blister, thinking maybe it was from chewing on a bone. The bumps did seem to lessen but then came back. The blister never went away. It will burst and then comes back in time. Now, a few months later and I’ve noticed the blister appears to be in the gum, rather than on the gum, so to speak. There is actually a little dip in the surface of her gum when the blister is broken. I returned to the vet, and she has no clue what it is. She says it doesn’t appear to be cancer, as it is not black. She offered to do a scraping of the blister and send it for testing, but that would require sedation, which means a greater expense, so we chose the lesser of the two options, which was a new antibiotic that works better for issues in the mouth. Well, it hasn’t helped the blister at all. The bumps under the chin seem a little less prominent but are still there. I’m beginning to think this is allergy related, but have no clue about the blister. Before I return to the vet, I thought I would see what the hive might have to offer as suggestions. Have you ever seen this in a dog? Sure could use ideas to try before spending more money at the vet!

Do you have dogs? I guess you have to use the beater bar on the carpet and then an attachment for the edges, correct? If you have found an easier way to keep it clean, please share! How did you atttach the carpet to the laminate? Double sided tape or staples?

Hmmm.....I do like the idea of using glue! I will have to remember that if we proceed with laminate! Does it feel like the bullnose front is higher than the laminate on the step? Or is it such a minor difference that you don't notice it? Do your dogs seem to make it up and down the steps ok?

We are considering using a carpeted runner as you suggested, but then it will actually be more work to keep the steps clean as we will have to use the beater bar for the carpet and an attachment for the laminate part. ughhh....I was so trying to decrease the work load and have a pretty staircase. I do worry about how slick the laminate will be for the dogs. The last thing I need is a dog with a broken leg or hip!

Yes, I like the cush that carpeting on the steps provide too! But, yes, I don't think it will really work "look wise". Yes, I did think of purchasing new steps and staining them, just don't know if that would look odd, hence, the reason for turning to the hive. I think it might be better than using the laminate on the steps, but unusure of how it will look.

I haven't been on the boards in a long time as I can't seem to keep up with everything on my plate, but I REALLY could use some advice! The question is what is it like to have laminate flooring on a staircase? And the many other questions that arise in my stressed out mind..... Is it safe? Is there a raised edge on the front part of the step, or is it level with the laminate on the tread? How do your dogs do on it? Would I be better off installing REAL wood treads on the stairway and then using laminate upstairs? Would I be better off having carpet on the stairway? Would that look odd having carpeted stairway and the rest is laminate? Anyhow, I need to get some input from those of you who have stairways and laminate flooring. I'm trying to decide the best material to use on the stairs, considering I am planning to use laminate in the main area of my home. I'm concerned that the laminate would have a little raised area on front edge of each step because of the bullnose piece that is used on the front of each tread, and it may be a trip hazard, for me or my rather large rambunctious dogs. I have one of those funny homes with a small entrance way, then you must choose to go up the stairs to the main living area, or you go down the stairs to the lower level that has the family room. (In my area we call this a split foyer home.) In the down stairs area we have wood look luxury vinyl planks, but plan to use the laminate upstairs. I don't think it would be possible to put carpet on the stairways, would it? Please save my sanity and give me your experience!