I have a cross-thread request of the vast hivemind.

I need recommendations for children's books geared toward helping youngsters (5 & 8) cope with questions about a) being adopted, b) having two mommies and c) an absent (possibly incarcerated) father.

This is well outside my area of expertise and I'd really like to point these good folks to the best materials.

Thanks so much for any insight.

Suggestions sent to my profile addy, or in Natter would be greatly appreciated.

I am knocked up!

Babyfras is due May 24th.

Thank you, NOT!Secret-Santa-Just-Because!

You are awesome!

I'm not sure I've ever asked for ~ma, but if people would like to send "concrete step forward" vibes towards me, I'll be having nerves numbed tomorrow around 9:30am board time, and the hope is that it will positively affect my extreme neck and shoulder pain.

Well, I know it's a little bit too late to suggest this for Christmas, but for those of you who don't know, I live in Jerusalem, Israel. I know this board has religious people on it, or people with religious families and friends.

So if any of you of any faith would like something from here (say, the Old City - I live close to it) for Christmas or any other occasion, it's really easy for me to get it and send it overseas. I'm even OK with rubbing objects against graves/approximated graves/holy locations, if that what turns you on. Profile addy is good, and happy holidays!

The automotive aid package failed to get through the Senate. Unless the White House steps up and uses the TARP funds, I may be well and truly screwed. GM has already hired bankruptcy attorneys and advisors.

I'll take whatever extra job~ma you can spare, please.

We had to take our dog Zoe to the emergency vet clinic tonight because she was acting really strangely, like she was in GI distress. They took x-rays and determined that she has a very large abdominal mass that has likely been growing for some time. They admitted her to the hospital and will be doing blood tests and a detailed ultrasound tomorrow to determine if the mass is operable or if the cancer has spread too much for it to be so. As you can imagine, so soon after Byron was diagnosed with cancer and had to has his leg amputated (not to mention the horrific experience Drew went through with his father's cancer this summer, which is so far beyond this), it's been a very difficult night. I don't know if this is something treatable, but it is serious either way. I may have to make the decision to put her to sleep this weekend if they determine she is suffering and unable to recover.

I've only had her back in my life for three months. They gave us the news in the same room I was in when they told me they needed to amputate Byron's leg.

Coping~ma and health~ma would be appreciated.

Well, the news is mixed. The good news is that they were able to remove the mass, which was attached to her spleen. They also had to remove a piece of her liver (the surgeon said it was probably benign, but she didn't want to take the chance), which means the surgery was extensive. They're going to keep her through Monday, and then she can come home. The bad news is that there's a decent chance we're going to find out at the end of next week that the tumor was malignant, in which case we've spent a lot of money to buy her a month or two. I don't know how to feel, honestly. I never wanted to be a person who would keep a pet alive for herself, and I never would have put her through this (not to mention spent so much money we don't have) if there wasn't a good chance that she would recover. But the choice came down to surgery or euthanasia, and there was no way to know which way to go. So we took the chance. I just hope the next month doesn't turn out to be a long, painful goodbye.

Sorry to be so bleak. I'm just really worn down and worried. Thanks for listening.

Please send whatever "easy passing"~ma you have to my grandfather in Eugene. It seems he's in the end stages - nothing specific, everything's just shutting down, and my uncle doesn't think he'll last the weekend.

Also, if you could send some decision~ma to me, so I can figure out when I want to go up, I'd appreciate it.