Thanks for all of the responses! In case anyone needs to know, our Staples charges $3.99 per book regardless of the page number. Not a bad price, IMO, but considering I have so many (I just purchased The Good & The Beautiful so I have even more to bind!) I decided to get my own. I was searching around and end up finding a binding machine (with a 12-page hole punch and 450 page capacity), with 200 spines, for $35.99 with free shipping on ebay. I'm not sure it's branded, but the seller gets good reviews and I didn't see any complains. And given how pro-buyer Ebay is I feel comfortable giving it a try. Here it is in case anyone is interested http://www.ebay.com/itm/252933949845?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT BTW you can open up and reuse plastic combs on binding machines as well. You just put the book back on the machine and reopen the combs. I have lots of experience with binding machines and would do this often. It's scheduled to come Tuesday and I'm excited to try it out!

My girls eat at different times, and I eat at a different time than them, if at all :) We are just not big, formal breakfast eaters here. Breakfast is usually something small and easy (cereal, oatmeal, pancakes that I make, freeze and then reheat, or fruit like a banana) that doesn't take a lot of thought. One of mine typically eats before school starts, the other not until we take our break. A set schedule wouldn't work for our family, and I wouldn't try to force a child to eat at a set time if they weren't hungry. Mine like their oatmeal lukewarm and very goopy and sticky...double blech! :p

Thanks! The set at Jerry's is $87.50. I decide to not worry about the brands so much and ended up purchasing a lot of it on amazon. I saved quite a bit by purhasing a set of 24 watercolor tubes vs. the suggested 7 colors from a more expensive brand. Amazon had a nice boxed set of oil pastels and a set of brushes that came with two of the paint palettes. I was able to get a majority of the supplies for one DVD for around $30 on amazon and will purchase the more expensive or easier to attain items, like some of the paper, with a coupon at one of the local stores or Walmart/Target. I figure that at 7 years old they don't necessarily need expensive supplies!

I've been on amazon but haven't had much luck. Most of the individual items on Jerry's Artarama aren't too expensive, its just that there are a lot of materials. I'm going to look around at Walmart and Michaels, in person, to see if I have any luck. $130 for art supplies is pretty steep!

I know this question is highly subjective, but if you use Home Art Studio, do you find it worth the cost? I purchased three DVDs via homeschool buyers co-op but I'm just now getting around to checking out the supply list. I have twins, so there are things that I will need to double up on (the paint brushes, clay, and the set of markers). Right now my cart is at close to $130 at Jerry's Artarama. Yikes! I had no idea the supplies would be that expensive. However, from what I've seen I have been impressed with the projects, and if I put my girls in an art class it would likely cost more than this for a 6-8 week session. Anyways, I guess I'm looking for opinions. If you've done this, do your kids love it? Do you find that it's worth the cost of all of the supplies? Have you been able to find some of the supplies elsewhere at a lower cost? I found a 30% off an entire online purchase today with Michaels but I'm having trouble finding comparable items. Thanks!

I prefer to be outdoors, and we are an active family, but we live in a very seasonal area. I am sooo not interested in biking or hiking in 95 degree weather, or 25 degrees for that matter. I know people do it but nothankyou! So to the gym it is. Fortunately its 5 minutes down the road. I have a bunch of exercise DVD's but I just cant get motivated at home. Too many distractions!

Oh how adorable!! Fewer things as cuter than little kittens! I don't know how you stand it!

Agreed. I wouldn't do it either, as tempting as it is. It's ridiculous. You shouldn't have to even think about having to lie just to get results. I've been tempted to lie myself but my dignity and morals won't allow it. Fortunately my issues aren't life threatening either, even if they affect my quality of life. Sadly I've learned to live with a certain amount of pain and discomfort. HUGS to you!!!

Funny you mentioned the mirena because I have plans to talk to my OB about having it removed at my annual exam tomorrow. Im not sure if it is any of the cause, but at least I could rule it out. I've read about some of the side effects others have had online and decided its time to go.

Seriously, do doctors realize how much they, themselves, stress us out? I am so sorry. That sounds miserable! It almost makes you just want to lie (yeah, sure, Im tired!) just to get the tests. I dont understand why rhey are so hesitant? Mine are the opposite, sending me for expensive test after expensive test, each with high out-of-pocket despite having good insurance, because they have no clue. I did have a rather large lump removed under my right armpit in my early 20s. It actually ended up being breast tissue and Im glad I had it removed as it grew in size quite a bit before it was removed. Im surprised nobody is taking it seriously.

I love going to the gym as well. I mean its not my favorite thing in the world, and there is plenty of under the breath cussing ;) but its very ingrained in my daily routined. Over the years I have made some friends so its fun to get out and see them. As a a homeschooling momma the gym is "my" time, where I get a break from my girls. Last night was cardio funk and its like being in a club, disco lights and all. Love it! Also do strength, barre and some yoga. With my health woes I find it even more important to stay active. I've been going 4-5 days a week for over 3 years. Now its strange when I have to miss for any reason.

I'm not sure if I've ever taken Flagl. I took Xifaxin when I was first diagnosed with SIBO but that was a complete waste of time. I've managed to kick the SIBO several times by using herbal antibiotics but unfortunately it has upwards of a 90% recurrence rate. All of my other symptoms started around the same time that I developed the SIBO which is why I think they are at least partially connected.

Thank you all for responding. Its so incredibly frustrating and I appreciate being able to just let it out. My symptoms are all over the place. From the GI issues I mentioned above, fatigue, brain fog, irritability, neuropathy (my hand keeps going numb just from typing this), joint and muscle aches, flushing and rashes, I lose my voice or it goes hoarse all the time, Raynaud's in my fingers...the list goes on. I've been tests for celiac, diabetes, thyroid, lupus, MS, carpal tunnel and who knows what else. I'm on my heating pad (sadly I refer to it as my BFF!) now because any kind of workout I do (I refuse to give in to this mess so I continue to work out 4-5 days a week) leaves me in pain, although I'm also in pain if I lay around too much, because my lower back is so stiff. Anyways, thank you so much for listening to my sob story! For you all that posted that you, or a loved one, are going through a similar situation I understand and wish you the best of luck!

Yikes the antibiotic stories are scary! I wish I remember what I took! I'm allergic to penicillin so I know it wouldn't have been in that family. The diet issue is touchy. Due to IBS and SIBO I eat mostly low FODMAP, which means raw veggies and a lot of veggies for that matter are out. I ate some blackberries this evening, not realizing they are high FODMAP, and looked 6 months pregnant immediately afterwards. And due to the SIBO, and whatever else is going on, I have a ridiculous list of foods I no longer tolerate. No dairy, most grains and resistant starches, legumes, gluten, rice. These foods trigger bloating, spasms, back pain and sometimes rashes and flushes, so I'm thinking I have histamine issues as well. Yep, I'm loads of fun at a party! My FMD did a stool test and put me on Ther-Biotic Complete, a probiotic, based on the good bacteria I am lacking, but I did not see much relief until I stopped taking them. I've also tried Align and VSL#3 with bad results.

I've had both a blood test and upper endoscopy come back negative. I choose not to eat gluten, but celiac was one of my first thoughts when everything went haywire.

I've seen a functional medicine Dr, which is an alternative medicine Dr. Mine is also a homeopathic chiropractor. I'm in all sorts of herbal supplements (oil of oregano, berberine, garlic with Allison, turmeric, digestive enzymes...). He is great but I spent close to a small fortune out-of-pocket so I stopped going.

I have extremely picky, tiny girls who would starve if I didn't offer them something they would eat. Both have been in and out of (useless) feeding therapy.

Wow. Thank you for taking the time to respond. You've given me more information on my thyroid numbers than any of the doctors I've tried talking to about it. My Vit D, 25-OH, Total, was 40 which my FMD agreed was functionally low. I'm not sure what to do now? If I go back to my regular GP for another test (this one is over a year old) he probably won't do the full test and will focus only on the TSH (btdt with him). It looks like I can order the tests myself. If the results still show hypo is there something I can take OTC or should I find another FMD to work with that will treat? Many of my symptoms (stiffness and pain in my lower back , buttocks, pelvic area, legs and sometimes feet, which gets better with some movement and will get worse overnight and in the morning. lumps and pitted nails on my thumbs, neuropathy in my hands and sometimes my feet) seem to fall in line with some arthritic conditions (ankylosing spondylitis, RA and/or psoriatic arthritis, although I do not have psoriasis of the skin) which is why I'm going to see a rheumatologist.

I try to eat fermented and pickled foods when I can. I make my own pickled cucumbers. I tried Prescript Assist, a probiotic made with soil, but that was awhile back. Maybe I should try it again. I am out of my element with these thyroid numbers so I will just give them to you, if that's okay, because I'm not entirely sure what they mean. This was taken last May, so just over a year ago. I will put the reference range in parenthesis TSH - 1.14 T4 Total - 6.3 (4.5 - 12.0) Free T4 Index - 2.1 (1.4 - 3.8) T4, Free - 1.3 (0.8 - 1.8) T3, Free - 3.3 (2.3 - 4.2) T3, Total - 100 (76-181) T3 Uptake - 34 (22-34%) T3 Reverse - 15 (8-25) Thyroglobulin Antibodies - <1 I did have low ferritin and vitamin B and D levels, so the doctor had me on supplements for those. In looking at the list of symptoms, I would say I have easily 50% or more of them. Not across all areas, but in many of them. I can't respond about the menstruating portion because I've been on an IUD since my girls have been born and haven't had a period since before pregnancy.

Thanks ladies! It sounds like a common occurrence, unfortunately. You start to wonder if you are going crazy! I can't take probiotics. They make the SIBO worse. I've had chronic constipation since I was a young child and have been diagnosed with IBS-C for 20+ years. I think the antibiotics just set of a chain reaction. I'm convinced I have some sort of autoimmune issue but we can't figure out what as so many symptoms overlap. So my GP told me it must be fibro and gave me Elevil, probably because he didn't know what else to do. I do *not* have widespread body pain (more localized to my lower spine/hips/legs) and I'm not convinced it's fibro. The Elevil made me so incredibly loopy, and wasn't helping, so I stopped taking it awhile back. I do appreciate his willingness to try to help. I think he is just at a loss as well. My functional MD ran a full blood panel, stool test and the DUTCH dried urine test. Those gave us some answers, but nothing definitive. And his visits are entirely out of pocket so I had to stop going. He was sure it was hypothyroid, but even by his standards my thyroid results were "optimal", in his words. So sorry for everyone in the same boat. It's exhausting. Prior to this I just assumed that a) you don't feel well, b) you go to the doctor and within a short period of time c) results. I've kind of lost all faith at this point. Of course googling just drives me nuts but it's a sad obsession of mine in my constant quest to figure out what is going on. Hugs to you all!

But nobody can figure out what it is. Sigh. Anyone else in a similar position? My health started going downhill almost 2 years ago. It started with use of antibiotics for an ear infection, and the antibiotics gave me SIBO. From there its been one thing after another. I've seen multiple GI doctors, a functional medicine Dr and a neurologist and of course my primary GP. Now I'm waiting on a referral for an integrative rheumatologist although at this point I feel like its going to be more tests that lead to no answers. I feel defeated and destined to just live with the pain and discomfort. Its depressing. Sorry for being a downer. Sometimes it helps to just vent.

That sounds amazing. I would be tempted to skip the conferences and hang out in my room in my pj's all day!

We drive from NC to my hometown of St. Louis several times a year and have since my girls were 6 months old. It's 800 miles, or roughly 13 hours with stops. We can do it in a day, but it's a LONG day. We usually break it up and stop for a night going over and do the drive back all in one day as hotels can also be hectic with littles. But as I said we are used to the drive, have been doing it for over 10 years, so making it in one day is doable. As much as I despise McDonald's, we know where each of the McDonald's with play areas are along our route. Sometimes just letting the kids get out to burn off some energy can make a huge difference, even if its only for 30 minutes. Rest stops (nice, clean ones...use your best judgement) are great for picnics and letting the kids run around if the weather cooperates. We are fortunate to have a few very nice, clean rest stops along our route. And we make ice cream or dessert stops at least once.

I love coffee, and drink several cups a day, but I have to drink the lightest blend. For me that's usually a breakfast blend. If I drink anything stronger I get that bitter taste. I cannot drink Starbucks due to that...even their lightest blend (the blonde roast) is too strong for me and gives me that bitter taste. At home I've figured out my perfect radio of water to coffee to get the flavor as I like it. I use a single cup keurig, and I measure out exactly 10 ounces of water with my Green Mountain Breakfast Blend. Anything less and, again, it tastes bitter. Everyone has their own coffee preferences. Usually it's trial and error until you find a coffee you like AND figure out the water-to-coffee ratio.

Absolutely. I have sciatica and fibro. I love hiking, but can't sit for long periods of time because it kills my lower back and legs so as much as I miss biking, it's out for me.