I would make sure you are washing your cloth mask after each use. I also have asthma, and I have noticed that it’s actually my allergies that are being triggered (by going outside in a cloth mask to do stuff) and not the mask itself. I sometimes have to wear a N95 for six hours straight. I exercise in a cloth mask. When I start to feel yucky while masking, remembering to slow down and take a breather helps. I tend to take shallower breaths in a mask...taking deep breaths helps me tolerate it again. You might try disposable paper surgical masks. They are starting to be available again. Try using them just once.

Dh is not diabetic, but his family has very strong genetics for type 1 and type 2. He has lost a lot of tolerance in the last decade or so, so he really has cracked down on his diet. I have largely given up baking except for pizza on Friday nights for the kids, bread during a pandemic, and a rare treat for the kids. I don’t think substituting applesauce for sugar really changes the dynamics of an unhealthy diet psychologically for people—-and for most people, the mind issues of what to eat, how much and when are a harder problem to fix than the actual what to eat. We all should be eating a lot of veg but we seem to spend a lot more mental energy on treats.

Dh is sugar free....no sweeteners (artificial or otherwise). He has a handful of berries a couple of times a week, but that is about it. He doesn’t eat grains at all, sticks to low carb veg generally, and has beans only a couple of times a week. His body is happiest on meat and veg. (Mine can’t tolerate that much meat.)

So, my background is that my older children were homeschooled, but I put my daughters into public school when I had a health crisis. I was able to volunteer in the classroom quite a bit with them. The biggest difference between homeschool and public school (aside from classroom dynamics) is that public school children (at least in the two states my kids were in) are required to write much more at a very early age. Kindergartners are expected to write in 1-3 sentences. First graders were expected to write 4-7 sentences by the end of the year. This was very different than what I expected of my children a decade ago. Math expectations are all over the board. Some of that makes no sense developmentally, but one thing I would make sure of is that the third grader fully masters his multiplication facts this year and that the first grader really has addition and subtraction down. Homeschoolers are sometimes a bit lax on that particular point. If I were to make recommendations with regards to materials, I would focus on things that are simple, thorough, and self-sustaining. Scrambling to find readers, art & science supplies, and other things is just flat out unrealistic at this point in time. I think would point her towards "get 'er done" style of materials rather than the ideal stuff with lots of components and planning. CLE math is inexpensive and pretty thorough on fact drilling and easy to administer. SOTW (text only) would work for both 1st and 3rd history. Handwriting Without Tears workbooks are also pretty straightforward. I'm using Voyages in English for 2nd grade grammar this next year, and I like it. Spectrum Writing is inexpensive and easy..... If they have a bit of budget to work with, I'd look at sharing a Sonlight or BookShark core and then ordering a bunch of Let's Read and Find Out Science books. (If budget is tight, a lot of the LRFO science is all on youtube, with people reading the books.) She might also request a Rainbow Resource catalog. They have pre-made kits for grades (RR created) and I actually kinda like what they chose.

Oh, and stating the obvious, before bed she needs to shower and change clothes and not touch the cat again so she is at least getting a break at night.

Cat needs to sleep out of her bedroom and her bedroom needs to become a clean and safe place for her. Can you vacuum and dust it for her and wash all of her bedding on hot? I agree that the cat is not a good idea. Masking the histamine reaction to the allergy is not the same as not having the allergy.

I felt differently in March, fwiw, but I think our family is going to be at this for the next year or so. If you trust them, having one other family to mix with will make this a lot more bearable. We aren’t bubbling with anyone, and it’s hard.

I’d be ok with bringing them into my bubble. Your bubble right now only includes your mom and her husband, right? The biggest risk seems to be coming from your Ds, and if she is ok with that...go for it.

Out: N95s surgical masks (available online) gloves hand sanitizer, generally (Costco and Target briefly have this every week or so—it’s luck of the trip) sanitizing wipes—Costco gets an occasional shipment, but I have never been lucky enough to have Dh or a friend snag them at the right time for us Lysol hydrogen peroxide rubbing alcohol hand soap (Target usually has a premium liquid brand small bottle, grocery store usually has bar soap) dishwashing liquid disinfecting cleaners, other than bleach. There is usually a few bottles of generic bleach canned tomatoes/tomato products, though this is improving—found some last week food hit or miss items: meat, frozen veg, yeast generally back in stock: flour, pasta, spices, canned fruit, toilet paper, paper towels, feminine products

This same thing could be said of some with autism or other social thinking differences. (Other WTM’ers: Note that I did not say that all autistic people lack the ability to be empathetic.)

This. She says it better than I did.

Statistically speaking, it is a rare sociopath who recognizes that they are the problem. Even if this horrible thing about you is true (and I don’t think it is), then recognizing you have destructive thoughts and behaviors is actually an encouraging sign. Regardless of whatever label you may be applying to yourself, I urge you to seek a qualified professional who can help you deal with your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Hugs to you!

Similar boat here. University has gone to all online except select health majors labs. Doctors are still seeing almost all patients virtually due to PPE shortages and trying to protect other patients. Major employers have rolled back all plans to bring people back to campus. People who are at work are with other adults required to mask, according to state law. Here, it’s only the teachers we ask to be around hundreds of unmasked persons a day.

We're not dealing with normal people for sure.

Not really. My understanding is that tests are swabs, antibody tests are blood serum. I don't think anyone is happy to be tested, but I think it would allow us to open back up more safely and quickly. The goal is to get things back under control....once testing numbers showed that we were back under control, you could use more precise measures to figure out who to test. Starting with baseline testing helps you have a starting place.