Also, I'd get another look at the heart. For many years, I had supra ventricular tachycardia. One specific nerve in my heart would randomly misfire sending my heart racing. It got worse over the years until I had surgery to completely fix it. The thing is, whenever I went to urgent care they couldn't detect anything wrong (even with an ekg) unless the heart was still racing. I heard many times over the years that it was all anxiety. And those heart monitors never happened to catch the random time of these episodes. When we finally got to an ER right when everything was happening and they got the ekg set up in time, we were able to get a heart surgeon to see the readout and he instantly saw what was happening. At all other times the heart looked normal.

Same here. I was telling the husband that it feels like we're on a football team running with the ball from the 1 yd line and every player on the other team is heading towards us, always getting closer. That, or what I saw on social media: We playing Middle School Dodge Ball and the front line is reeeeally thinned out.

I made some last year (one of my many lockdown experiments). It was insanely easy to make but I couldn't get the texture right. It was either too grainy or too "chewy." But, again, it's really easy to do.

We name lots of things. Roomba is named Zoomy (kids named him). Minivan is named Vincent Van Go. Plants sometimes even get named. I named a plant after my brother's bunny he had 2 decades ago... because he (brother) made the ceramic pot for the plant and the plant is a rabbit's foot fern. Most names are based on a pun. I really love puns.

So, I pulled Grizelda the Turkey out of the fridge and got her ready for her time in the oven. As I reached to turn on the oven, our power cut out. I checked with the neighbors. Power was out for many blocks. So, we quickly put Grizelda back in the fridge and googled which restaurants were serving takeout today. Luckily, the power company restored everything about an hour later and our dinner was only delayed 30 minutes due to the buffer I had planned in my timeline.

- 12 dad's bedroom cleaned for a guest. Wow! I'm amazed at how much clutter and trash she could fit in there. - Kids bathroom cleaned. Boys sure do have bad "aim." That place stunk so badly. 🥴

I fully gave in to my organizing tendencies and made an incredibly detailed timeline with links to recipes and shopping list. 😁 Thanksgiving Timeline in Notion My day will mostly be filled with cleaning bedrooms for my sister's family. Why does cleaning with kids take triple the time than cleaning without them? If I'm lucky, I'll have time to knit it a few rounds on the sleeve of my sweater project.

All right. I could use everyone's creative brains. My 12dd is very into art/drawing. She has covered her ceiling and all her walls with drawings. I'd love to find some sort of portfolio or organizer for all this paper (most are 8.5x11). What do artists use? A large portfolio with papers just stuffed inside? A binder with plastic inserts? Something else? Also, additional artsy gift ideas see appreciated.

My (vaccinated) husband and (vaccinated) 12yo are often inside with other non-mask and non-vaxers. To them, the main reason for their continued masking in spite of peer pressure not to is the possibility of quarantines if they get any sort of sickness (until negative covid tests). They both are extroverts and *hate* being forced to stay home.

Thank you everyone for your kind praise. There have to be bad days every once in awhile, amiright? I think I'll add this mug to my Christmas Wish List. It only seems right. 😉

I won. My homeschooled 9yo (who likely has adhd, emphasis on the hyperactivity) had the.most.epic meltdown/tantrum I've seen in years. But! I didn't match his anger level. I didn't punish, yell back, threaten, or react. When I started to feel triggered by his constant yelling, I excused myself to my own room until I could face him again. Later, when he did finally finish his assignment (writing a pretend letter), he included that he loved me. So, please send me my trophy and I'll pass it on to the next parent. Also, please don't talk to me for the next couple of days because I (introvert) am 150% emotionally drained.

Our little suburb town is doing a great job. The tiny local pharmacy opened up reservations for kid's appointments last week in anticipation of CDC approval. The schools also sent out a letter that this same pharmacy is bringing the shots to each school site (dates/times to be determined). Our town had a high youth vaccination rate (as opposed to the surrounding towns) so we anticipate a high rate for kids too. My boys are getting their shots today too!

Our tiny pharmacy in our local village started accepting appointments for kids (5-11) as early as this coming Friday. You betcha I got appts for my two boys (ages 9 and 10) within minutes. Fri at 3:25! We even put a star on our calendar for the holiday status that day deserves.

Every night. They're 12, 10, and 9. Mostly to turn off their reading lights and make the bookworms actually go to sleep.

We corrected my daughter's overbite when we noticed that she wasn't eating properly because her teeth weren't aligned and when she developed a slight lisp from the front teeth being too far out front.

I love mixing antique, new and handmade. If you want the pieces to blend well, I might even recommend that you consider changing out the handles or hinges with more modern kinds.

This is such a fascinating topic. I love seeing language evolve. One this I do in text that I wish I saw more often was abbreviating names. I'm mostly texting other mom friends about our kids/husbands. I nearly always use just the first initial for names; sort of how I saw written in victorian-era hand-written letters. I don't see that nearly as often as I prefer. I also wish I could just respond with the letter "k" instead of "Okay. Sounds good!" but I've heard that "k" is rude.

As a knitter I didn't want to leave your post unanswered. I don't have a ribbed hat pattern but I have three other tried and true patterns: 1) Purl Soho Classic Cuffed Hat. I love the classic look, it's way easy, and has many size options. 2) Double Thick Hat by Kareema Ali. I made it in fingering but since it's golden in on itself, the weight is more worsted. So many customization options too. 3) Thorpe Hat. I admit that I haven't made this yet but it's on my queue for this winter. Looks well designed. https://ravel.me/thorpe

Oh my goodness. Thank you everyone! I have a long list of research topics, phone calls to make, experts to find and books to read. I'm a smidge overwhelmed but I finally have a direction to start and some concepts to learn about. I even took everything mentioned above and created a prioritized task list that will start working on them tomorrow. Somebody above was concerned about safety; everyone is fine. There's no concern about any danger. Thank you for keeping an eye out for that. I'll come back with any updates as time goes on.

Wow. I think I have some phone calls to make. I do have another question. Has anyone here had to convince their spouse that whatever is going in with the kid might not actually be a product of unstructured parenting? My spouse has stated that he believes that adhd has been massively over-diagnosed and "adhd" kids are (including ours), for the most part, products of permissive parenting, too much technology, etc. My goal is to do right by my kid but I know it'll be so much easier if spouse and I can be on the same page.

He said that he was confused by the teacher telling him too many things at once. Sometimes he'll say he was bored in class or that he can't hear the teacher well. As this kiddo's parent, I know that he only rarely takes responsibility for his outbursts. But I also know that he is so easily distracted by all the cool drum equipment. He's on a swim team and in a robotics class. He's gotten into trouble a couple of times in swim but I think that swimming feeds a constant tactile need and he does a fine most of the time. He has complained a couple times about robotics being "boring" during the coding portions but when he gets back to building with his hands he loves it again.

I need to vent but I also absolutely love advice so I don't keep finding myself in this situation. My dear, very high-energy 8yo boy was just dropped from the place he was taking drum lessons. Two different teachers said he had behavioral problems (not listening, not following instructions, etc.). I absolutely agree that he was disrespectful and not following instructions and he and I have had many, many talks about listening/obeying teachers, etc. My kiddo has said many times that he loves drums, wants to play music, etc. but when he's in the lessons, he acts out. So, he's been dropped as a student; he's disappointed and I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed that my son (whom I love) keeps getting in trouble in public ways. First it was in kindergarten when he was in the principal's office weekly for being a disturbance in class, not listening, etc. The kindergarten teacher completed her own form and said that he had adhd and recommended medication. I ended up withdrawing him and we've been homeschooling ever since. He was already labeled by the school as a "bad kid," was frequently missing recess due to being in "detention," and they even were threatening to withdraw academic help. But it's been a couple of years and he's still not getting to participate in activities. I am so conflicted on the adhd thing. He totally might have it. But, he might also be just a high-energy, easily-distractable kid that is thriving in the homeschool world. He's crazy smart in math, engineering, science, etc. He's reading just fine. I can easily accommodate any and all of his needs to move or change subjects or even teach any subject in different ways. I'm sad that he might not get to participate in "normal school" though unless he's medicated. If medication truly is the best thing for his little growing body, then we'll look into that. I know it's selfish but I do get embarrassed when his "non-normal" behavior shows up in public. He does absolutely great in his robotics class and swim team. I thought drums would also be great; but I suppose not. Even so, he does have good musical rhythm, I thought this would be a good outlet for that. Anyway, like I said. I needed to vent. But, I also totally welcome any ideas or advice.

He sounds like he's old enough to learn about how virus particles disperse in outdoor air. Perhaps he'd appreciate watching (scientific, authoritative) videos how viruses scatter in the wind. Or, perhaps if you have a family friend who's a doctor who can explain that info to him? Is he the kind of kid where getting more information would help sooth fears?

We only wear Happy Masks and Enro. Nearly all of them are holding up really well. My 8yo has a habit of licking, sucking, and chewing on things, so I have had to replace 1-2 of his. I feel like the masks do still make a good seal. I try to wash weekly (or sooner if necessary). Teacher Husband and 12yo wear theirs everyday at school for about 7 hours. ETA: fix typos

If they're really cautious, would they consider requiring the kids to test before coming?