This is me, too, right down to the PBS. Maybe that's the difference. I actually look forward to Martha Speaks. :)

Yes, and to be honest, I wouldn't want it any other way. ;) My DH is a great dad and is very appreciative of what I do. After 15 years, he's finally starting to see the "big" picture. Last year, when oldest DS was finishing his first semester of college, DH asked him what he thought his grades would be. He said he had all As, and DH said, "You have your mother to thank for that." :coolgleamA:

That's great!!! :hurray: My older two went through the ATA leadership program and are 2nd degree black belts. They are the best of friends. Congratulations to your kiddos!

We really were lucky. And we learned a ton at that school, too. We also had art, recess, and music every week. Music twice, art and recess rotated twice/once, so one week art was twice and PE once, the next week, art once and PE twice. All of those teachers were fantastic. I don't understand this either. It seems like common sense went out the window here. :(

I actually had something similar to this during 3rd grade (in the 70s!) At my elementary school, we had 1 hour for recess, broken up through the day. First through 3rd had three 20 min. recesses, and 4th through 6th had two 30 min. recesses. K was a 1/2 day, so only one 20 min. recess. In third grade, the rule was that everyone play kickball during the first recess. It was highly organized and refereed by the teachers. I'm really not sure what the motivation was. That year was interesting in many ways. It was a typical, progressive 1970's setup--a giant open space classroom with rolling divider things turning it into 3 "pods." Academically, those 3 teachers were some of the toughest I ever had, and every minute of our day was structured from arrival to the final bell, and even then they walked us to the doors and made sure everyone behaved perfectly while walking through the building and onto the buses or into the neighborhoods. Most of us had been together for a few years by that point, but that year, we had very few problems among us. I don't know what it was, but there was just this expectation that everyone get along, be nice, include everyone, and behave. It definitely went beyond organized kickball, lol, but that was a HUGE deal to us on the first day. "What?! We HAVE to play the same game together for one whole recess?!" But we did, and it was fine.

I'm sorry. My MIL was just diagnosed with uterine cancer in May. We were hoping for a surgery- only fix for her, but it had spread and is now stage 4. She's doing chemo and feels pretty good. Having said that, my advice is not to wait too long to do the surgery. If you want a 2nd opinion, do it as soon as you can and then move forward. Praying for a good outcome for you.

I am homozygous on C677T. (I think that's how it's written ) ;) My lab work always showed I was near anemic, my vitamin D levels were terrible, I have Hashimoto's and migraines. I feel much better on supplements. (I take A LOT) My testing also showed I have an inability to process cholesterol meds, so I know to avoid those in the future. Someone mentioned tongue tie, and I really don't know what that is, but I carry the gene mutation for it as well.

I'm reading the book right now, too. I started it once before, but didn't finish it. I'm really not super cluttered and we have plenty of room, but I get pretty tired of constantly picking up "stuff." Plus I love to read about organization. :coolgleamA: I've been folding this way for years. I think I first learned in a book called The Beverly Hills Organizer. I loved that one! I have a big table near my main washer and dryer. My kids have big drawers in their closets full of t-shirts lined up on edge. It's easy to see which one they want, and they're only pulling out one at a time. I've tried this, but if you leave you're shirts flat, there's a sleeve hanging out in the back. You can fold it in half or thirds vertically after this though, and then fold it up further to stack it on edge. It's not the KonMari way exactly, but it will work.

Thanks for all of this information. I have been so confused about all of the test results that we get and the way they're interpreted. At one point, DS's prolactin level was so high they were sure it was a lab error and had it re-run. It came back even higher. Then 3 months later it was "normal." Sometimes it seems as though no one really understands everything that goes on in this part of the brain. The cyst conclusion is interesting. DS's doctors say they can't tell whether his is fluid-filled or solid. I wonder how something that is causing so many symptoms can be called "non-functioning." I understand it's based on specific hormone levels on labs only, but still..... I'm so glad you're getting answers! As an aside, there's a woman in our church who was diagnosed with a prolactinoma at the same age your DD is. She said her headaches were unbearable. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Is your DD sedated for the MRI? My DS has to be sedated and then has a really hard time coming out of it. He's become pretty fearful of doing it again based on his memories of the previous times. Good luck with the 24-hour test. My DS threw up tonight after he went to sleep. :(

Thank you! This is very interesting. My DS has done the saliva test twice, but never a 3-night series. He's done the 24-hour urinalysis twice. I need to ask about the further prolactin testing, especially since it was so high before. I have this feeling that he may be "cycling" with his cortisol. I know this is really hard to catch, and I'd like to do 30 days of saliva testing in a row to see what happens. It sounds like your Dr. is more open to the possibilities than ours. I'm going to insist on doing the labs more than once every few months. I hope you get helpful answers soon.

Thank you, yes, it's been one of those things that is so worrisome I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it. They can't tell whether it's a solid mass or fluid-filled, so I have this crazy fear that it'll "burst" in the middle of the night. I sort of wish they wouldn't have even mentioned that unlikely possibility. We will go back to see his doctors in September. He'll have another MRI and more labs. His labs have to be WAY off for a diagnosis of Cushing's to be given. It's frustrating, because I feel like that's all they look at. It's like the proverbial missing the forest for the trees. Thank you for your prayers! Thank you! I was so shocked to see your post yesterday. I haven't met anyone else who has gone through this. I did contact a surgeon on the west coast who specializes in this sort of thing, but he really only does surgery, so his doctors would have to agree that is what is needed. Right now they are saying it's to be avoided in any way possible. I'm really not so sure that's the way to go, but they tell us that no one does surgery without a specific set of labs, and right now his aren't far enough "off." It's so frustrating to see him suffer and change so much and have them say there's nothing to be done until he's worse? I would love to hear about your experiences so far and how the doctors are proceeding with your daughter. I feel like we need a second opinion, but I don't really know where to take him. We're in the middle of the country, so traveling in either direction is fine for us. You can PM me if that's easier. I knew something was wrong and insisted on an MRI. We were told that pituitary tumors are so rare in children that it couldn't possibly be that. He was also throwing up in the middle of the night, so they agreed to do it, and there it was. He looks so much like the little boys in the "before and after" Cushing's photos. It's shocking. The surgeon there said that at his age his nasal passages are so small that damage to the surrounding brain tissue is almost guaranteed. That scares me, but yet it scares me to think of him going on forever like this. I'm so sorry you're going through this, too.

We are going through the exact same thing with my youngest. We took him to Mayo a year ago, and his treatment is ongoing. His first symptom was weight gain. In 9 months he went from the 10 percentile to over the 100th. It's shocking and frustrating. We've done all the testing and his hormones aren't far enough off to diagnose Cushing's yet he has so many symptoms at this point. At one point his prolactin level was super high, but then it went down again the next time we did labs. His MRIs show a 5mm by 9mm adenoma. We had a consult with the neurosurgeon who said that he's too small right now for the surgery to be safe, but if it ends up to be Cushing's he'll have to have it. Apparently he would then need hormone replacement for the rest of his life. That scares me. I will pray for your daughter, her doctors and your family. Please keep us in your prayers as well. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I'm sorry. You've been through so much. I'll keep praying for your family. May the Lord give you peace and comfort. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Praying for your son, your family, and all those caring for him. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I painted the door between the garage and the mudroom black. It's so pretty, but oh, my gosh, the dirt! I have to wipe it down constantly. Every speck of dust shows. I painted the walk-out door into the garage a dark charcoal gray. It looks great and hides dirt so much better than the black one.

I'm honestly not completely sure, but it seems to be the go-to combo for her type of rheumatoid/autoimmune issues. She's on a very small dose. We just got home from DisneyWorld and a cruise. DD only requested that we slow down 2-3 times on this trip. That's a major improvement over the last few years! She did take Aleve before bed. She also was able to enjoy the sunlight on the cruise and beach without getting a rash. This was the first time for that since she was 12! The Plaquenil has caused a bit of heartburn. She had that a little bit before she started taking it, but I think it's a bit worse now. Overall, though, she's really benefitted from it.

DD17 has been on this plus a low-dose BP med for about 2 years. It's definitely helped her. We do the full eye exams--I think the visual field test is done every 6 mos.? I can't remember.

Since you mentioned it's the attitude he likes, I have to second Baby, I'm a Star by Prince, one of my 80's crushes. :wub:

I love Steel Magnolias, too. It always gets to me.

I loved that movie, but yes--crying. Here's a funny story about The Notebook: My DH and DS were driving on a church ski trip, and the other kids assigned to their car were 3 girls. They were VERY talkative, lol, on the way there. At one point on the trip, my DH and DS visited a Barnes and Noble. Guess what my DS bought? The Notebook on DVD for the girls to watch on the way home. :laugh: They were so excited they all hugged him. :lol: The ride home was much quieter.

I read the first WTM book when my oldest was almost 5. Someone IRL showed it to me, and I knew immediately it would be the most important book of our homeschool journey. I remember finding the old boards and being thrilled that there were people out there discussing grammar and how to teach Latin. I only read back then--my kids were so young. I've learned so much here! I haven't seen JenniferinMI or Ibbygirl around lately. I'm terrible at remembering names, but I remember details about people--someone moved to Malaysia and adopted a daughter. Someone else was remodeling their kitchen and their neighbor cut down their hedge. Something will happen in my life and it will immediately make me think of someone here. Happens all the time.

I grew up in KC, and whenever we travel, I'm shocked every single time when burnt ends aren't on the menu. :lol: A friend and I had Gates for lunch every Friday for years because it was close to our college campus. KC Masterpiece was my favorite, but they're closed now. :confused1: Even now, living a couple of hours away, we've managed to have Jack Stack twice and Arthur Bryant's once in the last month. :coolgleamA:

My little guy is younger, but when we travel to Rochester, we take him to the Mall of America for a break from the Dr. visits. He loves the Lego store, the amusement park, and, of course wants dinner at Rainforest Cafe. That location still put a real sparkler in our Volcano!

Well, I admit to being pretty high maintenance. Gosh, I don't even want to type it all out. Let's just say, you're not alone. :coolgleamA: