I would like to add vegan recipes to our mix of meals with the thought of being 50% or more a vegetarian family eventually. Vegan because I can eat eggs or dairy mostly. This has got to be “vegan for people who need to learn to like a variety of vegetables” type recipes. For example, telling me how great eggplant is and here are a bunch of tasty ways to cook eggplant won’t fly at my home. I’m thinking stuff like a vegan “meatball” or some such thing. I looked at all the vegetarian meat substitutes at the health food store and a lot of them have unrecognizable ingredients or added sugar. I need a starting place. I can do soup, but everything else is evading me.

Here's my dilemma. My son is slightly on the spectrum so gets really obsessed with things at times. He stayed up for 48 hours once because he was spending all his time on a forbidden device. He also has tried to delve into the bad side of internet browsing but our filters kept him out and he wasn't smart enough at the time to get past them. He knows now how to get past all sorts of blocks now and has limited time on a mac that I've parental secured as much as I can. As his 19 year old brother has mentioned, he's incredibly computer savvy. He is very interested in computers and programming. Right now, he has a Kindle Fire that has no internet and a curfew. He likes typing notes to himself on that and has asked for a bluetooth keyboard so he can do that better. I want to get him a tablet of some sort but it really has to be super parent secure. How can I help him delve into more of his passions without my dh and me going crazy trying to protect him from himself?

After a lot of searching, I found some interesting things. Basically, having low/optimal levels of TSH and a low free T4 can indicated problems with your pituitary gland. There is a thing called the HPA axis that reacts to stress. Chronic stress can make that whole system out of whack (the pituitary gland is part of that system). I found the below section VERY interesting. It's from this site: https://kresserinstitute.com/why-your-normal-thyroid-lab-results-may-not-be-normal/ 1.) Hypothyroidism Caused by Pituitary Dysfunction This pattern is caused by high cortisol. Cortisol, in turn, is elevated in response to active infection; (1) blood sugar dysregulation, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, or chronic stress; (2) or pregnancy. These stressors fatigue the pituitary gland; as a result, it can’t release enough thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to stimulate the thyroid gland to produce T4 and T3. In other words, there is nothing wrong with the thyroid gland itself; the problem lies with the pituitary gland. The key to correcting this pattern is to resolve the underlying causes of pituitary dysfunction by treating infection, balancing blood sugar, improving insulin sensitivity, and helping patients find ways to reduce their stress levels. Patients with this pattern will present with hypothyroid symptoms, TSH below the functional range (1.8–3.0) but within the standard range (0.5–5.0), and T4 that is low in the functional range and possibly the standard range as well. So, those of us who are dealing with chronic stress and feel like our thyroids are underperforming, THEY ARE!!! And this is the very reason that after the birth of my third child and a TON of unresolved stress from my first very disabled child, I had sleep issues. Also, just for kicks and giggles, you can look at this one also: https://chriskresser.com/can-chronic-stress-cause-hypothyroid-symptoms/ ETA: I found out my mom is being treated for hyperthyroid with numbers even lower than mine which from what I can understand is a pituitary problem. Yet, being diagnosed hyperthyroid and taking medication for it, she has trouble losing weight and really watches what she eats so she doesn't gain weight. I starting to wonder if this is genetic now.

My thyroid has been weird for over 30 years now. I had a hyper nodule removed when I was 15. After I had my third child at 34, my sleep tanked and at that time, I believed it was my thyroid gland acting up. Every test I've had has come back within normal ranges. I am just now figuring out that some of my "normal" tests are in the very low normal and another day, they may test too low. I'm tired of it. I have always believed my thyroid is to blame for a lot of things and I'm just looking for someone to believe me. My naturopath is willing to give some things a try.

Annoying isn't it?!?!? I keep slowly gaining weight even though I eat very little carbs, am gluten free and mostly grain free, and my sugar intake is limited to a teaspoon of maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in my coffee. I am told because of my age I naturally gain weight. I'm trying very hard to stay within my weight that I am now. My eating amount keeps decreasing. I don't feel cold though.

Green free T4 (barely even on the chart), green free T3 and optimal TSH. I am pretty sure I have undiagnosed hypothyroidism only because my TSH levels are correct.

Can you show me the FB page where I can ask questions?

My free T4 is 0.9 --- the normal range starts at 0.9. It's always been in the low low range for years. The thing is, my TSH is also low (1.1 on a range of 0.111 to 4.9). My TSH has been even lower than that in past years. I was at a 0.5 just six months ago. I'm wondering if I have a pituitary issue causing Hypothyroidism. I will go to the facebook page.

My gut feeling for years has been that I have thyroid issues. I have several nodules including one fairly large one that is stable (for six years) and has been biopsied (benign). I have trouble sleeping and have restless leg syndrome. Sometimes, I feel like my thyroid is swollen - especially when I have a tough night sleeping. My thyroid levels have always been in the normal range. They are all on the very edge of low normal though. I feel like "that patient" who is continually trying to find answers for sleep. Those of you who are well read on this, please help!

My college age child is away doing a six month Christian mission program. I had a dream that he was eating marijuana laced brownies at a friend's home around here. In the dream I was ready to take away his car and a whole bunch of other things. I told ds my dream and he laughed at me. Honestly, it's easier having him be away at a good place than me always wondering what he is up to at home (which is usually really really mild and not immoral). I miss him tons.

I will do multiple grocery stores also. I do a regular grocery store, a health food store that has really great prices on produce, and Costco. I use the free grocery pickup at the regular grocery store so that saves me a lot of time and bother. I hate hate hate our grocery stores. They are usually pretty crowded and the space between aisles is never wide enough. So, I avoid all that and use the grocery pickup.

Along these lines, I watched "The Biggest Little Farm" on Hulu. It made me want to garden or at least near a farm like this. It also made me a little bummed that I live in a high desert where not much grows well. Super interesting.

I guess I meant my view of Julie Andrews as seen in the Sound of Music and in Mary Poppins. I have a friend who actually became a Christian due to the influence of the Von Trapp family. She actually knew some of the children very well.

Such a cool variety so far! I KNEW I would get some great ideas here. Keep them coming. I have to make it through winter. I have a book on hold at the library. Home Work by Julie Andrews. That sounds interesting although I hate to smash my view of Maria from the Sound of Music and Mary Poppins.

I'm looking for non-fiction books to read for myself. I've read some biographies (not many), books on good food choices, and some historical stuff (non-political). I guess I'm looking for just interesting topics. I'm not looking for Christian topic books right now. I'm plowing through all the C.S. Lewis books for that genre at the moment. Fiction books are just fluffy to me right now and I can seem to concentrate on the classics as much since I read fiction at night.

I’m gluten free and don’t buy any of the gluten free products. I don’t even eat gf baked goods because I also have an egg intolerance (I thought maybe I was over it, ate some eggs and it wasn’t pretty). I can easily work around gluten for myself but I don’t eat as much either and am content with vegetables or a smoothie. It’s the high food demands of teenage boys. Also, the bumps in arms thing—I’ve heard gluten sensitivities keep some people from absorbing the good oils which can cause the bumps. All I know is that I had those bumps on my arms my whole life. When I gave up gluten they disappeared.

I am considering going gluten free for my whole family. I have four kids 12 and older. Three boys and a very hungry little girl. I am noticing some signs of gluten intolerance in my 15 year old in particular (he has the tell tale bumps on the back of his arm and he has mild aspergers-diagnosed). How do I do this without breaking the bank? I can bake no problem gluten free and change to gluten free pasta when needed, but my 15 year old tends to eat the same thing every day for lunch( (gotta stick to the routine!). It's basically a ham and cheese sandwich on a homemade bun (better for you, but not "great"). How does one do this and even fill everyone up?!?!

Our Costco has a big bag of frozen zucchini noodles. Maybe try eating them a few times before committing to a gadget?

Just be aware that the emotional toll on you and your daughter and son in law is quite a bit. More than you would expect. I emotionally fell apart about a year after my son was out of the woods with his major surgeries. Adrenaline really keeps you going for a while and then your body has got to recover.

We moved 1000 miles about four years ago. We moved from a small town in Minnesota to a booming housing market in Colorado. My DH had no job and had absolutely no job prospects anywhere close to our home so it became a need to move not want to move situation. I call Colorado my "people people people" place. There are TONS of people everywhere. I rarely see people I know wherever I go. I don't know my mailman, the produce guy, the librarian, or the owner of the local quaint coffee shop anymore. My small town was a much more personal and homey feeling. It sounds like you like that personal touch. I do miss the small town lifestyle quite a bit. I am finding that I am staying home more often because I don't want to have to deal with the crowds everywhere I go and the immense amount of traffic. Also, one thing I have in our new location is sunshine almost daily. I never realized how gloomy weather affected my mood in the winter. Having daily sunshine has really helped with what I called the February blues.

I did have chicken pox as a child and did get shingles in my mid 40s. I didn’t know what it was and thought it was a really weird acne cluster that hurt a lot. I went to the doctor for a physical a week after it had scarred over and she looked at the scars and told me it was shingles.

I guess the school is a place I can bring my disabled son (I asked and they’ve met him) and just serve people with what I call grunt work without having to be in charge. I also can bow out of my volunteering without too much chaos on their part if my son does turn disruptive. And it does fit in with something I believe in. I’ve led things in the past that quickly overwhelmed me and still had to finish out the year or the project. It was too much and I’m a little hesitant even now. But they know my limitations and know that things may not work out perfectly because I was pretty upfront with them. I know I can help them with what they said they are needing and I do want to.

Secular education - public school. Basically, anything that doesn't have "Christian" attached to the banner for what school it is. I'm not fond of sticking a bible verse on the end of the geography lesson and calling it Christian geography lessons, but many Christian schools do just that. I guess teaching children from a Biblical viewpoint with intention. We have found many ways to teach our children our Christian values in the midst of what they are learning because they're excited about what they're learning. I'm not feeling like I have to unteach them anything.

Classical as in well trained mind classical. Early grades have emphasis on history, phonics, poetry memorization, sentence diagramming, Singapore math (US edition) among other things. In sixth grade, they start learning Latin. 7th -8th grade is American history learning from founding fathers original documents. 9th and up, there is an emphasis on western thought starting with early Greek philosophers and Roman civilization ending with the 20th century. It is my ideal homeschool sequencing without having to actually do it. I do love what they are trying to achieve at this school and I want to get behind it to help it’s long term success. It just seems somewhat unimportant when you put it up against many of the social issues of our time. But, it’s what I know and am passionate about. I know that there are tons of educational models out there and all sorts of great people can graduate from those other models. But this type of school I personally believe in.

I just need someone to hash this out with. I’m open to any book suggestions. I have always been a bit of an education “nerd”. I graduated college with a teaching degree, I became a youth director because I wanted to teach teens how to think with a Christian foundation, and I did homeschool for 13 years. As I started to experience some serious burnout as a homeschooler, I wished wished wished there was a classical Christian school that was free. I am now no longer homeschooling but am wanting to get more heavily involved in my kid’s very classical charter school. It is the closest thing to what I dreamed about as can get in a public institution. I may try to get on the board of this school eventually. Here’s my dilemma and struggle. Is secular education “worthy” in God’s kingdom? I guess a similar question could be asked by my friend who is a mayor of a small town or any job really. This school is helping a very middle class population. Because of the sponsoring agency, Hillsdale, it has attracted a more than usual amount of former homeschoolers and thereby a higher than normal amount of adopted kids. That being said, I need to know for my sake if this is worthy of my time. My church is moving toward a focus on racial equity and the marginalized in society. I “want” to feel excited about those things, but this education thing has been a running theme throughout my life. Due to life circumstances, I know at this point, I will not be driving to the downtown area of our city to tutor disadvantaged children. I need to stay close to home for my sanity right now. So, book suggestions? Help with getting me to think through this a bit? I know this is a homeschool forum but I can’t think of anyone who is as invested in education as you all are. I also need to know that a classical education really does produce a “better” child than the school down the street (character—ability to think etc). Also, why does a classical education matter? Let’s say every kind of school had really kind children consistently, why a classical education vs. common core for example?