DS was on it for several years, and if I remember correctly he was very emotional and sensitive for about the first two weeks going off of it. Of course, we were getting off of it due to mood issues, so he'd obviously been having side effects, but they did seem exacerbated during "withdrawal."

This. Slavery is a huge part of human history. Racism we have discussed as it comes up since, well, since DS was too small to really know what it means. He hears our conversations, we talk to him, and he has a good sense of our thoughts on it. Honestly, I worry more about how to broach the subject of Americans treatment of Natives during westward expansion until the present than I do about how to approach slavery.

I would be extremely worried and concerned. :grouphug: I would not want to sit back and just watch either. Is your nephew's father the BIL who is in drug counseling and NA? I would think that he probably has a few insights into how to handle things, and maybe they are taking an approach that is different from the one you'd take? Substance abuse is so difficult, and the answers are not clear cut. I wish I didn't know that. :crying: Sometimes the punitive approach, with removing all privileges etc, can backfire. I don't know the answers, but I do know that coming down super hard on an addict that age might sometimes be an approach that alienates rather than helps the kids see reason (actually, addiction isn't about seeing reason or not, there are other processes at work, and with your nephew's history, he really didn't have much of a chance). Maybe your sister and BIL are taking some other approach to nephew's situation. Have you asked them? I'm so sorry.

Joanne, it must have been a strange morning. :( I read that he'd been a homeschooler. Sorry to hear it confirmed though.

Any update on the baby?

Still hoping for an update. Feeling a bit compulsive about checking this thread!

Checking for an update...

Oh! Did you say you have shows you like to watch on the iPad? Not sure when they added the mirroring feature to iPad, if it's on the iPad 2, but with ours, we can play whatever is on our iPad on the AppleTV. So that might solve the issue of apps that will play certain shows you like on regular broadcast TV but are not available for streaming via the blu-ray, roku, or apple TV. I'm not terribly helpful, as my DH is the tech monkey in our house, and he sets this all up for us. I just use it happily. I know the mirroring thing is how we watched the Super Bowl. :)

Yes - we rent movies a lot, too. You might want to compare prices between iTunes movie rentals and Amazon movie rentals, and maybe compare their selections. I *think* we tend to rent more on iTunes, but that may be because I forget to check Amazon on the Blu-Ray. I think the rentals might be a bit cheaper on Amazon, too. iTunes only gives 24 hours to watch a movie once you start it - though you have 30 days to start watching. That's another thing to consider. Amazon seems to give one a bit longer. To muddy it up more - if you have an iTunes account for your music (or have ever purchased movies/shows)... all of ours plays through the Apple TV from the cloud. Which is kind of nice. But not an issue if you don't have an iTunes account already.

Ours does the same. They always ask what's going on for a sick visit. I know that they would have immediately had us go in, or go to the ER, if I'd called about a child turning blue or stopping breathing. Unfortunately, I know from experience what they say to *any* breathing difficulties - go to the ER. But it sounds like she hasn't called the doc's office yet. :( How on earth will she get through the night? Is she going to stay up all night? I'm on pins and needles, we all are here, and can't even imagine...

Do you listen to Pandora? Anything like that? Our BluRay streams that, as well. I still prefer the Apple TV over the BluRay - basically the only reason I use the Blu Ray is for Amazon or Pandora (or DVDs, of course). But our watching habits may differ from yours. :) Good luck!

What does the baby's father think of going to the ER? Is he aware of what happened? I'm sorry you're in this situation, too, puddles. This is your friend. You must be so worried!

I've already posted... but have a feeling I will be obsessively checking this thread all night for an update that mom took that baby to the ER. :sad: If she won't take him to the ER, could she at least call the on call doc at her pediatrician's office??

We would be at the ER. That is scary!

I love our Apple TV. If you have an iPad, I'd probably go with Apple TV, because you can link them up wirelessly very easily (no connector necessary). Don't forget to get the remote app on your iPad, so it becomes a big remote for when the smaller AppleTV remote goes missing. :) We have a DVD player that streams as well, and I greatly prefer AppleTV's interface and navigation, but that probably depends on your Roku box, I don't know. I just find AppleTV's easier. We don't stream any TV channels, I can't answer that, but we can stream Netflix, Hulu Plus, and some other stuff that I never use. :) Youtube gets a lot of use here, too. Plus podcasts. And TED talks. We also play things from our iPad to the Apple TV, or from our Macs. No Amazon Prime though - we have to go through our DVD player to get that on the TV. We also use our iTunes account fairly frequently for rentals and TV shows (that we purchase - Bill Nye, Horrible Histories, etc).

DS has severe allergies/asthma, and we stayed in a cabin. No problems. It was beautiful. There was a pool table in the loft, as well! I don't have a website at the moment, but if you're interested you can pm me, and I'll try to find the info for you. Not sure you'll want it, as it's not a condo, but if you do - I will dig up the info for you.

Every time I think of this story, I think some poor homeschooling mom has finally cracked and now has a van full of Nutella parked outside her house. :drool5:

So that's what happened to my filing cabinet! They've been here, too!

So that's what happened to my filing cabinet! They've been here, too!

I'm sorry. :grouphug:

We've just replaced our queen size bed/mattress, so I had to open this thread. :) We had a distressed white antique wooden bed. It was beautiful. But because it was antique, I worried about lead paint, and then when we started researching more and more about VOCs and off-gassing mattresses (because of our son's health issues, at his doc's advice), we decided to get a new mattress... It was the perfect time to go up to a king, and to replace the gorgeous but questionable frame. So I freecycled our bedframe, and the old mattress went away, too. Now we have a king organic cotton/wool mattress from White Lotus. No chemicals, no fire retardant other than natural wool. Our doc would have written a scrip for no fire retardant at all, if we had opted out of the wool. It just arrived last Monday - they hand delivered it - and it is awesome! At the same time, we got this bedframe from Overstock. It's not exactly what we wanted. But we needed a metal frame per doc and the allergy/asthma articles we were reading - no outgassing (antique wooden beds were okay, too, but not what we wanted again). Now that it's all set up... I am thrilled! Have fun shopping, it's fun! We also got a twin organic cotton/wool for DS... It is really cool! P.S. Thanks to the WTM boardie who recommended Whitelotus.net!!!

DS has severe allergies, too, and this is an issue for him as well. I'm going to bet that you do all the same things we do, but here it is, all the same: Showering only when necessary helps (though when he's older, this will be more often!), and we check soap/lotion ingredients very carefully. He used to react to anything with cocamide (coconut related) in it - and it's hard to find anything without that ingredient, but possible. He also reacts to shea and jojoba, apparently they are tree nut related. Some seed oils are suspect, too. Overall, we go with very few ingredients whenever possible. We scrutinize his shampoo/conditioner the same way. I'm sure you do the same. A barrier cream Rx'd by his allergist, applied right after the shower, seems to help a bit, too. Oh, and when he's in a flare (like now), he basically washes his hair, groin, and armpits. Plus feet. Other than that, he uses water and rinses well. Pat dry gently, apply barrier cream. Then all cotton clothes. Hydrocortisone cream twice a day on the flaring spots, benadryl when the itch/burn is unbearable. I'll be watching for more ideas.

Another vote for ocular migraines. My mother and her twin both have these, but no pain beyond maybe a mild headache. Your description is a great fit. Sometimes my mom and her sister will say that it looks like they are looking through beveled glass on the edges, too.

I think your kids will outgrow it, but it will be fun for a while. :) Does it *have* to spend 10 years in your home?

Poor baby. Poor mom, too. :grouphug: Is he on any medication that might cause it? If not, it sounds like the virus, but I'd probably want to mention it to the pedi. DS had night terrors for years - we finally pinpointed the cause, a medication that he was taking for allergies/asthma. Stopped the med, and no more night terrors. It was such a relief, I wish we'd pinpointed it sooner. They were terrible. I hope there is a quick solution for you, too.