It's tough. In our house, we all have different dietary restrictions due to allergies. We generally follow what DH lovingly calls the LCD diet - the lowest common denominator diet - at home. So all food at home is safe for everyone, because home should be a safe place for all. Well, back that up to say that we don't include my allergens in that list - I am allergic to eggs and spinach, but we serve those to the household, just not to me. I am old enough to avoid those foods and not feel unsafe. :) But something you wrote makes me think we'd handle part of your situation differently. If a child has recently outgrown a true allergy, then the best way (per our allergist) to ensure that the allergy will stay outgrown is to consume the (prior) allergen at least weekly. If your DS has outgrown that allergy, I'd probably mark it on the calendar to be sure he ingests wheat weekly. We do that with a recently outgrown coconut allergy. You could do the same with the dairy sensitivity (was that an IgE allergy? I'm not sure if what our allergist says applies to IgG allergies or sensitivities, so YMMV, she was speaking specifically of IgE allergies that had previously led to anaphylaxis). While we are out and about, at family functions etc, we don't restrict items unless there's an actual allergy. Not sure I'm making sense, sorry. If we are at Aunt Tillie's house, and DD is offered a glass of milk - of course she can have it, since she's not allergic to milk specifically. But if DS is, he knows he can't, as he is allergic. But we pack most of our own food anyway, so it rarely comes up.

Sounds like Bell's Palsy to me, as well. It can look very different on different people so it's hard to tell from the pics online.

:grouphug: It gets better. You'll survive. Spring will come! Does it help to know you're not alone in the misery? In the past 5 weeks, we've had a nasty mix of bugs here, too. But spring will come!

Good to know! I will check for more packages and hopefully find some that don't have the warning.

Most of my suggestions are already listed, but Hershey's is very good about listing for "may contains"... You probably know that already, and I'm really not sure about the dairy issue, as we are new to dairy allergies here. We went with Enjoy Life, and DH brought home some from Germany that we know is safe - otherwise I would have checked Vermont Nut Free (again, though, we're new to dairy allergies, so maybe VNF is now out of the question). I did notice today that Peeps have a "may contain" for milk. :( The package I picked up did, anyway.

Really? The kids came home with 2 liter bottles of soda??? Wow. I admit that we don't attend a church, nor do we do a lot of food-centered activities because of allergies, so I'm out of the loop. But sending kids home with 2 liter bottles of soda seems way over the top. Yep. We don't do a lot of activities just because there will be allergens present. It's not worth anaphylactic shock to attend a function - how much fun that function might be. We don't attend library functions because of food allergens (in the library!), lots of other fun things... It's a bummer, but we do a lot of other great stuff.

Our furnace and hot water heater are in a closet off of DH's studio. Not our living space, but a very sound-sensitive area of our home. DH works from home, has teleconferences and phone/skype meetings daily. He is a musician, and his studio is in that space as well. Not sure if our units are just quieter than others, or if our closet is particularly sound proof, but these have never been an issue. The washer/dryer, on the other hand, are more of a pain. They are new, nice units but I only run those at times when DH does not require silence. Even with the closet doors closed, they are audible. Can you listen to the furnace, etc before buying? Or request a newer model that would be quieter as part of your offer, if you love the house?

I used to play games - mindless puzzle games on the computer, ipad or iphone. Not sure you can do that, as it sounds like your pain is in your wrists as well. Audiobooks in the dark. Absorbing TV/Movies. DH helps me with guided mediations, too (or used to do so, now I have them down pat). Hoping you feel better soon!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Does this qualify as elderly? My mom is 72. She is a traveling artist. She sculpts, and does art shows up and down the east coast. FL to NY, and also to MI. Her work involves heavy lifting setting up her shows every weekend. She is happy, and hates staying home! Her boyfriend lives 5 hours from her, so if she's not on the road to a show, she's visiting him. Or me, 5 hours in another direction. :) My father is a year older. Very active! Very healthy. Runs a hobby farm with joy, dean of a major uni's math dept, and still working in his lifelong field through contract work. Travels for work a lot. His motto is A Body in Motion Stays in Motion. My in-laws are another story though, and your post earlier reminded me of MIL. They are the same ages as my parents. Not sure they qualify as elderly, though.

:grouphug: Sending you some energy to keep doing what you need to do. Hang in there.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: What a tough situation. I hope the kids' cute tricks worked. And that you can get through your day with a minimum of pain.

:hurray: :party: Yay!!!! You are going to have sooooo much fun!!!!!!

Glad you posted this. We let our subscription lapse and I have missed it! I didn't realize how often we use it... It's a great jumping off point for subjects. And DS loves to just hang out and surf the movies for fun, too. Thanks! FYI: we just did the $74.95 version - solo access.

:party:

Just thought I'd come back and update. Box arrived yesterday. I ordered one month of Tiny Tots. It's got a lot of stuff - mostly coloring pages, craft supplies. It's definitely geared toward daycares - and there's a lot of stuff we won't use (menus, recipes, daycare housekeeping and organizing type stuff). There are songs, etc in the teaching notes. I think for the cost, which was minimal - it's quite a lot of stuff. That said though, I really think I'll probably pull more tot school type activities together for my little one. I think the CAC stuff will be my fall back, on days I don't quite have it together. We have a lot of stuff from when DS was younger, so I've got a lot to use. :) All in all, though - I think it's a good deal, considering the cost! ($11 for one month/one child)

I will ask DH, too - he's familiar with more of their models.

We have the impressa s7, avant garde. :) On my phone but will come back with links later.

So sorry! This has been a horrible winter for bugs. I hope they can call something in for her, and that it goes as well as possible.

Oh no! I'm sorry. :grouphug: Spring cannot come fast enough. We've had two with pneumonia here now, too. Lots of fluids, lots of rest. Movies are good. Naps are better. Popsicles. Soup. DD is at the doc's office with DH as I write this... hoping I don't have to update our pneumonia total later.

Jura Capresso. :001_wub: It is my favorite luxury. I am an espresso snob, admittedly. DH and I did a ton of research before buying ours, and really planned what we wanted. We knew exactly what features we wanted, and we watched a ton of videos and reviews. We could have gotten a different type of Jura, with less features, but I wanted it to clean itself. And we wanted customizable options for each other, etc. We bought ours refurbished, so the price was about half of what you'll see retail. We've had it for 3 years, and I still adore it. Every day. The machine keeps count of the drinks it's made, so we are well aware that we have saved money over our daily trips to Starbucks. We did, once, have to send it for repair. I mourned it for the entire week it was gone. But other than that, it's been perfect. Oh, and the repair was our fault - not a problem with the machine. If you love lattes or caps, you can get the refrigerated unit to put beside it, and you can have lattes and caps at any time without even pulling milk out of the fridge. Easiest thing in the world. I hope you find something you love, that will last a long time! Definitely think long-term with this purchase, because replacing a good espresso machine is not something you'd want to do every few years.

So, so sorry for the pain you are all living through... :grouphug:

Hey, wasn't there a thread on here somewhere about hiding out in WTMers' basements if you're on the run? :) Sorry you're sick - I missed that somehow. Healthy juju for you!

FWIW, DS's pedi says that a little bit of gluten is like being a little bit pregnant - it's all or nothing. Which is a bummer, really. :(

The Magic of Reality is fabulous. It's available on audible.com.