Nan, Arcadia... Thanks. Practical tips that I can implement are so helpful! Looking for a chicken soup recipe now, and I am going to take her a sippy cup, Nan, and see if she laughs. I think she'll appreciate it. And Punks... :grouphug: You have two of them! Oh my. I told my mom what you mentioned, about the noise, and she just nodded. I'd worried about that quite a bit, and she had denied it being a problem... but I think she's ready to admit it's draining. I am sending the kids out to play and burn off some energy. She's been on abx for two days, and no improvement thus far. I read to give it at least 3 days, so we're giving it that much time, but how did you know when to switch abx? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I think I should put a tip jar out for caring for all the sickies in this house!

I tried to triple like this, but alas, it only lets us like something once!

We've just come through Flu A and B. We did oscillo and Sambucol this year, but other years have gone the tamiflu route. If we'd caught it before 48 hours, I would have gone with tamiflu, as DS has asthma. As it was, it wasn't terrible. Better than last year's flu for DS and me, anyway. Hope everyone feels better soon!

Beaming you good thoughts...

Whew. I would be out of my mind, and trying to go help... Would be tough with sick kids! And snow. She is a trooper. Thanks for the good thoughts! I'm downloading audiobooks now... :)

Thank you. :) She usually seems invincible, so it's really hard to see her sick this way. I'm glad she's with us, though, rather than alone and far away. This way at least I can baby her.

That's a good idea! If this snow ever stops, I'll hit the library. Right now she's too tired to hold up a book. :( Maybe I'll download an audiobook for her, if she's up to it. Wish I could do something to make her feel better. She is so weak. And the coughing... Oh my.

Thanks, Arcadia. Magazines are a good idea - I'll have to dig some up. She's been ensconced with her iphone and a book, but she might like a change of pace.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Right there with you. It stinks. I hope all of you feel better soon! Make some soup, push fluids, and get out some good books or watch movies. (FWIW, at the moment we have 2 kiddos on abx for strep presently, and a visiting mom with pneumonia. DS had Flu strains A and B, too - in addition to the strep. Aaaack. It's like living in a Petri dish. It all started when we took the littlest one to her well baby check - I'm telling you, every time we go to the pedi's office - we get sick, not matter the insane precautions we take!)

:smilielol5: Hope you get showered soon!

Any one have tips for caring for someone with pneumonia? Especially an older someone? My mother is visiting, and has developed pneumonia. :( This after both kids were very sick for the past 2 weeks. Yikes. We've had flu, strep, bronchitis, and now pneumonia in our house recently. She is on antibiotics, steroids, inhalers, etc - everything the doc could offer. I'm mostly looking for comfort tips, or just any ideas to make her feel especially cared for and comforted. She is very weak, and walking to/from even the bathroom wears her out. A friend suggested that she needs electrolyte drinks because she is older (early 70s)... So we are doing those, mixed half and half with water. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Our dog had terrible allergies, and we used a lot of Pawz4me's suggestions. Be warned, too, that benadryl may make your pup sleepy.

Hoping all is well today for everyone. KK, how's your sister? Dot - thinking of you! Imp, too. :) Anyone watch The God Who Wasn't There (on Netflix)? Has this already been discussed? We watched it last night. Interesting.

Whew. Glad to hear this. Process away. Wine helps.

Oh, KK. Sending warm thoughts. If you need anything, just yell. We're not far.

Thinking of Imp. :grouphug:

Yay for good news, KK! Dot, will be thinking of you, sending good thoughts your way. I had a hyst years ago, and remember it well. Hoping you have an easy time of it, and that everyone babies you afterward.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

What a great name!

Have you read Island of the Blue Dolphins? How about Julie of the Wolves?

You are amazing. I hope you can find some time to practice self care, to listen to your body. If the test in May - June will be relatively easy, and make your life easier, then go for it. But if it will just add more stress, to an already stressed life and body... maybe it can wait? Just while you find a way to rejuvenate a bit? Sending you warm thoughts, good vibes, and lots of good energy!

I totally agree with this. And the others. FWIW, I have sick kids at the moment, and am doing The Cleaning today. But they both are on antibiotics (strep), and we are two days in - so I think they are no longer contagious. DS also has Flu - I'm not sure where he is on being contagious, but everything is getting washed regardless. Have been cleaning and sanitizing as we go - bathrooms, switches, handles, remotes, etc... All the usual culprits have been getting extra sanitizing wipes. Hope your kiddo feels better soon, and that the virus doesn't run rampant through the house.

My doctor had me do a megadose (50,000 IU) once a week, plus 2,000 IU daily. Actually, at one point, I was at 5,000 daily. YMMV. :)

We live in a small space, and reading this post has been inspiring and helpful! I, too, find that keeping clutter down is the biggest help - also the biggest challenge for me. No pics here, but I do find that hiding our stuff helps a bit - cabinets, drawers, secretary type desks that can be closed. Properly scaled furniture is a big help, too. Our furniture is too large for our living room - and we are not going to replace it any time soon - smaller scaled pieces would work better. I grew up in a house that was very large, and very decorated. Expensive knickknacks everywhere. It's taken me some adjusting to realize that I prefer less visual clutter - even if it's "valuable" it can be clutter!

Could you ask to have your levels tested sooner? My doc checks mine every few months when I am trying to raise Vit D levels (obviously, I've had the issue of low Vit D more than once). I would not want to wait a full year to get tested again. Also, I read an interesting article by Dr. Mercola on D recently. Some of his ideas are a bit out there, so take it with a grain of salt... but I seem to remember that he suggested that for building Vit D levels through sunshine exposure... not to shower immediately? I will try to find that article and link it here later, but off the top of my (sick and fuzzy) head, I remember that he said it's important not to shower for X amount of time. Just a thought for all of us struggling with D levels.