Yep. Right there with you.

Could you tie the similar gifts together with a ribbon, so they are linked - but wrapped separately with the kids names? Funny, I was just pondering this. I grew up taking turns opening, so we could each see the gifts that others received, and talk about who gave the gift, say thank you if the giver is present... DH grew up with a family that rips into gifts, and all the resulting chaos. I don't really care one way or another for the kids, as long as I can figure out thank you notes at the end! But it does make me feel a bit sad, when DH's parents or siblings are visiting, not to see them open their gifts because I'm busy helping a kiddo or refilling coffee.

:lol: My DS came home from allergy testing at 5 yrs old, and proceeded to perform an allergy test on me. After awaiting results, he informed me that I am allergic to ironing and vacuuming. Very true. I think I'll keep your DS's great plan for avoiding math to myself, as my own DS would dearly love to develop a severe allergy and require complete avoidance!

On Amazon Prime: Fringe. Other shows (awaiting more episodes to come to streaming): Breaking Bad Grimm Supernatural

The Archiquest blocks are well loved here, for anyone considering those.

I must be the laziest GF mommy here. We use King Arthur's Gluten Free Flour - it's already mixed. It's pricey, but they always run specials on their website. They do all the mixing of various flours, etc. I also use their cake and cookie mixes. They have some great recipes on their website, plus some good specials this time of year. We are nut free too, so Bob's is out - they don't always label for may contains, and KA does. So I have no idea if Bob's tastes better. :)

A. Balaban ... I'm so sorry.

Just read that shooter's younger brother is being held...

So sad. Heartbreaking. Another wondering... what are BDUs?

Since TMNT Legos are in a store close to you now ... can you cancel that part? Years ago, I ordered a ton of GeoTrax from TRUS, and it was a disaster. They should have been BOGO, but the order was such a train wreck... I don't remember all the details, but almost half of it never made it, and they shipped everything separately, in strange installments, in such a way that I didn't get the BOGO deal on many pieces. It was a mess. I don't order from them anymore. Crossing fingers for you that all of the gifts arrive in time!

Table runners?

No magic answers but a few things that have helped me at different times: Addressing thyroid issues (Hashimoto's) Addressing low Vit D Addressing adrenal issues (Addison's, but one could have adrenal fatigue) Methylcobalamin B-12 injections Doing everything possible to decrease inflammation - this is a huge list of supplements and diet Gluten-free Addressing chronic infection which caused the joint pain, fibro symptoms, etc Enough sleep Excellent vitamin regimen None of those was the magic bullet. I still have times of brain fog. But it's better most of the time, and sometimes gone completely. Hmmm, maybe I need a pm too, if it contains a magic bullet? :)

Play silks - I mentioned this in your Playmobil thread. She can make dresses, skirts, capes, sashes, headpieces, castles, picnic blankets, tea party linens, oh... the list goes on... We love play silks here. They are good to accessorize almost any toy (DS uses them with his playmobil fairly often!). We order ours from Dharma Trading and I dye them with vinegar and food coloring. Super easy. Or you can go to Sarah's Silks website and order pre-dyed - hers are beautiful.

Playmobil addicts here. DS loves all things Playmobil. Hours and hours of fun. I wouldn't call it quiet fun because he's got to talk through all of his play, narrating stories and adding sound effects, but hours and hours of play time. One add on gift that goes great with Playmobil here - and I can see a 3 year old girl adoring with/without Playmobil - play silks! If you have some already, pull them out... blue becomes an ocean, green is a grassy pasture, you get the idea. If you don't have any, they would make a great gift for a girl her age. You can order them from Dharma Trading and dye them with food coloring (I did this yesterday, actually).

There are some great ideas here. Last year was devastating for our family, and I was constantly spinning and re-spinning scenarios in my head. Excellent self care is first on my list for dealing with stress. If I were in your shoes... Eat healthy food, do your best to get enough rest. If you are spinning at night, then talk to your doc so you can get rest. Don't let Rxs, especially psych Rxs, lapse right now. Deep breathing, exercise. Give yourself a set time of day to worry, if you must. It's okay to worry! What's not healthy is when it takes over your life. This stuff is out of your control, so focus on what is in your control. Focus on each meal for the family, on school, on your kiddos. Last year, when our family was going through something traumatic, it amazed me that just focusing on each moment, fully, really helped. It was a form of meditation. Maybe that will help you, too. :grouphug: And, please, take or leave anything I said here. Joanne's list above is excellent!!!!

I vote you turn him into something unnatural. :) That'll stop the neighbor kids from putting him up to more pranks. Really, that's what my first thought was... Neighbor kid dared him to do it. They're out of school, they're bored, they're getting into trouble.

I'd go with books, too. Especially for the littles. I have no idea about skylanders or game/tv related toys, really. I know that last year my niece asked for squinkies, and I had to ask here to find out what they were! ...Little plastic-y toys. We bought them, despite my misgivings about buying landfill fodder fad toys... This year I didn't bother asking for ideas, I just let DS pick out a toy he thinks is cool for a 5 year old. :) You can't go wrong with books for a 2 and 4 year old! (Did you change your name?! If so, waving at you from migraine and sick kid land!!!)

We had laminate put in several years ago because we thought it would be more durable. We chose a very high end laminate, and have had no problems. Our neighbors went with the type sold by Costco, and it already needs to be replaced, but ours looks new. We have dogs, rough kids, and we are not gentle on our floor! I would not put it on a kitchen or bathroom though. To clean it, I vacuum without the brush, then use glass cleaner or vinegar and water. No streaks.

We are watching Fringe. Not okay for our 8 year old, in our book, but if your kids are older and they watch Grimm - it might work. We also like Grimm. It's available on Amazon Prime. We found it when I was in the mood for something "Philip K. Dick - ish." :D

Vermont Nut Free shipped out an order to us last week, but forgot to include one item. They immediately mailed the missing item, and threw in several other items I'd forgotten to order so I didn't pay shipping on those. Sur Le Table will always be on my good list, since they caught on to credit card fraud using our card, called us rather than shipping the item, and had us alert the credit card company. Harris Teeter (grocery chain) has twice saved an item I left at the store. Once they even called to let me know about it, as they know me, and have my contact info for their shopping service. Oh! And their personal shoppers rock!!!! They know our families allergies, what's okay to substitute and what's not, and they even figured out an allergen free treat to give DS when we pick up our order. Jura - espresso maker company - that company's customer service is amazing. :) Can I add our tiny mechanic? He's not a big company, but wow, has he done a lot for our family - often free of charge! Oh, and VW - our dealership is pretty fantastic, too. I love finding good service. :)

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: You are not alone.

Here are some of the activities in ours: Make Christmas cards for friends/family Make Christmas cards for the nursing home (DS loves this, but we do have a relative in a nursing home, so he is familiar with how lonely some of the residents can feel.) Walk to post office to mail cards with a thermos of hot chocolate - or in our current weather, chocolate milk! Pop popcorn and watch a Christmas movie Hot chocolate before bed with a Christmas read aloud Dance party with Christmas music Make an ornament Make coffee filter snowflakes for the windows Random act of kindness Hmmm, there are more, but you probably have more than you need now. :)

Had mine out in '05. It wasn't a bad surgery, easier than others I've had. But just in case, since I have a history of not recovering well, my doc planned on keeping me in an observation room for 24 hours. I went home at 11:00 that night, but it was nice to know that if there were problems (again, I've had bad surgery experiences) that I didn't have to leave. It was so easy, really, that I went shopping for art supplies the next day. :) ...That was overdoing it a tad, but overall, it really was easy. Mine came out due to sludging and stones after IV Rocephin (known for destroying gallbladders). I did not want to have an emergency surgery to have it out, and we knew eventually it would need to come out, so scheduling it felt safer and better for our family. That way I could choose my surgeon, hospital, the day/time, and plan accordingly. An emergency surgery would have been much worse. Actually, now that I mention the emergency prospect... We nearly lost my father last year, due to an emergency gallbladder removal that went wrong. He spent almost 3 weeks in the hospital, most of which was in ICU. It was awful. And we are lucky to have him here with us now. Since he had the surgery done on an emergency basis, there were big complications. Not something that's normal, but definitely something to avoid. As for life after GB removal... I don't miss mine. No problems at all here.

We do it from scratch, due to allergies. I will try to dig up that recipe for you. Editing to add the tutorial and recipe we used the past few years. We are gluten free now, but we used this before kiddo had developed the wheat allergy, and it was good. The tips from the PP above are excellent. I've never used a kit (again, due to food allergies), so I can't compare, but it is a lot of work (so much so that this year, I convinced little man that foam kit would be just as special!). When you roll out the various components, make sure they are all exactly the same thickness. Otherwise as they bake, they will spread differently, and it's harder to put together. :)

The classics and the oldies but goodies have been covered, so I'll add these: Bare Naked Ladies. :) Brian Setzer. Ben Folds holiday station on Pandora. We have a few Starbucks compilations that I adore every year. Laurie Berkner's new holiday album.