Oops. I missed that you wanted breakfasts. OK Breakfast burritos made similarly to the other burritos. Slightly undercook the scrambled eggs & add in veggies, cheese, shredded baked potatoes. Freeze & pack the same way as regular burritos. Breakfast sandwiches - Toast however many english muffins, torta rolls, or sandwich thins. Lightly butter or spread with a thin layer or cream cheese or those laughing cow cheeses. This will keep the filling from making the bread soggy when re-heating. I use these for the eggs, and I scramble them up with chopped veggies and a pinch of salt & pepper : https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Microwave-Cavity-Poacher/dp/B00004W4UR/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1531266532&sr=1-7&keywords=microwave+egg+cooker I make a dozen at a time. I cook turkey sausage patties or use Canadian bacon. When everything is cooled I assemble with one egg patty, a slice of cheese and whatever breakfast meat we are using that day on each english muffin & wrap individually in parchment and pack into freezer bags. Easily grabbed & microwaved. Muffin tin frittatas- I take whatever leftover veggies & breakfast meat sounds good and saute them together. I always saute onions, garlic and peppers and then I add something green like shredded zucchini, chopped spinach or finely chopped steamed broccoli. I scramble up 1 egg per muffin cup +2 (don't ask why, I don't know) use a splash of milk to scramble. Add salt & pepper or any seasoning mix you like. I use the aluminum foil muffin cup liners for these. They come with a foil liner & a paper liner. Put both the foil liner and the paper liner into each muffin cup. Put 1T of egg into each muffin cup, divide meat & veggie mix between cups. Add 1T shredded cheese. Divide the remaining egg mixture into the muffin cups. Top with more cheese if desired. Bake until done. When cooled freeze in both foil liner & paper liner. When ready to eat, remove 1-2 egg muffins, remove foil liner (keep on paper liner) and microwave. These can also be packed frozen & eaten cold. Amber in SJ

I stocked both my dds freezers at the beginning of the semester. I would have loved for them to be close enough to re-stock. Things I would stock in her little freezer: Individually wrapped burritos - Beans, rice, salsa, grilled chicken sometimes. Brush the inside of the tortillas with taco sauce to keep them moist. Flash freeze and then individually wrap in parchment paper & pack into freezer bags. For the not lactose intolerant I'd add cheese. Warm in microwave. A jar of salsa for dipping. Stuffed pasta shells - Italian seasoned ground turkey, diced veggies, pasta sauce, cottage cheese & mozzarella & parmesan. Use a freezer bag with the corner cut off to stuff shells with filling. Flash freeze. Pack into freezer bag. Take out what is needed a few at a time. When cooking in microwave, top with a few spoonfuls of pasta sauce. Veggie fried rice: Cold rice, bag of frozen "asian style" veggies, 2 scrambled eggs, cubed protein like cooked chicken, ham, tofu, or whatever you like. Mix all ingredients cold on a parchment lined rimmed pan. In a small bowl I mix soy sauce, a splash of sesame oil, crushed or paste style garlic & ginger. I sprinkle this over the top of the rice mixture. I put the whole pan into the freezer. Once it is frozen I break it up into a freezer bag. Student can shake out what he needs onto a plate or in a mug & microwave. Stuffed breadsticks: Make or purchase pizza dough. Roll it out into a large rectangle. Cut into fat rectangles. For pizza breadsticks put a row of pepperoni & some pizza cheese down the center of each breadstick. For BBQ chicken breadsticks put a strip of BBQ shredded chicken & shredded cheddar down the center. Fold the dough over the filling. Pinch to enclose completely. Flip to place seam side down. Brush with olive oil or egg wash. Bake & freeze. These can be warmed in the microwave & dipped into pizza sauce or BBQ sauce or packed in a lunch and eaten cold later. Amber in SJ

My 20yo dd has this problem as well. She is 4' 10", has short hair, that is usually pink on top and wears a DD bra! She has a feminine name on her name tag and at her job at the movie theater every Monday (senior saver day) she gets called "son" at least a dozen times. I asked her what she thinks she should do, but she shrugged and said, "It's better than the old dudes who pinch my butt." So there you go. Amber in SJ

Ok. Please hear this in the gentlest tone possible. I have not read the entire thread because I only got to the 4th page before I couldn't read anymore. First of all (((hugs))) to you, Scarlett. It is so difficult to watch someone close to you struggle with addiction and feel helpless in the face of it. Clearly, that is what you are dealing with here. If he has been checked by the doctor and there don't seem to be any underlying physical causes to his being 100 lbs overweight at 17 then you are looking at addiction. It isn't a character flaw, it isn't a deficiency, it is a disease. Food addiction is a tricky thing because unlike drug addiction, alcohol addiction or porn addiction you can't go cold turkey. You have to keep the addictive substance in your life. A person's relationship to food is highly individual. Your naturally thin son, who sometimes forgets to eat, has a casual relationship with food. Food, to him is fuel, and sometimes he forgets to refuel. Your step-son, clearly has a different relationship to food. You say he has not been in a stable home for most of his childhood? Unfortunately, it sounds like he has been in a home that was chaotic and he didn't feel safe & loved. Every person wants to feel safe and loved. Guess where he turned for comfort? Where he turned to feel love? You got it. Food. It may sound like I am exaggerating to someone who doesn't have this relationship to food, but there have been studies that show eating can release the same "happy hormones" in our brains as hugs from parents or even sex. Your step-son wasn't getting the unconditional love he needed from any of his parental figures, but he was getting it from food. It was always there. It didn't care what else was going on. It consistently made him feel good. If he felt a little bad later about eating so much? Oh well. You are asking him to give up or change what has always given him comfort and security. This is the kind of thing that counseling is for. Getting to the root of addiction and finding healthier ways to meet the emotional needs of the child (who is almost no longer a child.) You say you were in a marriage previously that was mostly bad for years. Why didn't you leave sooner? Because the issue was complicated, right? You had to decide for yourself when it was time to break away from those unhealthy/ dangerous habits and go forward. It is the same for your step-son. No one else could make you change. No one on the outside, no matter how concerned they were for you, could force you to end the relationship. No one else has the right to judge you for your choices in that relationship. It is the same for your step-son. So here are my recommendations. They are free so you can take them for what it is worth. 1. His weight is not your business. You can't bully, shame, cajole, mother, smother or educate someone out of an addiction. All you can do is love him. Not a single comment to him or to Dh for that matter, if Dh is going to pass on your concerns to Dss about his weight or his eating habits. It is so hard. You will feel like your tongue has holes in it from biting it. 2. Give him a soft place to land. He needs to replace years of conditioning that food is his only comfort & security. There will be good days and bad days in the process. Your job is not to fix him, or change him; your job is to love him. 3. Go to counseling. Please. Find some place that will work with him individually and with all of you as a family. You need a shared language about this issue. You need some direction in neutrality. I know you think that he doesn't know that you are so irritated by the issue of overeating, but believe me, he does. Counseling will help you, as a family, know how to support Dss in breaking the food addiction. 4. Continue to do the great job you have started in getting him medical help. This is going to be a lifetime journey of retraining deeply entrenched neural pathways and finding what works best for him physically & emotionally. Continue to help him find health professionals who really listen to him and support him. Be behind him 100% if you come across a medical health professional who is dismissive or unwilling to treat the issue as a whole rather than eat less/ exercise more. For the milk issue: I would buy a gallon/ kid each week. One for each of them. That gives your son the 2 big glasses/ day you want him to have, and your dss can choose to drink his all in one day and buy more or make it last. For cooking? What I do if I think the kids are going to go through the milk before I get to cooking with it is measure out whatever I need & put it in a mason jar or other container that says "Don't touch!" I hope things get better, Amber in SJ

I also read that diving there is not like regular SCUBA diving in the ocean. Visibility is almost zero and one diver described it as fast moving mud instead of water. I hope they find a safe way to extract them sooner rather than later. Amber in SJ

Oh wait! I have another good one: While pregnant with my first, dh & I were interviewing potential pediatricians (Don't laugh. We were young and naive.) One pediatrician asked me if I planned to breastfeed. When I replied in the affirmative he said, "You won't be successful. Breastfeeding only works for dark and swarthy women. For women like you it is too painful. And your husband won't like your breasts afterward." Needless to say, he did not become our pediatrician. And for the record I was able to breastfeed all my kids with minimal problems. Yes, in the beginning it felt like a staple gun/ blowtorch combo, but that went away and it was fine. Amber in SJ

When my mom was dying of cancer, 2 years ago, we came to a place where the Norco just wasn't taking care of her pain and we had to move on to the Oxy. My parents live in a tiny town with exactly 2 pharmacies, a little mom & pop place and Walmart. My parents have always gone to the little place. I went in with her prescription and they told me that they don't keep the oxy in stock because of the frequency of theft so they would have to take a photocopy of the scrip & they would order it. It would arrive in 24 hours and then with the original scrip I could pick it up. I came in the next day. It wasn't ready, nor was it ready the next. By day 3 they admitted to me that they hadn't ordered it because she already had a prescription for a pain reliever (norco) and they just didn't think it was a good idea. I just about lost my mind. Keep in mind I have known the pharmacist my entire life. He knows my parents, he knows me, I know his kids. It was bonkers. We went to the Walmart & the filled it with no questions asked. At the same time around a week before my mom went into the hospital for the last time we ended up in the emergency room. While we waited and waited for someone to see her, it was time for her next pain pill. I could see she was in pain, and I had her pills in my bag, but I didn't want to just give it to her without telling the doctor. The ER doctor told me not to give it to her because he hadn't decided what to do about the immediate situation. We sat there for another hour and I could tell she was in more and more pain. I found that doctor again and told him that I needed to give her her pain medication and he told me I was turning my mom into a drug addict and that I needed to let her tough it out. My mom needed to tough out the pain from the cancer that had destroyed her bladder, invaded her liver and her spine and was possibly in her brain. I gave it to her anyway. I understand the need to not facilitate addiction, I do, but my mom was literally dying. Amber in SJ Also I feel like I have posted about my mom dying about 17 times in the last couple days. I need to shut up about it already.

The doctor who delivered my 3rd dd treated me like I was a not very bright child. When I called the number at 3am to say I was in labor and we were on our way he said, " Oh honey, I guarantee you are not in labor. You are much too calm. You wouldn't be able to talk to me on the phone. Labor hurts." I let him know that this was my 3rd time and he said I must not remember what it was like. He told me to go back to bed and not go to the hospital. He told me that if I went to the hospital I would only embarrass myself and be sent home. We went anyway and I delivered dd less than 20 minutes after our arrival. After the delivery when he was explaining my peri-urethral tear he kept saying things like: "You have stitches where you pee-pee. Do you know where you pee-pee?" or "You have to be careful to clean the pee-pee area." Amber in SJ

Although charter schools have their own problems as well. For a year while we homeschooled through a public charter, we were required to show we had "attempted" the standards, not mastered or achieved a minimum level of comprehension. I could show a multiplication worksheet that my dd had drawn hearts all over (not that I would do that) and the mere act of handing a worksheet to dd was enough to "attempt" the standard. It was almost insulting. I understand that these rules might be a CYA for children with certain special needs so the teacher can show that the material was presented in some way to the student, but really? Amber in SJ

Be flexible. Accept all offers of help. DIY anything you can. Pinterest is a bride's friend and a mother-of-the-bride's enemy. Expect to go over-budget; try to make the amount small. Have a plan B. My dd planned to have a lovely reception in a family friend's beautiful backyard. We rented the tables, chairs, serving pieces and planned the decorations for the gazebo. Rented a sound system & dance floor (but luckily didn't have dance floor installed ahead of time.) The day before it started to rain. At the end of May in sunny California. We had to move the entire kit and caboodle to the church gym, which the bride had swore she would never consider as a venue. We needed a completely different set of things, but friends really came through for us as much as they could, but drastically changing the venue 30 hours before was costly. Amber in SJ

Dh leaves wet laundry in the washer so often that I have stopped asking him to switch the loads, which is probably what he intended all along :) This time of year I have to remind him that if he leaves them there the clothes will smell sour. When it happens I re-wash on the shortest/ hottest cycle the fabric can stand with 2T-1/4 C baking soda instead of detergent, add vinegar to the rinse and do a second cold rinse. It is a pain, but generally does the trick. This is also how I wash athletic clothes that seem to hold on to the "stank." You know, the ones that seem to be fine until the kid starts sweating in them again and are you suddenly overwhelmed with stench. Or the gym towels that dh uses to towel off during/ after a workout, before his shower and then thinks are OK to just hang up. Sorry, now I have outed my family with their disgusting personal hygiene. If the baking soda/ vinegar thing doesn't work, I look for something with enzymes. It may sound disgusting but I use unseasoned meat tenderizer for this. I don't use it in the kitchen, I use it for the laundry. It is much less expensive than the so called "sport detergent with enzymes." Amber in SJ

And my daughter with the fibromyalgia by Ehlers-Danlos diagnosis: You wouldn't be in so much pain if you'd lose weight. Are you worried about something? (uh.....I'm worried because my knee seems to be dislocated) Are you feeling anxious? Or my very favorite..... Are you anxious because your mom is here? What the heck!?!?! Do they imagine I want to be there? Amber in SJ

We experienced this from a string of doctors for my mom. In February of 2015 she went to her PCP for a suspected UTI. Her symptoms were blood & clots in the urine, fever & pain. Gave her antibiotics. No change. Turns out she went to the doctor every 3-4 weeks for the same thing for the entirety of 2015. All she heard was UTI, UTI, Must be another UTI, Diabetics are prone to UTIs. She took course after course of antibiotics. She didn't tell any of us what was going on. Only my oldest sister lives nearby. When we visited for the Summer she said she was tired. When she missed our visit for Christmas 2015, I knew something was up, so Jan 2, 2016 I went to her & insisted on going to the doctor with her. I basically threw a temper tantrum in the doctor's office and demanded she be referred to a urologist and screened for cancer. Guess what? Massive tumor in her bladder. Cancer had already spread to her liver and spine. She died on Feb 14, 2016. Almost exactly one year from the first symptoms. I wonder what would have happened if the doctor hadn't taken one look at my 68 year old, slightly overweight, diabetic mom and assumed a UTI. Why didn't anyone ever wonder why the antibiotics had minimal to no effect? The doctor isn't completely to blame. My mom needed to be her own advocate and speak up. As soon as I got there and started making noises about medical neglect they were quick to get her to someone else, but I sure had to demand it. As spot on as that article is it is also a cautionary tale. It may be exhausting to be your own advocate, but it is completely necessary. Amber in SJ

When my mom was in the hospital, having lost the use of her legs due to spinal tumors, one of the doctors came in and said, "She seems dehydrated. I bet if we get some fluids in her she'll be back on her feet and you can take her home." Guys! IV fluids can cure tumors in the spine! Why is this being kept a secret? Someone call a medical journal, STAT! Amber in SJ

We watched it yesterday too! Our girls couldn't go so it was just dh, ds13 & I. During the short, ds craned around dh a couple of times to see me and when she ate him both of us jumped and vocalized, "aaaaaak!" out loud. Ds asked to trade with Dh so he could sit by me and he patted my arm several times during the beginning of the main feature until he relaxed and got caught up in the movie. After the movie I asked him what he thought of the short and he said, "It was weird. Why did she eat him when she was mad? That's not normal." so I think we can safely say that the 13 and under crowd may not have understood that she was dreaming. I enjoyed the feature and loved how Bob dealt with being the at home parent, because I think that is exactly how Dh would be. I appreciated how he found ways to deal with Jack-Jack's emerging powers ("num-num cookie") because sometimes that is how I felt as a parent of little people. "What is going on here? Is that normal? What do I do?" Amber in SJ

We live in a place where it seems like everyone has a smaller family and very few families are single income unless the Dh works for one of the tech biggies and makes more than 2X what my dh makes. Therefore, they have much more disposable income and can go on fabulous vacations. We are literally they only people we know IRL who have not been to Hawaii. One family we know goes so often that, "It isn't even exciting for the kids anymore." So they go on cruises, to places like Bali or resorts in the Caribbean. We know families who are on assistance who go to Disney multiple times a year. All of that to say, I feel you! I say in my head, "Good for you! I hope it is lovely," and I choose to ignore the rest. I know you said camping is not a vacation, but I am sure it is to the kids, and it is a tradition that they will remember. When my oldest was 16 and could drive Dh & I went to New York for 5 days. We started out by spending the night in a hotel an hour away. It gave us a little break and our oldest practice in taking care of her siblings. We could be home quickly if something happened. After a couple of these weekend practice runs she was ready to take care of her siblings for the big trip. Maybe you could look forward to something like this in the future :) It is a season. For now I'd look for fun things to do within an hour drive because at the ages of your kids staying in a hotel is more trouble than it is worth. Amber in SJ

A million years ago Dh & I listened to a series by William Shatner (yes, Captain Kirk) called Tek Wars. Not only did he narrate the books in his Captain Kirk voice & overacted cadence, but his female characters were hilarious because he'd do funny high, breathy voices. Imagine Captain Kirk trying to sound like Marilyn Monroe. We laughed so hard on that road trip. Amber in SJ

I am too distracted by the cutie-pie behind you with the long eyelashes to give an opinion :) Amber in SJ

Good luck & I hope it turns out to be exactly what will give you peace of mind. Amber in SJ

There is a difference between state sales tax and the local add-ons. I see that the article you cited showed an state sales tax and an averaging of local add ons. California currently has the highest rate for sales tax 7.25% but the local add-ons can range from less than 1% where my dad lives in Northern California, to 3% where I live in the Bay Area. And let me tell you when it was 10.25% last year we put off any major purchases. That is for sure. This article shows the highest & lowest in state sales tax, without local add ons from 2018 https://www.thebalance.com/best-and-worst-states-for-sales-taxes-3193296 Amber in SJ

I don't even want to talk about sales tax. California is the highest in the US with 7.25% and with local add ons it can be up to 10.25%. Last year one of the local taxes expired so as of April we are back to 9.25%. *sigh* I love you California, but you are killing me. Amber in SJ

I feel the same way every time I hear Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah in a kid's movie, sung at a funeral (yes, I heard it performed at a funeral for a police officer, performed by a children's choir,) or by a teen/ youth choir. I think, "They do know this song is about s*x, right?" Amber in SJ

I like the Anne Hathaway pixie. Wish I could get away with a cute, short cut but I have a round, moon-pie face and very curly hair. When my mom cut my hair short as a child I ended up with a tightly curled, little orphan annie -do. Enjoy your adorable short hair. Amber in SJ

Dh & Ds went to scout camp last week. He earned Emergency Prep, Basketry, Rifle, finished off Camping and most importantly his Swimming merit badge. This is important because this child hates the water. He will not put his face in the pool. It's weird because he loves the ocean. Anyway, with a bribe from dad he persevered. He has completed all his merit badges except one for Eagle & is one month away from Life Scout. Then it is on to project time. We are racing the clock because we belong to an LDS troop and they are only staying together through Dec of 2019. Amber in SJ

Prime Pantry is your friend. I filled a box for each of my dds & sent them monthly. When we got there we found that the apartment complex required a waterproof mattress protector and it was a bear to find one in the tiny town, so find out if there is something like that. When helping your dd get settled in keep a black sharpie & a silver sharpie in your pocket at all times to label items as she unpacks. You'd be surprised at how many college students "forget" which things are theirs. Label all electronics chargers. Wrap the cords with colorful electrician tape. Seriously. Roomies taking chargers and not putting them back caused more contention than not buying TP. A whiteboard/ message board for the fridge with everyone's cell # on it. The biggest hits were the Roku so dd & her roomies could share all of our streaming devices and the multiple power strips. There are never enough outlets & the ones that are there are never in convenient places. A customized first aid/ medicine cabinet stock up was useful (when she gets her first cold away from home & the cold meds are there, she will thank you) and a basic tool kit. You wouldn't believe what college kids use for hammers or screwdrivers. An assortment of those 3M sticky things for hanging stuff on the walls. If your dd is on the shorter side try to claim the cupboards/ shelves that are in reach. Once we scoped out the shelf/ fridge space situation we took her to the local (1 hr away) Costco to stock up on things and then to the local Wal-Mart for the last few bits & bobs. It would have been cheaper to find everything at thrift stores but sometimes you just don't know what you need until you get there. And pepper spray. Amber in SJ