It's not unreasonable. I don't know if it helps or not, but in general, Americans spend a far smaller percentage of their income on food than people in other countries. Perhaps realizing that people who tend to have higher quality food sources, spend more, will help. We're a family of six. Three are GF. I buy a lot in bulk. I'm closer to $1400/month. http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/03/daily-chart-5

Our Costco and Sam's Club regularly carry it…. as well as Sprite and Fanta Orange too. :)

DC has so many wonderful FREE resources through the Smithsonian, that I think you should consider moving. It's a great place to live. Live in NoVA, ideally near a Metro station for your DH. Traffic in DC is evil beyond believe. The Metro is fab. I actually lived in the Foggy Bottom area, but my guess is that would be way too expensive. The good thing was that it allowed me to take the metro or walk to my job. I'm assuming there will be relocation assistance, including (hopefully) a real estate agent or similar.

Honestly, I don't think it is appropriate to talk about with other people's children. If they're adults, that's fine. I think a lot of people explore faith and spirituality in college. I think it's an appropriate place. I doubt you'd want me to try and convert your kids to Islam, even if they were teenagers and I thought it was a "good fit." (Although, I really have no desire to convert anybody.) If they choose to pick up a Qur'an when they're in college or meet kids part of the Muslim Students' Association and want to learn more, fine. But I'm not going to try and convert anybody's children. Not my place, and rather disrespectful of the parents too. ETA: I'm fine with answering their questions, though. So…"Are you hot in that?" "Are you a nun?" "Why don't Muslims eat during Ramadan?" Those things, I'll answer… and if I know the family's belief system, I'll try and link the answers back to that. So, when we fast during Ramadan, it's kind of like when you give up stuff during Lent.

Ugh. That would make me very angry. But, I have to say, it sounds like you have some awesome kids. Your DD's response to the Christian music challenge was great. I'm sorry this happened to you. I agree it was entirely inappropriate.

We make breakfast sandwiches and freeze them and then nuke them in the morning. Pair it with a smoothie or something. Usually I make soft scrambled eggs, add turkey bacon, and cheese and put it on an Egg McMuffin, sandwich thin, or GF wrap for DS2. Then wrap in wax paper, and put them in a giant gallon ziploc baggie.

When DH comes back from Egypt, we miss the bread. The aysh baladi (local bread) that is cheap and wonderful. No pita bread here comes close. When we visit, we bring chocolate chips, homemade fajita spice mix, and flour tortillas. We usually bring splenda or stevia for diabetic relatives too. I used to bring back Nutella and Carambar (candy) from France and Kagi Fret from Switzerland. I also used to smuggle some bread and sausage as well. :)

I would definitely have expected a call back by now. The answering service or whomever should have contacted the dentist him/herself or whomever s/he has covering. Inexcusable. If you have a different dentist who you and the kids have seen, I'd contact him/her….and they might help. Only problem is you might end up double paying.

I think they carry this stuff to cater to Americans living abroad who miss 'comfort' foods. Our British food section is due to the large number of Brits who come here on vacation (or so they say). We also have a pretty good section of German items, along with the typical Mexican and Asian stuff. When I was a student in France in the 80s, there was a shop that sold imported American goods for expats. My roommate worked for PanAm, and she used to make money on the side bringing them peanut butter, Oreos, chocolate chips, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Hellman's mayo, and the like. At the time, you couldn't find that stuff very easily, and it was popular with ex-pats. Certain brands you grew up with are comforting…even if there might be better stuff where you're living now.

This probably looks comparable to the British food section at my supermarket. It contains (from memory) Cadbury drinking chocolate, Heinz beans, digestive biscuits, Lyle's Golden syrup, lots of chocolate bars, some Indian cooking sauces, HP sauce, Bird's custard powder, etc. Here's somebody's photo of it: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ariedana/8371213138/

This is a nice (free) fast food guide: http://celiact.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Ultimate_Guide_to_Gluten-Free_Fast_Food_2014.pdf I've actually been surprised at how far many restaurants and waiters are willing to go to help. There's definitely more awareness.

I hadn't heard of venturing. Is it more religious than the rest of Scouting? I found the oath/code interesting. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Venturing/About/welcome.aspx

If you have Amazon Prime, check out London Hospital Also…Cranford was a favorite Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth Call the Midwife Wives and Daughters I liked the first season of The Grand Mr. Selfridge and there was another Masterpiece Theater around the same time about a store at the turn of the 20th century, I need to Google the name.

Oh, I forgot to add, when we did a trial for DS2, we did not get separate utensils or a new toaster or anything like that. Honestly, after one or two days, it was obvious, because he said his stomach wasn't hurting after he ate anymore. As a family, we're probably 75% GF at home, so I haven't really felt the need to do that. I make GF pancakes for everybody. I make GF cookies, brownies, etc. For sandwiches, I do DS2's first…so the knife isn't contaminated….and then the other kids. If he was still complaining, I'd probably look into it, though. If we had gone the biopsy route, and he had tested positive, I'd also probably be more strict. Be aware of cross contamination, of course, but for us, it hasn't been necessary…yet. :)

Yes, the Betty Crocker GF brownies are great. I've fed them to non-gluten sensitive people and they love them too. We like to "bread" chicken tenders with almond flour. It makes a great, crunchy nugget. We do this with and without the coconut… http://paleomg.com/crispy-chicken-dippers/ Trader Joe's corn pasta is good. Barilla makes wonderful GF pasta too, but it's hit or miss for me in local stores. Amazon carries it, though. Annie's has a wide range of GF snacks, granola bars, etc. We do a lot of rice, a lot of potatoes. I agree with trying to focus on family favorites that aren't GF to begin with. DS2 doesn't like the gluten free breads (ready made), but does like rice cakes, and using GF pancakes as bread. He'll also make a sandwich on an English cucumber with cream cheese and turkey. It's been almost a year, and he still doesn't like the ready made GF breads, although a friend suggested we try Canyon Bakehouse, which is available at Target. They have a coupon on their website, so we'll probably give it a try. For restaurants, PF Chang's is really good about trying to be GF. They have a separate menu, use special plates, etc. McDonald's, Burger King, Chik-fil-A, Five Guys…all will give you a hamburger in a box with the toppings. But there may be cross-contamination issues. Still, DS is fine with that…and it helps him feel "normal." Watch out for sauces, though. DS likes California Pizza Kitchen's GF crust. We haven't tried the one at Dominos. Chuck E Cheese will do a separate GF individual pizza and cupcake. There are lots of GF, paleo, and low-carb recipe boards. Some will be sugar free. Some will be dairy free…but I find I can adapt them pretty well. One that we recently found (and like) is satisfyingeats.com Elana's pantry is popular. Google "Paleo kids" or "GF kids" and you should find a bunch of Pinterest boards and such. Favorite cookies of DS1 are http://www.bakerella.com/chewy-chocolate-meringues/ and http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/PrintRecipe?RID=192&radio=1 (we use regular almond extract, no bitter almond)

I had issues that were later revealed to be part of my gluten issues. It's still not completely resolved, and I really need to watch my D, B12, and Ca levels. Still, things are 1000x better now that I know what to watch for/deal with. If she has issues with fat absorption, there are special formulations of the fat-soluble vitamins which may help. I'm assuming her endocrinologist/GI/or whomever would be aware of them, though.

I never did, but I don't think it was well known when I was a Girl Scout. Very few went beyond Juniors. I think the GS need to do much better marketing it, and equating it with the Eagle Scout. I think if they did a better job, more girls would want to achieve it. DD wants to earn it. When we went to her bridging ceremony at the local council, there were two girls who received it…and DD was fascinated by them and their award. (Granted, she just moved to Brownies.) :)

Yes, a lot like that….but I have short hair. It's bizarre…but I know if I forgot my meds or things change (like with a pregnancy) that is the tip-off that I either need new blood work, to check which brand of levothyroxin I was given (different brands work differently, really…nothing like Synthroid), or to make sure I'm taking it on an empty stomach.

I felt that way about a few of mine. :) Hoping he comes quietly and quickly, with no pain….and is in perfect health and an utter delight.

Can you double/triple up your kids and add the new kids to a separate room for themselves? Even if only temporary?

That reminds me…when my TSH levels are off, I can tell because my hair hurts. I know it sounds weird, but it's completely true.

My husband swears by ear plugs. He buys them at Walmart. They're orange and you get maybe 10 to a package. For me, I agree with outside time. I'll take them to a park or something. If I can't do that, sometimes I escape to a quick shower.

Yes, we did give money. I still think that it's never too late to say "sorry." There are still countries/governments that apologize for the Holocaust, and I think those things are important. Plus…I think we're trying to have better relations. "The horrible disaster of the shooting down of the Malaysian jet by Russian rebels brings to mind when the USS Vincennes accidentally shot down an Iranian passenger jet in 1988 killing 290 people. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the Iranian government and all the families and loved ones of those killed for that incident. It is an apology way overdue." Love, Barack

It doesn't have to be texting…it can be people who get a call, and look down at their phone to see who called. Ideally, there should be some sort of sensor in cars that when you enter, it disables phones or something except for an emergency (ideally only the driver's phone). It's way too easy for people to be distracted.

We just left a house that had dark wood floors. I loved it when it was clean…but the other times it drove me crazy. We covered as much as we could with two large rugs. Then I would give the kids the dust mop and the swifter…and have them go to town daily. Still, even with that, it seemed like they were dusty 30 minutes later. I really don't have a solution for you, sorry.