:iagree: The nurse at the hospital made a big deal when we declined this one. When I asked our doctor why my baby, given our situation, would need a Hep B vaccine, she agreed there was no reason and did not hassle us about it. We did get it soon after, just not right at the hospital.

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:lol: And to answer your question with a straight face, peppermint is extremely easy to grow in a container and makes a lovely tea. I think someone mentioned that, but I was too busy laughing to quote and agree.

I don't know if either have recipes that qualify, but we are always happy with King Arthur Flour and Alton Brown's CC cookies. I usually use this recipe from Neiman Marcus, but I think it would be too flat for your taste.

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Ah, maybe. I was wondering if you could choose those things based on skill level with HOD. With the one we used we could have gotten just about everything from that company, but they didn't carry all that we needed. And they do sell graded and mult-subject packages. I suppose if someone only saw those, it would lead to thinking of them as all-in-one. But I don't know of many that use them that way. Good to know!

Well, she didn't laugh at any of my jokes. Hmmph! Oh, wait. I haven't made any. You! The peacemaker's true colors revealed! :lol: Sorry to the OP. I do hope that my best wishes to you at the end of my other posts redeem me for my part in derailing this!

I understand your experience, as we dealt with several practices where we rarely saw the actual pediatrician we were assigned to. However, I am going to tell you differently and absolutely disagree that it is a waste of time. :) We have a wonderful rapport with our doctor. We see her (she's at a "traditional" practice affiliated with a hospital) at each and every scheduled visit. If we have an urgent need, we see one of two other doctors who know us well, by now. If we have need urgent care on the weekend, we go to a hospital-affiliated practice where doctors rotate in. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect not to see our PCP in this situation. We almost always have the same nurse at that place. Yep, I resent being called ignorant. I may not be have the degree that you do (and I respect nurses -- my mom is a lovely one) but I can confidently say it is possible to have a good relationship with a doctor. Easy? No. But it is possible. Love that!

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:iagree: Since we wish someone had asked us once. They sent us a gift and our otherwise reliable mailman put it in an unlocked, broken down vehicle in our driveway. We found the gift months later and felt awful we hadn't acknowledged it in some way. I know sometimes it might be a dig about sending notes, but I always ask my relatives when I send something just to make sure it got there and I'm truly not fishing for a thank you note.

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:lol: I had no idea how much the avatars meant to my eyes until I was thoroughly confused by your new one. Didn't "recognize" you. So, now you know ... not ignoring you! I'm fairly new posting here, but lurked a long time before that. Someone is on my ignore list that I saw posting a lot of rude comments, but I don't think he or she is on here very much. So rest assured, it is no one on this thread. :D

Excellent points and good to hear this from a public health worker. I rarely talk about vaccines because it is so polarizing. We have friends that are hard-line about not vaccinating and I think they question our parenting, even though we understand their feelings. :lol: I won't call you a coward! This makes me realize I'm very spoiled. We have lived in the same place for years. I agree, a family practitioner can be a wonderful solution and she is wonderful with all of us.

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I bolded the part that really got to me. When our first was not vaccinated, we only were eliminating risk of vaccine complications. When she was exposed to an illness, she was at risk and so was one of my family members that has an impaired immune system. We have to weigh risk/benefit. Nothing that we do is risk-free. The possible negative long-term effects of vaccines compared to the immediate results of these illnesses was also a factor in our decision to ultimately vaccinate. Our second was on a delayed, doctor-approved schedule and there are some shots that she will never get.

:grouphug: Along with what DianeW said, I hope her doctor will also help her discover the cause. I had a friend go through multiple miscarriages and they finally figured out what was wrong. Thankfully, they have two healthy children, but it was after many heartbreaking losses.

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Can't help you specifically as we haven't been to an Episcopalian service, yet. But we did just go to a Catholic Mass and we felt at ease. Friendly, and non-agressive. I imagine you will find that church you linked to be very welcoming! :001_smile: :lol: Well, you just explained a lot about the elderly Episcopalian relatives I knew growing up! There was a lone Baptist among them. Ha!

Well, the paint itself doesn't have to be expensive. It depends on what brand you get. Also, are you painting a light color over a dark one? And do you have any supplies? It is worth it to get a good brush (not terribly expensive ... $10-$15 around here) and since I'm short, I borrowed a pole to attach to the roller. Just painted a small bedroom and we did it for under $100 including all the supplies we needed. The paint we used was not cheap, so it could have been done for less. Have fun! I'm so glad we painted. We moved into an all off-white house. Every room looks better every time we do.

:hurray: I almost asked for the last initial, but I didn't figure you'd get anything funny with P.L.__ or P.C__. :001_smile:

Well, of course I like Claire. :001_smile: We were so close to using it as a first name for our oldest daughter. It goes nicely with Payton. I also like Payton Grace, Leigh, or Joy, for one syllable middle names.

:grouphug: Wow, hope all goes well and that you can be in touch with a good allergist. One of my first severe reactions was biphasic. It wasn't at all how I imagined a reaction would be (and at the time I didn't know I had severe allergies.) I went back to bed after becoming itchy and experiencing stomach pain. I woke up, panicked, thinking I was drowning. My throat was starting to close and I threw up. I've had two reactions since then and the Epi-pen is close at all times.