Fresh Salsa? I have bean & rice chips. The project is for my 13yo. My 9yo is reading Farmer Boy, painting watercolors and playing outside as much as possible. I have writing guidelines if you'd like to borrow them although my dd is only following them loosely. A nap sounds good too. I got up at 5 this morning in a misguided attempt to turn my night-self into a morning person. I'm not sure I'll even stay awake long enough to have a glass of wine with my dinner.

Waffles and brownies coming right up. A week-long project is a great way to start back after vacation. She picked the topic which had to be from our history time period. She has to account for 40 hours of work roughly divided between research, writing and something she makes. Her paper has to be 2-3 pages double-spaced. Her project must fit into roughly a 2x2 space (otherwise it could be huge).

Normal? How dreadful. :) Make sure your cardiologist takes you seriously or find a new one. Anything that has you at the ER needs a good look-see. I'm taking older dd to the doc to get her knees looked at. She's been limping and complaining since we went skiing last week. When I get back, I'll make some gf blueberry waffles and some gf brownies, if you like. I'm also grilling some lamb chops later if you want to stick around. It is risotto, lamb and kale for dinner tonight. I feel bad because this week so far we've already had pasta, something with rice, chicken nuggets and pizza. I should probably cook something. School is going full-scale here. Older is doing a week-long project on the history of runes, and younger is doing her lovely Waldorf school along with some extra math at home everyday.

My 3rd grader has no homework. My 7th grader has daily homework that is typically 20 minutes per class for 5 classes plus music practice.

She tested negative for corn but positive for a lot of other foods that she was eating. That's why I always recommend an allergist along with a pediatric gastro. doctor for parents that are suspecting celiacs. Stomach trouble and failure to grow are symptoms of both allergies and celiacs. Celiacs often develop multiple food allergies because their intestinal damage allows larger proteins into the the blood stream which can trigger allergic responses.

My dd with nut allergies and asthma ALWAYS carries an epi-pen and an inhaler. One of the problems with asthmatics with food allergies is an assumption that breathing problems are an asthmatic symptom instead of a symptom of anaphylaxis. It can lead to a delay in administering life-saving medication. Talk to your allergist about both problems. If your allergist doesn't take the peanut allergy seriously enough, find one that does, please.

Nope. I don't eat chicken. ;)

Take her to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist and an allergist. My little celiac has always been tiny. Right now, at 9 she is 50 lbs, and she's been off gluten for years. Before we found out, she would eat and eat. Her stomach hurt from the time she was an infant until she came off of gluten. She never, ever slept well. She would frequently vomit. She had constipation and diarrhea. She is also allergic to dairy, soy, peas, apples, raspberries and mustard. Her allergist is certain that she's allergic to more things, but she's so tiny it hurts us all to do the tests on her. She's doing much better, but I wish we'd found the celiac and the allergies much sooner.

I read the Wind-up Bird Chronicles this week. Last time I read Murakami, I felt entertained and confused and maybe even a bit introspective. This book was both surreal (random?) and misogynistic. I really hated the way women were treated in this book. For something lighter after that, I started what I thought was a steampunk series with Kiss of Steel and Heart of Iron. They were more bustle-buster than anything else. The Parasol Protectorate series I read last week was witty and clever and even funny along with a good dose of heroics and intrigue. I'm reading Germania by Tacitus this week along with my older dd. I'll also either start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or The Prince of Fire which is the next in a spy series by Daniel Silva.

Some Sorel Cate the Great winter boots. My they keep my perpetually cold feet warm in the snow and ice. I love them more than is natural. I also got a couple of pairs of skinny jeans to wear with them and a pair of pink satin pjs. Oh, and a travel mug so I can drink coffee in the car in style. AND a pair of sapphire earrings that dangle and are pretty.

I think, at this point, you need to actually take her regardless of her feelings and don't bring her back until she's done. My favorite book as a kid was Where the Wild Things are. It has been amazingly helpful for parenting my kids. I'm not scared or intimidated when they roar their terrible roars and gnash their terrible teeth and roll their terrible eyes and show their terrible claws or threaten to eat me up. I just look into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and say, "NO." She probably needs some more concrete structure and a generous application of checklists, but you can't let her see you blink just because she balks at it. It gives her more power when you do. Please don't pull your hair out.

Now I'm going over to the high school board to take a look. I currently have neither a high schooler nor a college student so I don't usually go there. Your Jet Fuel is ready. I don't knowhow you like it so it is black. brb

Hello and Bring on the Clowns! I can pop a Jet Fuel in the Keurig for you - that counts for a good, strong coffee. I am not eating healthier. I have a limited diet due to migraine triggers which include: corn in any form, MSG, poultry, pork, soy, cinnamon, bay leaf, tree nuts, and most anything with a "spice" or "natural flavor" or "artificial flavor" as an ingredient. It is further limited by my older dd's food allergies, many of which are airborne: beef, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, citrus, and shellfish. And just to be complicated, younger dd is celiac and allergic to dairy, apples, raspberries, soy, mustard, and peas. I am trying for more variety. "Healthy eating" was long ago got replaced with simply" food that won't hurt or kill somebody". I did find we could all eat lamb. I am trying elk next week. My mom lives with us about half the year. It is good to be able to make sure she is okay and to have the kids spend time with her. She gets to be trying at times which is when I schedule her for a visit with my siblings or her sisters. Normal would be good. It won't happen, but it would be good.

So I skipped the pole and decided my girls will NEVER date. :D However, I think it is a healthy part of growing up. I'm just not ready yet. My ds never dated while he lived at home. We talked about it, but it never happened. He is one of those sweet, private people with a few very close friends. He did find a girlfriend at college. They had classes together and found common interests. They are still together 4 years later. He wants to marry her, but she isn't ready. I will have to wait until one of my girls asks me about it, then I'll make it up as I go along. I know certainly that it isn't happening anytime soon.

Yep

Mine also works as a debit card so dh can use it that way no matter what. Of course it just came in the mail today; I've never had one before; I've never used one before; dh and the dc all use my home debit card to shop eventually.

When I saw the question, the song started in my head.

Has everyone in your family taken Tamiflu before? Last time my girls had the flu, we elected to use Tamilfu to reduce the impact for the kids. One of my dd's had a severe allergic reaction to it. If you have kids with asthma, I would consider it for them. There is risk along with cost to consider.

Yesterday, I read Timeless which is a strange combination of Steampunk mystery and urban fantasy. The series was a fun diversion over the holidays. I'll start The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles tonight. It has been a while since I read any Haruki Murakami. I just remember being entertained and confused.

Black eyed peas. This year I made them on New Year's eve, then warmed them up New Year's morning, put them in a BIG thermos and took them to the mountains. We really enjoyed our hot, lucky meal after a long day of skiing and an even longer evening stuck in the going home in the snow traffic.

First - :grouphug: Sorry. Now, while you're waiting for your doctor, try to read Heal Your Headache. It is the most comprehensive book I've read in a decade of chronic migraines. It has some really good information specifically about hormonal migraines, migraine triggers, prevention, medications and treatments. It does have a terribly patronizing tone, but try to ignore that. The "cure" proposed in the book is not nice or easy but neither are migraines.

You might try Octavia Butler's Kindred. It is a science fiction book that takes a modern woman and puts her in the antebellum South. It is well done and helps to bring the time to life by contrasting with modern sensibilities.

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