How many grams of carbs are you allowed? I am Type II Diabetic and have a rare liver disease (cannot eat a lot of protein). My dietician says I need 20-25 grams of carbs per meal. And no more than 40 grams of protein a day. I like using MyFitnessPal to keep track of carbs and protein. HTH

:iagree: We raised a Belgian Malinois from 9 weeks of age. When he was ready for obedience training, our instructor required the pinch collar and instructed us in using it ONLY briefly for getting our dog to heel on command. It took my dog 3 sessions with the pinch collar and he got the idea. After those short sessions, we used a leather lead with the proper "slack" to have him walk right next to me... if I stopped, he stopped. I then would lead him around myself (I stood still and used the lead) and into a sit position. From there, the dog was trained to either sit or lay down with a short lead or 30 ft. lead and be trained for more commands. HTH

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

If SIL did the nickname... I say she now gets Birthday and Christmas Cards signed, "With Love, Your Turd Nugget"

:smilielol5: :smilielol5: :smilielol5:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I think you have ID'ed the issue. What makes things worse is that my friend blames others (or uses them) to get free childcare. And if the friendships become damaged due to the situation, she moves onto the next "friend" and uses them for free help. Plus, she will make it look as if the blame rests on that person... whereas the 800 lb. Elephant in "the room" is that she is overwhelmed and needs to parent her children. Many moms of multiples are on their own with no help. I just am a bit gun shy seeing a few friendships blown apart by this mom.

A friend asked for my help with being a "consultant" for her preschool age twin boys. I accepted the challenge. I knew in advance this friend deals with too much on her plate, some PPD/insomnia, husband does not help, and basically... she is a perfectionist. At our first meeting, she said she did not have the time to create lesson plans. I suggested pre-created lesson ideas and she then complained she had no money. She implied I was to come up with activities or the lesson plans. Hmmm. I later whipped up some (free) online resources and she did not have the time to print out the resources. I then took it upon myself to print the (free) link and put the worksheets and week's lesson suggestions in her mailbox. I also told her I will not be available beyond the month of March. After that, she will be on her own... but will have a month's worth of lesson ideas and resources to create a do-able plan. I have a sinking feeling she may be asking more out of me. But I am working p/t and homeschooling my own child. I don't have time to help her. Her family wants her to get a p/t job and put the kids in daycare as nothing is getting accomplished with her being at home. The kids are unsupervised often or the TV babysits them for hours. My friend is known to not um... discipline her kids and they rule the roost. She does have some serious Depression/Insomnia issues I feel need medical intervention, but she has no $ or insurance... yet, she is clearly overwhelmed. I gently encouraged her that there is no shame in getting help and putting the kids in preschool 2 days a week for her sanity. Or join a support group or playgroup just to get out of the house. Yikes...

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: I will make a note later... but do not want to label anything.

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Our family barely makes enough for one car's fuel, insurance and toll fees. And my son is Special Needs on top of this... I do not see him handling a job plus school until after age 18. My family's culture was third world in the sense that you were expected to live in the house until marriage. The rent was $0 -- but the expectation was for you to either go to college or get a job (and even then, you gave a portion of your paycheck to the parents) to save up for a home when you got married. It was common to live in a multigenerational home before WWII... and credit made it common for the everyday joe to get their own home after WWII. But now with our credit (economy) going sour, it is ironic to see multigenerational housing coming back. I don't see it as coddling. Insurance rates for young male drivers are outrageous, IMO.

Be sure to change the air filter in your A/C & Heat more than every 6 months. Plus clean out the air vents and ceiling fans. Switch to a tile (or wood if you can afford it) floor instead of carpet. During really bad allergy seasons, I'd have to shower daily and take Nasacort and Benadryl to survive. Flonase works better than Nasacort (a.k.a "Snoz-a-cort"). Be super careful with Nasacort as you can easily get a sinus infection -- one of the side effects.

I like the craft paper idea -- use blue painter's tape on the edges! I used to have a 3 step cleaning process for my (white) tile floor: 1) Sweep 2) Vacuum and detail edges that broom does not get. 3) Hot water w/ Ammonia rinse/mop on floors to get it white again. House rules were everyone's shoes came off at the door (I also had white carpet too). And there was a large "mudroom" for jackets, boots, shoes, and a thick work carpet for the boys to wipe their feet on on both sides of the door. Why not just put some (temporary) stone pavers as a "sidewalk" trail from the car to the door? Remove them when it is time to work on the yard? That will cut down on the snow and mud some.

My FIL had horrible allergies in MI and moved to CA, but suffered to a lesser extent. Not as bad as MI, tho'. He then moved to the Mojave Desert and did really well there... but that is in the middle of NOWHERE. I grew up in No. CA and had pollen/tree allergies. Moved to So. CA and they were less irritable thanks to living by the ocean. I also moved to the Mojave Desert like my in-laws and my allergies were GONE!! Wow. But we lived in nowhere-ville, which truly sucked big time. :laugh: Now I live in Texas (my maternal people's homelands...near DFW) and I hate it due to my allergies gone amuck. Spring pollen is nasty with the winds. This winter has been mild and the Mountain Cedar is my #1 enemy. Aaaauuuugh. Mountain Cedar is everywhere in TX, NM, CO & AZ.

Most likely due to our economy gone sour and so many job applicants... the new "rule" makes those who are overqualified get the interview. Easier to weed out candidates from a Human Resources POV?

I have to confess we did the mummified chicken years ago with SOTW... but moved during that time to a new home and the chicken mummy was "forgotten". Discovered it in a box a year ago and ds was shocked to see how the chicken was still preserved. It was encased in salt in a ziploc bag. Never got around to wrapping it or launching it from a trebuchet (my original plan). That being said... Latin was a complete flop after 3 weeks. So was Spanish. Turns out trying to teach a special needs child who has working memory issues a new language is challenging. Who knew?

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:iagree: My FIL did the same thing a month after MIL's death... it was an affair he kept secret from MIL for years. :glare:

Howdy! :001_smile: From what I understand from our Metabolic Geneticist Specialist at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston... we are like "distant" cousins. Not the same. But it looks like we do share similar symptoms when under illness or stress -- and have to be on similar diets? For our Disorder, a liver transplant is needed if meds and diet do not help. Looks like we both have ongoing care that requires the support of knowledgeable nutritionists and physicians. And frequent monitoring of growth, development, and biochemical parameters is essential. In our Urea Cycle Disorder - OTC Deficiency, and others later in the cycle, glutamine or orotic acid may be identified in the urine organic acid profile, for example in Hyperammonemia. My son was in a FDA Drug Study a couple of years back and the test results from that study showed great implications that the drug could be used to help Maple Syrup Urine Disease (one of the Organic Acidemias in your group).

We went to Disneyland/CA Adventure for ds' 10th bday. We then went to Walt Disney World when ds was 13 many years ago... ds will be 18 years old in a few months. He says he LOVED both places and would go back in a heartbeat. If someday, we have 2 nickels to rub against each other, we'd go back to WDW. The rides, Downtown Disney and Blizzard Beach were big hits with him! And I'd invite ds' buddy to join in on the fun!

I hear ya... :grouphug: It drives me batty when people look at myself or my son (we have a OTC Deficiency in the Kreb's Cycle in our liver) and say, "How can anything be wrong with you? You look great!"

Why not? I'm in. :D I think for those who are frequent WTM'ers know that my son and I have a rare genetic liver disease called Urea Cycle Disorder - Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency. Sonny boy has mild learning disabilities such as poor working memory, severe Dysgraphia, OCD/Anxiety, and other co-morbidities to his rare disease like Osteoporosis and Asperger's Syndrome. Me? Well, I deal with being an Aspie myself. OCD/Anxiety. Diabetes. Frontal lobe (white matter) deterioration due to the rare liver disease eating away and causing overall cognitive issues like confusion, irritability, and other executive functioning matters. The meds I take for both my rare disease, OCD, and Diabetes have side effects that make me fatigued... I can easily sleep all day if not on a routine. Driving a car is not recommended. Alcohol is a big no-no. If son or I screw up with our daily diet and eat too much protein... it can trigger headaches, migraines, nausea, vomiting, and send us to the ER. If son or I get ill, it can send us to the ER. If son or I get a simple cold or flu, it can send us to the ER or worse... coma or death. There is no cure for our disease. It results in death. My mom died of this back in 1992 at age 52. Just lost my older sister to this disease this summer -- she was 51. I'm going to be 47 and scared to death that I might not live past my early 50s. I hope by the time my son is my age, medicine has a lot of answers to our rare disease. We homeschool not due to religion, bullying, or objection to public schooling. We chose to homeschool my son after he was in a coma in 2004 and almost died. It was a miracle he lived and another miracle some doctor figured out (from his old medical school days) that this kiddo might have a really rare disease and not Meningitis or Reye's Syndrome. I cannot go back to my old job as a schoolteacher or even work jobs at McDonald's or retail due to the fact I can get easily sick and wind up in the ER or hospital. I enjoy homeschooling, but miss my old life and career. We're catastrophic for private insurance that we both are now applying for SSI (low income) -- one drug we have to take 3x's a day costs $7500 a month (per person). A newer class of drug for our rare disease just came out with AMAZING results... but the monthly cost of the drug is $25,000 (per person). Between my son and I, we are easily $100K or $500K (if we go on the newer meds) for daily medication alone. That does not include visits to the ER for blood labs (which are often), visits to our Specialist (often), regular doctor visits, and more. And TX is not participating in the Affordable Healthcare Act. Eeeeek. I hate the fact I gave this genetic mutation to my son and fear one day he will resent his life (like myself). Soooo frustrating. I am sorry to be rambling, but this is a support group. But hey... it could be worse, ya know? The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. P.S. Despite all of my complaining... I do a pretty good job of homeschooling my special needs son. I'm very proud of his PLAN (Pre-ACT) test results he took last Fall 2012 "cold" with no test prep. He scored well above my expectations and can easily go straight to a good college with those comparable PLAN scores -- we'll see how he does on the real ACT this Fall.

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: I think those type of personalities who have no "real world" experience are much like those young ladies who plan their dream wedding on Pinterest... and do not have a boyfriend, yet. :confused1: Weird.

That is also my 17 year old son too! :laugh: We have nagged my son for years to take his daily meds (3 times a day) and I got so fed up with the system for our meds (I also have to take meds 3 times a day too...) that I finally created a weekly checklist for him. It listed each medicine a la Excel spreadsheet and he tally checks them off. The system is so good, I no longer have to nag. Ironically, it has backfired on me when I forget my meds (I do not have a chart) and ask son if he also remembered... to which, he says, "Look at my chart!" And lo and behold... sonny boy took his meds. I'm the one who was incomplient. Oh my. Son also wears his hair super long (15 inches below the neck). We are Native American/Hispanic and like to on occasion attend a Powwow wearing regalia. But he drives us batty with the fact he often does not brush his hair many times a day -- and suffers from tangles. We tell him he has a choice to wear his hair long, but we will demand it be cut short if he does not keep it neat and groomed. We would suggest a ponytail or braid and he would refuse, preferring it to be long down his back. Fine. But still dealt with tangles on a daily basis. Auugh. Two years of this long hairstyle and drama... this week, he finally realized how handy a PONYTAIL is while asleep. He woke up with NO TANGLES. Imagine that... :svengo: So, now he is walking around the house with his hair in a ponytail which suits me fine. He is still debating whether to donate his 15 inch ponytail to a Locks of Love event soon coming. I told him I don't care if he wears his hair long, but he needs to be responsible to keep it groomed. Lordy. P.S. As I type this out... I just nagged at son to go into the office and finish up his Geometry homework. Gotta love boys. Comes with the territory, I guess.

Back in 2003, I had a root canal and 4 crowns done in 2-3 separate procedures, like descibed above. The dentist was great with my anxiety. I watched a movie while he worked on my mouth. It was not a bad experience. Definitely encourage you to communicate with the Dentist and relax (iPod, movie, or Dentist approved sedative) on the day of the procedure.

Used to be both a Sparks and T&T (Truth & Training) leader. T&T gets a bit more difficult with memory verses, but have the same programming format. We used to separate Sparks from T&T for only the lesson (30 min) time. (Think of it like Sparks lesson is more flannel board-y and primary "1st grade" -- where T&T is lecture/discussion with students bringing a Bible like a upper "4th grade" classroom format) Then gather everyone for group devo time/games/etc.