I'm an only, my husband is an oldest (of 3). We are the only ones who have children, so...

Absolutely! I love cool or iced herbals. Also, I came back here to add: you both need to take the time and allow yourselves to mourn. You've experienced loss. It's necessary to feel the feelings associated with that in order to come to a place where you can set it down and carry on with peace.

Yogi tea makes an excellent tea - Kava Stress Relief. Chamomile, lemon balm, passion flower are all good; the passion flower helps with mind racing, if you're experiencing that. For your 7yo, I would recommend chamomile and lemon balm, which are both quite soothing. If she isn't inclined to drink tea, Herbs for Kids makes drops that can be taken straight or mixed into a drink - Chamomile Calm or Valerian Super Calm if she's having trouble sleeping. Tai Chi, gentle yoga, just taking a walk - any exercise, really - will help dissipate the pent up energy. There are some really good guided meditations through Meditation Oasis that are free on iTunes. I'm so sorry you're having such an awful time, and I hope it's just an ugly memory very soon. :grouphug: to both of you.

In our area, the question would be moot; you have to be 16 to handle food or money so, no cooking, serving, or counter work. As one with no siblings, I acutely feel the "space" need. I would be irate if my husband wanted to work with me. That is my time to be in a different dynamic. I didn't appreciate it when my parents came to eat at my place of business when I was a teenager. Not because I was doing anything wrong or weird or whatever... My job was just mine and I felt very protective of that.

Yep. Afrin. The maroon box no-drip is the only thing that helps when I get to that place. I love my neti pot and use it daily, especially during dusty/pollen-y times but, if I'm that bad off, it only seems to anger my sinuses. I hope you get cleared out soon. Sinus pressure like that makes the whole day bad.

I'm the GF one in our house, but we pretty much have moved to a completely GF household. They do eat regular bread - GF is just cost prohibitive - while I grab mine from the freezer, and there are some things that are wheat flour based that I don't normally eat anyway - pancakes - so I make them standard... At least until the 50lb sack of King Arthur Special runs out. We eat the same stuff we've always eaten, just with GF substitutions for pasta, breads, etc. Some of it is better than "regular", like Let's Do Organic ice cream cones. :) I didn't have a biopsy. I have positive antibodies and feel better gluten free; that was plenty of evidence for me. Just my 2 cents.

Our social life sounds pretty much like yours, Laura. I may go down the street to hear a friend's band play at the pub, or out with a girlfriend a couple times a year but, mostly, we go as a family or not at all. We've gone to a couple of adults-only events in the past decade.... I think I can count those occasions on one hand.

Yup, I came to the same place with my husband's family, and you're right on all counts.

I haven't found a recipe that I love yet (will have to try that one next). In the meantime, Udi's makes really good GF breads. I'm particularly fond of their burger buns and hotdog rolls.

Speaking on behalf of the Yanks: yes, we like to invent ridiculously complex systems we can credit to the rest of the world. It helps us justify our own ridiculously inefficient systems. ;) Other than hectares (in land surveys), I've never seen other than those you use. And I've only seen deci and deca. Never, ever with a k.

Wow. A tetanus shot. How completely elitist of you.

Yup. That about sums it up.

Wow. Just wow. Some people will justify anything.

:svengo: (I put the hardware in my -10 freezer for about 30 minutes, and the cream in for about 10. The colder, the better. Warm cream makes butter, cold cream holds air.)

Yep, though less powdered sugar when I sweeten... maybe a tablespoon. Powdered sugar seems to work better if you need to hold the whipped cream for a while. I think it's the cornstarch they use as an anti-clumping/flow agent; it prevents the finished product from separating in the bowl or on your pie.

Yippee! Congratulations! And welcome new wee one. :001_smile:

You can call and report that check as "lost". Then they simply won't honor it if someone tries to cash it. And then I would FedEx or UPS a new check. For money, I like real time tracking.

Ok. I think that's the one I have. But it has gone missing (it WAS in the living room not too long ago... ). I got it and put in my 2 cents. And Beavis and Butthead mental giggle.

Um, yeah. Pretty much disease of the gallbladder that's not self-limiting. So it would be like tonsils (though you're actually actively using your gallbladder - I just mean scenario for removal). One isolated inflammation, you treat and it goes away. Lots of stones, recurring inflammation/infection, and they take it out. Or, you can ignore the chronic pain that is making you walk around doubled over (at 38) for months until, finally, the stones/inflammation/etc has caused your gallbladder to develop the internal organ version of gangrene, at which time you have emergency surgery which leaves you draining in the hospital on IV antibiotics for the better part of a week, with a giant, question mark shaped scar. (I worked with someone who took this route. I would recommend the scheduled, laproscopic route) It's not particularly a sign of overall declining health and isn't really age related, though as we age, "performance degradation" becomes more likely in any of our parts.

Maybe we should chat amongst ourselves and work out which is the preferred start point for the group? I'm inclined to begin at the beginning, as well and, left to my own devices, would select either Covenant Love or Genesis to Jesus to begin. (not that I would shun any of them) Also, I'm going to fly my obsessive flag for a moment and throw a question out to the "proper" (as opposed to lapsed and feeling called back) Catholics here: I don't see a preferred Bible edition on the St Paul Center website. Does anyone have any idea which would be the preferred for their Bible studies? (Yes, it seems a crazy thing to ask, but my house somehow ended up with a M-W dictionary edition that has, um, gaps in pretty common words, so I'd prefer to not repeat that here.)

I know you're already there, but I'm thinking of you and sending good wishes for a smooth and happy birth day! :grouphug:

My friend's droid "corrects" her response "okey dokey" to "plethora donkey". She's given up and just types that now. It's our secret code. I got one from my husband one morning that said "Surgery in the back of the van." :001_huh: Evidently, his auto-correct doesn't recognize "serger".

I have the same situation with my 10yo. Ours goes something like this: dd asks a question. I answer it. For the next 5 minutes (and sometimes in bits over hours or days, as she keeps returning to it), I am treated to a diatribe about how my answer is completely ridiculous, doesn't make any sense in 10yo logic world, etc. Example: we are in the Walmart buying storage bins. My husband is stuck in the men's room with the boys, so he sends me a word on our ongoing Words with Friends game. I return with "intuit". 10yo asks what intuit means. I tell her. 3 aisles later I finally demand that she STOP TALKING because I can't take listening to the monologue about how that doesn't make sense, she knows what intuition is, why can I just use intuition, why would anyone just say intuit and on, and on, and on... And she brought it up again today. :glare: honestly. I do realize they're working out their connect the dots logic but holy cow I'm going to lose my mind. OP I have no ideas for you, but lots of commiseration. We should form a support group.

I'm so excited for you! Yippee! Yippee!!

I have a spreadsheet. Basically: subject, grade, brief description, standout features/standout cons, vendor(s), prices. It's a running list so when I run across something I think may fit with future goals, it gets added. (I make no decision without a spreadsheet or flow chart, though.)