No behavioral issues. She has the "classic" version of CD, so she had physical symptoms, including major "runs", stomach pain, and she was nearly in the hospital for malnourishment when we found out what was wrong. For her GF is the only way she can be healthy.

It is so good to hear stories like this! I wish the media could focus more on the good that people do, rather than the bad. I'm so glad to hear that there are kind people out there!

My dd is on a GF diet for celiac disease. This is what my kids usually eat for lunch: meat: ham, sausage, hotdog (no bun), or gf chicken nuggets fruit: banana, apple, pear, or fruitcup dairy: yogurt or cheese Occasionally I will make sandwiches or fix leftovers. We don't do sandwiches a lot because, like you said, it is expensive. I don't know if it is CF, but the sandwich bread that Whole Foods makes (in the freezer section) is the best we have tried. Actually, all of that brand is really good. The taste/texture of GF breads is a bit different. You may find it helpful to totally avoid bread for a few weeks, then start eating the GF breads. Some people say that helps to adjust to the differences. If I can be of any other help to you, let me know. Dd has been doing GF for 5 years.

Are they as reusable as advertised if the wax comes off on everything?

That test would be a big drawback for me. I had it done when I was having trouble getting prego before I had ds. EVERYONE says it does not hurt, UNLESS they have had it done. No the pain doesn't last long, but for a few moments, you will think you are about to die.

:lurk5: My dd has been begging for them. I would love to know if they are junk or not.

I did this once and totally learned my lesson the hard way. My phone was a goner.

:lurk5: I have never heard of it, but will be watching for responses.

I second the recommendation of zyrtec at bedtime. I take it daily, as do my kids. We all have allergies and end up sick a lot if we don't take something regularly. None of us has problems with being sleepy the next day when we take it before bed.

Bump. Surely someone can help?

I am at a loss as to what to get mine and dh's parents for Christmas. I am thinking about getting a digital photo frame for each set of parents, preloaded with lots of pics of all of us. However, we don't have much to spend and really don't know what to look for to get something nice and decent quality. Any thoughts/suggestions/advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I have a yummy recipe for a gluten-free/wheat-free crustless pumpkin pie that is easy to make. Let me know if you are interested and I'll post it.

Here's my quick and easy, don't feel like cooking dinner for tonight: Brown ground beef, add gravy from packet. Serve over rice. Green beans on the side. I hate having to come up with something every night also. I wish I loved to cook, but I don't.

I have looked at some of the black friday ads, but most are just a list of items/prices without pictures. I would really like to see the actual ad, without having to go store-by-store or buy a paper. Thanks!

Chocolate. Oh, wait, we have that all year.....:D

My laptop died recently and dh is ready to get me off his precious mac. We don't have much to spend, so we are looking at getting a netbook with an external cd drive. Dh says it will do all the things I need: internet, pictures from my camera, word processing, power point, etc. I'm hoping to get one that is not too small, but we shall see.

I still haven't figured out some of their pricing. I understand price differences in used merchandise, but new stuff going up and down all the time is crazy. I wish they would just set a price and have a sale occasionally like regular merchants.

One thing that would be helpful is to do a better job with teacher internships. When I interned in 2000, it was only about 8 weeks long. Only 4 of those weeks did I teach all day. It may be comparing apples to oranges, but think about medical interships: they intern for years and get paid while doing it. A student teacher teaches a few weeks and has to pay to do it! New teachers really need more support. All those educational theories don't help that much in a real classroom. It would also help for teachers to have more say in what curriculum they use. When I taught, I was handed a box and that is what I was expected to use. Thankfully it was decent stuff, but sometimes it's not. I wonder how many teachers hated to teach "new math" years ago, knowing that it was garbage, but not having a choice. I could go on more about teacher pay, classroom size, and more, but I'll stop there. :D

:lurk5: LOL! I'm also a Melissa and will have a 7yo dd very soon! What does she want for Christmas? Littlest Pet Shop and nothing else! I have been pondering a lot what to get her.

Thanks so much!

I couldn't find it. Can you post a link please?

We have it and it is great. Of course if you rarely order from Amazon, it might not be worth it. We order some curriculum, gifts (esp with Christmas coming) and sometimes other things from them. It is saving us money.

We had to pay a bit for chorus uniforms when I was in school. However, $140 sounds like a lot! I would call the director and find out if there is any money available to offset the costs for families who can't afford it. Or at least a payment plan. Most families these days don't have that kind of money sitting around, especially near the holidays.

I don't know if they will become more "normal" or not, but I say "Enjoy them!" I had a mini Dachshund whose ears were just a tad too small, so they never hung down. He looked more like a Chihuahua. It just added to his personality.

I saw some nice sets at Michael's recently. There were sets for different time periods. I'm pretty sure there were some sets from one or both world wars. They weren't super cheap, but if you can find one of those % off coupons, they would be reasonable.