No, I generally avoid milk because it gives me problems too. When I do eat oatmeal it is usually with a mashed banana (or maple syrup), salt, cinnamon, and a splash of almond or coconut milk. No butter, no milk. I have the same issue if I eat granola, even the homemade kind that I've controlled all the ingredients for.

I know! I've had people question it, even doctors. But I can eat oatmeal and have severe heartburn within 5 minutes (sometimes before I even finish eating it)

I'm smack in the middle of an Ethics class and this was one of the argument topics we had to discuss. Technically, DNR or a request to not be sustained artificially is a form of euthanasia. It is a "letting die" euthanasia vs an active "killing" euthanasia. Important distinctions, and they often get overlooked when it is being discussed. Having dealt with end-of-life situations for two parents, I think DNR requests are extremely important. It saves the surviving family a great deal of stress and grief in decision making, AND it gives the terminally ill person some control over their care at the end.

Legally and semantically it is passive euthanasia. I don't feel that it is wrong, however. One should have the right to not have their lives artificially prolonged, IMO.

I've been on Protonix for around 6 years now for constant, persistent heartburn. I spent most of my life with a stomach of steel until my pregnancies, but then had horrible heartburn with both of them. It settled down for a few years, but came back with a vengeance. It got so bad that it damaged my esophagus, and I had to have a procedure to stretch it back out enough for me to swallow without pain or food getting stuck. I HATE being on meds for it, but I do like swallowing..lol. Every time I've tried to get off the meds, I start having that "something stuck in my throat" feeling within a week or two. (all the while dealing with near constant heartburn) There are foods that make it worse for me. Coffee is a big culprit. Oatmeal is the worst food item. Dairy and wheat are also triggers. Spicy foods have no effect at all.

I don't have an engagement ring, but I've worm my cheap Wal-mart wedding band for 24 years now..lol. So long that I have "ring scar" that doesn't go away even after weeks of not wearing the ring.

As far as testing goes, I would get the younger two tested. There are a host of medical problems that can pop up with Ehlers that can be lessened if caught early. Including heart problems. I have a friend with a daughter that has been diagnosed with it. She has a more severe form, but they have to stay on top of her medically.

Fewer teens are working here, it seems. However, we've discovered that it is very, very hard to get hired if you are under 18. One of my 16 year olds has been looking and actively applying for jobs for over 6 months. They are hiring everywhere right now, but not if you are under 18. Or if you have any sort of schedule limitations.

Not paying jobs..lol. Both of my parents worked, so I had to do the childcare for my little brother (from about age 9 or 10) and housekeeping/cooking. I also worked the property with everyone else. We had 7 acres and horses, a garden, etc.

The oldest has a 2002 Chevy Impala, and the twins share a 2001 Ford Taurus. We wanted sedans that were a bit bigger, in case of an accident. We haven't had any major problems out of either of them, but have had to do some minor work.

About a year ago. Since my records vanished into thin air, I had to re-take the MMR to go to college. (cheaper than titers)

Interesting. Here the produce is usually very good, although you have to be careful price-wise. Some things are better deals than others. They carry a lot more organic items at better prices than many of our local stores. I can get much, much better deals on frozen vegetables and fruit at Costco. Coconut milk, coconut oil, olive/avocado oils, nuts...all SO much cheaper there.

I do have the Amazon CC, which I pay off each time I use it. I also have an executive membership at Costco (which basically pays for itself each year), and I use my Chase VISA now, which also offers 5% cash back.

I have pretty much zero crossover on the things I buy from each place. Costco is where I buy my food. I don't order meat and veggies from Amazon...lol. Amazon is where I buy all the things that I don't want to drive all over creation to find. Oh, and I get cash back from both places.

Even though I grew up in the 80s, it still reminds me of a lot of the things that were Christmas in our family, only with fewer tears..lol. Everything going wrong. The way Ralphie lives in his own little world that is constantly narrated in his mind. The foul-mouthed dad (although it was my mom in our family). The annoying little brother and the creepy Santa and elves. The horrifying gifts from little old lady relatives. It all strikes some memory or another from my own life.

Yes. It makes it SO easy. I'm going next week. I had planned on going this week, but time slipped away from me.

I prefer to keep a record at home. Each child will get a copy when they move out, and I'll keep one. I don't have much faith in the "system". I was a military brat, got all the required vaccinations as a kid and as a pregnant adult. I go to return to school, and lo and behold, my records are NO WHERE in the system. I do not exist. This despite, at one time, being in multiple databases in a couple of different state. Blech. I ended up getting re-vaxxed for a few things just so I could go to college.

This is pretty much us. We've had the actual flu come through our household twice in 24 years. Once was the one year I actually got a flu shot.

Our family, including the adult child, choose not to.

I've tried several times to make money at what I love most: art. I've had a photography business, a mural painting business, I've worked on commission, etc.. Each time I end up sad that I've chained my love to money. I burn out, and then I don't even want to do the things I love doing. I've found, for me, it is best to find something I don't hate doing to make my money, but also something that I'm not as emotionally involved with. I don't love office work. I'm not passionate about accounting. But they are both things I don't really mind doing daily to bring in money. It doesn't stress me out nearly as badly as pouring my heart into a project and having it rejected or not appreciated. Now, while I do still sell my artwork, I sell pieces that I've already completed and found my own value in. I don't do commissions, and I don't try to make a living wage from it. It is still enjoyable for me that way.

I've learned over the years that you can't tell some men anything. It has to be their own idea. My dh can't hear well either. Our TV is usually blaring loud enough for the neighbors to hear :glare: He did, however, finally break down and get glasses. You'll laugh at his stubbornness though. He kept putting off reading glasses. Then he had to go on a business trip and realized that he couldn't see to read his book for the plane. So, *in the airport* he bought a pair of reading glasses. He sent me a pic. They were ladies' glasses. With rhinestones. Apparently he was oblivious to what the glasses actually looked like. :lol: :lol: :lol: He finally relented when he got home to go to the eye doctor. (after we teased him mercilessly about the glasses he had to have stolen off of some grandma)

I would at the minimum ask for the brand name of the wraps. If they are processed in a wheat facility, they should not be serving them as safe for GF folks.

More so now than when my girls were small, since none of my kids are ever home any more! It was so hard to get time for myself when they were little, and when I did I usually spent it either worrying about things I needed to do, or running errands. I did get a chance a few times a year to get away with a friend for a short weekend to go scrapbooking and whatnot. However, the daily grind seemed unending. I often just included the girls in projects that *I* wanted to do.

Wellll....when your dh is a diesel mechanic, wearing nasty navy blue uniforms, and he tries to wash them with your towels or whites, it doesn't end well.

I'm the same way. My dh's best friend died in a motorcycle accident. Just a few months later, someone else died in the same spot and they put up a cross memorial there. I can't drive by that spot without picturing what happened to dh's friend and all the sorrow that came afterwards.