I put myself on H1 and H2 in the thick of the pandemic when seeing a doctor wasn’t really an option. Thankfully we have more better choices now! If it was my kid I would totally get a doctor involved first.

I put myself on Allegra and Pepcid when I was having post-viral GI issues. Made a world of difference. My allergist signed off on it afterwards. I would definitely bring it up with an allergist.

I have EDS and MCAS, both of which were exacerbated by COVID. It can be postviral and genetic at the same time. I also have orthostatic intolerance, similar to POTS. Try compression leggings, electrolytes and consistent fluids. These are easy things to start with as you pursue medical answers. A tip for fluids: start the day with six rubber bracelets on your right hand and move a bracelet to your left hand every time you drink a glass of water. Easy way to remember and keep track. They sell packs of silicon bracelets on Amazon.

People can be both.

Cow’s eye dissection as part of a unit on optics is super, super cool. You’ve already worked with ground glass lenses, and then you find out that a mammal lens works the same way. I can’t think of anything more engaging in physics at the high school level for a biology kid. (Lots of instructions on the dissection online. You can then use the lens to do basic refraction experiments.)

I would kick the tires on the Catholic school. My kids attend a Catholic school where religion is not woven into every subject. There may be too much religion for you regardless, but you may be surprised, the amount of religion in a Catholic school can vary a lot.

This. I was mildly following the “where is Kate” chatter, and was relieved when the picture was issued. No matter what health/marriage drama may or may not be going on behind the scenes, at least she was fine. Nothing to see here. And then the picture was killed by the news agency. Yikes. And then they wouldn’t release the original picture. Double yikes. I didn’t need to know she had cancer, I didn’t want the intimate details of her health, I just wanted a nice clear “proof of life” picture, and I’m glad we finally have the video of her on the bench. I’m very sorry she is dealing with cancer, but my interest in the story is basically over now that we know she’s okay (or as okay as you can be under the circumstances.)

Well, not for lack of trying! Let me tell you about The Princess and The Shaman…

She looks pretty good considering. Why on earth did they release the doctored photo then refuse to release the original? I feel badly for her and still feel the PR was abysmal.

There must be a million ways to hide an ostemy bag in a picture. Hiding her health issue is fine, the lack of PR competence is the real scandal.

I had a full neuropsych evaluation in 2018, and did a reassessment in 2022 as a LongCovid patient. The good news was my IQ was intact. The bad news was my processing speed had dropped a full standard deviation…

I saw my first party bus in London, and it was exactly as not-kid friendly as you would imagine. That said, I think kids would love the idea of a party on a bus, no reason why it couldn’t be real thing for kids.

So the books arrived yesterday, and I have to say I’m really impressed. I mostly got chapter books, but I got one picture book and I was not expecting glossy paper and full color illustrations. Not the best illustrations ever, but still very engaging. (We got Puss in Boots and there is running gag in the illustrations about bunnies pooping everywhere that my eight year old *loved*.) The chapter books have occasional black and white illustrations that definitely helped my ten year old reader understand the story. They are clearly intentional with what they choose to illustrate. This is a legit publisher that is trying to make reading fun, even as they lean hard into stories already in the public domain. (We got retellings of Sherlock Holmes, Homer, Robinson Crusoe etc.) I really respect their mission, the books are practically free in France, and still a good deal with overseas shipping.

Thank you for this fantastic resource! Just ordered 27 books! Shipping isn’t super cheap, but the books themselves are, so altogether it’s a steal. I paid just over $3 a book for chapter books, including shipping, which is thrift store prices for new books. The retellings of classic lit are the perfect level for my 4th grader. (Who is about to complain about reading so much Jules Verne…)

Their book lists are just amazing. I bought some of the complete sets when my kids were in Kindergarten during the lockdowns and we weren’t going to libraries or anything. So many wonderful, wonderful books.

I don’t love the idea of hours of wasting time on Chromebook at his age. (I mean I’m autistic and spend hours on my phone, but it’s not a good habit, especially when he’s young.) Do you think he would have less unfocused screen time if you pulled him? If so, do it.

I would insist on an AS as the compromise for not going to college. But the compromise goes both ways. No pressure for a full undergrad degree.

30 and I bought a 900 square foot condo. It was 2010 and prices were still down from the market crash. I had been a lawyer for four years at that point so my income was good but I didn’t have much savings. FHA had just raised the maximum loan amount to support the housing market which was great. The previous limit made FHA loans impossible in my HCOL metro. I paid 5% down on $380,000. Almost immediately met and married my husband and we ended up selling the condo when we moved out of state. I loved that place and wish I still had it, but the hassle of being a remote landlord wouldn’t have been worth it. The unit has at least doubled in value…

If it’s not a safety hazard I would just let it be. It’s their house, they can live how they want. It’s stressful to have someone come over and clean your house without being asked. It’s stressful to have someone offer to hire a cleaner for you. Let them have agency while they still can. They can hire a cleaner themselves or move to a facility if they want.

I adored Incurable Case of Love. So cheesy, so much fun. I’ll have to check out Playful Kiss. I was so sure Heartbeat would stick the landing, and then they **completely** dropped the ball.

I guess the gut test has good sensitivity, but bad specificity. If you get flagged you probably are bad, but not all bad people get flagged. It’s better than nothing I guess?

I thought of you. I know you had no idea. Thank you again for sharing your story.

Found out today that someone I’ve known for years, who is on my Christmas card list, was caught molesting a pre-teen. I’m shocked. I know these things happen, they’ve happened in my own extended family, but I’m still shocked. This person is charming, attractive, successful, very involved with their family. Never, ever would have guessed. Just gut-punched stunned.

Basic intro business, economics and accounting courses are a good idea. Lawyers get involved in business transactions but a lot of them don’t have much business background. You don’t need to be a business expert but understanding the basic concepts will go a long way.

I thought Luke Perry dying would have prepared me for this, but nope. Still shocking.