My first flu shot after COVID triggered a week long revival of COVID symptoms (on top of my regular LongCOVID). Immune systems are weird. A week long reaction isn’t typical, but it is possible.

Okay, so I said I wanted her to be able to work on her own, but *I* love Life of Fred. His sense of humor and interest in curious non-math tangents is *very* Autistic, in the best possible way. I imagine the initial enthusiasm will wane, but Fractions has been a big hit at our house.

Our pediatrician said that the flu shot was a bigger priority than the new COVID booster for kids this fall. It makes sense. The kids have all had recent COVID vaccines or COVID exposure. Maybe not so much with flu.

I’m going to open windows and turn on our kitchen exhaust fan. Suck that new air in!

@KatyI read your post this morning, and then immediately had a work call with a colleague whose toddler just had a terrible flu. Didn’t wait for any more signs from the universe, dragged the family to the pharmacy this afternoon!

I didn’t realize he was so handsome! I was just a kid and couldn’t see past the character.

None of your kid’s peers will know the Ernest movies. None. I think it would be a fine middle name.

@DmmetlerShe would *not* complain if the guides showed up on their own!

Yes. We have 3A and 3B. She’s devoured the comics, but only dabbled in the workbooks. (This was at least a year ago, I bought the books ages ago when 3A was the first one.) The last time we tried we had to sit next to her while she attempted the problems, or she would give up because it wasn’t instantly easy. I’m all for working on hard things, but I don’t know if I have the time. Maybe no matter what we do we just set a timer. Easier to get the kids to commit to ten minutes of something everyday. It’s what we do with French. (I know ten minutes isn’t much, but this *is* after schooling.)

I told her I bought Life of Fred. She was upset I hadn’t bought more of the “Little Monsters.” Kid, you are nine. We have time to do it all!

Okay so LoF looks amazing. Rainbow Resource says to start at the beginning regardless of grade. What says the Hive?

I totally don’t mind checking in every day, but I want something she can work on independently. I’ll check out LoF. A smaller number of problems would be good. Too much review frustrates her.

Even now when the vaccine no longer stops transmission you should *still* get vaccinated to help others. Why? We all benefit from functioning hospital systems. Overwhelming disease impacts everyone, not just the un- or under-vaccinated sick. I want access to Emergency Rooms this winter! I bet you do too!

As long as you aren’t moving anything it should be easy enough to upgrade your cabinets and shower. Keep the tub, just a nicer one with no motor. (Unused air jets get so gross!)

Hmm. Maybe since we absolutely don’t need a full curriculum, I can get her Hands on Equations, tell her it’s high school math (which isn’t really a lie…) and just see how far we get. I think she’d enjoy jumping straight to algebraic thinking without having to finish all of arithmetic first. Especially since she will have to do all of arithmetic over again at school.

I’ve been mostly sugar free, grain free and processed carbs free, and then I went crazy at a picnic and ate potato salad, potato chips and a sandwich on sourdough bread…. Candida ever since. It’s amazing how little sugar it takes if you aren’t used to it. Also amazing how quickly you go back to craving sugar!

The food lists are not consistent, although people seem to agree on the main culprits (Spinach, tomatoes, aged foods etc.) Part of the issue is that not everyone with histamine intolerance reacts the same to the same foods. Some people are fine with certain foods that everyone agrees are “bad.” Or maybe they can have small amounts, but only raw or only cooked… It’s wild. What’s important is to figure out *your* triggers. It’s also good to think about having a histamine “bucket.” You can tolerate a certain amount of histamine, but react when your bucket is full. So sometimes if your bucket is nearly full you react to foods that wouldn’t normally bother you, if you ate a small amount on an empty bucket. Your point about shrimp is interesting. I don’t have a shellfish allergy. (I’ve been tested for almost everything, I don’t have any true allergies.) But I never feel quite right after shrimp. Histamine makes total sense. I really like the info on the mast cell 360 website. I’ve never used any of her services, but she has good general info. https://mastcell360.com

My third grader has started asking if she is smart enough for high school math. I told her of course she is, but she’d have to learn fourth through eighth grade math first. Her response? Okay, so when can I start fourth grade math? Ugh. She’s in school so she can’t move through that curriculum at her own pace. We could after-school ahead in math, but my priority for after school has been read-alouds and French. (This is maybe a half-hour a day.) I could carve out a bit of daily time for math with her, but not a lot. Maybe dad could do more on the weekends. Any math curriculum ideas that would allow a kid to work semi-independently? And would be interesting enough for a kid? (I could hand her Lial’s this afternoon, but that’s not exactly compelling.) I’d rather not spend a ton, I don’t know how durable this math kick will be. She’s dabbled in the first two books of 3rd grade Beast Academy, and I could steer her back that way, but I suspect she wants to learn ahead more than she wants to dive deeper. I don’t see a problem with giving her access to what she really wants, even if I’m not going to push her to do it.

I absolutely react to high-histamine foods. (And a bunch of other stuff too!) None of my doctors dismiss this. Allergist has no problem saying: “Hey, this high-histamine food triggers you? Avoid it!” He also supports my anti-histamine regime. I know that not all doctors understand or support Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, but don’t think reacting to histamines is itself controversial.

There is no such thing as “same age peers” in law school. Most people are generally in their early to mid twenties, but lots of people did gap years or got master degrees or traveled. No one will care if you are twenty-two or twenty-four or twenty-seven. (Just don’t be under 21. That’s awkward.) I would stay the extra year. Take those extra classes. Start a foreign language. Learn a new sport. Practice cooking. Anything that helps you be a well balanced person. Because 1L year will hit you like a tidal wave, and the more resilient you are going in the better. But honestly? I would stay the extra year in college, and then I would take a few more years after that. See if you can get a full-ride for a master’s degree. Travel. Be an au-pair somewhere. Work in a different city. Because once you get your law degree you usually have to get a job and start repaying your student loans. And then it’s almost impossible to take two or three years to do something cool.

Autistic people have to accommodate a lot of not-Autistic social expectations at most parties. At the end of the night, when we are the most socially spent, perhaps the not-Autistics can accommodate us, and let us leave how we wish.

I find shopping online and looking at generics makes it easier to find dye-free options. (Regular Pepcid is pink, generic Amazon famotidine is white!)

The nurses were apologetic that my baby didn’t have a private room in the NICU! Uh, I want you to be able to see her at all times? No walls needed! (I guess with private rooms a parent is able to sort of move in full time, which wasn’t an option for us with a toddler at home. But apparently all new NICUs are built this way?)

https://www.crateandbarrel.com/kids-heathered-jersey-reversible-grey-twin-quilt/s224267 The quilt is just under $100, the sham is about $30.

Korea or Japan is where all the good overseas TESOL jobs are. Experience on the ground will probably make her a more attractive candidate.