We haven't seen it yet since the kids are meh about the commercials. Our Targets have had a bunch of wish merchandise on clearance for awhile so I think it's not doing as well as they expected.
I'm glad you got answers and hope that helps. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia until I finally got an MRI that showed I needed a spinal fusion and that was the reason for my numbness and pain
So glad you have answers too! I know MRIs are expensive but I'm surprised drs don't offer them more often because they really do help diagnosis things!
namasteak , I can't remember the exact name, but I believe I have some sort of spinal issue which causes chronic back pain (lower back & hips). A chiropractor diagnosed it (I went to a chiro as I was having chronic back pain in my 20s), and he refers to it as "spondy." Usually it's not too bad, but some movements/activities cause me to have pain/discomfort. I go to a chiro once a month now for adjustments/maintenance.
Spondtkoisthesis?
What I have is an autoimmune disease - basically my immune system attacks the spine causing inflammation & is a degenerative joint disease.
I will talk to my rheumatologist about a chiro though - I saw one during all my pregnancies and she was very helpful!
2 of my 3 are on the spectrum. Ds1 was diagnosed at 8 and Ds3 at 4. They both thought it was fun since at their ages it was more games and chatting with a grown up who would listen to their special interest. So unless YOU need the break from cooking (which would be understandable) I wouldn't worry about that.
We have never been big leftovers people as I've relied on freezer cooking but I'm going to try the "cook a few things with planned leftovers method" many of y'all use
Chores are definitely a struggle. DH does a lot (all dishes, most cooking and the laundry) but there is so much one person can do. Our 8 & 10 year old alternate chores - 1 swiffers and the other picks up dog poop every day and they do the toilets on the weekends. But that still leaves a lot of chores to be done. I would really like for a good chunk of our tax return to go toward that.
DH & I both love cooking and have always been big on freezer cooking so we need to work on readjusting our expectations of meals. I used to be able to push through and cook for a day every couple of months but not lately.
The reassurance here has been so helpful, thank you <3
I think I just needed other people to reassurel me that its ok to outsource more. It feels weird since I'm a SAHM of kids who are in school but it would definitely reduce the mental load.
My new rheumatologist took so much blood for testing last week I had to stay at the office to eat a snack and drink juice before they would let me leave. Most of it came back already with good news (normal thyroid levels, no lyme or lupus) but still waiting on some other results. I'm hopeful that he can help but its hard not to wallow when everything is a struggle.
quesyrahssmjlm Everything. I'm just so damn tired all the time and any day I either have muscle pain (fibromyalgia) or joint pain (RA) or both. I also have plummers disease (a hyperthyroid issue that is actually well managed right now).
DH is AMAZING and does all the chores but he is approaching burnout between work & doing so much around the house .
If keep waiting for a good day so I could do some freezer cooking to eliminate the food stress and we are planning to use some of our tax refund to have a scheduled house cleaner to eliminate a lot of the chores.
Socially is just not good right now because Ive had to say no to enough things that I'm not really invited to much anymore.
I think I just needed to vent and feel less alone in struggling to feel somewhat normal.
Are you a "Gold Star" Costco member? If so, no cash back. If you are an "Executive Member" you get 2% rewards back. There is a price difference in memberships, and you really need to spend several thousand/year to make up the $120 membership fee for Executive. They do have something about refunding part of the membership fee if you don't make it back in rewards. Someone correct me on that. I couldn't find it on the Costco website.
Yes, this.
it really pays off when you use it for big ticket items (HVAC, cars, tires, vacations, generators, mattresses, etc). But even when we have years where we don't buy those, we still get a couple hundred back just from general purchases. I don't use it for my weekly groceries, and shop there maybe once a month, and before I host an event (family Christmas, snacks for a team, whatever). But we've always gotten money back.
We do most of our grocery shopping at Costco and try to get all of our gas there. We have the credit card with the executive membership and end up with about $600/year back. Oddly its 2 separate checks - 1 for Costco and 1 from Citibank. When we were buying diapers/pull ups it was bigger since that is such a huge expense.
UPDATE Well no wonder I wasn't feeling better. I have ankylosing spondylitis not RA! Apparently I'm in the 10% of people who don't have the b27 gene so my old rheumatologist never caught it since he never ordered an MRI...just dismissed the low back/hip pain as age/motherhood 🙄
New doctor started me on a muscle relaxer, prescription NSAID and a monthly shot. Plus prescription for water physical therapy ! So hopefully I feel better soon.
That said we have hired a house cleaner and are working on easy go to meals/looking into delivery services.
Thanks guys ❤️
If you have a chronic illness, what things do you do to make life easier? Its been 9 months since I was diagnosed with a few autoimmune diseases (April 2023) l and they aren't well managed so I am struggling to keep up with the bare minimum life stuff and parenting. It feels like I'm back to newborn survival mode =(
Hopefully my new rheumatologist helps find a treatment plan that works but for now I just need to make things easier.
I'm really confused about taxes too. We have gotten unusually large refunds for the last 5 years due to writing off the loss of our house during Hurricane Harvey. No one can tell me when we will stop getting to write this off or why this year is so much more than the previous years despite no changes in jobs/kids/etc. my current theory is that we will keep writing it off until the refund amount totals the loss. We use turbo tax with audit protection so I'm not too anxious about it but I definitely don't understand it.
Could he do premier protein shakes or Fairlife nutrition? I have tried a bunch of powders and I have never found one that doesn't have a gritty texture in smoothies.
I love the fair life shakes! Too expensive for me to let the kids have them everyday but I really enjoy them.
I struggle with fiber too. My biggest fiber meal I have every day is Banza pasta that I add meat & veggies to for 9 grams.
As far as convenience things; the smoothie I have is 3g, a TJs trail mix is 2g and Lilly's chocolate bar serving has 8grams.
I'm not sure if there's any food restrictions with these drugs but fiber is a big priority in my diet and I meet most of my daily intake with blackberries and blueberries. They are pricey, though. Also my Mission almond flour wraps have 4 grams of fiber each, I usually have two of those a day and all that alone put me at 25 grams.
I'll have to look at those wraps!
I'd love to have more berries but the boys are berry fiends and would eat them for sure.
What is everyone eating for fiber? My protein levels are fiber, but I am struggling to hit my fiber goals. I am going to try some apple slices, but I need other suggestions.
I struggle with fiber too. My biggest fiber meal I have every day is Banza pasta that I add meat & veggies to for 9 grams.
As far as convenience things; the smoothie I have is 3g, a TJs trail mix is 2g and Lilly's chocolate bar serving has 8grams.
Well Optum RX put me on a wait list for Wegovy after telling me I would get it this week😐. I sent a message to my PCP to see what they suggest. They mentioned other injectables, but not sure if I will be approved since I am not diabetic. She mentioned Phentermine, has anyone taken that?
I just started a few days ago. So far no real side effects .
I will get a much deserved flaming for this, but Pret a Manger's tuna kicks ass.
I'm not sure if they still do it but I got a 1 month coffee membership with them when I went. It was super cheap maybe 15 pounds for up to 5 coffees/lattes a day.