Help Registry: Melissa

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Name: Melissa

First and foremost, thank you for offering to help. Below are some simple things you can do to help us during this time period. When in doubt, ask—we don’t mind questions, but we’re not fond of surprises when our world is already turned upside down. We really appreciate the thought—it means just as much to have a visitor or a daily email as it does to have food delivered. Choose whatever you would like off this wish list.

Food

Special restrictions: We keep a kosher home. I’m allergic to peaches, mangoes, and green peppers. Josh doesn't eat coconut. Our son drinks only soy milk (though he eats other dairy). Our daughter is allergic to cinnamon. Neither child eats any chemicals, tree nuts, peanuts, or chocolate.

Homemade food we love:

1. Simple pasta and tomato sauce

2. Muffins or quick breads

(please list ingredients on any homemade food so we know if it has any high-allergens in it)

Restaurant orders:

1. Nam Viet (202-237-1015): Sup Chay (no mushrooms or cauliflower or green peppers. Extra tofu and noodles). Does not deliver.

2. Saigonese (301-946-8002): any of the following: Vegetarian Egg Noodle Soup (with rice vermicelli instead of egg noodles; no mushrooms, green peppers or raw onions; extra noodles and tofu), Shredded Tofu with Vermicelli (no fish sauce); Charcoal Grilled Tofu. Does not deliver.

3. Tara Thai (301-657-0488): Pad Thai Jae (no mushrooms or cauliflower; no fish sauce; extra tofu). Does not deliver.

4. Cheesecake Factory (301-770-0999): any of the following: Avocado Eggrolls, Fire-roasted Artichoke, Chinese Chicken Salad (without the chicken), Barbeque Ranch Chicken Salad (without the chicken), Luau Salad (without the chicken or mangoes). Does not deliver.

Tasks

Y Picking up dry cleaning or other pick-up errands (contact Melissa via email or call us at home in order to find out if we have any needs at this time).

Y Food shopping excursion (contact Melissa via email or call us at home in order to get our list. We’re pretty particular about brand so we’ll be as specific as possible with the list. Please give us the receipts so we can reimburse you when you drop off the groceries).

N Babysitting (while we don’t need babysitting, we sometimes need someone to accompany us when we go out as an extra set of hands or to play with the kids in the house while we’re home).

Y Random weekly errands (these are the things that pop up out of nowhere but need to be taken care of immediately. Contact Melissa via email or call us at home to find out if we have anything pressing that needs to get done—there’s usually a library trip!).

Y Cleaning (light cleaning—vacuuming, folding laundry, and washing floors is always appreciated. Because we have a kosher kitchen, it’s easier if we take care of cleaning our kitchen ourselves rather than explaining the system).

Thanks, but we definitely have these things covered…

1. Food for the kids—they’re so particular and we’re nervous about food allergens, so we like to make everything they eat.

Visitors

We love receiving daily emails—they’re a low-key way to help us stay connected when we’re in the midst of a crisis. We’re not always up for visitors or able to return phone calls. Call or email and ask before dropping over (and please don’t be offended if we tell you that we’re not up for visitors—our moods change from hour to hour also depending on the kids’ schedule). We’re pretty cautious in the early days after kids are brought home, so if we’re in the middle of caring for a new child (even an older child who is adopted), we probably will not want visitors (sorry—we’ll email pictures, we promise!).