It is just a fact of life in the country. We own guns but more for protection from rogue wildlife that endangering our animals than anything else. Water moccasins and copperheads mostly. I don't care what people do on their own land. We do as we please on ours and they can too. It is annoying that others are not as careful as we are with our guns and where and how we shoot (I say we but I've never shot a gun in my life, it's always dh that does the shooting when necessary.) We find shell casings and other debris from shooting on our land that doesn't belong to any of our guns despite private property, no trespassing and no hunting signs. But we do what we can to stay safe which is make sure everyone is inside when there is shooting nearby. I honestly wish we had more land than the ability to police it better for trespassers. That way it would be a guarantee that shooting that isn't us is far away. Black powder season sounds like a war zone around here. Maybe it is just the valley making it sound louder but it is enough to put dh, who has lived here all his life, on edge in recent years. Just a funny aside, dh once shot a squirrel with a .22 just to show the kids that you could cook and eat a squirrel. Apparently it tastes like chicken. I did not partake and cannot confirm, lol. That's the only time I can think of that dh has ever shot something around here that wasn't posing a threat to us or our animals. But yeah, I do agree to a point that random gunshots are just part of living in the country.

It's common here too. So common that our 10yo son knows to come inside when he hears gun shots. There are hunting grounds nearby as well as people just practicing and recreational shooting on their property. Plus we live in a valley so sometimes it sounds close but really it's at the top of the ridge behind our house. We've had property damaged from ricochet shrapnel before. Can't say for sure whether it was gun shrapnel or lawn mower shrapnel that did it but it broke an overhead electrical line that had to be replaced. Here, it's mostly shotguns and rifles, not pistols. Then there is black powder season. :sarcasm: Oh how I love black powder season. :sarcasm:

I think they might be tired because they aren't getting to sleep as long as their bodies are telling them to during the day. I don't wake sleeping babies unless something is obviously wrong. Like when my oldest dd had meningitis at 2 months old. Something was obviously wrong with her at that time so I woke her. I also wake for meds if I have to if they are on meds. Otherwise I let sleeping babies sleep. When "everybody" can come over and wake sleeping babies after 2 hours and deal with the fallout of it, then they get a say in how long my babies sleep. Also your dd is probably sleeping lighter at night because of babies in the bed with her. Sleeping when the babies sleep is not out of the question even at 3 months especially with two. This won't be forever, just a few more months. By fall, I bet they will have found their regular sleep pattern and then dd can most of the time count on 1 - 3 reliable naps a day when she can get things done. Yes, 3 month olds sleep a lot but your dd needs extra sleep too right now. If she can't sleep, even just a quiet rest next to her sleeping babies can be good for her.

If she starts being hurtful, you can kindly say "I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to treat me this way." and change the subject. If she doesn't take the hint, you can tell her that you cannot continue the conversation as is and you would love to speak again when things have cooled down. And hang up. You can't know for sure that she will or won't be hurtful. But you can steer the conversation to a degree if it does become hurtful. And you can end it, graciously with and olive branch for further fruitful communication, if it becomes too much. I too have an estranged adult daughter who said some very hurtful things to me. I am able to see her comments for what they are, her age and immaturity and her current environment, but it does still hurt. I would be over the moon if she wanted to contact me again BUT I do have my boundaries for my own personal safety and I'm not afraid to enforce them, even with my own child. We can't have a relationship if all she wants to do is parrot those around her. And while I am willing to listen to a little to find out where her head is, I do have my limit and I'm willing to tell her when enough is enough for me. I will not argue with her. Arguing with a young adult, to me, is akin to arguing with a toddler. It is a lost cause. All I can do is listen, see if I can find something we can work on and if there isn't anything, tell her we need to continue this conversation when things have calmed down. I need a plan to going into these things. I understand the need to feel prepared for the conversation and all the ways it could go sideways. But I think the most important thing is to remember a young adult is like a toddler in many ways and while you shouldn't talk down to them, remember that for most this is just a phase. Maybe she has reached the end of her phase in want to make amends, maybe she wants to put the past behind both of you and start over, maybe she just wants to argue. Who knows what her motives are, all you can do is prepare for what you can forsee and go from there. (((hugs))) It's hard I know, I'm right here in the same boat with you.

None of our birth certificates are 8x11 and all were accepted by the State Department. 3 different states and one different country and never had issue with any of our birth certificates and I had never heard of long or short form either! Somehow, grandma had gotten by all her life until now with just a photocopy of her birth certificate. But now that she needs a passport to go on this cruise, she needs an actual birth certificate. What's kinda funny is at the bottom of the photocopy she has, it says extra certified copies are 50 cents lol! Ordering hers yesterday, without express mail shipment, was almost $30.

I bet the person that recommended you use illustrator was thinking you could scan in your dd's illustrations and then use illustrator's image trace functionality to make them vectors. I'm on my phone right now but I can find some image trace tutorials for you tomorrow. I've got one in particular that I remember watching that was helpful.

Missouri isn't local to us unfortunately. She probably could have gotten it herself if it was just a matter of going to county records to get one. I knew it had to be the one with the raised stamp but I had never run across a long or short option on a birth certificate. I ended up ordering her the long form birth certificate. They are requiring a form that I had to print for her that she has to take to be notarized and then I can scan it in for her.

To me, it sounds like it was looking for your TikTok information but since you don't have any, it hung for a second looking for information that didn't exist. If you think of it like a regular retail transaction, the (young and hip) cashier asks you for your TikTok account to complete the transaction, you say that you don't have one and the cashier looks at you for second as if you've grown another head before gathering their wits and moving on with the transaction. lol You could dump your cookies but it will still look for the information as per their privacy policy like @prairiewindmomma said. If you don't have TikTok information, they can't get TikTok information but nothing really can stop them from asking for it/looking for it, KWIM?

I have and have used Procreate. I think it's better if you are going to hand draw a lot of your digital illustrations. I often have Illustrator and Photoshop open at the same time, going back and forth between the two when I'm creating. Illustrator will make vector images which in very basic terms means that you can resize them, larger or smaller, with minimal distortion. Photoshop will make raster images which also in very basic terms means that there will be distortion when shrinking and enlarging the images. Of the two, I think Illustrator has a steeper learning curve. But that may be just because I learned Photoshop first. They are similar but different so sometimes it's hard to remember the "Illustrator way" to do something vs. the "Photoshop way" of doing the same thing. If you are drawing your own original illustrations, I'd say Illustrator would probably be your best first step. Knowing Photoshop, even just a little, will mean that the workspace in Illustrator will at least feel familiar. Many of the tools work similarly in both programs. One of the first things I ever created completely in Illustrator was this kawaii yeti tutorial when it was still a written tut and not a video tut. It helped me get to know the tools in illustrator a little better and learn my way around.

Your thread inspired me to buy a pork roast and some root veggies when I went grocery shopping today lol. I haven't been able to start my little garden yet this year due to construction/demolition and landscape work. Maybe by fall I can have some of my own turnips!

Oh, I pause, rewind, completely rewatch the whole thing.... a 10 minute video can take me 2 hours to watch lol.

In your shoes, with the details you have provided, I absolutely would not upend my plans to accommodate hers. I would tell her like the others have said, that you have plans that you would happily include her in but the parents and your inlaws will be there. Sibling or not, she doesn't get to upend your kids' birthday celebration. That is my line in the sand. And I will stubbornly and selfishly stand my ground against anyone where kiddos are concerned without an ounce of guilt. 😉

I learned a long time ago when Lynda.com was still around. The guy that taught the classes I took was Deke McClelland. He seems to have his own website and Youtube channel now. I took his beginner, intermediate and advanced classes for graphic design. I'm still able to find some of his older videos on youtube by searching "Deke's Techniques" Usually when I want to learn how to do something on Photoshop though I just search up a Youtube video on it. Envato Tuts Beginner Ps course Every Tuesday Illustrator tutorials Helen Bradley Ps and Illustrator tutorials Do you know what it is exactly that you want to do? For example, I use Photoshop and Illustrator mostly for digital scrapbooking and making illustrations. There are TONS of videos on how to use this programs for digital scrapbooking. When you narrow down what you want to use it for, it makes it easier to find tutorials.

This is her first ever passport. I also doubt she has the Real ID license. Good to know though. 🙂

Thanks ladies. I have no idea what the difference is lol. When I had to do passports for me and the kids forever ago, all our birth certificates were accepted just fine. I'm trying to help dh's grandma get her birth certificate so she can go on a cruise next year. Thanks again for helping me help her. 🙂

I'm trying to order a birth certificate for a passport. It's a Missouri birth certificate and they offer a long form or short form. It says that short form is usually enough for most things but it doesn't specifically say it's good enough for passports. Anyone know if short form birth certificates are good enough for passports? Thought I'd try here before I tried waiting on their 1800 number. 😛

Cornish Pasties!!!!! I wish I could make them as well as the little shop I had them at in England! My first thought with the turnips was the pioneer woman's beef pot roast with root veggies. Also dreamy and yummy. 🙂 ETA: Do make sure you are pronouncing it correctly, it is "p-ah-s-t-ee-s", not past-ees and certainly not paste-ees. lol 😛

The "time will tell" box method, I tried, and I find I don't get around to going through it until it is a hot mess. In fact, my current version of a "time will tell" box under my desk is screaming at me to be decluttered lol. I like the "box it up and donate unopened" method because I know I've already gone through the stuff once and "soft donated it". If I don't remember what's in there and I haven't thought about it in six months to a year, it makes sense to me that I don't even need to look at it and it needs to go. It's actually less stressful for me to not go through the stuff again. It works for me. I'm glad the "time will tell" box works for you even though it doesn't work for me. 🙂 I also like Minimalist Home on Youtube and the FlyLady website (NOT her Youtube, ugh) for decluttering tips and inspiration. There is another one that I like to watch, her name is Ariel but I cannot remember the name of her Youtube channel....That Awkward Mom. That's it. She's something else but she helps get me motivated to clean so whatever works, right? This thread has actually motivated me to get going on finishing some projects lol. We just moved our entire laundry room to another room so that the old laundry room can be a mud room but I needed to do some decluttering and organizing to make that happen and I have been putting it off (ok, so I also had a severe asthma attack and had to take 2 and 1/2 days or so to not have to concentrate on breathing but I was procrastinating too) But I'm slowly getting it done today so yeah for progress! I hope you are making some progress too @DawnM 😉

Watching Minimal Mom is great for getting me into decluttering mode. I also need to do a lot of decluttering and organizing this summer. I need to let go of a ton of homeschooling stuff that we aren't going to use. If we bring ds back home from ps, he's going to be middle school or older. We definitely don't need the preschool/elementary school stuff anymore but it's is just so darn hard to let go! So many memories attached to them! But we have a small house and the space could be better used with something we actually need or will use so I guess it has to go. I use the one year rule for everything. If I haven't used it, worn it, fixed it, or thought about it in a year, it's gone. Since you have a larger house Minimal Mom has a trick she uses when she isn't sure about something that you could use. She puts all of her "unsure" items in a bin and puts a date 6 months (or a year) in the future on the bin. She puts the bin in her basement and if she hasn't gotten into the bin to find something she needed by the date on bin, the entire bin, bin and all unopened, gets donated to where ever she donates her stuff. I don't have a basement or an attic to store the bins to do this but if I did, I would definitely try it!

Did you ask in front of her mother? Even if you didn't, if the area is as conservative as you say, she may know that the "right" answer to the question is no at her age. I wouldn't say that just because she says no that she truly means it given her actions. I would have told an adult the same thing when I was in my late teens but truth was I secretly wanted a baby. At the time, in my very dysfunctional family, it seemed like the only way in my teenage mind to get out of my parent's house and their rules. Silly, I know now but I did say my family was very dysfunctional. I got pregnant at 18, the summer after high school graduation, and had my oldest son at just turned 19. I don't regret it per se but I do wish I knew then what I know now and that I could just walk away from a toxic family against my parent's rules and the society I lived in at the time's expectations. I know now that I had other family elsewhere that would have gladly taken me in and encouraged me that I could make it on my own, with or without a child. My parent's house or married weren't the only valid options as I had been conditioned to believe at the time. Of course there is much more to the story but that's the gist of it. I just wanted to point out that teens know the "right" answer to these type of questions and may even be able to convincingly give the "right" answer when confronted but I wouldn't trust even an emphatic no if the teen is sexually active and not using protection of some kind. She knows, even if she won't admit it, that it is a possibility and may even want it to "accidentally" happen.

My youngest child does not enjoy reading for pleasure. It took a while but I've finally come around to he doesn't have to read as a hobby if he doesn't find it enjoyable. He is my struggling reader. I make him read a certain amount but if he wants to build lego, do papercraft, draw, play with the dogs and other things in his free time rather than read, I've come to terms with that's just who he is. My older kids were voracious readers. It did bother me for a long time that youngest ds wasn't a reader as well. He does enjoy listening to audio books while he does things like lego. So I accept that as a compromise to reading in his free time. I know my opinion on this probably isn't popular around here but my youngest has had the same literature rich environment as my other kids, same read alouds, same reading instruction but reading just isn't how he chooses to spend his free time. As long as he's reading when necessary and showing improvement in areas that need improvement, I've just come to terms with he isn't one to read as a hobby. It took dh pointing out to me that if I wanted him to read in his free time then it really wasn't free time since he isn't free to choose if I'm choosing for him.

Chocolate Delight! You need to bake the short crust for like 15 mins but you could do a graham cracker crust instead and it is just as good! Oreo crust is good too!

No, most houses either didn't have a dryer and line dried clothes or had the dryer in the mudroom, like my ex-mil, or in a garage if they were lucky enough to have one. The bathrooms were normally upstairs, usually directly above the kitchen and didn't have much room at all. The kitchen was almost always the largest or second largest room in the house. Bedrooms were tiny in comparison to American bedrooms.

My British ex-mil had her washing machine in the kitchen in her house. Many of her family and friends that we visited had it in the kitchen too. As for why, I never asked. We lived in base housing that had the laundry area in or near the kitchen but behind folding doors.

It's not so much about doing what everyone else is doing. If it were just that, I could easily say no without guilt. It more about combating isolation like @Heartstrings said. I kinda wanted to get a feel for whether kids his age really do have phones to communicate with each other or if he's exaggerating that he is one of the few kids without a working phone. He's had a phone with no number attached to it to play games on before we got the iPad. Dh is still staunchly against him having a phone until he is at least 13 which was our minimum age for the other kids. That's when they need to call to be picked up from activities more often so that's how we landed on that age. I'm going to keep checking out different options, including the ones you all have mentioned here, until we find what will work for us.