We went on our first of many camping trips and had a great time! Yesterday we fished, biked, played games, told stories, and watched a marveL movie. Today we colored eggs, hunted eggs, listened to music, had a devotional, and are heading home. It was a wonderful change from watching online services, and I think it made the weekend special.

DH and I just got appts for Moderna in the morning! Hopefully all will be smooth - I’ll update when I can. I have vaccine anxiety with just annual flu shots and I’m sweating from nerves, LOL. I have lots of strange food allergies and some medication allergies, so that adds to the nerves, too.

Congratulations!! That’s such a great feeling! I hope all the subsequent moving plans go smoothly!

That is so disappointing. Can you return it? The dragon picture on the link is definitely metal!

I hope you get it!

Praying for you! 😞 I hope they help quickly and get you home. And here’s some cute photos:

Our church provides live online service. They followed required health measures, but as measures were lifted, they went back to regular activities. They have always had congregational singing with no masks. I think it’s general baptist? Our pastor encouraged people to return to services and member meetings and Sunday school last year. Recently, he was introducing new members and said it was okay to give hugs while greeting. Many of the leadership has had covid, with no serious cases. Leadership does ask people to be respectful and love each other, and not let the virus divide us. My family has not been in the building for over a year, and we have no plans on going soon.

Yeah, now we know that. I'm not sure what the correct title is in this case.

I've also thought about this. I may have that closet moved to the Flex Space wall. That would give a much larger closet, and we can build a window seat afterwards. I have to convince the kid, though! LOL

No, I gave my humble graph paper to the professional drafter/architect and they returned the preliminary plan to us.

Thanks for the opinions! We are designing two different closet spaces in keeping with different children. One needs a walk in and one wants the symmetrical window seat with 2 closets. We will definitely tweak this draft. More windows in the bedrooms is a must. Probably will change the closet doors. It’s possible that neither the A/C nor the washer/dryer will be needed, so that space may be able to stay a large storage closet. The bathroom really needed a separate toilet. I suppose there’s a million ways to build such things! A professional designer would be super great, anyone know one? We looked! Anyway, it’s good to have feedback!

There’s a plan! (see first post)

I would love to have it, but it requires 6 sq ft - bigger than a normal closet depth. This isn’t the final version, of course, so we may change our minds again. But it does add extra cost and with building costs fluctuating, we need to make sure there is margin.

We talked to an architect today! I’m excited to see what they come up with. We decided to give up a washer/dryer, to save on sq ft. There will be 9 people sharing the current washer and dryer, so it was a nice idea to add them, but not necessary. Building prices are so volatile! $100-150 per sq ft! so we have to keep it under 750. Here’s the plan I showed them:

One child per room. Hopefully! I would love to see a quick sketch of the layout - I’m a visual person!

The window in the closet was more about symmetry on the front of the house, LOL

Yes, there is only one doorway into the addition. I don’t think I’d want the kids having access outside from the rooms, but it’s possible to access from the schoolroom.

updated with actual plans! ———————————- We need to add on. We will have professionals draw real plans, but I’d like creative ideas! The upper “north” wall is the existing house wall. I designed one way. Must Haves: 1) full bathroom in the upper right hand corner (plumbing is there) 2) 2 bedrooms 3) schoolroom space

DD14 struggles with focusing, attending to a task, keeping up with tasks, paying attention to people speaking, being easily distracted by almost everything. She is hopelessly behind in our schoolwork. She has always been somewhat like this, but ages 12-13 saw definite improvement. But with the pandemic and a high school load of courses, she is lost. She came to me and wants a supplement or something to help her focus. She read about ADD in her health book and feels like it fits. She is also brilliantly imaginative, wonderfully creative, and has huge dreams for being an author. She has always thought deeply and with many words. She is a great artist. She is a logician. I hate to see her feeling bad about herself! So, any reliable self-evaluations for ADD? I downloaded the ASRS-v1.1 for adults, and she kinda fits, but I was hoping for one better tailored for teens. Any good supplements for her? She has a good multi-vitamin and takes extra D3. She also has Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, which has been treated since she was 6 (inherited). She won't try anything with caffeine.

Dd has been taking it since Sep. She had to switch to evenings because she was so tired durin the days. It helps her stay asleep, although I would think that’d be a minus for you. She also has gained a lot of weight while on it, but her dr says that isn’t a common side effect, and doesn’t think it’s from lexapro. 🤔 It has made a dramatic difference in her ability to cope with life, so the benefits are worth it for her.

That’s great to hear! I’ve been thinking of her too.

We found a travel trailer! It has double bunks, a fold-out couch, a queen bed, and lots of storage. Now I need information on what to put in it! And how-to sites of using it! And videos on driving! 🤣 I was thinking Corelle dishes might be light enough, so we don’t need paper all the time. All the RV sites push melamine, but we want to be able to microwave oatmeal and such. And towels! I need decent quality, quick drying towels. The list is long! Thanks for helping!

My family: BIL in late 30s, sis early 40s I don’t know much about the others symptoms.

Back in June my sis and BIL got covid and she still has no taste/smell and he still has lung damage. His symptoms are breathlessness, lightheadedness, and brain fog after something like singing. They never took covid precautions and are still not taking many, only masks where required. Local to us: two pastors have tested positive. One caught it from his elderly mom, and both have recovered as far as I know. The other is in the midst, as is his family and lots of members of the church. A couple of large homeschooling families we know have caught it, and all seem to have come through it within a couple weeks.

Well, you guys were right. Sis and family have too many commitments and cannot skip them. Something almost every day until the week before Christmas, and then church the Sunday before Christmas. Dh and I have to decide what we want to do now. We have been “cleared” to ask them not to come to my parents house at all. Sis wants to have the kids together as much as possible, but I don’t see how we can do that. 😔 My parents are doing their best to stay healthy - dad has to work (mask required) and mom will go grocery shopping once or twice, maybe. My grandma lives with them, and she likes to get her hair done once a week.