So for us I'm hoping the non-absorbency actually helps. I don't use the night-time stuff for my bedwetter, I'm hoping helps him to start sensing the need or the wetness to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. There's a few nights where I have to change the sheets but for the most part it's fine. There's a book on nighttime potty training (specifically for those where it doesn't just happen naturally at the age of potty training). https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Dry-Children-Overcome-Bedwetting/dp/1581109067/ref=asc_df_1581109067/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312177564685&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=154116675931817684&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032039&hvtargid=pla-492101194759&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60258870697&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312177564685&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=154116675931817684&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032039&hvtargid=pla-492101194759 I haven't tried the method. I don't think we are ready/need to do it just yet. The book showed what skills they need to make this happen and why it might be harder for some kids vs. others. I have a reusable pad (incontinence pad) in case of leaks. They hold a lot they are made for adults as well as children. We place them under the sheets so it looks better and muffles the plasticy sound a bit. Other people put them over.

I've got some books that I'm interested in.

You could offer these services to the families you know and go from there. I think word of mouth is how some of these niche childcare jobs come around. I had a friend who worked as a night nanny for a while and it was all word of mouth.

I'd think of it like a hobby that doesn't cost money. My mom happily worked for years where nearly all her salary went to taxes, direct monetary gain never really happened. There is something to be said about a person's general well-being (potential therapist savings right there) and not having the time/boredom to spend money.

No but I have wanted to try a quality anchovy on pizza. Sounds yummy, especially considering anchovies are the authentic magic ingredient for yummy Italian pasta sauce.

It was my aunt. She did speak English but not fluently and we normally conversed in Chinese. No expert but if I were to say why it's probably the brain's way of making conversation with people more streamlined. (Really helpful when there is a lot of speakers speaking multiple languages and not always speaking their most fluent language.) I never got over it with my aunt, but other people I have. 1) Maturity, understanding there is a reason for the other person to want me to speak to them in another language (aside from just wanting to test me). In high school, I did understand, so I could have gotten over it, but it didn't end up happening because of number 2. 2) The people whom I've gotten over speaking to them in "not their language" are the people where we began speaking to each other in the other language more often. Then the brain can make the connection at some point this person speaks these languages this is what I can expect.

We read through "Unwrapping the Greatest Gift" by Ann Voskamp. I put out our collection of Christmas books. I do plan to read Mr. Popper's Penguins and Heartwood Hotel: The Greatest Gift next.

Tomatillo salsa is also really yummy. I've also cooked some green tomatoes before and put that in a taco, pretty yummy. I don't know that you could go wrong putting things in tacos.

The favorite at my house is birria with chuck roast. Easier meat is chicken with Tajin seasoning. Coat chicken in Tajin and stick it in the oven. I've used lettuce, arugula, (El Salvadorian style) pickled cabbage, for the leafy green inside the taco. I also like to add guacamole, caramelized onions, cheese (queso, cheddar, nacho sauce), tomatoes (fresh from the garden), fire roasted/sauteed sweet peppers or any other type of peppers. I mean really I put a lot of things in tacos. We've even put crumbled Doritos in tacos before. For the sour cream, I prefer European sour cream or creme fraiche.

As a parent I always hope those goodie bags are just some stickers or something consumable. Honestly I prefer nothing but I know there is peer pressure at school for parents.

Personally I would go recessed lights all the way, but I'm not the most creative when it comes to deciding lighting.

Maybe give her an IOU. The best time to buy UGGs are after New Year's. That's really when they go one sale in my experience. The last UGGs I bought were several years ago though.

Roux, sharp cheddar and paprika that's the baseline. You can further elevate by adding other cheeses, using heavy cream, and adding toppings (bacon, fried pickles, fried onion, anything crunchy/salty/big flavors).

When I was in high school when one of my relatives asked me if I could just start speaking in English to her so she could practice English. I couldn't do it. My brain could not converse with her in English because it's not her language.

The only time a cart has disappeared was when it was empty, or an employee of the store thought it was abandoned and took it to put things away. When I take my children to the potty I usually tell a nearby employee of the store what I'm doing and they'll give me a good place to hide the cart. It's not guaranteed to work, because I guess stores have strict policies about not wanting unattended carts strewn everywhere.

This is different for every locations. For ours, they will only pick up trash that is in the bin and if your bin can't close you also risk them not picking up the can at all (that is our size limit). We do get a free dumpster/bulky trash pick up once a year. You have to schedule in advance and they will deliver a dumpster to you and pick it up the following week. When you have that dumpster then you can place up to 3 pieces of furniture (things that don't fit in the dumpster) next to the dumpster for pick up.

I had gone with un-pre-lit when we bought our artificial tree. DH said it was an expensive enough tree that he wanted it to last and was afraid the lights wouldn't last. I do regret not getting pre-lit but then maybe if I got pre-lit it would break and I would regret that. Following this conversation though because I'm curious about the longevity of a pre-lit tree and whether a higher quality tree would make a difference.

Without meaning to I was wearing practically all company swag, company shirt, jacket, socks and bag. DH took one look at me and said "All you're missing are the yoga pants with company logo across your backside."

I'll admit I was there at one point in my life (and possibly skewing things higher), I'm still using up the stuff from that era. It's been a decade since I decided to be intentional about it. I definitely look for things that try to be eco-friendly and pay living wages. More expensive doesn't always mean either of those things, in fact some of the most expensive things are also pretty bad offenders. Obviously, the price point isn't cheap, but I can manage that so I do. While I do buy from thrift stores and donate to thrift stores etc., I do not count that as doing my part. I watched a documentary about how our donating of clothes and stuff also reek havoc on third world country economies. On the other hand I react to wool and goose down, so there are some things that I'm definitely glad that synthetics are an option for me. So I do what is doable for me. Same with the children, I'll get used for my children, but I can't always find what they need via hand-me-downs or thrifting. They also do grow out of their clothes before the clothing has worn out. There is no need to buy extra t-shirts on top of the free ones that I get (mostly DH's company) and the "necessary" ones (to support my children's activities).

I don't think it's sketchy but just what Rosie said totally out of line.

For DH and I the first step in better communication was to start being very intentional about the way we spoke to each other. So we started out by doing a lot of what felt extra communicative. Saying thank you for everything and at least once a day tell each other thank you for one specific thing. The little things, the things that's part of their responsibility as a human being, everything. Taking the winning out of our fights and make our fights/negotiations about finding a solution. (From a Chris Voss masterclass, which is really on negotiations in general.) Using I feel, when you, I want statements during our fights. Using a formula for our apologies. I'm sorry for [name the specific grievance]. How can I make you feel better? [Wait for answer and do task.] Spouse receiving the apology says "I forgive you" if they feel this reconciled the hurt. Next time I will [say what I'll do next time in the same situation that is better.] Our communication and relationship got a lot better. The disagreements and fights now have gotten more productive. We liked and loved each other before this but being intentional about our communication really highlighted some ill-thoughts we had about each other. These communication strategies they seem silly but they really built a habit in us about having good thoughts about each other.

Fights aren't the worst thing. DH and I have had some productive fights. Sometimes a spouse just has to see how unhappy the other one is. Sometimes it just has to be said all the ways each spouse is unhappy and unsatisfied. You'll also regret many years of being unhappy and not saying anything about it. You'll be sad when MIL passes. I don't think people regret just not spending enough time with someone when they pass as much as people regret not spending more quality time with someone. Quantity does not equal quality.

This 100%. I would even go as far to say until children are living on their own in their own place pets are never theirs they are always the parent's pets. The pet can be bonded primarily to the child, and children can help take care of a pet, but ultimately the parents are the only ones who can be responsible for the pet. Why a child cannot be the actual owner of a pet? Vet bills, etc. Who's going to pay for the tank if it breaks and the damage it might cause? Pets are not children but they are also not inanimate objects.

We say "Nope we aren't getting that." The reasonable gifts that I just don't want in my house then I tell them "I don't want that in my house." I just go right ahead and disappoint my children.

DD5 and DS7 are participating in a Science Fair! They picked such great topics too. DD5's topic is how cats climb, DD7's topic is what paper airplane flies the farthest. I don't know how much handholding/guidance I should provide... We'll see how it all goes.