Agree, it has been difficult. Stored around here don’t carry most of them and I have to pay exorbitant prices online for them now. Walmart hasn’t carried my All Free and Clear for months (which we need for allergy reasons) and target never carried it.

So not in the same position as you but I did begin WW this summer and the main reason I’ve liked it is the 0 point foods. I don’t even track those and it’s been working for me. Down 25 points when I previously haven’t been able to loose. I also did the $10 for 10 months and it has been good. Not sure I’d pay full price for the app though and I don’t want to do meetings as I don’t find those helpful. In the beginning found that choosing 5-6 meals that I knew the points of and just sticking to those really helped me. I do the same thing daily for breakfast and 2 options for lunch. Then for dinner there’s a variety as I feed the whole family. Usually I stick with chicken and then add on from there. Now a few months in I know the basics of what I can eat without measuring though measuring in the beginning was needed. eta- I added a few recipes in the app that I enjoy and we eat regularly. Once it’s added, it’s easy to use with the points. I also didn’t use specialized diet foods. I want to eat consistently and that wasn’t a feasible option for me.

We got a Balsam Hill a few years back. It’s super easy to set up and store. I do wish we got prelit as that’s my least favorite part of the tree. It was pricey but has held up well and looks nice. I’d get another if we ever upgrade (I’d want taller with our high ceilings)

We thought about doing that too but then found out our kids are allergic to evergreens! So we got a nice fake tree. They are starting $65 at the cut down yourself places here and that’s the cheapest! I remember getting them for $25/30

We were invited to several the last few years both for 8th and 12th grade.

My kids are all still in the house from teens down to 5. In the last when they were all little and close in age, I spent the same and typically interests were the same and they ended up sharing quite a bit (by their choice) in the end. Now with teens with specific interests that are $$ and two younger ones with more toys on their minds it isn’t equal in cost but in size. They all get a bigger gift that they really want. Then there’s 2-3 smaller gifts that are similar in cost. We also do items for stockings that are similar in cost (books, pjs, new slippers, hat, gloves, toothbrushes, etc). everyone, aside from my little accountant, is happy and doesn’t care about the difference in prices since they all got that thing they really wanted. My budget has been upped as they have grow older. I spent less per child when they were all younger.

Yes! It’s so annoying. No reason to continue for 7-10 days and at times I’m skeptical it is ever really cancelled. I have so many I unsubscribe to that it’s hard to keep track.

I’m currently trying set up each of my kids echos with their own Spotify accounts and still be able to drop in for them and have controls for the younger ones. Apparently Amazon can’t figure out how to allow this simple thing. I’m tearing my hair out here and going crazy!

When we went to Walmart today they had quite a few individual ones. I didn’t look at the Christmas themed ones as we wanted some everyday cutters for a project.

Is he currently in servers with others? I’d encourage that as you can still play on servers without chatting. I’d also get him them. He may find other ways to use them too but letting him at least try is important.

I have one that I need to hook up to the computer and then upload the pictures so if they are able to download pictures from email or their own cameras and then upload them to the frame there is that option. But I believe if you want to directly send the pictures to the frame from a distance they need WiFi.

We have many bird on our property and when we put up one of those window houses none came there. It was quite disappointing for my kids. We even put it on a window which many birds frequently were by. We’ve just added more trees close to the windows and we see quite a bit up close.

For just For just me I’m guessing about $1 a day for coffee at home (2 pods @ .25 each, 1 bottle of oat creamer every 10-12 days). I get coffee out maybe 1-2 times a month. Most of the time none out for months. So around $400/425 a year? DH has a nespresso and drinks more on average as well as getting coffee out. I don’t even know how much he spends on his but I’m guessing at least double mine. Funny since he rarely drank coffee when we met and bought me a coffee maker when we got married since I drank so much.

The number you have…

The past few years we’ve enjoyed Campfire curriculums Christmas studies (one is a Biblical Christmas following the shepherds and another on carols). this year we’ll be doing the Gentle and classical Christmas and Truth in the Tinsel for my youngest. My older ones will doe Unwrapping the Names of Jesus and Jothams journey (a tradition). we’ll also do some more picture books and projects.

I’m finished here but we only do immediate family for gifts. Otherwise it’s passing around gc and we opted out. I literally purchased the last thing (which was a big deal as we also have 5 birthdays between September and December so it has been endless gift shopping!) and then MIL told me a $ amount and said I could do her shopping too. I don’t mind but somewhat anticlimactic as I had thought I was done. I do also need to grab a couple of teacher gifts too but those are local gc.

Not me but DS has when we were in Italy. It was quite the interesting pizza aside from that. I remember it also having hard boiled eggs as a topping. He finished it all but has never asked for anything similar again, so there’s also that….

I grew up getting Christmas pjs every year and carried that on with my kids long before it became a social media thing. They weren’t necessarily always matching though.

During the summer 1-3, during the winter 2-4. Typically 1-2 cups of coffee with stevia and 2 tbsp of creamer. Then the other 1-2 is tea with stevia. I also drive water throughout the day but warm drinks in the winter are just needed and comforting!

Congrats! That’s great news!

We have a few outdoor/barn venues near our home and yes lots and lots of fireworks.

I’ve noticed so many photographers be super rough with their gear and I just cringe knowing how much it costs! I do photography as a hobby (not spending near the $15,000 mark but still a lot) and I do look get specialized travel gear for it. When I asked on a photog group what they recommend the prevalent answer was “I like throw it into my purse/backpack”. These people had camera bodies that started at $5,000 and glass that’s the same or more. My mouth dropped.

Recently they did an upgrade to the app and it messed with a few of the features. I think they fixed it all but that may be the reason for poor reviews

I’d suggest fruit- apple slices, grapes, blueberries, strawberries with coffee or tea for parents and juice or water for the kids. Simply placed at the table for those who want a bite.

I’d prepack a meal to heat up in the room so you won’t be met with disappointment and hunger. When we were traveling for Christmas some places were open for short hours but not by dinner time. Take him to the grocery the day before and choose some fun treats he wouldn’t normally get- maybe a fun drink, snacks and then a frozen meal. It doesn’t need to be fancy to make memories.