I know some of this sounds unbelievable to people, that there really are people like this who have neither mental illness nor some sort of disability. My parents' neighbors had a child who was exactly like this though, and didn't start getting his act together until his mid-30s, when he finally got a job. He was lazy, entitled, and coddled, and his parents always stepped in to do things for him. (And I don't use those words, generally, as I tend to take a generous view toward young adults developing and blooming at different rates.) Long story short, he moved back in with his parents after being on his own living in a car for awhile, and after his mom passed away from cancer someone on the street reported him for elder abuse of his dad. He doesn't hate his dad or have particular anger towards him, he's simply too lazy to make the effort to care for him properly. So I do believe you when you say that there are people who are just like this, outliers due to a combination of lack of work ethic and energy, and enabling family members. ETA: It was my parents' neighbors, not my parents!

Oh no! How very unfair. :crying:

Too many to count. People find out where they'll be using Twitter or if they have a regular schedule. We also have regular places where they gather in groups and usually local musicians play as well. People here use them to cater parties and even weddings, esp weddings where there's no kitchen handy.

The IP silicone lid for the insert just went up for 10.99.

Joking aside, I found a sous vide deal if anyone is interested. Anova Bluetooth Sous Vide 800W is marked down to $99 from $149 at checkout.

And 1500 sheets of Amazon Basic paper is $9.79 for those of you looking ahead to school in the fall.

60 Prismacolor Scholar Colored pencils are $20.68 right now.

So far I've purchased a car trunk organizer, fairy lights, swim goggles, and underwear.

If you'd procrastinated longer maybe the Speed Queen would have come out with a mega sous vide feature.

I think of David often and I hope they find him. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Praying it turns out as well as it can and that you find peace while you wait.

Seconding the conservatory at the Bellagio. Not yet mentioned: Since your DD is older, maybe a trip to the unique Mob Museum. Some friends loved this. Also if you're into history there are things from the Titanic at the Luxor.

Sounds like a great plan! People do all kinds of birthday and anniversary things away from the date because it is more convenient/cheaper/requires a certain timeframe. For example, people might take a long-awaited trip to New England for fall colors for their 25th anniversary, the the anniversary is actually in the summer. No big deal.

I don't think it's either/or as long as you have a backup plan for where she could go or her BFF could check in on her if you're delayed. I was just mentioning a delayed return as a factor that comes to my mind and that I would want to plan for in advance. Based on your description of her, she'd probably really enjoy the quiet alone time. But if you're going to be stressed then maybe it's not worth it. It's not the end of the world for a 14yo to feel miserable for a couple of days for the sake of her brother's success. It's character building.

Depends on the kid, but I would. When I was 16 my parents flew to another state for a conference and left me to watch my younger sibling for 4 days. I doubt most people would be concerned about leaving a child that age home alone if they went to a late event until 1:00am, and I doubt people would worry if they were leaving at 5:00am to get an early start, so it seems like the main concern is those middle of the night hours, but that's not really rational. The only thing that would give me pause is that we live in earthquake country and having been through large earthquakes before, I have seen roads be closed/buckled/collapsed and people having to take extra days to be able to get home. In my case I would definitely have a backup plan of going to stay with the neighbors.

It's lovely!

You don't have to put down the value of your Roth, just the contributions made during the tax year. My kids are too young for us to have dealt with college financial aid, but maybe they need to be disclosed as part of that process. Regardless, 30 does seem kind of old for letting them know, but that's just IMHO.

I think you're doing an awesome job for all values of "awesome". It takes bravery and love to step back from your own ideal vision and re-assess what works best for everyone under your care, and you've done that. Congrats, because you're way ahead of a lot of people I know who are clinging to things that don't work for their families due to philosophical ideas that don't work on the ground. I hope you and your family have a great school year ahead. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Yes. It's not terribly cluttered, but things are very disorganized and I need to rethink how we use the space. We have some new things we don't have room to lay out, like a sewing machine and print making supplies. We also have some stuff we're not using anymore. Plus we need another table as my homeschool table, which was getting too small for both kids to work at anyway, seems to have become the default family board game table. I'm going to bite the bullet and replace this deep console (can't see what's in the back very well) with and Ikea Kallax unit. Also I'm short and had the paper art hanging from a holder attached to the ceiling the ceiling but DS has sprouted up and keeps brushing his head on it. Plus I need a place to put our microscope so I can have it out all the time instead of lugging it out once in a while from the coat closet. And so on...

Calculators are tricky because they're often tied to companies with a vested interest in selling investment vehicles. Personally I like to use those calculators to plan, but I also soothe my soul by checking firecalc. Yes, the layout is horrible, and you do need to start on the right hand side where it says start here and then move to the tabs at the top, which are really important, esp the "not retired?" tab. It's a model for seeing how your savings would have fared if you had retired in each year going back to 1871. It's wordy but worth the time to read the explanation of how it works, what it means, and esp the limitations. But it does show me that despite my sleep-stealing fears and the constant reminders I receive from the investment companies, the track we are on would have served us well in the past.

Lovely update. May her transition home be as easy as possible for everyone. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Given the constraints, I think the shed is a grand idea. In the meantime: Can you move the folding table out of doors when the weather is nice? Or can you set a picnic blanket on the ground outside to give DS room to spread out for geometry? Or maybe your DS would have an easier time with a lap desk? This one is $22.00 and I have Prime so I don't know the shipping.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I haven't but I recently spent a week in a rental property that had an Ikea kitchen and I really liked it. It didn't have the same solid feeling cabinet doors I've felt in higher-end kitchens, but the difference didn't seem worth the extra cost, at least to me. If I had to quantify it I'd say the cabinets felt 25% less solid, but at a savings of at least half the cost.

Agree that the ice cream and the salad bar are a lot of work. For summertime bbq dessert I would lug along some large watermelons, slice, and be done. I also think 3 sides is enough and you shouldn't make any more. If you want nibbles for 4p-6p, I would set out some veggie trays and dip, or chips and dip, or tortilla chips with salsa. All are pretty easy to put together if you get pre-sliced veggies.