I don’t know but I recently bought a jean jacket. I actually went out to buy one for my teen dd and tried one on to gauge size and was like “wait, I look fabulous!” and now dd and I own matching jean jackets and one must “call” it if we are going to the same place. Because mother/teen denim is worse than double denim. lol. I would feel ridiculous wearing it with jeans on bottom but your outfit looks good. I did love my jacket so much though that I bought one in an off white color that I do wear with my jeans all the time. Your outfit works. I think if the denim was the exact same color and your jeans were looser fit it wouldn’t work. The contrasting top longer than the jacket helps too.

I was going to suggest getting a photo of boyfriend and dd with the bride and groom. It includes him, there is a photo from the day, but nothing is ruined and you avoid an awkward “welcome to the family” moment with someone you just met. And it won’t take forever to set up because it is just the four of them vs. a big family shot doing with and without.

I don’t know how long you have the photographer and if you have enough time for it to make sense but with my kids when we get together we do some of everything but we always make sure to do some with just family. Different combinations (siblings/siblings with dad/couples/all the girls/etc) etc have people jumping in and out of pictures when we do this in a casual way when we all get together. I understand formal photography is going to be different but some variation on it. Another thought- even though the other relationships are longer and more stable you still might wish someday you had one without any significant others because relationships end, even long term ones. I think the magnitude of the event trumps offending new boyfriend. Even if 20 years from now he is still saying “I’m not in that picture because Kassia didn’t think I’d be around that long.” Anyone with any life experience at all gets it. It would be great to be wrong and the worst thing is you need to update a picture!

I had three boys in just under 5 years and then a 5 year gap and my dd. From the moment I found out I was pregnant with her I just knew I was done even though I was 33 and always wanted a large family and could have had another. I was just DONE and never looked back. She was always the odd one out. My little sidekick. There have been complaints over the years about being alone or the youngest/left out. But her brothers did not live a complaint free life with their siblings. She has had advantages financially and in terms of attention that her brothers didn’t have. Not when she was little and they were all still at home but as a teen with her brothers launched and her dad further in his career- yeah she has some advantages akin to an only child while still having siblings. She occasionally complains about missing her brothers because they all did literally leave town and she is sometimes lonely but when pushed she will say she loves having both parents to herself and her own room and full use of the bonus room and a ride anywhere she wants etc etc. Selfishly, as the mom, I love it. These last years parenting just one child in a less intense way have been so sweet and enjoyable and just so much easier than juggling multiple teens and all that comes with that. I’m older and more tired and I love having a single child at home. I loved having a houseful too and I feel like I got to live both experiences. They are both awesome and fulfilling and beautiful in their own ways. I would not have another child just to have a close sibling unless I really wanted to have another child (or surprise!). I have zero guilt about my dd’s experience. She has an amazing life!

Over the years I have many times kept something that wasn’t quite right because returning was too big of a pain and it always irked me. I am always advising my kids to take the time and pain to get it right the first time so as not to have to deal with the regret for years if it is an expensive item or one you will be using frequently or for a long time. Now, I’m lazy and don’t always follow my own advice so I might not return the rug because that’s a pain and you like the one you got. But my advice would be for you to return it even if in reality I would keep it and be annoyed as long as I had it thinking I should have just sucked it up and returned it.

I think a consult is pretty standard but I see some people skipped that and I can see how if it is uncomplicated on x-rays that it is unnecessary. It’s a simple procedure. I know someone who was told at the dentist that they needed it done and there was an oral surgeon who came into the office once a week or something to do them so the patient was just scheduled in the dentist office for the next time the surgeon was in and that was that. As far as skipping the consult- I will mention having just done this two weeks ago with my 15 yo that the consult made her feel much more comfortable with the whole thing. She was very apprehensive and everyone was so nice at the consult and she had so many questions that they answered and it was so reassuring that it saved her a lot of anxiety leading up to the appointment.

All of mine had two visits to the oral surgeon- an initial consult where they either used x-rays sent over or took their own and surgeon did a quick exam and told us about the surgery/costs/scheduled the surgery. Then the visit for the surgery. None of mine had an office visit for a follow up.

Three of my four kids have had this done (one didn’t have wisdom teeth) and my dh had it done as an adult all at an oral surgeon. I had only top wisdom teeth and they had already come in and weren’t impacted- they were in just causing some pain and they were extracted at the dentist no big deal. My dh and oldest ds were about ten years ago and seems their surgeries were much more difficult with much more painful recoveries than my last two kids that did it the past two years. So I don’t know if that was just improved technology and practices or ??? But definitely get recommendations from locals that have had it recently with smooth experiences. My 15 yo dd did it 2 weeks ago at an oral and facial surgery center. It’s a large practice and they do it all day every day. Great experience. Really easy process and recovery. My two most recent experiences were able to manage their pain with ibuprofen and were given a prescription for oxycodone if necessary but it wasn’t needed. Ten years ago the two that did it were prescribed the oxy as regular course of treatment so I think it is an improvement to only go that route if necessary. It depends on insurance and details of the surgery/practice but ours were always between $1100-$1500 I think after insurance. After the first two experiences I was really dreading it with the last two we did but the last two were really no biggie. An inconvenience but not nearly as painful and difficult as it was when dh and oldest ds did it.

In 2017 our small city that sits on the I-75 was the closest point of totality for some large percentage of the country that I don’t remember now but for millions of people if they were going to drive to totality my town was the closest destination. My then high school senior was a server at Cracker Barrel and that will forever be the biggest tip day and busiest work day ever for him. I honestly don’t remember it being a huge problem for our town to welcome the tourists. Schools closed and people either went home or stayed out at their place of employment until they could travel. Only the interstates were backed up. By the time the crowds cleared from Cracker Barrel my ds was able to get home. It was a fun day as I remember it. Fun for the locals to experience from their backyards and fun to welcome visitors. Now, this time people having parties and canceling school for 88% and all the hoopla is annoying but everything is overhyped these days. But if you happen to live in the path of totality yeah that is cool and take the day and let it be special. I do think the rest of us could live our lives with just the passing knowledge that hey this is happening today if y’all are interested.

My (by objective standards) bright 10th grader is doing a psychology lesson on IQ. After giving me a hard time for costing her an IQ point by not breastfeeding she goes on to complain that I did not read to her as a baby. Incredulously, I tell her I read her thousands of books, both to her specifically and as she was on my lap while I homeschooled brothers who were 5,8, and 10 years older ala Well Trained Mind and Sonlight book lists. She looks at me skeptically and says well you say that but I do not remember you reading to me as a baby. 🤦‍♀️ “Well, buckle up, buttercup because I didn’t give up my morning coffee when I was pregnant with you either and I’m sure you are about to come across prenatal factors.” My poor dd…she could have been a genius but she was stuck with me as a mom! (for the record, we are not really fighting but she is just ridiculous enough to suggest I didn’t read to her because she doesn’t remember). Oh and apparently she never heard the “10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” song until she was like 12 years old. She always cites that as lack of my singing her baby songs. She lies.

We had totality last time and while I wasn’t really into it, it was very cool and I’m glad we experienced it. I definitely underestimated it. Still wouldn’t spend time and money and deal with crowds but I understand. This time we had 88% and schools dismissed early and cancelled after school activities and people had parties and everyplace was selling the glasses. It’s over now and we did walk outside and see it but I’m scratching my head. We wouldn’t have known it was happening if it hadn’t been publicized and I really don’t think schools needed to cancel. Maybe everyone was just remembering how crazy it was last time when we did have totality.

It never would have occurred to me to drive for it but last time we had 100% right in our backyard and it was amazing. I said then that I understood and would travel for it next time. By the time it got here I didn’t have any interest in driving for it but I do remember how cool it was so if it is something you think you would be interested in (I really wasn’t) then I think it would be worth it for you. However, don’t underestimate the traffic. Last time the interstate through our town was an absolute stand still for several hours. Like a parking lot, something you would see in a disaster movie. So, while i do think a trip to see it is rational, I think the crowds and traffic you will experience are no joke and definitely need to be accounted for.

Very picky. Just this week my 15 yo dd was teased in school by a friend of hers who realized she had never had cotton candy or a rice krispy treat. Not that she wasn’t offered them ever, just she could tell by looking at them she wouldn’t like them.

My dd is in 10th grade at a private high school. She took AP Human Geography in 9th and is in AP Modern World now. Lots of quizzes and projects. Her human geography teacher was not great and assigned a lot of PowerPoints and quizzes because that is what the regular history classes are and he wasn’t used to AP. Her current teacher is one of the most engaging in the school and gets amazing AP results. My dd has lots of homework for that class. Quizzes/test/projects. The writing assignments are practice for the AP questions. So she does write in there but not essays or papers exactly. Always tailored toward AP exam question practice. Even my dd’s honors English classes don’t have many papers or essays in 9th/10th grade. The creative projects/ PowerPoints /presentations are the evaluations of choice it seems. I would not be surprised for a 9th grade history course to not require any papers but I would expect projects and some kind of tests/quizzes. At my dd’s school it is fairly common for non-honors track course to have open book/open note tests and quizzes.

Your main issue is your relationship with your do in regard to your in-laws. But as an aside, there are some people I come in contact with that are extremely pushy about the trades and are as pushy about the trades as people accuse the college for everyone crowd of being and they are every bit as wrong and as annoying as the college for all people are.