Last week at church I met someone who assumed I was a new college grad. I just turned 35, and though my kids are 7 & 3, I've been married long enough to have a 12-year-old. I took it as a compliment. I'm often told I look younger, and my 63-year-old mother can easily pass for early 50s. When I was 25-26 I taught junior high on a K-12 campus and parents were frequently confused about my age. Once I was asked if I was graduating or a junior! Another time a parent walked into my PE class and scanned the room for the teacher, but didn't see one and asked where the teacher was. Then I chaperoned an 8th grade graduation trip to Magic Mountain, and I could tell one of the moms was uncomfortable with my husband and me driving for some reason. I guessed she thought I was young, so I assured her I was 26, had been driving excellently for 11 years, etc. She relaxed and admitted she thought I was 21, and in CA many don't get there licenses until 18-20.

So last week my mom hosted Thanksgiving and invited me and my same-age cousin and family over. While I was in the kitchen cleaning up and chatting with mom, cousin's husband yelled my name loudly from the living room 5 times in a row. It turns out he saw his three-year-old spill some water on the floor and was calling for me to clean it up! I did a double-take, as I had first assumed he was holding the baby, but no, he was just sitting on the couch chatting about his job with an elderly guest. I managed to stop myself from cleaning it up and said, "Hey, I'm busy. Why don't you clean it up yourself?". He didn't get up until my husband started doing it, then he just pointed out spots DH had missed instead of taking over. So entitled. He has 4 kids! I hope he's more useful in his own home, but I doubt it. I've seen his version of supervising kids (playing computer games, back turned, taking the side of whoever screams loudest even though he saw nothing) and won't let him babysit.

When I was pregnant with my first we had a family with 5 kids and teens over for dinner. The youngest, who was 2.5, found a couple of golf balls and started throwing them at things. I offered to find something else for her to play with, but my subtle hint failed because her mom insisted she keep them "because she likes them and she'd scream if we took them away." I ended up having to be direct because she then let her bang them repeatedly on my dining room table! It has visible dents from that day. My best friend hosted a playgroup for our moms group. The other 3 moms decided to stay in the living room and ignore their children. So she spent two hours running around hosting and I spent two hours supervising up to 12 kids aged 15 months to 5 years old, who they sent upstairs to play without even looking to see what was up there. A couple tried to jump on the toddler bed, climb the blinds, and shut others in the dark closet. One boy refused to share the train controls and hit others who tried to take a turn. Right at the end a toddler tumbled down the stairs and smacked her head on the tile floor; my hostess friend had repeatedly expressed concern about her being unsupervised on the stairs. She never hosted another open invite playdate.

A group of college students were in a rollover accident as they drove through our town on their way to a mission trip. My parents let them spend the night at our house. One guy left the bathroom door open while using the toilet in the basement down a dark hallway. My 13-year-old sister accidentally walked in on him. It was incredibly awkward for her. DH had his engineer friends over for a a board game and miniatures painting night, and a new female coworker was invited along. She was 5'1" and petite, but ate 4 large grilled sausages, leaving only 1 for a couple of the large guys. She misused and damaged DH's paint brushes, even after he asked her not to use them that way. She also rearranged some of my (alphabetical by author) books in some indiscernible order that she deemed better. She was an odd one. One of DH's acquaintances was 6'5" and 350 lbs. He broke a stool and a "banana" chair (that he was asked not to sit in as it had a 200 lb limit) and constantly flopped down on our cheap furniture. He was not apologetic about the breakage. I don't even let my 7-year-old flop on furniture like that.

My list would include: Instant Pot Professional cream whipper & cartridges Lego sets Lego Dimensions sets

I hope you love it as much as I have with mine! I got the small one for DS7 for just $11 on a floor model sake at Toy 'R Us. Then I found the bigger one NIB for $40 on Facebook. I have so much fun riding it with him! Then I found an even larger one for $70 on a floor model sale. So now we have 3 and I can ride with DS and his best friend who is much smaller. DS7 is large for his age and rides the 9+ one comfortably.

Make some homemade Playdough. If you add a little vanilla and/or cinnamon they can pretend it's cookie dough and make "cookies" with cookie cutters. I made gingerbread spiced one year and it was a huge hit. You could add some beads and such for decorating.

I got that labyrinth for Mother's Day and the roller coaster for my birthday :). We're all big Lego fans here. DS7 and I have been making a seaside scene/resort and I bought a second set of this beach hut. We also built it in different colors with pieces we already owned: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NHQGGPC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479540099&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=lego+beach+hut The day after Thanksgiving we'll pull out the cargo train and decorate it for Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J4S6UYO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479539519&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=Lego+cargo+train#nav-search-keywords And finally, I like the diversity of minifigs this one added (a baby!) https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CU9WX08/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1479539626&sr=8-4&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=lego+baby

We've had this one for two years and it's going strong. We love it so much we even bought them for our parents: https://www.amazon.com/Swing-Way-6090-Crank-Opener/dp/B001CD77VO

Regarding churches as polling places, I wonder if they are more common in rural areas like where I grew up. In our town of 10,000, we didn't have a community center, gym, or any large building like that. The library was small and wouldn't have had the parking or polling space. It was also directly across from an elementary school and would have caused traffic/parking/safety issues there. The 3 elementary schools all had double-duty gyms/cafeterias and no empty classrooms. Five churches served as our town's polling places. The poll workers were not affiliated with the churches at which they worked. My church's pastor had the philosophy that our building should not stand empty all week, only used on Sundays and Wednesday nights. He thought we should use it to bless the community. Girl Scouts, a quilting group, and Weight-Watchers were some of the groups that used it during the week. My non-denominational Christian school used it for years for incredibly low rent that only covered basics like electricity, Internet, toilet paper, etc. In case of emergency, our church was the evacuation center for the public school around the corner. In my town there was really no more logical place.

My town used mostly churches even before Columbine. They're more likely to have the space on a Tuesday without a holiday. My church also housed a small school when I was a teen, and I have fond memories of voting days. My family would fill several crockpot with soup/stew and bake bread for the (mostly senior citizen) poll workers. They were very appreciative. This year I voted in a college classroom just a mile and a half from my house.

When I was a teen, I'm pretty sure most girls in my youth group would have worn a sports bra to bed or taken it off immediately before sleeping at camp. We were young and self-conscious about people seeing our bras, talking about bras, seeing nipples through shirts, etc. It seems a bit silly now, but we were still figuring things out then. I remember being both embarrassed/admiring of adult women and their freedom from these issues. I could totally see some of them chatting/whispering about, "Did you see Mrs. X? She wasn't wearing a bra in the cabin!". It's easy for such chatter to get out of hand and spread, and becoming cruel/bullying. I think you were fine, but I could see some girls feeling awkward just because of their own awkward teenage position. The parents talking about it amongst themselves and *continuing* to discuss it two years later is ridiculous. One of them should have been the grown up and confronted you immediately if offended, rather than doing the mean-girls-gossip behind your back.

I do not, but when I was in college and spent time lounging around in my pajamas I did wear a sports bra. I'd take it off once I was likely to be in my room for the night. I was a 34A then, and would sometimes throw a hoodie over and go bra-less for a quick errand. My best friend was quite over-endowed and she wore a bra to bed because 1) she said it was more comfortable, 2) she said it helped absorb underboob sweat, 3) she didn't want to appear bra-less in the hall even just to run to the bathroom.

Some things that helped with my sister were/are: 1. A budget for clothes and toiletries with no bailouts or loans. There were a few detailed jobs she could do for a bit of extra money if desperate. 2. She had to do her own laundry, and was not allowed to do anyone else's or pull our wet clothes out of the washer, as she was apt to ignore instructions and ruin ours or leave them mildewing in a basket. 3. She was banned from borrowing my clothes, as I was very forgiving but she'd "burn" me over and over again. 4. As an adult she became a minimalist and it revolutionized her life. She is much less scattered when she only has a few things to keep track of. Wearing the same 2-3 main outfits has been a lifesaver for her.

Except for the doesn't seem to care what she's wearing part, this sounds sooooooo much like the frustrations my mom (and I!) had with my teenage sister. She left the cordless phone outside in the rain, ruined tools by not putting them away as taught, borrowed/lost/ruined our clothes without seeming to care, left my books open face down after constant reminders not to, shoved important, delicate things in drawers and spilled makeup in there, used too much shampoo/conditioner, ruined the good towels by taking makeup off with them, and on and on. She never seemed to understand the value of money, or connect with the idea that a little preventative care would prevent disasters. As a young adult she was diagnosed with ADHD and it really gave us some 20/20 hindsight into her behaviors.

I would also pack essentials in her carry-on on case of delay or lost luggage. I've had to wait 24-48 hours for checked bags on multiple trips and was very glad I had what I needed in my carry-on.

I didn't read all the responses, but I wanted to add that a fully-charged battery pack for her cell phone is a good idea, just in case. You can pick one up at Walmart for about 10 bucks.

I was going to say glockenspiel. We have this one and the sound is very pleasant even when non-musical kids bang on it ;). https://www.amazon.com/Lyons-25-Note-Xylophone-Glockenspiel-Case/dp/B001VO7FPC

Canned soups with soft veggies and meat? Roasted/mashed veggies/potatoes Canned tuna (on a sandwich or wrapped in lettuce) Canned salmon (I like to make patties or salmon loaf with yogurt/dill sauce)

I had a substitute teacher named Miss Smartie.

I know a Nurse Slaughter. Her husband was the Pastor of our church! I had a classmate named Crystal Waters. Her mom drew the line at using Clear for her middle name...

Just last week I had a guy in his 20s approach me outside McDonald's and ask to use my phone to call his friend who was late picking him up. Something about him seemed off. He was a bit flustered, and kept looking off in the distance past me. I was with my two kids and told him, "Sorry, ask a guy instead of a woman alone with kids," and immediately went inside. He frowned and stalked off, past plenty of other people. I'm pretty sure I was a target. Plus afterwards I realized that my phone is also my wallet so he'd have my cards and ID! Several times I've had middle school kids ask to use my phone at McDonald's or after a school sporting event (I was a teacher and watched some of my students' games). It's always been because they want to call parents to approve a change of plans/time extension. I told them, "Sure, if you tell me the number, your mom's name, and your name and let me call her to explain." I then called and said, "Hi Kathy? Are you Madison's mom? I'm here at McDonald's and she asked to use my phone to call you. Would you like to talk to her? Here she is." The kids were always cool with this and very grateful.

I use Walgreens too. If you Google coupon codes there are always good ones that are active.

We've always had a lot of guests, because all my kids' parties have been whole-family-with-older/younger-siblings-too. Every one has been outdoors, either at a park or our back yard. DS7 had his party last week, and we invited 8 families. 6 came, and a few left little ones home for naps, so we had 16 of 21 kids in those families (including my two) ranging from 9 months to 10. For DD3's next birthday I'm thinking about an outing with just her best friend's family; she is pretty indifferent to all the other little girls and families we've invited before.

Our buddy with the cartridge whipped cream dispenser just mixes 50/50 room temp Nutella with whipping cream, then dispenses. There are others online who whip with a mixer in other ratios, but his experimentation produced the best results with the dispenser and 50/50. I'm asking for one for Christmas :).