This is me! I bought it last year at the end of October, before the obsession was so strong, because I wanted a water bottle to keep in my office and because my Grandpa always had a Stanley. If I remember right I was even able to use a coupon on it at Dick's so the price was about the same as any other water bottle there when I was looking. I don't think they would let me do that now!

I have resorted to food. They don't want 'stuff' and they don't really need anything. Some years they get several of the same items, it doesn't matter. Last year my dad received over a dozen boxes of chocolate covered cherries - he loves the inexpensive ones you pick up at Walmart or the grocery store. He got a kick out of it and eventually ate them all. They're probably available all year, but growing up for him they were a Christmas splurge and that's the only time of year he eats them. I usually get my mom a nice box of mixed nuts.

If you have ordered one of the pillows made from a pet picture and were happy with it, which company did you use? I would like to get one for each of my children but there are so many companies I'm not sure which one to use and would like to hear a recommendation from a 'real' person on the internet 🙂

At the beginning of November my aunt always sent me a 'sick' box, just in case. Unfortunately, it was always used up! Cold medicine, cough drops, vitamins etc. as well as a few fun snacks.

I wouldn't expect anyone to come to my house to work for under $125. I live in a rural low cost of living area.

Boys: Victor & Caleb Girls: Evelyn & Cecelia DH just wouldn't be swayed so I had to compromise. 🙂

I would absolutely take it! As others have said, clean and sterilize, or purchase a new bowl if it turns you off too much.

We have a large single stainless sink with the piece that was too large for the dishwasher as well. After about 2 years I think we threw it away. It's a sink. I don't find it necessary for the inside of it to be scratch free. When it was all cleaned up and empty it looked nice, but for our actual lives it just didn't work.

We contacted the Athletic Director initially, then had to bring in the Superintendent because the AD wasn't sure how it all worked. No one was difficult to work with, just didn't really know the law. Be prepared to have a way to show grades. Since you are playing on a public school team you have to follow their rules, and most have a minimum GPA requirement for playing. I have actually found that helpful for keeping up to date on their transcript instead of waiting until it was time to apply for college.

I use these to help. I freeze them which helps prolong the time it takes our dog to finish them. https://www.amazon.com/LUKITO-Licking-Suction-Boredom-Grooming/dp/B09FPTDBRZ/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.db5bdf6b-c3cb-4492-ada6-1426f4f364d5%3Aamzn1.sym.db5bdf6b-c3cb-4492-ada6-1426f4f364d5&crid=3956F4IYKADHX&cv_ct_cx=lick+mat+for+dogs&keywords=lick+mat+for+dogs&pd_rd_i=B09FPTDBRZ&pd_rd_r=9808f990-72ed-48d0-a915-de409f152c58&pd_rd_w=A1xYA&pd_rd_wg=WoyT2&pf_rd_p=db5bdf6b-c3cb-4492-ada6-1426f4f364d5&pf_rd_r=A6H3RX8N5AVCGZRE6JGE&qid=1679663847&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=lick+mat%2Caps%2C129&sr=1-1-a73d1c8c-2fd2-4f19-aa41-2df022bcb241-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFKR0pENThWUjlVQ1cmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAyNzQ3NTVBSzdBVFNVU040RksmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDIyMzQ1NjI3OFpCWEtOMElNT00md2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWMmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

This sounds a lot like us. Oldest DD is in school, so it's usually just me and the 3 still homeschooling. It seems like even when all 6 of us end up somewhere at the same time, schedules don't allow us to all drive together anyways. For example, we'll often to DH's mom's house Friday nights for dinner. Well, the 3 kids at home and I will go a bit earlier in the afternoon to play some board games or something like that with her and DH and oldest DD will come after they are home from work/school. This evening we have a calling hours to go to but DH wants to go at the beginning when he knows a few other friends will be there and I can't get there until 2 hours later after some meetings.

DH and I are looking at vehicles and have a family of 6. As we have been looking and talking we realized that now that kids are older, one is driving, they all have different activities etc. we hardly ever all ride together anywhere. We started keeping track and realized it averages about once a month. Maybe. We think the recent holidays skewed that average a bit higher as we all travelled to see my family. We only do that every other year or so. Anyways, it occurred to us that the cost of driving two cars here and there is much less than the cost of a larger vehicle plus the lower gas mileage that larger vehicle has. Now we're thinking that potentially this cost savings is worth the hassle of two drivers here and there. Especially since we'll have a 4th driver in about 6 months and will be adding another vehicle then. I thought I would throw it on the forum to see if anyone has done this and if you were happy with the choice or regretted it.

I think it's a little high but it's not outrageous....even though it is. I just paid $110 for my daughter's ballet costume, $40 for the accessories set - whatever that is- and $40 for the BLACK shoes they'll need to match the costume instead of the PINK ones I bought 3 months ago. I loved it years ago when my older two daughters took dance through the city Rec center and the teacher said she would never choose costumes over $35! We moved so that's not an option anymore, and the classes themselves aren't terrible here. $40/month for one 45 minute class every week. But ouch, the costume!!

Thank you for the replies. I know it really doesn't matter what someone refers to themselves as and I think it's may be bothering me a little in this situation because of a close friend who became a widow around the same time. I am close to both of these people and am a sounding board for both of them. While both situations are obviously difficult I can see such a difference between my friend who was widowed and my friend who chose to not move with her DH. I'm happy to be made aware that using the term isn't uncommon. It's just something I need to let go. Thanks everyone!

There is a huge backstory I have gone over and tried to type out repeatedly but I suppose my question is really straightforward. If you are a member of or close to the military community and familiar with someone who chose to 'geo-bachelor' do you find it common for the spouse living with the children to repeatedly refer to themselves as a single parent?

When she picks it up she says condensed, and then says it's evaporated milk. I'm wondering if she, or someone helping, put sweetened condensed milk in the bowl by mistake. She knew what it was because she named it, but then said the correct milk for the recipe and kept filming for filming's sake? This is my hope at least 🙂

I kept our favorites for each person. I figure even if we don't need them again, it will be neat for everyone to have one or two for the memories:)

Thanks to this board my plan for after home schooling is something that I'm seriously looking into right now. But THIS! THE PAY is so my issue!!! I think I would enjoy going back to school to be certified for teaching K-2. I have loved those years with my kids, especially teaching them to read. However, I could also walk in to any factory around here and get a job tomorrow for $22 an hour and a first year teaching in my rural area averages $28K. With a factory position I could walk out after a shift and not think about it again until I punched in the next day. But I know I wouldn't ENJOY it. While I realize it doesn't have to be a dream job, I would like to at least enjoy parts of my work and be proud of what I'm doing. I don't think light assembly is that for me. However, since it's likely I'll only work for about 10 years, it is hard to accept the idea of paying for more training/certification and then knowing that I'll probably never make more than I would have if I was entry-level at a local plant. I have been chewing on this idea for over 6 months at this point and just can't decide. I would like to take classes part-time and then work as a sub here and there while I finish homeschooling my kids. We'll see. DH is supportive no matter what I do, but he for sure expects me to go to work at some point.

He was specifically referencing french door fridges. If they have ice in the door then they usually have two ice makers, one in the freezer drawer and one up in the fridge door. I was told to avoid that. You lose a lot of space in the fridge and as someone else mentioned, the second smaller freezer in the door dispenser seems to have a lot of problems. An ice maker in the freezer drawer alone was not considered an issue.

When we remodeled our kitchen 5 or 6 years ago we purchased everything from a small, local appliance store. Our salesman had been working there for over 30 years. I asked him his favorite brand and he hemmed and hawed a bit and then said, "Well, I can't really recommend any of them anymore." As all the bells and whistles have been added and durability has declined drastically. The only real advice he gave was not to get the water/ice on the door in a French door fridge because you lose so much space to the second ice compressor. All the online rankings are great for efficiency and features, but none of them can really tell if you'll get a decade out of an appliance or not. And yes, I was told to hope for 10 years and be happy if we got it.

Looks so good!

Traveling for 4 hours, but with 2 longer stops on the way, so food will probably be in the car about 8 hours. I had thought of picking up something on the way, but the closest decent store for this is about 30 minutes before we have longer stopover. At least for getting something like a premade platter. Thanks for all the ideas everyone!

All I can think of is brownies. I don't even like brownies. Maybe cookies. I was hoping for something more interesting but may have to settle.

My nephews love the dinosaurs in a bag, similar to what HomeAgain posted above. They also love the Learning Resources 5 piece Jumbo Dinosaurs.

No, I have never noticed anything like this. I'm going to talk to her more about other things she's feeling at the time. She has mentioned her stomach but I never though to tie it to anxiety over her dislike of the loud noise or anything like that. The last time it happened was the other day when we were picking her brother up from scout camp. They had a family dinner in the dining hall which was packed and had loud music playing. She was hungry for dinner, but by the time we sat down to eat she had pretty much curled up into herself. I asked her what was wrong and she said that the noise hurt her stomach. We picked up our plates and found a picnic table outside. Within 5 or so minutes she felt fine and was able to eat. It comes and goes very quickly.