I'm sorry - that really stinks. It is a special thing, and it would have been lovely to be there. And yes, sometimes I think kids just don't get it, and unfortunately, no amount of talking can sometimes help them to 'get' it. I hope your pre-Op and procedure go well.

As an engineer this is my fear. At one college, many of the beginning engineering students are flunking calculus courses and taking them over 2-4 times before they can pass. IMHO, if it takes that long, I think this might not be the correct major. No shame in that. My science major reported her favorite professor did basically written narration tests - tell me everything you remember about this subject, explain how it fits in with this concept - that sort of thing. You had to understand the material. She loved those tests and always did well, but most of the student hated those tests. Eventually the professor changed them to open book due to students complaining. I don't know if the average grade improved or not. To me the professor had to dumb down his testing due to complaining students. The professor had been doing it this way for years with little issue, but now he has to change to an easier test. That tells me the issue is not with the professor/testing method, but with the incoming students and their preparation (or lack of) for the upper level coursework.

Shoes, underwear, upholstered furniture, personal care products (toothbrush, razor, stuff like that). I would say mattresses, but we got one from a friend who had just used it a week and wanted to sell it vs. dealing with hassle of trying to return it. I would not have bought from a stranger, but we felt comfortable with this friend. We still buy clothing often from thrift or consignment stores. I do wash immediately upon coming home though.

Why can't DN sit with you and SiL sit in the extra seat not close to you? I bought the tickets, I'm using my tickets. I offered my extra ticket to someone who wanted to bring an extra person. I'm sorry, I only have one extra ticket. Period. She wants the extra person along, she can buy the extra ticket. I do not think you are being selfish to keep the ticket you bought for you. ETA: Is it possible that SiL can come one night and DN another?

I've thought about this. My parents did not fit the statistic as my mom died from cancer less than a year before my dad died. I will say that many widows brought that man pies very quickly after my mom passed away. He thought they were being nice. I thought it very probable they were thinking that here was an unattached eligible widower.

Morning Glory muffins. I make a couple of batches and freeze them. Baked oatmeal. Again, make and freeze. Egg Bites - copycat Starbucks made in the instant pot. Breakfast tacos? I think you could make these ahead of time, but I think he would want to heat before eating? For me when I headed into work super early, I ate Quaker Oat Squares in a baggie (no milk, just dry cereal) and took water along with me, and just snacked on that during my hour commute.

For anyone who was interested in the Liberty Lawn fabric at Joanns, I noticed several ones were on sale in the Evansville IN store for $17.99/yard. The rest were 25% off. I do not see this sale reflected online though, so you may want to check any local stores - assuming they have some in stock. Many stores do not carry it.

I had a friend who did a "Noah's ark" tree when her kids were really young. She just put all their smaller stuffed toys on the tree. If you have extra, just toss them in there. Or ... artistically arrange them, whichever suits your style the best! Otherwise, I vote for just lights.

I wonder - is the child themselves confused? Is there someone in their live influencing them to think badly of you (disclaimer - I think I see this in a personal relationship, so I think I might be overly suspicious!)? It is possible when in front of others, they want to behave like the "good child" so they are welcoming/happy to see you, but once they think no one is looking, they are stay-away-from-me? This means the extended family thinks everything is fine and they are wonderful people, but it is just a show? I think I would send a letter (if that is the current method of communication) saying that I love you, I will always love you, but I feel like I am getting mixed messages from you. If you want to have a relationship with me, I'd love that. If you don't want to have a relationship with me, that would make me sad, but I will respect your boundaries. Should this change in any way, please let me know! (Assuming this is all true, I know it is possible to love your children but not necessary like them, and for some kids, sometimes it might be easier to not have a relationship?)

I laugh every time I see this unnecesary explainer and think they are doing it to thumb their noses at Musk. But, yeah, we all know.

The first one was a little rocky at first, obviously anxious to leave home, went to college and at first was very adversarial, and then something changed, and she was a sweet girl again. Our relationship has gotten better, we aren't super close, but we ask advice from each other and listen and give serious consideration to any input the other offers. The last one is another story, I'm perplexed and just in holding mode waiting to see what is next.

Looking for advice on dealing with a relative. Deleted for privacy. I appreciate everyone's advice. It gives me some ideas - 1. be patient 2. Provide more validation (not my strong point, but I am improving!) 3. neutral topics, have a plan of activities 4. Adjust my expectations

Good luck to him! One of mine was an accounting major. If the Big 4 internships don't work out, consider local accounting firms. In our little area of TX, there is a firm that has many of the local satellite school kids working through-out part of their college time. Several work part-time while taking a full load of courses. It isn't as prestigious, but it is still good experience, and nice for many because they can work more than just one semester. It sounds like they are desperate for good people.

I ended up with a variety of things after my bout with shingles. Lesions on my hands disappeared pretty quickly, but I had pain/discomfort on/off for maybe a couple of years - not often - just at random intervals for short periods of time. The lesions on my chest though still have left a dried patch of skin that I cannot get rid of. They never hurt like the fingers did though.

I've noticed that head rests seem to lean/tilt forward more than they used to. I've found a few that aren't comfortable either, and I wouldn't buy a car that wasn't comfortable to sit in/drive. Just no.

When I had shingles, it presented non-typically - started on one hand. I went to Urgent care, diagnosed as a rash, given steroids, sent home, several days later, much worse and on my chest now too. Went to doctor and she said Shingles as soon as she opened the door and saw me. I think shingles typically only affects one side of the body? If so, I might be tempted to go to doctor just to see.

Waiting is hard! I hope he hears soon!

So, you will end up with a one bedroom house? Or am I misunderstanding? I've never seen a 1 bedroom house for sale.

I prefer a detached garage - but covered walkway between house/garage. Garage to the side of the house, if possible, so open garage door not visible to street. I agree with considering climate/sun exposure. We live in TX, and a south facing side with lots of windows - unless you had shade trees - would probably not be great. Our house faces east - which is nice in many ways, but the sun does a number on our wooden front door so that we have to refinish/re-stain it every other year or sooner. Our breakfast/typical dining area (we don't use our dining room for eating!) is on the west side of the house, so during some times of the year, we have to close the blinds due to the sun coming in as we are eating. Not a big issues, but it does cut down on natural light. I do agree with having lots of windows for natural lighting! Also consider skylights - but also factor in they tend to be noisy if you often have thunderstorms/hail, so maybe put them in a section that you could close off (like taking a patio and converting it to part of the main living area/but put doorways with double doors so you could shut that off - skylights in previous patio/now living room extension). As we get older, I see the big advantage in having wider doorways, a walk-in shower with a wide opening/seat/grab bars, and no tight corners anywhere (thinking potential issues with walkers should we have that in our future). In your house plan, I might be tempted to lose the jetted tub and make a little more space for the commode room - again thinking walkers/wheelchair/etc. I'd also extend that shower to make it a little longer too - possibly considering putting showers on both sides?

I take Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega. I haven't had any issue with fishy burps. https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Naturals-Ultimate-Omega-SoftGels/dp/B0739KKHWL

We've been invited by our credit union to an "Estate Planning" event. No food because it is a webinar, but we signed up anyway. Maybe we will learn something? If not, we will simply sign off.

We had playdates when my oldest was that age. For that short of period, no snacks are needed, but it is nice to offer tea or coffee to adult. If I did snacks, it would be apple slices or goldfish. My kids mostly drank water, so that is what other kids were offered if they were over and thirsty. I would expect parent to arrive with kid's sippy cup though.

It's hard to lose a job - especially at that age.

I don't believe it is only women. Often men in the job market who are older also dye their hair if they are unemployed but have much gray hair. I started going gray really early, but my hair was a light brown/dark blonde, so the gray was really white, so it did look like highlights. Whatever. I had an older lady once ask me if my children were my grandchildren. I did have it dyed once early on, but it scared me when I saw myself in the mirror, and it was expensive. Not something I wanted to spend the time and money on, so I've never done it again. I do not care what others think. I've had several moms ask me if I thought about coloring my hair over the years. Nope, not interested. It is a pretty white now (except the back!), and it does it not bother me at all. I am what I am. One of my children (25) already has a noticeable amount of gray which is obvious with her dark hair. The younger one probably also has some, but her hair is light enough that it doesn't show yet. I don't think the older will ever dye her hair to cover the gray but might well to get some non-natural hair color! The younger probably will dye her hair if the gray becomes even slightly obvious.

The Big Red Barn is my favorite too. Followed by many of Sandra Boynton books - (Moo, Baa, La La La; Barnyard Dance, and more!)