We are going at the end of June and also wanted three beds. We always stay at Hyatt Places wherever we go because we use points and five can stay in oneroom (two beds, pull out couch). We are staying in one in midtown.

I’ve been to quite a few of these. In my area, it’s just a chance to celebrate a new life, hang out together, and eat some food. Generally, gifts are diapers and wipes. Or maybe outfits if it’s a different gender. Occasionally money has been pooled for one larger gift (car seat if last one was outdated or still in use). So usually simple but fun.

This is a total rabbit trail and likely something you already know, but I want to be sure. With your diagnosis of keratoconus, have you looked into cross linking surgery? Both of my boys have had it for their keratoconus, and we are pleased with what it’s done. Doesn’t make it better (although it has a bit with both of them), but can stop progression of it getting worse.

I went back four years ago, but to a private school. While money isn't as good as public, there is way less to make me crazy and way more I agree with. It was a huge adjustment the first year (my kids went in as well—into high school/middle school). But I do love being back in the classroom and now In administration. It’s not perfect but it’s been really good for me to have my own thing as the kids get older. And we need the money!

Not the same at all, but reminds me of my last one. She was a week late and ended up being induced. My first two were 2 and 3 weeks early so this was unusual for me. I kept setting off the blood pressure alarms (too low) and then her heart rate started going down with contractions. Doctor came in and had me sign a consent for a c section. I was pretty upset. He said if I wasn’t at 10 next time we checked, he was wheeling me back. He checked and said I was an 8. I remember being so upset that I would have a c section. Then I suddenly had this giant contraction, went to 10, and her head came out…all in about 20 seconds. I didn’t push at all and she came all the way out seconds later. I remember my doctor pleading with me to wait since he hadn’t changed (and was wearing what must have been pretty expensive dress clothes/shoes that became quite messy). I couldn’t have stopped because I wasn’t even doing anything—it just happened. All was well…it was just a wild ending. congratulations!!!

We don’t have any rules about food. My kids are also older teens so it’s just not something on my radar to check at their ages. I honestly can’t think of time it’s been an issue with bugs/mess (typed while eating a snack in bed 😊).

We do official tours junior year. It’s felt the most practical to us, and then they’re ready for early deadlines on applications their senior year while it’s all fairly fresh. With a seventh and ninth grade student I’d be more inclined to walk on/wander the campus as allowed, but not the official tour. On our tours the youngest tended to be sophomores with most being juniors. But there’s certainly nothing wrong with doing otherwise!

I had something vaguely similar happen. Totally normal first two pregnancies/deliveries. At the very end of my third, I had a nurse ask about being rh-. I told her I had never heard that I was (and my three pregnancies were quite close together and in the same office, although with different doctors). It seems ludicrous years later, but somehow I didn’t understand it fully, and nothing else happened. No shot, nothing. I have to think something else happened behind the scenes with the nurse/doctor. She had to have been wrong? I was stressed out about the delivery for other reasons and managed to forget until quite a while later (healthy baby/delivery) and by then we had moved and I couldn’t ask. Honestly, I was young, naive, and somewhat uninformed. Now I would have done something totally different.

Honestly? Probably not. And I hate that because of the consequence to your child for something they can’t help. But I’d worry about someone getting in the midst of a domestic violence situation. But I would seek to be as kind as humanly possible and offer to host/take places or really do what I could to show we valued the friendship. One thing: for my 17 and 18 year old sons, I’d have less say so given their ages and I’d talk through it but potentially be fine with it (and honestly they could drive themselves there anyway). For my 15 year old daughter, at this point I would say no (but she’d also be given to a lot of fear and anxiety over it). I’m really sorry.

All of my pots at work do not have holes in the bottom due to the water issue (unlike the ones I have at home). I’ve never had an issue and they’re all very healthy. I’m just very careful with watering so they’re not sitting in soggy soil. I do repot as they get too big.

First time or if I’m in a hurry: smile and move on. Beyond that: “Sounds fun (or whatever adjective) but that’s not something we can afford.”

Your kids are all grown. It sounds like you have a big house with many rooms. They were needed in a different way before and now you have different needs. I would hate having my stuff in all different places. I would choose a place to make yours…and then have a fun time making it yours! Set it up in a way that brings joy and is also practical. I’m thinking the playroom. Its new name is texasproud’s office. Yes, people may need to do activities different places but I’m sure they’ll adjust quickly. However…does this have a door?

Exactly the same. Laundry room cabinet. There’s a plastic bin of batteries, one of light bulbs, and one of flashlights.

Go upstairs and sleep or read for the afternoon. Put on some sort of background noise so you hear less of what’s going on. Everyone else will manage without you. Bring a dog with you if they’ll be quiet and that would calm the chaos. But mostly, just get alone and recharge for as long as you need.

We had the same in our bathroom yesterday. My husband took out the drawers, cut a hole in the subfloor, and blew a hairdryer down there directly on the frozen pipe. It thawed really quickly and is still okay today. We were so nervous it would burst!

I think I’m weird in this but that was always my favorite book of the series. I still, on super cold winter days, will try to imagine what that would have been like and what I would have tried to do if I could have prepared for such a winter in that time period. For whatever reason, that one really stuck with me over the years.

We live about 20 minutes from the Columbus airport. At the moment, snow won’t be an issue. The snow amounts have gone way down for Thursday. The issue Friday night will be wind gusts. With driving home, it will depend on which way you’re going and how much snow that area got. I would assume major roads would be fine by that point.

My daughter took fairly high doses of this for quite a while following a surgery that resulted in a lot of nerve pain. It did really help with her pain. For her, the main downside was it appeared to make her very emotional—anxious, depressed, very weepy. There was a pretty big difference on and off it for her. It was a tough call to make at the time, balancing pain and mental health. While this can be a side effect but I don’t know that it’s a common one at all.

Stitch Fix has gift cards you can give.

Cover your Assets is a huge favorite here.

Some random ideas I’d like 🙂 —a nicer kitchen item. Things like: a nice pan or casserole dish. Maybe nicer than she would buy for herself? —or practical kitchen: really nice dish towels with kitchen hand soaps from bath and body works. You could also do really nice handmade bars of soap for the bathrooms. —Or local gift cards for her combined with a couple fun things from Trader Joe’s —Would she like a Fitbit?

We’ve never had litter boxes in the bathroom. The idea of pieces of litter on the bathroom floor bothers me. We have one box in the basement, tucked away in a corner. Then we have one on the main floor. It’s kind of tucked in a weird corner of a hallway that goes to our garage and laundry room. We don’t have one on our second floor. Both spots have worked well for our cat although he uses the one on the main floor the most. We do have boxes with high sides to try and keep the litter contained. Not totally successful but it helps.

My middle son had this happen right after we moved when he was about 13 or 14. We ended up putting a nice camp mattress we had under our bed with a sheet and blanket and pillow on it. Then if he woke up in the night (or couldn’t fall asleep) he just came in, slid it out, and fell right back to sleep. We generally didn’t even hear him do it and it gave him a better nights sleep than being directly on the floor. Eventually it just stopped. His siblings weren’t wild about him coming in their room and he really just needed to be in the same room as someone else. This was a pretty painless solution for us. I should add—melatonin helped as did audio books as he fell asleep.

Decorate a basic wooden frame (like the cheap ones from a craft store). Then take a picture at the party and send everyone a printed copy. Frames tend to be very inexpensive and could be decorated with just markers and stickers or you could do glue/glitter, paint, etc…

Maybe I missed this…what are they doing this year without you??? I’m so curious. My brother in law likes to do most of the meal every year despite many offers of help. He just wants it his way. However last year he discovered a restaurant in his area that would provide part to all of the meal. They provided all the things he didn’t want to make and left him to do his favorite 2 things. Maybe something like that would be a good choice for you?