I like to think I make up for being socially inept by being loving, fun, welcoming, and relaxed. If the house is at a normal level of clean, and the fridge isn't completely empty, and if you can slap together some extra blankets and pillows if you need to ( I doubt you will), you're all ready.

I did a drug trial, years ago, before marriage and kids. It didn't work, and I had a bad reaction, but it was well worth and one of my three treatments did work. It was a low risk trial and super worth it. I'd do another one in a heartbeat. I think at this stage, you don't have a truly definitive diagnosis yet? So you can't say for sure that you would be eligible or that it would work, if I'm reading correctly? If that's right, obviously, you have to wait until you know for sure? If you are eligible and the other treatments are not working, by all means do it. I can't tell you what to do, but in your shoes I would absolutely do it. Yes. It's a chance worth taking IMO.

Luna has this diagnosis. Tentatively. We don't know yet if she will level off as she gets older. She has possible atypical Prader-Willi. Some symptoms are low weight gain, FTT followed by insatiable hunger after age two. She's 3.5 and not overweight yet, but her growth curve is skyrocketing. Officially, though, she just normal and healthy. I think the only reason we have this sort-of diagnosis is because she had a lot of other developmental problems as well. I'm sure there are other factors at play. But if his medical care was in fact neglected as Scarlet has said, and his parents are pretty uninvolved/not advocating for him, then I doubt he would have a diagnosis. Though, in my experience, emotional/ psychological health is a much more common factor in obesity than physical health conditions, Scarlet has said that all aggravating conditions have been ruled out and essentially this is a matter of choices. Which I tend to think is true. But to be that overweight (and I am close) there has to be some disordered thinking somewhere. Especially if he has been given sound nutritional advice and is just not interested in following it, or able to control binge behavior.

Well crud. I've been waving to all my neighbors. Most of them wave back ( not all). Now I wonder if they think we're friends or something.

This thread has me a little teary, with a tightness in my chest. I would not be able to handle living in such a cold, unfriendly environment. I'm a warm, chatty person. I'd feel like the OP for sure. In our small town south of Phoenix, people are super friendly, Everyone knows everyone, their family, and all their business. But I've been struggling a bit building a friend network, because while people are generally pleasant enough, ( and my friends are all midwesterners), my husband pointed out that no one goes out of their way to make you comfortable like in Louisiana. And I suppose the same was true in Cali. There are levels of friendliness, and I think we all need a certain amount.

Huh. Electric Avenue is about crack. So that's a another thing. Electric Avenue in Venice Beach was notorious for crack houses.

This. Plus, only texting people they have met in person. Friends from town, classmates, cousins. No adults. We also have the talk about not downloading any social media apps that I have not approved ( Facebook is fine, KIK, snap chat, Tinder are not). No friending people they have not met IRL and no adults.

Aw, I haven't been around much. Stepping back from the virtual world. Summer is a busy time for us. Tempe is about 45 minutes to an hour for us. I would be super thrilled to meet up with you for kayaking!

Are you that far from Tempe Town Lake? That's about how far we are. I know they have kayak rentals. I can't wait to try it when it cools off.

I've rarely taken a class, but I've been doing yoga on my own since I was 16. I don't spend nearly enough time with it as I'd like. a few minutes a day, if I'm lucky. It helps with chronic pain, poor posture ( I have some spine things), weak core, etc. I just have to be really careful not to dislocate anything. It's less likely with gentle exercise, but does still happen. No PX90 for me. Scrap, why hot yoga? I joke that I do hot yoga because I do it outside. Today is over, hallelujah. We got up this morning and did school. Luna had her very first dance class this morning, then straight to the library in the next town for an escape room for the teens. The little boys did snap circuits and I read to Luna. We replenished our stock of books. The little boys are in that tenuous phase where I have to choose their books very carefully. a little too easy and they are bored and stagnate, a little too hard and they get discouraged. Then home for lunch. I'm revamping our budget and meal plan. We have been spending WAY too much on takeout, quick bites, lunches out, and just unnecessary small purchases. I sorted my spending last night and was not pleased with myself. So PB and J for lunch and homemade chinese for dinner using the leftover/unused veg in the fridge. My 7 year old had his first real dance class tonight. He is self-conscious and nervous, but he worked very hard and participated very well. I'm proud of him. Luna is having a screamy day ( there have been many lately). She napped twice and screamed again at bedtime. Ugh. I hate it. My nerve are so frazzled. I must prefer water to mountains. I've never lived in a place where the mountains are a summer time destination until now. I grew up on the beach. We spend our summers at a series of pools. I love exercise of all kinds, save ball sports. I can play, but I don't prefer it. I like to walk and run, bike, swim, hike, calisthenics, heavy lifting, body sculpting, circuit training, dance, pilates, aerobics, roller blading, ice skating. I've done it all. My joints, though have put some hard limits on my activities. Too many injuries. Too much pain. I just can't do most of those things anymore. Yoga, walking, occasional running, body weight workouts. I love planks and squats. I like to do those 30 day challenges where you build up to a two minute plank or 200 squats a day. Feels so good. I joined a gym just to try out the toys. I now have a foam roller, yoga blocks, stretchy band, kettlebell. I'm learning barre, which is super fun. after the summer is over I want to do Zumba classes in my neighborhood. So much fun. Of course, I'm not doing a lot of this stuff. I'm nursing some sciatica and fighting a head cold. But hey. I do what I can. I looked up yoga for sinuses and sciatica, and I've been doing those with great success.

I want to, but I'm such an intense bargain shopper, I always buy what we need for less before I place the order. The stock changes. So if you put something in your basket and come back for it later, or you buy something and want it again, it may not be there. A friend orders from Brandless and I've been quite impressed with the quality.

I don;t think you can enforce limits when no one is there without taking more extreme measures than you are comfortable with. You could give a list of requirements or suggestions. Chores, projects, reading assignments, etc. But you would have to trust them to actually follow the list and enforce consequences if they don't or make it optional. When I leave my teens unattended, I give them a list of tasks/assignments to finish before I get back. I don't enforce it strictly, but I do expect them to do most of what I ask, and there will be consequences if they do little or none of what I ask. I know that they will play playstation and watch youtube. Guaranteed. But I hope they do some laundry and finish their schoolwork first.

I was thinking about trying it again this morning. I didn't like that it was hard for me to break purchases up into different categories. For instance, at one store, I buy school supplies, food, and household goods, all three different categories, but I didn't find an easy way to split it up. Does anyone know if this can be done easily? D chose this app because we can share, but I only want to track my own spending. He doesn't need to see it. I think for me, it will be easier to do it in my bullet journal.

I painted them a fun, bright color. I'm glad we got cheap tables, because they have already endured pen, marker, paint. They are our only indoor tables, in the kitchen, where we do school. They aren't going to impress anyone, but we live in a cinderblock cabin. Nothing is going to impress anyone. I bought a bunch of mismatched used chairs, and painted them fun colors as well.

We had central air put in our first summer here. I don't know how the previous owners managed, but I have heard there was originally a swamp cooler ( primitive AC) and a window unit after that. It was built in 1972 of a single layer of uninsulated cinderblock. It's basically a pizza oven. Our Louisiana house had no AC but was built for heat in the 1800s. It originally had an attic fan, was built off the ground, Shaded by pine trees. Sun porches. Shotgun style to allow air flow though open doors. Outdoor kitchen. The master bedroom was originally outside.

NM I clearly don't know what I'm talking about.

Barefoot shoes for me. my arthritis is WAY better since I stopped wearing regular shoes.

We are doing a lot of these this summer. It's got and we need refreshing drinks. Our favorites: Italian soda- sparkling water, torani syrup, ice, splash of cream of desired Virgin sangria- use cranberry, white grape, or Apple juice (or other) in place of wine Fruit slush- single packet of fruit juice powder, ice, water, blend. I have a little smoothie blender. This is our favorite. So easy zero calories, endless variations. We sometimes throw in vanilla protein powder. Fruity lemonade/limeade- chop some fruit or herbs, add to lemonade and/ or drizzle a little syrup

I bought two Ingos for approximately $300. I can change the arrangement (side by side vs end to end) as I see fit. They are not great quality, but they fit my budget and my room.

To clarify, we do a lot of one-day type stuff. Homeschool skating, ice skating, hiking, art festivals, craft classes, musical events, puppet shows, science classes, town parties, lots LOTS of swimming, preschool play, co-op, park days, game days, trampoline parks, indoor rock climbing, and on and on. But none of these require a commitment. OP something to consider is WHY does she need all these things? Music can be taught at home. Put on some classical music and read about the composer. Sing folk songs together. Maybe invest in a lap harp. Physical fitness can be attained in so many different (and more effective) ways than a structured class. Take her out for a walk, a bike ride, a swim, have a dance party, do yoga together, do a fun exercise video together. These are practical, sustainable activities that are more likely to stay with her for life than playing t ball. Obviously, for a social outlet, you do need something stable outside of the house. I think Girl Scouts are great for that. And possibly once she isn't feeling so burned out by all the other things, she might be able to look forward to and enjoy it more. However, there are other ways to meet that need as well so girl scouts isn't necessary if it isn't a good fit.

For groceries, picnics, etc, I try to pack less melty foods-no chocolate- and keep a cooler in my van trunk that we can throw a couple of ice packs in to keep things from getting too melty.I sometimes drive an hour or more for groceries, so I try to organize my trips so the food goes in the car last, and we head straight home after. I've done my shopping and had all my produce spoil on the way home before ?

I have four of these, that I wear under a light weight cotton shift if I need to be outdoors. https://www.wish.com/product/58c8da03195a30788436e146 Most of my clothes come from Goodwill, Walmart or Family Dollar, because that's what we have here. Last year I ordered 4 Hanes cotton t shirts and 4 pairs of these shorts, https://www.walmart.com/ip/Women-s-Essential-French-Terry-Bermuda-Shorts/975647174 all in black and dark grey. Not terribly flattering, but they cover my butt, and they were reasonably cool and comfortable. This year, I'm feeling more adventurous. I'm wearing a lot of sundresses, a couple of pairs of capri leggings-I like Danskin-with simple tank tops, and some running shorts with support panties and tank tops..

Can I get a link? Luna Moon pushes her clip all the way up or all the way down. I never notice until we stop to get her out.

I read it in 9th grade. I found it a deeply enriching story. But I was a rough and worldly 14 year old. My oldest read it about the same age, and found it unsurprising. He's a bit cynical. I have assigned it my 12 year old this year. I think he will enjoy it. I'm honestly surprised by all the hate for this book. I didn't find it particularly graphic or dark. I find it important for cultural references, and discussion of what anarchy truly means. I: don't find the theme of the book untruthful. We have 4 boys. We reference this book often.

We do a lot of short term activities at that age. A one day dance class or a one week sports clinic. I don't think it's fair to expect a child to understand the commitment of a monthly or longer session. I'll echo the others that four is too many. My kids take turns, and only one thing at a time. It ends up being maybe 3 to 4 a year.