I appreciate that! I just don't know what we're doing wrong. Our appliances do get heavy use because we have a large family, but we're careful with the bins. I just don't get why they break so easily for us.

The Hive knows everything. . . I have had the worst luck with fridge door bins. They're just so cheap and break so easily. This happened with both my LG and my Samsung. And the replacements are so expensive. We're really pretty good about not overloading them, but they just do not last. Can anyone recommend options for my Samsung? What I would really like are metal mesh replacements, but those don't seem to be possible. Are there suction cups ones that would be decent? Or something else I have not thought of? We *can* live without them, but it's really annoying not to have them.

Did not read the other responses. I was that kid. I still am that kid. I want the gold star, the good grade. It has its perks, but it's not always easy, and I am a super sensitive person whose heart is easily bruised, no thick skin here at all. I would suggest getting your kid a therapist who can help him find and set boundaries, and to think about what HE wants and needs, how to give and care without depleting himself, how to balance all of it.

This is amazing and accurate advice. OP, could you consider something like Study.com just to get the subject done? Faced with perhaps less than your ideal versus nothing at all, I would opt for less than your ideal because done beats not done IMO. At some point, your student has to own their education with regards to college. If your student simply isn't ready for college, for whatever reason, your student isn't ready. That's a bridge that you may need to cross later, but right now, maybe the most important thing is just to get the class done in whatever way gets it done.

Ah, okay. Thank you so much! I had not gotten that far because I was just using the estimator since I hadn't talked to my kiddo yet, and the estimator did not make that clear.

Many years ago, I had a work-study grant. A lot of the choicest jobs on campus -- the kind where you sat at a desk and answered questions occasionally but were free to study otherwise -- were work-study only. For me, it meant that I got to work in the on campus daycare and get paid for it, and they were flexible and arranged my hours around my classes each semester. And that job directly netted me experience and recommendations for a full-time nanny position after graduation. So perhaps you can talk to prospective colleges about what sorts of things are available.

Question. . . I'm new to the FAFSA this year (well, from the parent side!) but DS1 is considering his options for the fall. It looks like right now, for the 24-25 FAFSA, I would use 2022 income? If I wait to fill out the FAFSA until after we file our 2023 taxes, would I use the 2023 income instead, or is it 2022 income regardless? One may be more advantageous than the other, so if I do have the choice, I want to make sure I do it right.

Was coming to suggest this, as well as the sequels. My 10 and 12 yos really like them.

Just wanted to send you a hug, GardenMom. I don't get to get on the boards much so I'm not up on all of the things you may have shared, but it sounds like a very complicated and difficult situation. I can imagine you have a lot of mixed emotions surrounding this child's sudden visit -- love and hugs.

Which BP med do you take? Some of them make you tired because they reduce heart rate. There are like eleven classes of meds, though, that all work differently in your body, with various options within each class, so you might ask about switching those. For instance, I think labetalol is not often used outside of pregnancy and lactation, but it is a beta blocker that reduces heart rate, and I did notice fatigue on it. On the other hand, calcium channel blockers tend to be less associated with fatigue. So you might ask about trying something else, especially if it is not well controlled (and consistent 90 diastolics would not make my nephrologist happy).

Our DD's BFF lives quite far away, so they were not able to get together. But DH and I took DD out for a super fancy meal at a local historic restaurant, one that DH and I had only been to once before for an anniversary. We are okay with moderate alcohol, so DH did introduce her to a few drinks, but it would have been a special meal and memory even without the alcohol. She really enjoyed the chance to dress up and be grown up with us, and we enjoyed lavishing the attention on her too. (Note: DH also took *me* out for my 21st birthday, to a local historic tavern -- different location, near our college -- so that was pretty neat, and DD is the kind of kid who appreciates a good sentimental tradition.)

I was just coming to suggest Onitama!

This. In our area, a gift card to Giant means I can spend it on gas, regular groceries, cookie-baking ingredients, low prep meals, or snacks. . . All of that would be time or money savings for me and/or would allow us to do some extra things without stressing as much. That would be an amazing gift. It may sound impersonal, but I would read it as "this person cares to make my life a little easier and is also getting good bang for their buck."

Long story, several factors, but yes.

Seconding Azul! My husband and kids, even the teens, love it! Other favorites with various people at my house (usually me, DD21, DS15, DS12, and DS10): Flamecraft (cute dragons, funny puns, fun but not excessively hard), Ticket to Ride (New York is quicker, Japan is interesting, etc.), Sheriff of Nottingham (I don't love this one but my kids think it's fantastic and funny), Castles of Mad King Ludwig (12yo and I like this one a ton). Oh, I forgot Leaf -- it's newer but also beautiful. My art-loving 10 and 12 yos like Musee and Antiquity Quest. Exploding Kittens and Seven Dragons are both ones my kids request a lot. They also like Sushi Go, Ramen Fury, and Just Desserts. Other fun games: Pyramix, Calico (this is cuddly cats and pretty colors, but my 10yo son likes it), Hues and Cues, Dragonrealm, Qwix, LineUp, Onitama (only two players though), and Rock, Paper, Switch. A fandom-based Clue or Flux could be fun too if they have a shared fandom.

I will have to follow this because my on 12yo voracious reader adores everything Tolkien, Harry Potter, Narnia, Percy Jackson, Redwall. . . It's been a few years, but we loved the Chronicles of Prydain. My boys have all liked Ranger's Apprentice. Right now, my 12yo son is really enjoying The Gryphon Chronicles.

pretty much anything by Jan Brett

When to use A vs. B like which "they're/there/their," "discreet vs. discrete," etc. Run-on sentences, how to avoid, when to use conjunctions, commas, and semicolons. When to use "Jack and I" and when to use "Jack and me," because I am tired of hearing, "Give it to Jack and I" or "Jack and me will go." How to make things plural without using apostrophes. I think a video or a series of videos on "Top 10 books to read to/with your 8-year-old" or the like would be good. And/or "Five questions to ask your child about a book they just finished" or that sort of thing. I would do a video talking about the importance of reading aloud and audio books, even for school-age children, particularly those who are slower to read at grade level.

We are partial to a selection of pies, but I did do a lemon cheesecake one year and that was really nice.

Hahahahaha, no. I don't need him to, and he gets up several hours before I do. Even on weekends, he gets up well before I do, and I have to take my thyroid meds at least 30 minutes before coffee, so I don't need him to, or even want him to, make my coffee for me. We have a small coffee maker, and I like flavored coffee instead of his basic coffee too, so there's no reason for him to make mine. What I do appreciate is when he feeds the kids on the weekend morning so I can be more leisurely. (Again, he usually gets up a few hours before I do, and Mr. Four likes to get up after DH but before me and then go down and hang out with Daddy before all the big kids get up.)

Ohhhhh yessss to any of the Kratt brothers shows. Oh man, my now 10 and 12 yo boys adored them. And Rock the Park. Maybe a little much for kindergarten but the boys adored those videos at 7 and 9, and it gave them such an appreciation for the natural world. They're still telling me all sorts of random facts. We've watched some Bill Nye too. On YouTube, I think it's Free School that has some very nice, well done, kid oriented but not too cheesy, videos on science topics.

I have never seen GOT but have seen enough random shots and clips that I immediately thought that it resembles Daenerys a lot. It does seem like a very deliberate choice. And I would definitely not think she looks like Galadriel. I think if they wanted to go for "generic fantasy doll," they would have made other choices.

This list has tons of suggestions: https://www.nsta.org/outstanding-science-trade-books-students-k-12 Gail Gibbons has lots of books that my kids have enjoyed at around kindergarten: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=gail+gibbons&crid=1AI7OBCPKEJWR&sprefix=gail+gibb%2Caps%2C103&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_9 One year when my middle guys were about 2, 4, and 6, we ran through some of the stuff from Wee Folk Art, and that had some fun ideas. It helped ME not gloss over my smaller boys in favor of my tweens. https://weefolkart.com/homeschool/ We also have a lot of the journals from NaturExplorers from Our Journey Westward, and while I think they are better for older elementary and middle school, they also have ideas for younger kids. She has other nature study stuff too (and is all around just a nice and encouraging person): https://ourjourneywestward.com/nature-study-3/ I use a lot of DK Definitive Visual Guides with my tweens because they love art, and so the pictures draw them in to the text, but my four-year-old adores the pictures as well.

Khan, and I would also look at Study.com as well as Coursera.

This. I may or may not be interested at a lower price, but I am definitely not interested at that price. I live a couple of hours from DC, and we keep talking about doing a day trip. Our problem is that we want to do the Zoo, Cathedral, Art Gallery, and several other museums, so narrowing down is hard. ETA: I do identify as Christian, so the prospect of a museum of the Bible is somewhat interesting to me. I did not know a lot about it, so based on what people here are saying, even at a lower price, it would probably be a hard sell.