:grouphug: Praying for you and your family.

There is nothing wrong with hiring someone to help around the house. If you and I are anything alike (and likely we are!) the kids and school and appointments take priority over the house. It's not a failure to delegate or hire out those lower priority items. There is only so much of you available and it sounds like you are directing your energy to the right places. If this allows you to spend more time with your DH, then go for it. And enjoy it! We had someone come clean twice a month for nearly five years. It was a huge blessing and it was one of the things things that allowed me to start homeschooling and keep my part-time job. We don't have her come anymore, but my kids are older now and while we are still busy, we have less of the crazy around here and the kids are actually helpful at this point. You are not a failure. You sound quite awesome. :grouphug:

DH worked as a waiter through college. He's a big tipper. I usually tip 20% unless the service was lousy.

I got a 93%. I'm typically pretty good at recognizing faces. Probably won't remember your name, though....

We left the DC area a few years ago (we lived in Centreville.) I considered us to be an hour west of the city from where we were. There wasn't a time of day (except perhaps the middle of the night) when we could have made it downtown in less than an hour. The areas you mentioned are BEAUTIFUL and I love, love that area. The cost of living in the DC area is high with respect to housing, but I don't feel other costs to be that bad. We pay more in taxes in PA than in VA (property taxes, income tax) but less in sales tax. I don't think food, etc. is that much more expensive than anywhere else I've lived (mainly east coast.)

We use unitprints.com for internet orders, costco for things to pick up (which I see you don't have.) Unit prints has been awesome - they were recommended to use by a photographer that did our family pics. I was very happy with the quality, and they are very reasonably priced.

We've had 8 or 9 years of granite counter tops between 2 different houses. One light granite, one dark. Both have been ridiculously easy to care for. I've never resealed anything, no stains or anything of that nature. Not sure why people complain?

When we were shopping for a new home, we referred to the soaking tubs as the "BST"....the big, stupid tub. I have a huge triangle-shaped BST in my master bath and we plan on getting rid of it when we remodel. It's a complete waste of space....takes up the entire corner of the bathroom. The kids used to use it on occasion, but they prefer showers now. I would much prefer to have a larger shower, and I would certainly buy a house that had a shower instead of the BST.

We used to go down to DC on the 4th when we lived in the area. It is a fantastic experience. The Smithsonian puts on a great exhibition kind of thing on the mall, the theme changes yearly. We usually got a hotel room in the city....the metro is INSANELY CROWDED after the fireworks end. We usually just sat around, waited for the crowds to thin, and walked back to our hotel. We got there mid-afternoon to save a spot with our blanket. We usually tried to stay on the Capitol end of the mall. Less crazy. If you do metro out after the fireworks, it's worth walking to a stop away from the mall. You have a better chance of getting on, though you'll still probably have to stand. Enjoy your trip, it's a wonderful place to visit!

The last time we went, we had 5 kids age 6 and under (not all ours, we went with another family.) So 5 boys, ages 6,5,3,2, and 7 months. It was awesome. We filled our days and they loved every minute. Most days, we stayed until the park closed. We had strollers for naps, if needed, an ergo for baby, and we brought our own food/drinks. Coordinating that many kids for meals would have been a nightmare, but having food to pass out when someone got hungry was a lifesaver.

Build a shed in the backyard so I can have my garage back. Put in our pantry (!) in the kitchen. I'm more excited about the pantry. Do some prep work for school next year. Other than that, we're pretty well booked this summer.

That's where I learned to drive, as well. My first day of "behind the wheel" class we were on the beltway, at rush hour. I was fairly certain we were all going to die. That said, if you can learn to drive in traffic like that, you can drive anywhere.

I'm no help, we own 2 Kia Sedonas (a 2007 and a 2013.) Both have been great and we have had no major issues with either. Just routine maintenance. Our older model is no-frills and our newer one has all the bells and whistles. Both have the fold-in-the-floor back seats so I feel like the storage space in the trunk is great.

We've done weekly lessons with practice time in between. I have at least one kid that would have balked at daily lessons. I think it depends on the age, as well. In our family, I think my older kids could do daily lessons just fine.

I had a North Face backpack that I used through high school, college, nursing school, traveling, and parenting. It finally gave up the ghost last fall when a sippy cup full of old chocolate milk exploded in a side pocket and I couldn't get rid of the smell (it was DH's fault and he was very, very sorry.) It was a good bag and well worth whatever my parents paid for it. That said, I'm very fond of the L.L. Bean backpacks. All of my kids have them and have used them for several years and they look great. The bags last forever.

Batter bowl, mix 'n chop thingy, and stoneware. Those are my top 3 and I use them nearly every day.

This, except I've had decent luck with off-brand toner from Amazon. It's a great printer.

I got wrong # phone calls for SIX YEARS for a lady named Gina. Gina gave my cell phone number to her employers and they called all.the.time. Gina was a terrible employee. She worked at a nursing home and was frequently late and sometimes she didn't show up at all. We got lots of calls at midnight, asking where Gina was for her 11pm shift. That was really obnoxious. We tried for years (did I mention it took SIX YEARS?) to get her employer to change her phone number. She never did. I'm not sure why they continued to call, since every single conversation included the fact that one, this wasn't Gina's number, and two, I had no idea who Gina was. I spoke with their nursing supervisor, I had cease and desist papers sent by an attorney friend of mine....nothing worked. I suggested that maybe they should fire Gina. She really seemed like a lousy employee. Finally, after six years, we moved and got a new cell phone number. Bye-bye Gina! The kids still ask about her from time to time.

Pretty, lovely fridge but waaaay unrealistic for my crowd. I do like to prep food ahead of time, though, and our days go more smoothly when I do. I've done the mason jar salad thing, but I use the foodsaver attachment and vaccum seal the jars. They stay fresh for at least a week. I can't imagine that storing them without the vacuum would prolong their life all that much.

:grouphug: and prayers for you and your lovely daughter. Hoping she can feel better soon!

Looks good, thank you!

I wanted to be a nurse when I was younger but got distracted and majored in nearly everything in college other than nursing. After 4 years in college, about 180 college credits, and no degree, I decided to go to nursing school. It's been a wonderful career, not very exciting or glamorous, but fulfilling and flexible. I've worked in the hospital on a neuroscience unit, as a computer instructor, as a CPR instructor, and most recently I work both in the ER and in the logistics department of the hospital (an office job!) I've never had to have my kids in daycare, though my mom does babysit for me on occasion, and I'm able to homeschool my kids. It's been a blessing.

I can sympathize. We end up with way too much stuff. Family members are constantly giving us things. Just this weekend, my mom unearthed a clown costume that was mine in the 6th grade. Do I want it? Nope. Did I tell her this? Yep. Will I probably end up with it? Yep. The last time my brother visited our house, he went into my basement (unfinished, full of shelves and boxes and just tons of stuff.) His comment? "Wow, it's like a third-world Walmart down there." Gee, thanks, little bro.

I have known this for a long time, thanks to my goofy mom, and having this random bit of knowledge has served me well - I won a trivia contest on a Southwest flight when I was in college because I knew what an aglet was. Got a free paperback that someone left on the plane. Pretty awesome. My kids know about it (and can spell it) thanks to the fabulous Phineas and Ferb song.

We have twice weekly pickup for garbage, once weekly recycling pickup, large items are once a week, yard waste is monthly. We can put out 2 cans (or 2 items) at a time. Extra bags/cans/items need a sticker from the township, costs about $2 each. We pay about $30 a month.