I attend a church with about 1,500 regular attenders. This is exactly the system we use. I have also works at the registration desk, helping to check kids in or sign up new families, for several years. We haven’t lost a kid yet!

I’m so sorry. (((hugs)))

For my family…the tax credit is based on income. Dh was unemployed for 9 months in 2020 and they will base what we receive for the child tax credit on 2020 income. Dh is back to work now (in the oil & gas industry) and I actually got a raise this year (first raise I’ve received in over five years!). So, thankfully, our income looks different this year than it did in 2020. However, opting out is a pain, so we will just stash the money in our savings account and have it available if we end up owing a portion of it back when we file our 2021 taxes.

For 2021, children who are 17 on Dec 31, 2021 qualify for the tax credit! I have a 17 year old this year and was expecting to get nothing for him, so I’m pretty excited. I haven’t read anything about the credit being prorated based on age though. Of course all of this depends on your income as well.

I’m also not opting out. However, since dh was unemployed for most of 2020 (which is the year they base the advance tax credit on), I am just going to put the money in a savings account, earmarked for taxes if necessary. This way we will have the money next spring if we do end up owing. I originally went online with the intent to opt out, but it was a pain so I decided that it is probably for us to just take the advance money and save it.

Yes…Snuggle Puppy!!! I completely forgot about that book until reading about it here. That was a fave at my house (too many) years ago. Also Sandra Boynton’s Belly Button Book. (This thread is making me want to dig up my old board books that I’ve saved for “some day” and read them again. Memories!!!)

Goodnight Moon is the book that we wore out and had to buy a new copy. I have to add, if you are a Christian, the Jesus Storybook Bible is wonderful and I always add this to baby gifts.

I would! I bought a sofa from Costco a few years back and because we don’t have a Costco locally, I ordered it sight unseen. It has been a great sofa and I’m so glad we ordered! We also don’t have a ton of furniture stores available, so we do what we have to do.

I know this is an older post, but I’m replying because I have also seen ads for these products and I’m curious. I have straight hair but my 13 yo dd has long, wavy hair. We are always looking for the perfect product for her hair, so I’m curious to know if anyone has tried LUS?

Ugh…leaving for vacation at the beach tomorrow. For some strange reason, this year I purchased several different brands of sunscreen. For instance, our Kroger closed (moved to a new location) and had a 50% off sale on the last day. By the time I made it there, I found a few different brands and just purchased what they had. Anyway, I am packed and ready to go…now I’m wondering if I should unpack my sunscreen and see if they made the list?

I love listening to podcasts but I’d like to find a new app to listen through. I find the Apple podcast app to be too messy. I downloaded the Pocket Casts app and like it, but it doesn’t download all episodes of all the podcasts I listen to (some of the smaller podcasts don’t have all episodes available). Also, I find that some podcasts skip ahead in this app, which is annoying. Anyone have a (iPhone) podcast app that you love?

Thank you both so much! In normal times, I probably wouldn’t freak out (too much), but right now, I’m just stressed. Finding that tick felt like just one. more. thing. I will write it on my calendar so I remember the date and will watch it over the next few weeks.

I just took a shower and found a tick on my leg. I showered and shaved my legs yesterday evening and it definitely wasn’t there then, so it’s been less than 24 hours for sure. We have a dog, so She likely brought it into the house. We saved the tick and my husband thinks it is a lone star tick. My husband pulled it off with tweezers and it came off easily. What should I do now?? I am dealing with some other medical issues (possible cancer diagnosis) so this is just pushing me over the edge. I live in WV, which is a Lyme disease state, which makes it worse. I have read a bunch online, but I’m still unsure of what to do.

Thanks everyone! I’m going to look into these suggestions.

Oh how I would love to visit Hawaii! But $$$, ya know? Colorado would also be great. We live in WV and haven’t traveled much in the western part of the US. But we need to do this trip in March, and like you, I want to vacation in warm weather.

I’m trying to plan a vacation for spring break 2022 and need some help getting started. My family is dh and me, with two kiddos who will be 18 and 14 next March. I want to plan a really fun vacation before ds graduates and we have always wanted to do something for spring break. We haven’t vacationed a ton, but normal vacations have been visiting family in MN or going to Myrtle Beach (family has a house there which always made it convenient). One summer we went to the Outerbanks and allowed each kid to take a friend (that was a super fun vacation). This summer we are going to Myrtle Beach again, but this time for dd’s dance team. We are allowing ds to take a friend since dd will have her dance friends there. I would like to come up with some options to give to the family. Something fun! The beach would be great, but not just lying around on the beach (everyone would be bored and kids would wish they had friends with us). Something that will keep us busy and active I was thinking about maybe an all-inclusive resort somewhere like the Caribbean (this is what dd is requesting). Would there be enough fun activities for all four of us? I would love to hear of other suggestions. Any ideas? I am looking forward to planning this trip with dh and the kids. We have all been so focused on our own lives lately and it will be great to have something exciting to share.

I have had problems with this site for the past few months. It is s-l-o-w to load a new page. Typically, I get tired of waiting and just give up. I am always using my iPhone, so the safari app. My iPhone is an 11 and has the most up to date operating system. I also clear my cache regularly. Still super slow.

Ds (17) is depressed and we have been dealing with this for a year now. Would love to pm with someone who has gone through this and is on the other side. It is so hard.

I am having the same issue. I always login to the site on my iphone, but. Is slow slow these days that I rarely stop by anymore. It is only this website...all other sites load quickly like normal.

My very small office now has Covid (I work from home in another state, so wasn’t even exposed). There are 5 people in my office...the person who brought it into the office worked on the Monday before Christmas and didn’t go in the rest of the week (planned time off for the holidays). He had no symptoms until Christmas Eve night. By Christmas night he knew he was sick and he had a rapid test the next day (Saturday) and tested positive. He called the other members of my office and they all tested that same day (no symptoms for any of them). Two tested positive and two tested negative. Is it strange that the employee exposed the office on Monday and didn’t even have symptoms until Thursday night? I guess that’s three full days, but it seems like a long time. I guess that is part of the reason this is so contagious...if you can spread it for several days prior to being symptomatic.

I’m tentatively planning a beach vacation for the summer. We would drive, which makes me feel a bit better about it. I am making sure any deposits we make are refundable as we get closer, however I’m trying to be optimistic that by summer things may have improved.

I’m so sorry. Prayers for all of you as you deal with this. Do you care to share what your doctor friend told you?