I’m honestly surprised by this thread. I mean, I obviously know that people damage cars all the time and just drive off. When I was newly married and lived in an apartment complex, someone hit my car and caused a big dent. I never did find out who did it (and I was too poor to fix it). But it just seems like common sense that if you damage someone’s property, you offer to repair the damage. And I would consider a little ding with a car door to be damage as well (anything that leaves a mark). I don’t think it is fair to allow paranoia that someone may share your ds’s phone number to outweigh doing the right thing - which is owning up to any damage that your ds may cause to another vehicle while driving.

We live in WV. Close cities that would be easiest for us would be Cincinnati and Columbus, OH. We do have family near Minneapolis/St. Paul, so we could look into that area as well. The only reason I even signed up for the Joffrey audition is because the director sent us an email about it. How would we go about learning about other (maybe smaller?) summer intensive opportunities?

Oh yes...she has worked so hard since starting at this studio and it is because she wanted pointe shoes so badly. And it was kind of fun because the studio director and a few dance friends surprised dd (and two other girls who passed their test) at the dance store. Dd didn’t know why we were going. When we walked in, everyone was there and yelled surprise. It was a fun experience. 😊

Huh...that’s what I was worried about. Originally I thought that just auditioning would be a good experience. I didn’t really think that dd would be chosen (and I talked with her about this before signing up - would she like to audition even if she wasn’t asked to participate?). I wish I had done a bit more research before moving forward with this.

Oh no...dd tried on many different shoes before choosing the ones that were best for her. They didn’t have the size she needed though; it was determined that she needed a half size larger than a specific shoe and the dance store didn’t have that size available. The dance studios director also came with us to help make sure that we chose the correct shoes.

My best friend was diagnosed as bipolar. She had all of the symptoms and there was no question that she had it. Probably two years or so after being diagnosed, she became ill (she had had a hysterectomy and just wasn’t healing well). She had a bad cough and they suspected pneumonia, so she had a chest X-ray. The X-ray showed some spots on her lungs which led to a ct scan. In a weird round about way, they determined that she had adrenal cancer, which had already spread to her lungs and her bones. It was determined that she did not have bipolar disorder. She was 36 when all of this happened. She passed away shortly there after. It was a very sad situation.

My dd (age 11) is just starting to become serious about dance this year. We live in a rural area (in a rural state!) and while there are several dance studios around, they weren’t what I wanted for dd (most focus on competition, little ballet training, etc). Dd has danced on and off over the years and as I’ve tried to get her interested in other things, she always comes back to dance. Last summer, she tried a different studio and fell in love. They are much more serious with a focus on ballet, but I seriously doubt that the studio even compares to what many of you have available. Dd has worked hard - she takes two ballet classes, tech and prepointe. She also assists with some lower level classes, which has been good for her. She takes a private lesson with the director once a week and practices often. She found out before Christmas that she passed her pointe shoe test and we are going to pick up her shoes tomorrow (they had to be ordered from the dance store). I am a newbie dance mom and still struggle with doing simple things - like a ballet bun (dd has long, very wavy hair and is very tender-headed). Anyway, a few weeks ago I got an email from our studio about a Joffrey audition. I didn’t do anything with it and honestly forgot about it. On the last day to sign up I received a text from the studio director asking why dd hadn’t signed up to audition. I happen to be sick that day with the stomach bug, so after a few texts I just went online and signed her up, thinking that it will be a good learning experience. Then I learn that each girl needs a photo of a leap and arabesque and my studio hired a professional photographer to take those photos. Okay, so I will pay for that (my little learning experience for dd is getting more expensive). Finally, last night it occurred to me that since I was sick when I initially signed dd up, I never looked at the website to see where these intensives take place. Oh my...NYC, San Francisco, Georgia!? These places are FAR from where we live. I had assumed that dd wouldn’t be chosen because she is a bit behind in tech (but catching up every day!), but in my research I also saw that it isn’t very difficult to be chosen For a Joffrey intensive. Anyone have any knowledge about this? Like I said, I’m new to all of this and while our little studio is busy, they are just so tiny compared to others. Would love to hear your thoughts!!!

Prayers. ❤️

Same!!! I’ve learned something new today (the term “stunt undies”)!

I’m trying to set a few simple goals that I can (hopefully) stick with. If I’m successful, my plan is to add more goals as the year progresses. For now, my goals are: - write in gratitude journal daily (list 3 items) - weekly meal plan (and stick with it!) - continue to use YNAB for budgeting - take my dog for a daily walk

I’m so sorry. ❤️

This made me think...my best friend and her family came to our house last night to celebrate Christmas with us. She and I grew up next door to each other so we shared many childhood memories. When BFF arrived, she surprised me by bringing the Nintendo (old school) that she had received for Christmas. We spent the evening laughing while playing Super Mario Brothers and our husbands were so funny playing Techmo Bowl. Our (teen) kids were looking at us like we were nuts. It was like we went back in time and it was FUN!!! (I’m going to Walmart today to buy myself one!)

Our mall has a little kiosk in the center that sells squishies. They are the “good ones” (according to dd).

My 11 yo dd has always wanted a giant stuffed animal...she was so excited and surprised this morning! This is my super girly dd, who asked for makeup and clothes for Christmas (which she also got). I was so happy that the giant monkey ended up being her favorite gift!!!

Cinnamon rolls (not homemade, but Rhodes brand...they have to rise so they taste a bit more homemade), bacon, eggs, biscuits, hash brown casserole, and fruit. We don’t have a big Christmas meal later in the day, so brunch is bigger. My parents always come and eat with us too, which makes it special.

Merry Christmas!!!

What a great article!! I would love to do this next year. Thanks for the ideas!

Thank you! I actually searched for dessert threads before posting and for some reason this one didn’t show up for me. Off to read it now!

My church Bible study group is having a last minute potluck on Sunday. I offered to bring a dessert. Any suggestions? I will be making a few different Christmas cookies for my family (Reese cup cookies, cranberry white chocolate cookies, and Oreo balls), but I’d rather not take cookies to this gathering. I’d love some type of dessert that isn’t too difficult. Can the Hive help??

Trader Joe’s makes single serve coconut oil packets! Link to Amazon

Same!

I would definitely get her something bigger that 16gb. With only 16gb she would run out of room quickly with apps and especially photos.

This is the regular, family version: Exploding Kittens this is one of my family’s very favorite games to play. The cards are funny, but not inappropriate.

The school is very small (about 250 kids total in grades K-12). Ds tries to go over lunch (which is 30 minutes), but he doesn’t always have to go. Also, this teacher will certainly mark the students as tardy if they are late to class, so that has been an issue as well. I mentioned previously that there are a few new, very young teachers at the school and this is one of them. These teachers are struggling with classroom management. We have a new principal this year so the school revamped their discipline policy (demerit system). From talking to other parents I’m finding that students are regularly getting demerits In these young teachers’ classes, but not in their other classes. Sadly, I just talked to a friend/other parent who is moving her three boys to the public school after Christmas because she was so concerned that her one son (in my ds class) was going to get expelled for forgetting his pencil and talking in class. This family has always been a great supporter of our school and I am so sad to see them leave. I really think the problem here is lack of classroom management skills. They are teaching kids who aren’t that much younger and just don’t have the skills to manage the class properly. I will admit that ds’s class is a very close group. They are all friends and are very social. I’ve also been told that as a group, they are very intelligent and tend to get bored easily. So I don’t doubt at all that the teachers may need to find creative ways to manage the class. But the more seasoned teachers aren’t having this problem, so there must be other options out there. I don’t claim to know the answer (I’m not a teacher!) but not allowing a kid to use the bathroom seems like a silly class management system to me.

I guess I will be the lone poster who likes it! We have two Targets in my area and the one that I frequent hasn’t remodeled yet (honestly, I didn’t even know that the Target stores were doing a huge remodel!). I had to stop by the other Target store just the other day to get some makeup and other beauty supplies for dd (for a dance performance). I loved the makeup section! It felt so nice and the way that everything was laid out made it more fun to shop around. Since I was only shopping for makeup, I didn’t go through the entire store, so maybe if I was shopping for toilet paper and cleaning supplies I would have felt differently. But dd and I (along with my mom), enjoyed the more upscale feel when we were there. That being said, what is up with the new puke green store front? Weird and super ugly!