Ok, my ex is in prison....for life. I am still his POA, etc as his parents and brother are deceased and our kids are all cognitively impaired. That said, I manage some money that is there for him for things he needs. The kids want to send a few books for Christmas. I need ideas that fit the following parameters No books that feature minors in them...an occasional mention is ok, but nothing even like Huck Finn where a minor is a main character. If a religious book, conservative Christian He enjoyed war/strategy things like Hunt for Red October, etc Nothing R rated Any ideas for me?

For a bed, we bought a foldable frame from Walmart. Super easy to put together and sturdy. The Tuft and Needle mattress has been a huge hit here with my 2 kids that I bought them for. We bought a box spring from Amazon that I have been very happy with as well.

For towels, my Kohl's Big One towels have held up well. Watch for their big sales. For kitchen rags/towels, I found that the 12 pack of wash cloths from Walmart work great

Air drying helps the elastic last longer.

My MIL bought me a new Honda Mini van before she passed away. At that time the new Subaru Ascent was not yet released so I couldn't even consider that. Now I see they are out and they look really appealing....esp. for Michigan winter driving and the 5000 pound tow capacity with AWD. Right now, I am more dreaming than anything, but would love to hear from someone who has bought an Ascent or looked at one but passed on it for one reason or another. I do often need seating for at least 5-6 adults since none of my kids (or their friends) drive so a smaller Subaru isn't going to work for me.

The lighthouse in our town is on the end of a pier....just a short walk from the beach/state park, and a very pleasant walk down the boardwalk to downtown. Not isolated at all....in fact there would be thousands of people nearby all summer.

Can we move around? Like live in the lighthouse for 2-4 weeks and then move to the cabin in the woods for a month or 2 followed by the forest fire observation home on top of a mountain in Montana? Then follow up with a few weeks on the beach, some time on a house boat, etc. I might even take a month in downtown in a big city.

My situation is a bit different as my ex is in prison for life for sex offenses involving minors. It is a tough rode and maybe hers is harder in some ways. One book that was the best one for me to read during the terrible mess as It's Not Fair: Learning to Love the Life You Didn't Chose by Melanie Dale. She is a Christian, as am I, but she doesn't sugar coat things but rather tells it like it is. I appreciated that. She might be missing him, as a person, but maybe more so, missing what she has lost....a husband to care for her and parent with her, a full time dad for her kids, a partner to do things socially with, etc.

I am finishing off my basement to be a space for my special needs young adult kids. It will have 2 bedrooms, a living room area, kitchenette (no stove), and a 3/4 bath. The flooring will be a medium oak tone luxury vinyl plank flooring. The cabinets and trim will be white as are the doors. Ceiling will be a drop ceiling with LED "can" type lights....I think. What are some good paint colors to look at? My daughter would like a blue tone for the bathroom but the rest of the rooms can all be the same color. There will be no natural light in the kitchen and bath areas, a small window in the living area and then an egress window in each of the bedrooms. Upstairs I have a nice yellow/tan color that changes greatly with the amount of sunlight. It can appear more tan or a nice sunny yellow depending on the lighting. I love that and we could match it (no idea what the original paint color name was) but I am open to other colors as well.

THIS is an important one. Something never covered in my family of origin.

Yes, do NOT feel guilty about getting nothing done. Recharge and relax. Enjoy the quiet and time to yourself.

If this is an order on line thing I say you as it sounds like he will need to try on any shoes ....and at that age/stage they often jump sizes and skip over a size...or two.

I can almost run my life off my phone...banking, appointments, emails, DHHS and Social Security for my kids, etc. I just wish I knew how to control the phone better for my young adults with special needs who are swept up into every major drama there is

Not sure where you are looking/what you are looking for but I just started a full time job through our ISD working with special needs young adults. it is full time....37.5 hours a week, 194 days a year, paid holidays, 10 sick days, 2 personal days, and full benefits offered. Now, it isn't the highest end of the pay scale, but the work is very doable for this "old lady" and I really enjoy it. It also has a retirement component as well.

This is a tough one. In Michigan many foster kids get free college. Also, having resources in her name might prevent her from accessing other services/benefits. I would ask the workers. Maybe you could just set aside a small account yourself in your name. Also, think about if you want to continue fostering for years to come. If so, you could easily have 25, 50 or more kids coming through your home. Would you set up accounts for all of them?

So sorry for all that has gone on. Is there any chance that her urine showed semen or anything abnormal in it from the first test? I would also ask that they repeat the urinalysis and sent it out to be cultured. That is a huge cause of confusion in the elderly and maybe for some reason it didn't show up right away. How are her blood cultures? Any signs of sepsis? My older mother was hospitalized with that and was very out of it for days and still today doesn't remember about a week of her time at the hospital. I would also ask that the sexual assault team handle the criminal case as they are just trained better and have more experience than the run of the mill detectives.

Thanks for the ideas. I will check these out.

I have a 31 insulated lunch bag that I purchased years ago. It has served me well but the lining is peeling and has a tear at the top. I am looking for something similar to use for work. I would love something cute and fun but very functional. Ideally on Amazon and under $15 or so. Any suggestions on ones you love?

Glad things are improving. How is her sister doing? Have you applied for a difficulty of care rate for her? This should have been done long ago but it covers the extra care and supervision she needs due to her behaviors. It can be $5-15 (or more) extra dollars a day.

There are some phones on verizon that are reasonable and we have been able to keep our grandfathered in plan. Another option is to buy directly from Motorola if you are OK with an Android. you can get a decent one fro $200 or so and it makes sure it will work on Verizon.

Sounds like you enjoyed your day.

They are building a wheelchair ramp and deck today and tomorrow. Yesterday was sorting pallets of food for the food bank.

These guys (and gals) are doing serious hard work which I love.

Due to privacy, I can't post a picture (but I sure would love to). My son is on another mission trip, this time to NC, with a group from our church and the local University that partner together. It hit me last night that this group WELCOMES though with special needs. Out of the 6 young adults that went on the trip there is one with fetal alcohol/cognitive imparment, one with CP, severe speech impairment and LDs, a boy with some LD and physical issues due to Chernobyl, a brittle diabetic, and a paraplegic, and one that I don't know if he has any special needs. Three races are represented as well between these 6. Goes to show that everyone can do something.

Unless there are other concerns, I would say it is good language development. That can be a sign of autistic spectrum issues but there are lots of other things you would be seeing too.