You are in my thoughts.

We spend more on the military then the rest of the world combined. It is the largest part of our budget and is much higher then universal coverage or the safety net. We are targeted because of our interventionist foreign policy and our actions. Spending less on the military and changing foreign policy will make us safer.

The government does not run at twice the cost and half the efficiency for things like energy and education. Private companies and charities are not super efficient. I worked for charities that wasted tons of money just trying to get money. If you look on sites that discuss how much they take in and how much of it goes to the cause it is not efficient at all. Private education does not even have to accept all kids and it is not run super efficiently. All other industrialized nations have universal coverage and it costs MUCH less and is run efficiently.

I have been wanting move to New England anyway but I will be packing the bags if they implement a single payer system in New England.

6600 Individual 13,200 Family That is staying in network only. There is coinsurance after that. It is too high for us. The company does have an account where they buy it down thankfully.

I lament when we had better insurance and not a high deductible plan. I was so thankful then but I knew that way too many people did not have that. I am in the midst of a medical issue and it sucks to have to worry about the costs of needed procedures and I am sick just worrying about what we will owe and if everything will be approved and done by a network provider. The employer buys down the deductible but I am not sure if they buy down the max out of pocket because they switch plans so often and I am sure we will reach that. Small companies have much more expensive plans. We do put money in a flexible spending account but if we do not use it most of it will not roll over so it is a gamble in how much to put in and we cannot put the family deductibles never mind max out of pocket in every year especially since we could lose it. Most years we barely have medical costs. We got hit this year with both an uncovered medical expense for one child and a health issue that will not be long term but will be very expensive in one year and the year is not over yet. The flexible spending account was already drained. I buy all clothes used, we have very old vehicles that can go at any time plus house expenses that could come up. We have no room in the budget. If you look at the link nearly ten percent of people have no health insurance and many more have health insurance but still cannot afford the deductibles and coinsurance. You never know when a health issue can strike or if it is something that will be long term or with more then one family member. The system in this country does suck. I always advocated for a universal system that is not all private and employee based like every other industrialized nation manages. The health costs are much lower for everyone in those systems by a lot. No one should have to worry about medical costs and yes including mental health. Medical costs are a leading cause of bankruptcy.

The Nursing Mom's Companion was good. LLL has gotten much better through the years it seems at least my local group has. The local group has moms asking questions about weaning, supplementing and what to to about low supply with no judgemental remarks. I do not need to be on that group any more but I have not had to drop it because of judgement like other groups.

They did not do a scan to see the size they just sent me home with a prescription. I asked about what if it is too big and they said they now have everyone try to pass it and if it is not passing or things change to go back. I am a little leery about that. I am not even sure what kind I had last time.

I am usually a skeptic but I am willing to try stuff especially if it can be easily found and has worked for others. Anything is worth a shot if it can get it to pass or dissolve.

I woke up this morning with a horrible back pain on my lower left side followed by nausea. I had kidney stones over 10 years ago and I was worried it was a stone. The pain got up to a 10 and I went to the ER and it is a kidney stone. They gave me tordal (sp?) which got it to manageable levels and gave me a prescription for an ibuprofen and something to help with the stone. I am skeptical that ibuprofen will be enough for the pain. I am looking up ways of it passing and lemon and olive oil is one of the recommended things. Hit me up with your advice on what helps it pass quickly as possible. I live nowhere near a roller coaster so that is not an option. I had one nearly 11 years ago and they removed it after the second pain attack. I had a newborn at the time.

I also wonder how you can have all the prescriptions in your eye. How could she even see?

I have started young ultraswim shampoo and I am happy with it. It costs a little more then I would like to spend but the hair is no longer getting damaged and does not have that perpetual chlorine smell that is hard to wash out anymore.

I am glad she was found. I am sorry for it meaning things have gotten worse and it will be harder for your family. That is not easy at all.

I would not give up after only 3 months. It can take longer to sell something in a less popular catagory but it probably will sell eventually. Relisting with a new agent will help.

We have young kids who wander in my neighborhood and they are younger then I let my kids roam but they are good about watching for cars and crossing. We did have issues with one batch getting into trouble but if they are not getting into trouble and know how to handle the street then it really does not bother me. If the kids are getting in front of cars and not understanding street safety and nearly dive bombing into younger kids in a lazy river that is a safety issue though. The dive bombing is especially concerning because those small kids in the river are at serious risk of drowning if a kid jumps into them. It really does need to be addressed. You are justified bringing it up but I am not sure the best way of doing it.

I thought they were the student and teachers guide because they came up when I was looking on amazon but I was not 100% sure because the title was different so thanks for sharing that.

Thank you for your review! I was going to use this so it is helpful to hear.

My dad was in the same job until he retired. He was a factory worker in a union. He did not have a college degree and made a decent income and benefits for not having a degree and not being in a skilled career. We were lower middle class and lived in a good neighborhood because it used to be affordable when they bought their house in the 70s. It is not easy to find that kind of job nowadays. My mom stayed home then worked part time once I was in school. My dh has a college degree and has moved up in his career but adjusted for inflation we are doing very similarly to how I grew up with a parent without a degree except housing wise it is much harder now. Dh has worked places for a while but he did change jobs a few times.

The inequality was less and nowhere near as extreme especially when the taxes were more progressive. In most industrialized nations the GINI coefficient is much less. It does work just fine to have progressive taxes. There worldwide political system is much bigger then simple explanations. You do not have to go to communism and socialism and take away freedom to reduce the huge inequality or poverty rates or to make it so more poor people can have opportunities to get out of poverty. There are places with less inequality and poverty. Obviously you cannot reduce it all together. The health care costs are also much less in nations with universal health care coverage which are done in lots of different ways. We are the only industrialized nation without a system. Private charities are not super efficient themselves and ave very high overhead costs.

I had a stray grey hair or two since childhood but I am not going grey yet.

Honestly that does sound like they are very manipulative and controlling in an unhealthy way. As you said the suggestions to have heart to hearts and really explain your reasoning for homeschooling really nicely did not work at all. They are trying to get you to do what they want and they are manipulating you emotionally. You are going through enough already and they are doing the opposite of helping and being supportive. The nice things they are doing come with strings. That is not nice or supportive. They are not the support system you need. I would worry about what they are telling the kids when they have the overnights too. I agree with the advice to pull back and do not let them pay for TKD. I also agree to set boundaries and stop the conversation when it is brought up.

It really bothers me when people are like that too. I hope one day they realize that being kind to others is much better. It seems so rampant that people act like that and that kind of behavior gets egged on on social media.

Organic fruits and veggies have a different plu number and cost more. I am guessing he knows codes well and does not need to individually look at the stickers anymore but knowing ahead of time if there are organic items helps that.

For your own sanity I think your plan is good. I think living with them is not healthy for your sanity. The in laws are not going to change from helping them transition but it really is not your fault. You are doing what you can but you have forces working against you. If moving even farther away was an option in the future and just really cutting back on contact with the in laws I would do that. It could be something like anxiety or depression causing the issue and I have seen that or it could just be entitlement and laziness because of how they grew up since it sounds like dh did not get as much influence as others. You and dh are otherwise happy but the in law situation makes you really unhappy and stressed.

There are plenty of examples of successful mixed income neighborhoods worldwide that did not start out that way. Careful mixed use zoning can be done. It obviously takes time when you have very income based road based neighborhoods. Shady practices already created those low income neighborhoods in the first place. After the civil rights laws allowed people to move neighborhoods got blacklisted and cut off from the highway. The churches and civic organizations followed the flight of the middle class people in the neighborhood. The highway was built through the low income neighborhoods cutting it off from jobs and new real estate policies that blacklisted neighborhoods made it impossible to get a mortgage in these now low income neighborhoods. Adapting smart growth policies is successful in many locations. High income people donate less money per capita then lower income people. Changing the tax system so they pay less is not going to help low income neighborhoods or schools at all. The gap would only widen as it has with trickle down policies. It has not happen in other locations with a less progressive tax system. A lot of the stories of surviving against all odds are with kids who already learn really well. Forgetting something you learn is not always about lazines and wanting to play video games. Having 3 months off in the summer with no learning at all does not help. Learning challenges are not rare and even not having learning challenges if in the wrong environment kids can struggle. If a school is turning out kids mostly kids below level then most people in the environment are going to be at similar levels and it will be the norm. If a kid is struggling chances are they will not be the ones who are the worse off and get the help. The methods taught might be really poor plus they have to adjust for the students they are getting. The families cannot afford tutoring. In a lot of places you need to be 2 years behind to even get help. If you are reading a little below level and your math is below level chances are you will not get help. Your odds of graduating college needing remedial classes is much lower. If you have a student who struggles a bit in the wrong neighborhood it is really hard with really low odds. Sometimes no matter how the kids tries they are just not getting the right kind of help or instruction.