We've tried to limit activities to the fewest days a week possible. Several years it was every day of the week and other years it was nothing other than doctor's appointments and church services.

This

Mini cereal boxes, snacks and junk food they don't normally get, travel size toiletries, tool sets, low $ gift cards, socks, joke books, miniature gifts like tiny Lincoln logs or tiny etch-a-sketch, extra cell phone charger, cell phone or ear bud holders, chocolate, candy, fun socks

We've done that! It was years ago and I thought Dh was crazy when he ordered it. Metal porch furniture (with free shipping!), cat litter and box (Kitty Poo Club), and all Christmas presents this year.

Good afternoon, boardies! For anyone interested I wanted to update you with what we decided to purchase. For 19 year old dd we chose Circe, Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, and the first of the Lady Sherlock series, A Study in Scarlet Women. For the 22 year old we chose Midwives by Christ Bohjalian, The Daily Connoisseur's book At Home with Madame Chic, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. DD22 is a trained Doula and she introduced me to the Daily Connoisseur's blog and books, but I know she hasn't read this one. Thank you to everyone who made suggestions. I know I will read quite a few of the suggested titles and will have several recommendations to my daughters when they finish their books.

https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com https://bookriot.com/2018/03/27/what-book-should-i-read-quiz/ https://www.whichbook.net

Thank you! Anyone's thoughts on The Book of Essie?

Thank you for the suggestions. There are a lot of books I hadn't heard of and may or may not of added to my own reading list. I agree about adult novels. It feels wrong to type! Thank you for the Lewis suggestion. It will be perfect! I know just the perfect person to gift Great Alone! I appreciate the spoiler.

Dd 17 also suggested art books.

The 19 year old loves classic literature. She's read Les Miserables and many other challenging titles. My 17 year old just suggested Circe, so I am adding that to her list. I'd really like to purchase at least one or two more. The 21 year old is a bit harder to buy for. She loves to read, yet really doesn't have a genre. In her later teen years she read a lot of dystopian novels like Hunger Games, 1984, etc. I think she read too many too fast because she switched to much lighter fare for quite a while after. She moved out on her own earlier in the year, so I don't see what she is reading laying around. I thought about Handmaid's Tale and Shanghai Girls, but they both include sex scenes which we tend to avoid. It's been a while since I've read either. We are Christians and enjoy books by both Christian and non-Christian authors.

Specifically for Christmas presents. We are purchasing box sets for each of our younger children, though recommendations for them would be welcome too. I am at a loss for my (almost) 22 and 19 year old daughters.

I cannot believe this is still happening! My own mother had her uterus cauterized at 16. My native grandmother was in and out of facilities with a paranoid schizophrenic diagnosis. The answer was to sterilize my mother. She remembers being held down while the nurse cried and said to her how she (the nurse) didn't know why he (I'm assuming the acting doctor) was always doing "this" to these young girls. My mother had miscarriage after miscarriage and a menstrual like cycle the entire time she was pregnant with me. It is just sickening that this was ever a practice and even more disgusting that it is going on today.

A photo album cookbook. Gather treasured family recipes (bonus points if they are in original handwriting) and put them together in a binder with photos. It doesn't matter if said relative doesn't cook anymore. Edited to add...A photo calendar. Jot down important dates like children's birthdays or anniversaries and add family photos to the top.

To the OP and her original question I don't know if anyone is ever an expert on having a certain number of children or answering clearly rude comments. The comments just reflect the commenters' beliefs, prejudices, and ignorance. We have 9 children. When they were younger, we did get comments from relatives and elderly friends, and stares from strangers. Having more than average can be a challenge, but with it comes blessings and joys that a smaller family may not get to experience. Four or five children is the cut-off number for the naysayers. Once you exceed that number people assume you are a hopeless case and quit commenting. Four is such a fun number of children! Congratulations on your newest little one!

My #@%&* cat has taken to using our carpeted dining area as a litter box. We have taken her to the vet multiple times, put her on abx, had her checked for urinary issues, tried rx cat food, moving the cat litter, changing the cat litter, you name it. The overall conclusion is she is acting out. From what? Who knows! The vet asked if we've moved furniture, changed anything, etc. Basically she is being a diva cat. When we purchased a black-light type urine detector, we discovered just how much of a mess she had been making and there is no amount of carpet cleaner that will remedy the mess. ? Our only option is to pull the carpet. Most of our downstairs has beige-ish tile. Not my favorite, but I am not in a position to remove it or cover it, so the flooring that touches it must look somewhat planned and intentional. I am thinking laminate, but I don't think I've ever seen laminate next to ceramic tile. I much prefer darker wood looks to lighter woods for flooring, which would look entirely out of place with our buttery yellow walls and off-white trim and beige-ish ceramic tile. What does the hive recommend?