Hamburg! That's where hamburgers come from, we used to joke with the kids. Aren't you having some home renovations done, or did? Someone who may have a Hamburg # but doesn't live there anymore - lots of people move and keep a number from the former area code. Maybe your number got into some subcontracter or vendor's contact list, and it just got an accidental pocket dial this morning. No idea how she'd know the nickname, unless someone overheard it and entered it. Is it a common nickname for people with your first name?

Yes, but lots of windows on the main level. Most importantly, windows in different walls help eliminate glare. Like, it's better to have two windows, each on a different wall, that two windows on the same wall. Make sense? Agree with the comment above about reflective surfaces and good lighting with bright bulbs, lamp shades that direct light well, that sort of thing. ETA nine foot ceilings. So higher than some, but not as high as others.

Especially if they have connections with a university/research center. I wouldn't be afraid to ask, though, if/who he might consult with when his patients have complicated cases and he needs some insight from an experience perspective.

We deal with something similar. It's frustrating. Everything has to be "the gang's all here." I love them all, but I'm not always up for a large crowd. When they're all over at once, I find I do more hostessy stuff and less actual visiting. The smaller groups allow more personal interaction.

lol I just use coffee filters. One for a standard drip pot spreads out to about an 8" circle.

⬆ï¸Wisdom

I actually use one of the produce drawer bins in my fridge to hold the washed salad. I like to spin that much at once and doesn't go bad when dried well. I do have an extra fridge, though, so I can afford the space. Not much more space that an entire salad spinner takes up, tho, gotta say.

OP, you could be proactive. Invite your friend and her daughter over for a special play date, make some cupcakes, make your own little intimate party. Or plan a special field trip with treats. That will be an example to your son about being the one to initiate the celebration of another, instead of waiting on an invitation to be part of someone else's event.

Hide it. Charge whoever breaks it a replacement cost. I'd like to have a bigger one. A big electric one. Is such a thing available?

Probably mentioned upthread already, but there are same-day-read places so you don't have to wait for results for days/weeks. Might want to call around and see if there are any in your area. Also, I'm not much of a drinker but we do have a clinic that has evening appointments. I have learned to have have my husband drive me and have a small glass of wine first. Not the bravest approach, but it gets the job done. Whatever the results, knowledge is power.

I am glad to know this is an option and will investigate it when the next phone upgrade comes around. Thanks! Everyone else, I'm still reading, taking it all in. I appreciate you all sharing about your experiences and what works well for your families.

No need to delete! It's a convoluted situation, convoluted issue. We do need to train our kids to use tech wisely, because this is their world. But as a weary parent, I'm saying I don't want to do it *today*. Or maybe not for another year.

The social media is not the problem. The social media exacerbates the problem. Thought I'd made that pretty clear. If not - well, I just did.

Jean, I like you! But I did get the same initial feeling as unsinkable from the post you shared about your dd's response... that y'all thought my kid and her friends must be...stupid. I am glad you clarified her position, thank you. Cyberspace - the imperfect medium.

I would so much more enjoy just giving it away. Seriously. BUT since I still have bills to pay, I'd consider investing in some property to use as airbnb units. Or, start a small business incubator, providing office space and receptionist services for a small monthly fee and some reasonable share of future earnings/guaranteed participation in an IPO when the businesses take off.

I just saw your OP, so glad the visit went well! What a blessing you are to each other, in processing all you've been through.

Wow! I wish I we're there to attend!!! Does she have published materials? I would love to learn more about what she speaks to. Any link appreciated. Party Joanna, I am sorry that you've had to suffer to come to this point. But I am grateful for your voice on this issue.

I get this, Sadie. Isolation can be emotionally harmful to many personality types. My oldest would have been just fine. A couple of my others would have suffered without social connections. We have been fortunate to have proximity to irl fellowship. I realize that's not the same for everyone. We do the best we can wherever we find ourselves, right?

Thank you for sharing this. I used to feel guilty about possibly invading privacy but have learned to stop feeling bad. This is my child, and I am still actively parenting.

Brilliant! OP, all you have to do now is hit the print button!

I agree, it's sort of a spamming campaign. I remember a thread about this very thing a few years back. OP, maybe you could search for that one, too, for insight. FWIW, a lot of people have "burner" sort of email accounts these days, accounts they rarely even monitor to share for marketing junk. It's got to be really crowded out there in cyberspace!!!

Yeah, I am wondering to some degree on the friend choices, honestly wouldn't see what happened as cyber bullying but more a lack of maturity (that one particular friend is, imo, somewhat attention seeking, but not mean). It's just frustrating that in the old learning curve of peer relationships - that we've navigated with all our older kids - there's a new span with social media. I'm just stretched by it in ways I wish I weren't, kwim?

I would have no problem with a reasonable level of communication. In the day of the landline - which I would happily reinstitute - we weren't allowed to hang on the line 24/7, constantly with an ear to a group conversation. We saw our friends regularly and had normal face to face conversations. We are not stay at home only home schoolers, we get out A LOT. Kid sees friends very regularly, for extended periods of time. I wouldn't give a stick of dynamite to a person who can't handle a firecracker. I feel like we are still in the firecracker training phase. Group texts blow up, kids are texting all night long, all through times when they're sitting in academic classes, and the responses pile in until there are hundreds of messages. My child might share something in a one-on-one conversation, then have that person share a screenshot in a 15-member group chat. It's insane. I monitor but try to not be overbearing about the content. But I think it's important because I've had two instances where kids were sharing about self-harm, and someone had to be discreetly notified. I am worn out and frankly concerned that my tender-hearted kid is accepting too much emotional baggage from the constant stream of thought messaging from an age group of kids that tends to be on the dramatic side.

It you have beautiful stained wood, whatever's best for that, but for my painted wood I use a warm water with a little dawn dish soap and some vinegar. I also use a soft toothbrush for the trim ledges. Next kitchen will have no grease & dust catching embellishments on the cabinet faces or handles, grrr...

We have been trying so hard to establish a balance. But yeah, we have come to the decision that there will be no social media accounts in the near future (next couple of years anyway). My biggest problem right now is the texting. If a friend has a social media account, they can take anything my kid shares in a text conversation and post it on their own social media account. Tough learning curve happening here, about both the consequences of frivolous posting and the loyalty level of friends. Personally I would love to just completely pull the plug, and can actually get away with that in the short term. But in the world we live in, good habits must be formed, so we will eventually go through this again. I am hoping we can at least get past a couple of drama intense years and on a little more mature, forward-looking level before re-engaging. I just can't keep stretching thin enough to keep all the bases covered, so I am taking this part of it out of the game. Huge crackdown on texting coming. I guess if there's a question in this, it would be whether any of you have gone to plans that allow only a certain number of texts per month. I'm thinking one group chat blown up could teach a real lesson there! A kid should not wake up each morning to find hundreds of message notifications.