This varies by state in the U.S. and sometimes even within municipalities within states. I live in a state in which this is not the law and you are pretty much on your own as a pedestrian unless it is a signaled crosswalk and you have a "walk" signal.

Not kooky. I have done this for up to 60 people with relative ease. First, I can every year so I have tons of canning jars. These make great glasses, clean up nicely in the dishwasher, and no one is heart broken if one breaks. If you do not can, perhaps you know someone who does who would loan you the amount of jars you need? Sometimes my dd makes cute little ribbons so people can mark their identical jars to keep mix-ups from happening. We have also just used a crayon to mark initials. It comes out in washing. I also use the jars to hold silverware, flowers, etc..... It is all the rage now in the wedding world, but I have been using them for entertaining for well over a decade. I only own place settings for about 10 people. Our local co-op has a dish (and silverware) lending system and it is FREE. All I have to do is remember to reserve the amount I need. They don't match, but they get the job done. Other times I have borrowed from neighbors and friends. I know churches sometimes also do this although I do not belong to one so have never explored the option. I HATE eating off of disposable plates so this is a huge priority for me. If neither of these options were available to me, I entertain enough that it would be worth it for me to pick up dishes at Goodwill or garage sales to store in the attic. If you go that route, keep your eyes open for cute Christmas plates. They are usually dirt cheap in the off-season and are perfect for giving cookies as gifts. People can either keep the dishes, return them for you to use next year, or donate them. We have a handful that have been returned and re-cookied to the SAME family for years and years. For some reason they really get a kick out of it. I picked up a couple of second hand Brita systems. The big rectangular kind that holds 2 gallons. I use these for tea, water, and lemonade dispensers (without using the whole filter part). We use them for camping too. I have also seen a similar type dispenser sold at my grocery store at the water station. It is meant for refilling from their filtered water service. Those would also work and they are surprisingly cheap. I have more than enough cloth napkins for 60+ people. The first time I ran short, I simply bought a big pretty sheet at the thrift store, washed it on hot, then cut into napkin shapes with zig-zag scissors. Those come out of the attic any time I am entertaining large groups. Thrift store sheets also make nice table cloths and picnic blankets. Some might think it is all a bit "scrappy" and it certainly is not "elegant" but I'll take a little mis-match over bags of landfill-bound garbage.

I think that is pretty cool, actually. We re-use all wrapping and so do several people in both of our families. There are decades-old running jokes about certain Christmas gift bags that make an appearance every year. There is one gift box that has been in circulation for 35 years. I also routinely cut the picture face off of greeting cards I receive and reuse them as gift tags or notecards. It never occurred to me to leave the message/writing (assuming it was not private in nature) and just add my own message. That could be a fun and meaningful way to record some family history.

Dd has a cowlick. We told her it was from a cow actually licking her as a baby. At 11 she still believes even though we came clean years ago. She also 100% believe I have eyes on the back of my head. Because I do.

Heat is not a problem for freezers and it will not make them less efficient. Freezers are heat-exchangers so they actually NEED heat to work properly. That is why someone above mentioned that a freezer must be "garage-rated" in order to keep the warranty. Not because of the heat but the cold. Regular freezers cannot work properly in temps below freezing (ironically) and will actually be LESS efficient in below-freezing temps. Some will simply give out. That said, we have had a (garage-rated) chest freezer in the garage for over a decade with no problem.

Just about everything I eat now. I always thought my mom was a "good" cook growing up. But I seldom liked the food. I didn't really think anything of it because I didn't really like food anywhere (school, friend's houses, relatives, camp, etc....). It was not until I was an adult that I discovered how much great food there is out there! Looking back, I now realize that most of what we had at home was from a can or box and much of it was microwaved. I hated veggies. Almost all veggies except raw salads and sticks. It wasn't until adulthood that I figured out that asparagus and spinach and well....everything.....tasted much better when it has not been nuked into a sloppy puddle. We even regularly had microwaved slabs of ham for dinner. YUCK. Things I now eat regularly that I never had as a child: brown rice beans all greens olive oil blue, goat, ricotta, etc.... cheese most whole grains (millet, grits, buckwheat, teff, amaranth, etc....) avocados tahini fennel, leeks, rutabaga, turnips, beets, parsnips, celeriac fresh mushrooms garlic, shallots, ginger vinegars sweet potato anything "ethnic" Actually, I have to stop. This could go on forever.

I dunno. Every single person I know who has gotten wrapped up in an MLM business has ended up annoying me to the point of avoiding them. People who were otherwise nice and enjoyable to be around. This was a common issue amongst several of my friends. A few of us had hosted parties to "help out a friend" and found afterwards that we all felt taken advantage of because we had bought things and spent money we had no business spending out of subtle guilt and peer-pressure. We made a pact to never join one ourselves (that one was easy) and to never agree to host parties (or if you did to not invite any of us). So now when I get that phone call or awkward proposition waiting for dd at gymnastics class, I simply lay it out. "No, I cannot have a party because all of my friends and I agreed to never have one, never attend one, and never join one. Therefore there would be no one to invite." I felt really mean the first few times I had this conversation because I could tell the asker was taken aback and probably hurt. But I stopped feeling that way. Any business model that in built on hoping to pressure someone into pressuring their friends into buying stuff is just rude. THEY are the rude ones for attempting to capitalize on my friendships.

I thought of that book too when I first heard this story. There was recently an interview with the author and mother that I found fascinating. The mother to this day does not see any problem with how they raised their kids. As a Type A person, that book was maddening!

I agree with this as well. All bets are off for children under 4yo. Around that age most children can be taught to take food in quantities they expect to be able to eat and also to politely decline foods they do not want to eat.

I agree with this. But I also have a problem with habitually wasting food. I think the "respect" issue goes both ways. It is disrespectful to waste food. It is also disrespectful to force someone to eat something they do not want to. If the OP is throwing out all but two bites of her children' breakfasts every morning, then action needs to be taken. The parent needs to get a handle on what the kids want to eat, how much, and when. The kids also need to be taught to take the amount of food they expect to eat and in general eat it all, going back for seconds when necessary. I am not talking about the occasional eyes-are-bigger-than-stomach moments. We all have those from time to time. But I know I would feel pretty disrespected both from an effort standpoint and financial standpoint if someone I was charged with feeding was tossing most of their meals on a regular basis.

I'm with you. "Tossing" food is not OK in my house. I make the breakfast most mornings although both dh or dd do make breakfast when I cannot. I have a pretty good idea of what everyone likes and how much so if someone cannot (or does not want to) finish their food, that is usually a sign that someone is getting sick. We eat pretty early so that we can eat together and dh can get to work. If that was too early for anyone, I would be happy to make them a plate/bowl to warm up later. I would ask that everyone sit for the meal anyway if only to catch up and drink tea. Since tossing food has never been OK, all family members are encouraged to let me know if they don't like something I make or if they would like more or less. I do not cook meals that I know someone does not like (unless I know they will not be home for that meal). I tend to plate the food and bring to the table because it works best in the flow of my kitchen, but if I had a kid that habitually could not finish what I served, I would ask them to plate their own food and only take what they plan to eat. I usually plate less than people want so everyone is welcome to take seconds (and thirds). We do not snack between breakfast and lunch so anyone that "tossed" their breakfast would just have to wait. Can their breakfast be saved and heated later or is it cereal or something that does not keep well?

It is run by each state and does vary significantly from state to state. The funding is federal but the admin of those funds is by state. For instance, years ago (not sure this is still the case) you could get raw milk in CA with WIC whereas raw milk was ILLEGAL in MI.

Yes. I consider myself and family quite comfortable. We don't have new cars or go on fancy vacations but we have shelter and the basics and a little leftover for occasional little luxuries like pizza or movies. We do not have any college savings and my dd is much closer to college age than the OP's children. As much as I wish that were not true, it is and is the case for most of our friends. It is just reality. Dd knows it. We have talked and talked and talked about the different options that will likely be a combo of scholarships, working, taking time off, and living at home. It is also very possible that college is not the best path for dd right after graduation (or ever). That just might have to be OK. I think there are legit reasons for filing bankruptcy. And the OP might very well have one or more of those reasons. But to think that college is not an option because you don't have savings or even that it is "normal" to have college savings for kids is just not true anymore.

This was my experience as well. It was awful. It was 25+ years ago but what is on the market now does not look much different.

I remember when I started that my mom believed that tampons were only for married women. So, I had to start out with pads. It was awful. I hated them. After just a few months I started sneaking ways to buy tampons. I even had my high school boyfriend (who had a car) buy them for me. I have to say that man, wherever he is now, should get a medal. So much better! In college, I discovered OB which was even better. Soon after, cups became more available and I switched and have not looked back. I will still use tampons when a cup is not the best option like when camping or being places where I don't have access to running water. I have never once bought pads. I occasionally wonder how my mom never noticed that I never asked for more.... I love cups (in my case Diva) and suggest them to anyone who asks (which is a surprisingly large amount of people) but am wary about offering that as an option to dd who will be starting soon. I think it is a bit tricky for younger girls. Has anyone here had a younger teen who used them with success? I plan to just have a supply of everything, different pads, tampons, and disposable cups, and let dd figure out what she prefers. But I have little hope that she will even try the cups. She swims so that will be factor for her.

No numbness or any other problems with that arm. I think I remember this happening many years before but less severe (or I didn't notice it as much). The only way I can make it feel anything but normal, aside from pressing on that spot) is to over-extend that arm. I can feel it then but it is not really "painful."

This is what I'm thinking. I cannot imagine anything can be done and I don't want to be out a bunch of cash only to confirm this.

I took a big fall last week and most of the weight came down on my elbow. It was a little tender at first but not really that bad so I didn't worry about it. The next day I noticed that I had excruciating pain when I tried to prop that elbow on a table. I almost passed out, it was that sharp and strong. So, I stopped doing that and have been careful not to all week. Otherwise, it does not hurt and I can use my arm normally. Today, I finally got brave enough to try pressing on it again. If I touch it a certain way (and not very hard at that) the exact same pain comes back. It is just as sharp and strong as the first time. This is not a bruise. I have no idea what it could be. If I had to guess based on how it feels, I would say it is a chipped or cracked bone. We have super crappy high-deductible insurance and I really don't want to waste a bunch of cash we don't have to go to the doctor and get an x-ray only to find out they cannot do anything anyway. I cannot imagine there is any way to "set" it. Maybe I am wrong? I am willing to go and do something about it if it will not just be wasted money. Years ago dh broke two ribs and was advised by everyone to go see a doctor. He did and did the whole x-ray thing only to learn that nothing could be done anyway. Why not tell us that before $1000 was spent? If my arm otherwise works fine and is not painful unless touched this certain way, is there any danger in just waiting it out?

Run away from Coleman. Seriously. We are huge campers. We camp several weeks every year and often camp with large groups of people. We have seen it all. Coleman are not designed to stand up to weather or last very long. At all. Especially the bigger ones. We had friends who bought one three years ago with the same plan to upgrade in a few years. It lasted one summer before poles started breaking. Coleman is great about replacing broken poles but that is not very helpful while you are trying to use the tent. By the end of the summer, one of the zippers broke and that was it. They bought an REI the next summer and are very happy. Those big Colemans (and like cheap brands) are the ones we see every year in campgrounds with ridiculous tarps strung all around or collapsed after a big rain. A cheap tent is not cheap if you have to replace it every year. I say this in every tent thread....a quality tent does not need waterproofing or seam sealing. Those are things you do to quality tents after a decade of hard use. REI is great. We have had good luck with Kelty tents as well. It is worth the money. Trust me.

I have lots of these stories too! Ha ha. We found that a simple wide-mouthed, quart-sized mason jar in the car is sufficient for emergency situations. We keep these in the tent when camping too just to avoid the possibility of having to hike to the outhouse in a middle-of-the-night thunderstorm or something. They seldom get used but are very handy when needed! We adopted this practice after dd had to pee in dh's travel COFFEE MUG because we were stuck in stopped traffic on a suspension bridge. Nowhere to go! It took dh a few days to drink coffee again even though we did toss the mug.

I have almost the same story except it was a great-aunt's cottage. I still have issues with little-used outhouses.

No kidding! When we were on septic, a 100 person party would not be an option unless I locked up the bathroom. Even 4 houseguests could overwhelm it. But we (and our houseguests) are all well versed in "watering" the woods when necessary so all was good. A port-o-john would have been a luxury.

As I think about it, I can see that it is probably regional. I live in a geographically isolated, rural area. Most of the places I see them have no running water so outhouses or port-o-potties are the only option. That is probably why I am so used to seeing and using them as is everyone I know.

Probably the people who don't want to or cannot stand in line. Ha ha!

Please forgive my flabbergasted mind.....but how is it possible that you do not come across the need to use a port-o-potty on a regular (or at least occasional) basis? No one likes them but they are a necessity in many places. Aside from fairs, festivals, campgrounds, parks, and parties, we also have to use them at races, sporting events, and even the trail head of our ski trails. I remember the day dd could negotiate one on her own and I did not have to go in with her every_single_time. That was a very happy day since we spend entire weeks in festival campgrounds where there are no other options. They are generally as clean if not cleaner than your average rest stop or gas station. Just don't look down!