We’d like to do a New England color tour mid October. In what city would you start? Any suggestions are welcome. We have about 7 days.

OP, why the conflict over clothes? You’ve chosen to place your daughter in an environment, this high school, where the clothing standards are different from yours. Even though you’d prefer otherwise, can you find a way to let this go? You’re requiring a standard that’s making your daughter feel awkward in a new environment. First the jeans and now the shorts. Trust me, resentment will build over this, and it isn’t worth it I’d find a way to say “yes”, if you could. There will be much bigger issues where you may need to say “no”. Save the “no” for those times. The shorts in your link are typical teenage shorts.

Does this coop have a board? Many of them do, and you can go over the director’s head and appeal to the coop’s board to refund your registration fee. If not, is there an assistant director? Her reasoning is absurd and unprofessional if there is someone else you can talk to, it would be easier than small claims court This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with poor business practices and manipulation.

Have you googled abdominal binder? You can get these on amazon. I’m wondering if this could make a difference. Sometimes they will provide this in the hospital.

Hmm. Are you are narcotic pain relievers? If not, something seems off. Your brain should not be this fuzzy. Surgery is exhausting but you seem a step beyond this. I'd give it until noon today, and then call the doctor's office and report your symptoms. Be very clear regarding the level of your fatigue, where you're at on the pain scale, and your mental fog. The weekend is coming and you want to make sure you're headed in the right direction so you're not waiting until Monday's office hours.

You say your head doesn’t feel quite right. Yes, anesthesia takes awhile to get out of few system. But it sounds like you’re not on heavy painkillers so that should make your head clearer. Make sure you’re communicating how you feel dizzy and somewhat off to the nurses and doctor. You’re in the hospital and this is the opportunity to make sure you’re in good shape before they send you home.

I guess I'm puzzled why this thread has so much discussion over library book hold policies. It seems like that would be an interesting spin off thread. Library policies are not what this situation is about at all. This is a boundary issue where relatives have been given a boundary and are violating it to manipulate young children. It's truly appalling. The fact that the OP considers contacting the relatives is also concerning because it feeds the drama and will, most definitely, not solve anything. She is dealing with people who have threatened to contact CPS, if I'm understanding correctly. If so, these people are a danger to her family and she needs to follow the steps Miss Lemon articulated above. If this is a stereotypical small town, giving the story to the librarians at the ONE library in town that the relatives frequent can also fuel the situation as there is a high likelihood the library employees could be on the relatives' side. OP, if you have the ability to move far away from this area, I would do so. In the meantime, protect your family by contacting an attorney and following his/her advice. Please do not contact your estranged family members.

Class teacher was out of line. Totally. If she had a business/customer service mind-set, she'd realize that people looking at an interesting PUBLIC class, might be encouraged to sign up for one themselves. Here's another way to look at this: most every opportunity can be a learning opportunity. Takeaway: If you're ever in a group and someone, even a leader, treats someone rudely in OR outside the group, call them on it. Make a deal with yourself that you'll do this. So, someone inside this crochet group could've/should've said to the teacher, "Oh, there's no harm in watching! I think it's great that someone's showing interest. Maybe they'll join next time," or some variation on this. It politely calls out the rude person. The older I get, the more empowered I feel to speak up. I don't feel it's my place to teach anyone a lesson, but I do feel like I have a responsibility to speak up for others. So, maybe it would help you to feel better to know that you're now more empowered to speak up in a future situation.

I view this differently. I believe the mother failed to see the vest that said not to pet. I think she’s “guilty” of being naive for 1) being unaware service animals should not be petted by strangers in public and 2)thinking this woman would be receptive to the feedback to respond more politely. Yes, “no” is a complete sentence. However, wouldn’t it be kinder to say, “nope! This is a service animal.” It would’ve taken two seconds and could be a pat answer for the many times this question is asked. It also helps spread the message that service animals are not like other pets. Is service dog owner obligated? No. Could she be kinder? Yes. Could she have diffused the tension? Yes. IMO

There is a video showing showing, in my opinion, some poor conflict resolution. I just wish there was a way people could diffuse conflict. I wish adults didn't feel the need to "teach" other adults. I wish people could just be polite if they feel irritated or work to diffuse situations. Video found in this story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6522131/Mom-fire-video-shows-losing-service-dog-handler.html It already has millions of views. (Can I ask you refrain from comments about this news site? It had a fairly information about the story as well as the video.) Basically, a woman had a service dog and a young mom asked if her two year old could pet the dog. Apparently young mom was curtly told "no" (mother said an accompanying friend also cursed at them) and young mom wanted to instruct the dog owner to be more courteous. Her feedback was not taken well. Also, this trend of filming people and putting it on the internet for all to see...Wow. We all need to behave in public!!

Attending practice at the varsity level even when hurt sounds typical. I ageee with the coach, too My kids had heavy course loads and played sports in high school. It was good experience for them to budget their time accordingly.

Where we are, students are only eligible to play for high school for 4 years. So, if a child played in 9th grade and was then held back to repeat 9th grade, they could not play their senior year--as that would be their 5th year in high school. So, I would check the rules where you are. If there is a 4 year maximum to play in high school, the decision definitely needs to be made while your daughter is still in 8th grade. Here, once you're started playing in high school, that would be counted as the first year. Hope that makes sense.

Bid Pal is very good. It might cost too much for something small; I don’t know. Years ago I used Charity Auction Organizer and really liked it. It was inexpensive, easy to use and had great customer support.

It appears that the primary would be the insurance she's had the longest which is, of course, the school district. So does the high deductible plan of the school district's policy have to be satisfied before the secondary university insurance starts covering charges? Also, would it make sense to drop school district's coverage and get the university's coverage for the year? Then, pick up the school district's coverage next fall. (School district has fall enrollment for health coverage.) It seems risky to drop an employer's coverage, but is it?

I have a question regarding health insurance plan for a university student in the US. Please, no bashing US healthcare on this thread. I acknowledge it's a mess. My adult dd has some chronic health issues and also has health insurance. She works for a school district. It is terrible health insurance as she has a high deductible and also has to pay 20% of her doctor or hospital bills after deductible is met. She is a graduate student at a local university. It appears this university offers health insurance for their students, even graduate students. It is amazing insurance with an affordable premium, low deductible and great coverage. She could get coverage from 8/15/18-8/14/19 (she finishes her master's program in the spring) with the option to extend it for 6 more months at a similar monthly rate. This seems too good to be true. What am I missing? Can she keep her school district health insurance, just to keep eligible, and also get the insurance the university offers? She could use the university insurance as her primary insurance she files at her doctor visits. Is this allowed?

Isn't the camp director a mandatory reporter? Isn't anyone else involved a mandatory reporter, as well? Hasn't this already past the point of filing a CPS report? When organizations see abuse and try to "handle it themselves", perpetrators are often protected and victims are not. This is what has happened. This needs to be reported to CPS. You're all in over your head.

Since you mentioned the video game addiction, I would let use this whole job as a teaching moment(s): --you can work with you mind or work with your hands. If his health prevents him from working with his hands (manual labor), he better get an education or training to use his mind to earn money that way. Perhaps this job will motivate him to work harder at college. This could be a HUGE learning opportunity. --working outdoors doing a physical job may get him in better shape and raise his stamina. Not a bad thing but it doesn't feel good at the time. --if he quits, I would encourage him to turn in a two weeks notice. It's professional even though the job isn't. Learning responsibility is hard. Hopefully following through on a commitment will bring some confidence. --if he quits, I would tell him he needs to agree not to fill up extra time with video games. Period. --if he does not have video game addiction under control, college will not go well. I'd put extra focus on that immediately, if you haven't already done so. --since he's reluctant to go to doctor, you could make getting a diagnosis a condition of him quitting. It's not age appropriate for a rising college freshman to be crying on the job.

Teens and women in their 20s can throw on a tee shirt and shorts and look cute. I think after age 40, properly fitted clothing becomes more important. Also, I learned that, in general, it took more effort to look good after I turned 40 than before. So If you feel that if this is important to you, realize getting ready and maintaining will take a little more time than in the past. I would first look in the closet and get rid of clothes that are baggy or without good shape. When you shop, look for fitted clothes and ones that specifically flatter whatever shape you have. Also, certain colors will brighten the appearance spending in a person’s hair color and skin tone. If I had extra money, I would put it towards a stylish haircut you’re able to maintain. Also, after age 40, too much make up can age. There’s a balance between using enough to highlight and brighten and using too much which can be aging. I love make up but less is more as we get older. I think Sephora can help here. It is staffed with young girls that are really familiar with makeup. (Most of them wear a lot of makeup in Sephora around here, but they’re young!) Tell them you’re just looking and needing new products. Tell them you’re age and that you’re looking for subtle and classy. They will try things out on you and give samples. Go home and see what you think and perhaps purchase one item later. You can buy the color eyeshadow they recommend at a discount store/pharmacy as well as mascara. I recommend buying a tinted mousutizer or foundation at Sephora though, if you can. Try out several samples before you buy. Do you know a stylish friend? It would be such a compliment to her to ask her for advice. What makeup does she buy? What style clothes and colors would she suggest for you? Can she recommend a hair stylist?

Sometimes people come on the board and post about a specific problem they have. However, this is likely one manifestation of a problem with significant boundary issues. I would be shocked if this was the only boundary issue he has. If I were you, I would ask myself, "what are other areas where I make a request about a preference of mine and it is dismissed? What are other areas where I would like my opinion to be respected and it isn't? What are other decisions I would like to make and I am told I cannot do it."

I just went to Trader Joe's today. I described my experience in the poll. Would this be typical in your area? If so, would it bother you or would you be ok with it? Note: While this happened at Trader Joe's, it could've easily happened at my local grocery store. It seemed typical to me. In addition to this check out, I was looking for a particular item and stopped a worker. He told me they discontinued it, told me a similar product, and offered his opinion on both. His co-worker also chimed it with his opinion on these two items. Upon leaving the store, 2-3 cars stopped to let me cross to reach my car even though I wasn't in a crosswalk. None of this would have been noticeable to me had I not read the New England thread earlier today. I'm interested in your responses. If you're comfortable, please say the region you reside if you're in the US or the country if you're from outside of US. I'm in Texas.

Can I just add that you can work for a school and not be a teacher? There are lots of administrative jobs a person can get. Schools are more forgiving of resume gaps and generally have summers off. It’s a kid friendly schedule or a nice schedule that’s not 40 hours/week year round. Also, people that work at schools are generally nice. Most of them are not there for the money, but they are there to help. It makes for a different environment.

I homeschooled for 15 years, and my two oldest are homeschool graduates (now college graduates). I was getting burned out--feeling isolated and somewhat disillusioned with the homeschool education standards around me. So I put my two younger children in a classical university model school; this is basically a private school/homeschool hybrid. They attend school Tuesdays and Thursdays and are do their homework at home Mondays and Wednesdays. Fridays are fine arts electives. At this point, I'd been out of the workforce for 20 years. I was getting restless and started volunteering at the school. I have a B.S. in accounting, but didn't want to go back to that. After tackling a sizable school volunteer job, I asked for a part time position. I did front desk part time earning very little. Then I asked HR about other part time work. The following school year they gave me another job with more hours but still the flexibility to be home with my kids on their home study days. My point is that when you have that resume gap, you have to get your foot in the door. This might mean taking a job beneath your skill set and less pay that you'd like. Once they see competency, you can work your way up. Schools tend to be a flexible schedule that have employees sympathetic to a working mother. Also, having summers off is a great perk. Schools are also more forgiving of the resume gap, too. Same for healthcare jobs. Working has been a breath of fresh air for me. I enjoy working with others toward a common goal. Earning money brings me a sense of accomplishment. If I was able, somehow, to get full time accounting work, it would not be satisfying even though it would pay more. OP, doing something different with your younger children doesn't make you a crappy mom. Change is hard but it's involves growth which is good. My kids have benefited from needing to pitch in. I'm glad my two daughters can see me juggling motherhood and a job. Would you consider getting a job at your local Catholic school?

Would you consider going on a mini vacation with just one or two of your children and leaving the rest at home with your spouse? Then, it can be his turn with the other two old enough to travel at a later time. Having an outing with just one or two children is a really special memory. Going on a vacation with all six children would be a huge effort and, frankly, not very relaxing. Going with a smaller number is more manageable, more affordable and could be much more fun at this time. I'd encourage you to plan a fun getaway with just a few of you.

This is amazing! So many questions. How long does it take you to make a blanket using the same stitch? According to your mint blanket, you are making the alphabet. This looks very tricky. How hard was this? And you’re doing it all in one piece? How long does this take? I want to buy a loom now!

Reading the article it indicates that 4% of parents went to their child’s interview. So it’s not exactly common. Throught history do strange people come along and do socially inappropriate actions 4-5% of the time? Probably. I think the larger point is helicopter parents and what constitutes overinvolvement. Helping your college student navigate the process of selecting college classes? This can actually be very complicated depending on the school and major. My son attends a large public university which had a reputation for poor advisors. Story after story of kids graduating later than they intended due to a missed class even after faithfully meeting with their advisors, I guess the takeaway is guiding toward independence and trying to be that safety net rather than direct involvement with our young adults. Nepotism and helicopter parenting are two diffeeent things in my opinion. I don’t think it’s unfair for mom or dad or hire their children to help in the family business.