I do part-time babysitting for a flight attendant. Someone upthread suggested doing overnight sitting for shift jobs, and I think that could work well given the right people. I'm pretty laidback and flexible about scheduling, so if she gets back late (she's been up to a day late before) or if has some other unforeseen change (she is on-call for a few days each month) it's no bother for me. We just fold her kid into our semi-chaotic mix and it's all good. I didn't go looking for this gig, it found me LOL, but it's been pretty great for all of us. Her son looks to us as part of his extended family, and we adore the snot out of him. But other than that, if it had been available to me when all of my students were younger ... I'd have definitely been interested in a mom's day out sort of thing. I would have loved to send the kids to a fellow homeschooler's home for 2-3 hours a day, a few times each week. With that time I could run some errands or focus on my (other) students without distraction. The sticky part would have been affording it on a single income (which, I was not and am not but I feel like I'm in the minority amongst homeschoolers I know IRL. You'd know best your own local climate as to the feasability of your idea.) Another idea might be "camps" -- you can do homeschoolers anytime (weeklong camps, educational or fun) and/or other-schooled kids over holiday weeks, long weekends, and other times that dual-income families may struggle with finding childcare. It could be a one-day camp over a school holiday or inservice day, or a weeklong camp during the holiday seasons. It might not be a ton of money, at least initially, but it has great potential. You could run it yourself or look into doing it through the city. My city offers homeschool courses as well as regular citizen classes. I work outside of the home, too, and sympathize. I really like my job, and even then it can be challenging to "do it all" and do it all reasonably well ((hugs)).

We have a plastic mixing bowl, one for anyone who has sick. It lives in the laundry room, far away from the kitchen lest someone accidentally use it for food prep. Ick! LOL I get monthly migraines, and vomiting is a part of that. I could make it to the bathroom if I needed to, but I vastly prefer to stay put and use the bowl. So I give everyone that same option :) I have some that ask for the bowl and some who keep the bowl nearby (at my @nal insistence) but who prefer to make their deposits directly to the porcelain pot.

Yeah, that was an AWESOME game. I love it even more knowing there's a WTM'ling from the winning school :D Congrats to them!

Good to keep in mind, thank you! I tend to shop like this: "Ooooh! Pretty! Ooooh! Cheap!" and I waste more time than not by forgetting these types of details. Thank you so much, Miss Marple! I missed that thread when it originally appeared, but it's exactly the input I'm looking for. I thought we'd go with the two basins of same size, and that seems to be most popular. It's a good point, though, to see if that's an appropriate size to fit a skillet or pan into. I'll investigate that, plus read through the other thread, and hopefully have a new sink picked out by Monday. Thanks, all!

:lol: pull up a chair, Sister, there are so many to share ...!

We follow it :) each kid fills out a bracket sheet and we run a pool. We're big sports people. We bet and gamble (uh, I mean do probability and other mathy stuffs) on most sports every season, but the college series are our faves.

You know how some companies' tactic is to hook the consumer while she's young, and count on her to develop brand loyalty? Well it worked on me LOL. I've only owned Hondas, I only buy Coke, I've only banked at Wells Fargo, and I only shoot Nikon (since inheriting my first SLR at age 12). I have smaller hands, and the Nikon is a better fit for me. But pretty much what Kayaking Mom said B) it boils down to preference.

Agreeing that the Hug Picture is sweet beyond words ... I'm so close to my sisters, and it always makes me happy to see other sisters getting their love on! I am more practical than not, so I've never been much of an accessories person. However I have one daughter who popped out of the womb a budding fashionista. She's drooling over your girls' hair pretties, and giving me the hairy eyeball because she's wishing she were one of your girls right now LOL.

We're remodeling the kitchen in a rental. We currently have a double sink where one basin is deep/wide and one is shallow/narrow. So large pots fit in one, and the other is only good for rinsing veggies and silverware. No one has ever complained, but this set-up would drive me completely crazy. That said, since it is a rental property I want our new sink to mimic whatever the popular preference is. Prices are within a close range, so that's not a factor. We are definitely doing a double sink, so: A ) double sink, same as we currently have - one very deep/wide, one shallow/narrow, B ) double sink, two basins of equal depth and width, C ) double sink, one basin of average depth/width and one slightly more shallow/smaller. This one is a hybrid of A and B. For fellow geeks out there, basin measurements are: A ) 18" big basin, 11" small basin B ) two basins, each 14.5" C ) 16" big basin, 13" small basin Thanks for your input. The kids and I have each voted, and winner gets to pick dinner :) Unless it's someone else, and then they get to pick the appetizer at the place I pick for dinner B)

That's hilarious. I had no idea people put together albums for pets LOL. My awkward moment for today was having to ask a kid if I could borrow some deoderant. He uses a roll-on, and doesn't even like drinking after people. I'm not sure which whigs him out more, that we "shared" or that for the rest of the day he'll know we're smelling like the same cotton freshness. Nothing says Awesome like walking around smelling the same as a middle-aged woman.

Some days that's the best way to tackle it ((hugs)). It's like the saying about eating an elephant, right? One bite at a time. I'm tackling my Friday by pretending everything is going to get done around me. So, really, look for me to join you in tackling Saturday because mine is going to be a son-of-a-gun LOL.

I voted run. I'm not sure where you are, but we're having a gorgeous day. After the run, a long soak in the tub ... with wine and a book. Covers all your bases LOL.

I've always been Mama, even still to my teenagers. I get the occasional Maaaaaaaaaaaaaa, which covers a full tonal range in a single breath, but that's only when I bug 'em 8) A completely unscientific discovery of mine has been that (at least locally) children who are islanders or immigrants always stick with Mama (always pronounced as in the mother tongue) but peers who are Caucasian eventually transition from Mommy to Mom or Mummy to Mum.

My inlaws are ... giant pains in my arse. The flip side being that they've taught me a lot about patience, maturity, and the importance of keeping my own trap closed when and about my own kids' significant others. It's been a great lesson for me. I just wish the bell would freaking ring already and class could finally end LOL.

Is there room for one more? Life is totally chaffing my style right now! I keep looking around my house for the hidden camera because that's the only way to explain my house getting messy right behind me as I tidy it. Like, RIGHT behind me. Like each of my kids and pets is a Pigpen to the bazillionth power. I feel like I'm in the bloopers reel of a cleaning product commercial gone awry. But I do have family nearby, so I'm fortunate to get dinners cooked by someone else on a somewhat regular basis :) I just wish they took requests. Or hints. LOL

Tell them you have {insert contagious disease here} LOL. You won't have to sequester yourself, they'll stay away on their own! The idea of a "Testing, No Interruptions. This means YOU!" sign is a good one. If the gentleman ignores his own sign, perhaps a sign that YOU have made will register more clearly in his mind that you mean him as well. A suggestion upthread was to give them a specific time to return; I think that's brilliant. Some people need that kind of clear direction. Like me. For no good reason whatsoever I'm always just figuring I'm exempt from people's restrictions :coolgleamA: so I definitely relate to the guy. We're just born clueless, is all; we mean no ill or harm! Maybe you can tell him it's testing week ... let him know in advance, and come up with a plan so he can still let you know he's taking the van or whatever (leave a notepad on the patio, by the door?) but testing is something most people can relate to as being important. Hopefully he'll get it if you explain what you're doing. Maybe even give him a task to do to keep him otherwise occupied. Setting up a neighborhood watch is a big undertaking, and it can be win-win for you to delegate some of that to him during your test week.

See, now I'd have offered to have popped them for him ;) If the threat of that didn't get him to stop oversharing, at least it'd address the problem so he'd have less to talk about LOL.

I have some that age. Mine are big readers, and they get a saint's book for pretty much every religious holiday LOL. Also, I'm not a big fan of the audiobook thing but my kids were gifted a Matthew Kelly CD that they LOVED. Even my younger ones love it. He has several on his website, and we listen to it in the car. They request it, even. He's funny, doesn't dumb things down, and has a fabulous Aussie accent that is easy on the ears ;) His website is Dynamic Catholic (that link will take you straight to the "free" page - free is even better!) We have a few of his CDs, and the favorite is the Becoming the Best Version of Yourself CD. It's geared towards Confirmation age, but the message is appropriate for both of your kids. To sample his style, do a search for him on YouTube - I'm pretty sure he has videos there. You can sometimes find his CDs in local churches; all three of our nearest parishes have a CD stand in the narthex with his (and others') CDs available for donation. Or, if you are game players here's a game to learn Saints' symbols from Illuminated Ink. It's like BINGO. It wasn't a huge hit here, but it does get played. Or a cord kit to make their own rosary. Do you have a local Catholic store? Maybe a small icon or crucifix for their bedrooms ... or, a scapular if they'll wear one. We like Gregorian chant (not everyone does) so we have a collection of CDs to listen to while we take meals. Perhaps something as simple as a holy card, if you can find a special patron saint for each ... we do these in Christmas stockings.

We don't do the hunt for real eggs, but we do re-runs of hunts inside and out using the plastic eggs. My youngest loves to hide more than she does to hunt, so she begs to be the bunny (who hides eggs) and the rest of us have to find them :) even the great-grandparents get in on the action! Our eggs are empty though. We're just competitive and like to find eggs for the sole purpose of being the bestest egg finder LOL. We do lots of rounds, but the most ridiculous is the annual siblings' race. My sisters, brothers, and I get a little too crazy for our spouses' comfort and take the egg hunt to a whole new level. It probably looks like brides-to-be at a trunk sale. Lots of pushing, pulling, and screaming :D (not really, but it is competitive!)

{silently thanks God that her brand of Asian isn't a hairy one} {but wishes it was also not the one of perpetually sweaty and smelly feet}

Aside from the whole dishes-don't-wash-themselves-and-apparently-neither-do-any-other-able-bodied-people-here (wash dishes OR themselves) ... I realized that we do math re-do problems much better by doing them together on the whiteboard, than we do me waiting for the student to miraculously recognize her errors and attempt to solve a second time alone while I'm in the other room (most likely the kitchen, washing the endless parade of dishes that don't wash themselves). If I invest the time on the front end, it saves time in the long run - not to mention reduces frustration on all ends!

I'm that daughter/sister/friend/cousin/every-person who always thinks everything is for her, so that gets my vote. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong LOL. Either way, I end up with good stuff :D

I started my family early, and have purposefully prioritized a career that allowed me to remain close to my extended family. I always had that grandmother you dream of being, and always wanted my kids to have the same. It didn't dictate my life choices, but it certainly influenced them. I couldn't imagine it being any other way, and it breaks my heart to hear you feel that you've lost your dream of being that grandmother. But life has a way of surprising us, so here's hoping your turn is coming :)

I'm brown and from the islands - bikinis are the norm for our family and circle of friends. Not all bikinis are created skimpy, and we do bikinis but not skimpy :) We've lived on the mainland and found that even our every day wear tends to appear immodest to the locals. Different geography, different cultures = different ideas of modesty, I guess!

I'm mid-remodel on a home, so it'd all go towards that! Save for maybe a thousand or so to fund the "it's finally done!" party LOL.