I really can't stand it when people require certain gifts for events. Like... a book and a note is sweet, but.... mandating that plus other stuff is a bit much for me, personally. Did the invitation say, "If you would like to bring a gift, then we'd love to have X?" or, "Please bring a book with a note, diapers, AND another gift?

Admin is really pretty awesome. Trouble is, this particular clique has worked there forever and somehow runs the show. It's a really small school and the administrator is also new, which is not helping matters at all.

I'm keeping an eye on the positions. Problem is that I just switched to the school a year ago, and it was so much effort to get established that I can hardly bear thinking about doing it all over again. Ugh. Working somewhere other than a school is sounding pretty good right now.

Good question. Did they think she ate something like a piece of string, or something, or something that would eventually pass? I hate, hate, hate it when pets are sick.

Oh no, that's awful 😞

Aww. That's so awesome.

It's been a very long school year. My coworker, a good friend of mine, finally had enough and quit. There are a lot of "teacher cliques" here and one group just made her life a constant misery. Talking behind her back but nicely to her face, misrepresenting what she said all the time, etc. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't witnessed it myself. I thought that adults would be beyond such middle school behavior. I also thought that adults communicated better than this. I guess not! She actually got a great new job. But I'm still really sad and angry. I don't know if I want to work with these people anymore. I know they do the same thing to me, to a lesser degree. I'm trying to decide how much to let it bother me. Luckily I'm in special ed so I can escape to my own world a lot of the time. But... I also know that the "us vs. them" mentality is what got us into this mess in the first place. I don't want to perpetuate that. But right now I'm really MAD!

The wearer, definitely! Same goes for stain-sticking stains.

@AmandaVT How are you doing now?

Oh noooo! That sucks so much after being cautious for two whole years. A lot of very cautious teachers at my school are now getting it. 😭

This. I don't have anything wise to say 😞

I love the pixie on you 🙂 So cute!

I know, right? How does S Sheep get through quality control?! Alphabet charts should also be allowed to have ONE word that has the sound as the last one... like Box, X. Surely we as a culture can accept that innovation 🙂

I'm not sure! I've had the walking shoes for about a year, and the slip ons for just a few weeks.

I'm a fan of Chacos. I just bought these slip-ons... they look like boat shoes. They're extremely light and comfortable. https://www.chacos.com/US/en/ojai-3-eye/48939W.html?dwvar_48939W_color=JCH108950#cgid=women-footwear-shoes&start=1 I have hiking/walking shoes from them too, really enjoy! I've read that they're good for people that need arch support. https://www.chacos.com/US/en/sidetrek/44344W.html?dwvar_44344W_color=JCH107872#cgid=women-footwear-shoes&start=1 Maybe you can find more sizes on a different site. I can't decide if I could pull these off. I like them though! https://www.chacos.com/US/en/barbary/22325W.html?dwvar_22325W_color=J106392#cgid=women-footwear-boots&start=1

LOL! This is a pet peeve of mine, too! Funny story. A school I worked at started doing the phonics program from EL Education. (Great phonics program! Good job EL Education!) However... their alphabet chart was wonky. For the letter T, the picture was a tern... like... the seabird. But the kids had no idea what a tern was. So they'd be chanting: T! /t/.... /t/... /t/.... BIRD! I think there was another letter that had an equally unhelpful picture. Why make life harder than it needs to be for kids learning to read? I know, it's cool for 5 year olds to know what terns are. But... let's just use the simplest, most easy to remember pictures, shall we? It'll make life so much easier. I think making your own is an awesome idea!

My DH claims that he thought of this idea 10 years ago. Even though he never did anything with it, he still thinks he was robbed of millions of dollars of profits 😄

I like crunch in my bowls, like seeds or nuts. Pistachios are good! I read a recipe recently that had maple caramelized walnuts in it that looked really tasty. I also like to put fruit in salads, like really crunchy apple cubes, grapes, grapefruit pieces, etc. I'm going to try out that tahini dressing tonight! Yum!

Oh no. That was the last thing I expected to read here! I'm so, so sorry. I can't even imagine. It does seems so unfair after everything she'd been through, and you and your family, too. 💔

I'm in your same boat, a little. I'm going to dig up the grass and get the nursery to deliver some soil. They do 50/50 soil/compost. Last summer they dumped a big pile in my driveway and I used a wheelbarrow to move it over to the garden area.

I don't know of any downsides to a 2nd booster. I'm not eligible but I hope I will before next school year starts.

I'm very sorry for your loss. Hope your flight goes well. Your dad will be so glad to see you.

He is so beautiful! I am actually putting off considering getting a dog out of fear of this very thing... even though I know we would likely have over a decade of love and fun together. My cat is 18 and I constantly think about what's going to eventually happen. My throat is choked up for you. Sending lots of ❤️

Thank you so much! I am mostly concerned that they'll judge me for letting things go this long... I know that some things that would have been super minor are now major. Ugh. I am so mad at myself!!

I have extreme dental phobia, but a new practice opened up near me recently and it has stellar reviews. I'm finally going to face my fear. Hopefully what I've built up in my head is worse than the actual experience! I could use some "it went better than I thought!" dentist stories, if you have them!