This calculator showed about what we were approved for when we bought our house 4 years ago. The max is about double what our home is worth and more than double what we paid. We could afford double our current mortgage, but then it would feel like we had no breathing room for extras. I hope that helps.

I'm not sure what grade you are wanting to donate for but I love Ezra Jack Keet's picture books and Last Stop on Market Steet by Matt de la Pena. They would be good for K or 1st. Sorry for getting off track OP.

Yes! Last year I took a class that met weekly in a middle school history classroom. There was SO MUCH on the walls I was constantly distracted, I don't have ADHD but I could not focus in that room. It was lists of rules, posters, reminders, and I don't even remember what else but every single inch of wall was covered.

One more thought, does his current project have an end deadline? When my husband's schedule is crazy, it helps to know that the project is scheduled to end in 6 weeks (or whatever). If I know things will be crazy for 6 weeks I handle it better than if I think the craziness will be indefinite.

I'm sorry, I get that feeling. Some people are really wired to do whatever it takes at work and if their spouse stays home, it becomes more possible. Whether it's dinner one or two nights a week or something else, I hope the two of you are able to find a compromise that helps you not feel like a single parent and allows him to feel like he can do the work he needs to do. It sounds like you need a predicable time of day for family time regularly. I hope you can express that to your husband and figure out how to make that happen. I do wonder since you mention feeling lonely, is it specifically his company you miss or would meeting up with a friend once a week help?

We have a GMC Sierra with a crew cab. It can seat 6, but I prefer not having a kid up front and there is only 5 in our family. It's our 3rd or 4th GMC/Chevy, that's also the brand the two companies my husband has worked for always purchase. Fords are a good brand too. One thing to keep in mind with a crew cab is that the standard truck bed is shorter. If you plan to actually use the bed of your truck you may have trouble finding a crew cab with a long bed as they aren't as common.

I agree. Even though we enjoy eating as a family, if it isn't possible for your husband, it isn't possible.

Bought from Amazon, supposedly from one of the approved manufacturers but they haven't arrived yet. Our local Walmart had some too that were approved.

When my husband isn't traveling, he's home for dinner every night. My husband often goes into work at 6:00 in the morning so he can be home earlier in the evening. If he needs to work at night he still comes home for supper then either works from home or goes back to the office after the kids are in bed. He travels a lot though, he will be home all this week and was gone only one night last week and it felt like he was around a lot. When he's gone the rest of us still eat our meals together.

I use a collapsible crate in the back of my car. I actually have two and it's pretty handy for groceries, as long as it isn't full of milk I can carry on all the groceries at once.

I think this is a good compromise. Both sides can win.

Municipalities vary so much on this, when I moved to a small town I was pleasantly surprised to find visiting the DMV took 10 minutes instead of all day. Good luck finding a solution! Surely this isn't first time the airlines have had a similar situation.

It depends on the house. In a house twice as big with cathedral ceilings or mostly open common spaces will still be loud.

Maybe the county clerk or whoever issues the ID will be able to print a new one and mail it to him. If you live in a small town I'd say you have a better chance of this happening, especially if you have his birth certificate and the same last name.

In general when we get together with my siblings, I'm still in charge of my kids. So if my MIL wanted the kids to go outside and my older ones were quietly playing a game, I would just say, "my big kids are going to keep playing." I can't imagine my MiL contradicting me. If my big kids were being rowdy and grandma needed a break that is different. It's also different if someone has a planned activity for the kids to participate in together. All of my siblings and kids don't get together often, it's usually 2-3 of us with 6-8 kids. When that happens the majority of the adults talk while 1 or 2 adults supervise the kids. We take turns supervising so no one person is stuck watching the kids the whole time. It's not formal, we just kind of work it out.

Reading your examples the 4 and 7 year old were out of line. The big kids did play with the 7 year old. But the 7 year old wasn't playing something fun for the older kids. The 4 year old really isn't big enough to play basketball with the older kids. Does who ever made this rule think all the cousins need to play together all the time? That sounds like mass chaos to me. I know you said you are an inlaw so you didn't feel like you could speak up, but in my family, in this case I would. I apply the inlaw rule to dealing with parents not siblings. In dealing with a situation like this in my family it would be the moms whether they were married into the family or not. In fact we recently had a situation in which all the siblings were frustrated with a decision a sibling had made involving a family reunion. One of my SILs spoke up that she didn't like the idea and it broke the ice for the siblings to also express frustration and compromise on a better plan.

When my oldest is at piano we walk around the block. I usually have a couple toy cars in my purse and if I know I'll be in a waiting room I have my kids pick out a couple books.

So sorry!

Ottakee, I hope your MIL is ok!

Yes once for a drunk driver. I had a close call when my son was a toddler. He choked on a frozen blueberry and I could not get the Heimlich to work, his stomach muscles were so contracted I could not apply enough force! I was panicked and sat there with the phone unable to remember the number for a second or two. Fortunately I tried one more time on the Heimlich and the berry dislodged. Now I have the number for 911 on my fridge in big numbers just in case. I could it believe I couldn't remember the number!

What a sweet story to read him when he's older. I'm sorry you are going through this but I'm gIad he is ok. I imagine the past couple days have been a whirlwind.

You are way more experienced than me, so ignore me if you want. Since he is 4.5, do you have to do anything formal? Maybe plan a regular library and play date and just let him catch up with his speech? Does he need activities so he will stay out of trouble while you work with your other kids?

The random things my SIL has bought for my kids have not been great quality. They tended to be PJs though so it didn't matter a ton. I've never placed an order myself.

I'm sorry!

Tanaquai. Although Lori has great posts too.