Keep it simple. I think unless the guests are expecting some gourmet brunch, I don't see the need for it to be so elaborate :confused1: When I think shower (bridal, wedding, baby) I think cake and punch and gifts. Seriously. If someone told me "brunch" I wouldn't expect the hostess to be pulling multiple items out of an oven. Echoing some of the same things. Muffins (don't even necessarily need to be homemade), parfaits, croissants. Did anyone suggest biscuits? Chicken or sausage or ham on a biscuit? You can literally buy a bag of frozen biscuits, too. I only have one oven, but we have a large toaster oven. It can accommodate a casserole dish as well as a pizza pan. Ask if anyone close to the group can bring their toaster oven over. If not for cooking, it could maybe be used to keep items warm. Edited: not the pizza pan and casserole dish at the same time LOL

Ds was a Hogwarts student one year. We got everything at Target's website (robe, broom, scarf. Scarf is not as nice lol). Just in case you want to compare options

I was going to say bake some chicken in olive oil in the oven or toaster oven. Similar to what Bluegoat said. I asked dh about the white chili. His recommendation was grilled cheese sandwiches and brussels sprouts. If you do add salad, do you already add things like beans or eggs? That might beef up the salad. Chick peas, black beans, hard boiled eggs, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds

Dd (almost 2) was going to be Beemo from Adventure Time or a black cat. Well, today I found the black shirt and pants and a black cat headband. Most items seem to have designs on them, so I was actually starting to wonder if I'd even be able to find a solid black top. I looked at a couple of knitted cat hats and a few types of headbands before dh stumbled upon the clear winner. Very soft fabric. She can wear any of these items at other times, like your Supergirl :)

Are you able to nap before picking him up (setting a timer/s so you don't oversleep)?

Will people know the categories in advance? Because someone might make a dessert that doesn't fall in any of those categories (ie. rice krispie treats, cobbler — what would that be?, brownies...) I like the idea of money for best looking, but item can still be sold. I would hate to attend and not get to try the dessert I looked at all night LOL Guess that would just be encouragement for me to buy something? But what if I spent my money on the donation jar and got outbid? I guess I'd have to pick up dessert on the way home! :laugh:

Kinda replying out of order here. Sorry. We didn't have any requests. I'm just stating that allergy testing might be useful for us. Well I'm pretty sure the dr encouraged the allergy testing for ds. We just didn't follow through. It's probably best he was stung at the school and not at home. I don't have anything for stings here. I actually just looked at some products recently, but was leery of the ingredients. I should probably have something to keep around just in case. I don't think we did anything really special when I was a kid and got stung at school. I think they gave us some sort of cold pack. But I guess the products do help reduce the reaction.

Because he had an ant bite swell up so big once it looked like it might be an umbilical hernia. It just happened to be by his belly button. That's probably the appt where we discussed allergy testing with the dr. A referral was put in, but we didn't go because we couldn't get a straight answer... one of those things where you wouldn't have a quote til after the fact? It may not be a logical train of thought to think bees might pose a problem, but it's just something that nagged at us I guess. Also, I think the fear was from him being at school and us not knowing what happened/being there in case of an emergency. Obviously the school felt it was under control as we received no phone calls. Luckily the school was able to treat/contain it, but had he needed an epi pen or something the hospital nearest his school is crap and I just hate to think of how the events would have unfolded. Also, maybe dh and I can't shake that movie My Girl?

I guess they could go under more than one label. I voted junk food snack. In the lunch scenario, I would probably just tell my child that they only got one sweet (not counting fruit in that group I guess), if any. Unless it wasn't an every day thing, then I might be like, "whatever" sometimes lol. I really worry about their affect on teeth. Some varieties stick to my teeth.

Are you asking if the gun method is a good idea now? I think it's not as easy to clean as the needle? Is your dd asking for them? What's the push? I never got mine done. I might eventually lol. I got an eyebrow ring in college, that's it. My sisters pressured me into it as a kid... the gun was broken and I never went back lol

I see. That's true, allergies are not always known. Wow this thread is hitting home today. I'm embarrassed to say we haven't done the formal allergy tests for ds because of financial reasons and not being able to get an accurate quote on what it would cost. Anyway, we know he has a bad reaction to ant bites (took him to the dr over one) and has issues with grass sometimes (seems better now). We know peanuts are okay, but he did once have a weird reaction to a mixed nut box that was at a family member's house. We couldn't figure out what kind of nut he had, though. Well all this to say, yes I totally agree it's possible to be unaware of allergies. Today he said he got stung by a bee at school. The teacher asked him if he was allergic to bees and he said no (he didn't know, I didn't know!) and they treated it with something and everything was fine. But boy did that scare dh and I hearing he got stung by a bee. Obviously I need to make allergy testing a priority. How scary.

This is how I might feel as the OP. Like, even if no one else saw/heard it, it might just be there. But if the only concern is if other people would think it/use it, then that is probably unlikely. In our family we really don't use middle names (we do have them). I used to say that expression all the time, but I've been trying to limit it since I heard that it was short for the Lord's name and I don't want to take His name in vain. I always typed it with a G and no e at the end.

Maybe it's less the phrase and more the scripted way people say things. I get annoyed if someone uses the same phrase over and over in a robotic reflex kind of way. And I'm sure I overuse things lol but if it was said 3x in like 3 minutes I could see how that would feel pretty robotic.

I have the opposite problem. The only reason I'm where I am is because of low rent and distance to dh's work. Everything else is far away. I want to move closer to shopping, activities, etc. but then our rent will jump way up and we'll require a second vehicle because dh will no longer be able to walk to work and I'll most likely be working to make ends meet. I've been trying to problem solve this for a while.

I wear "wedgees" to make my glasses more snug but not in a way that would make a dent. That might be an alternative for a pair that isn't as tight fitting.

I'm confused. No one has a nut allergy in the school but the nut ban seems reasonable? Is that because it's more likely to cause a serious reaction should a child later enroll that has an issue?

I think it's a business thing. Like something I could easily imagine an Amazon employee saying just as much as an employee at a specific state university. In your post, however, it seemed overkill LOL. Like they are trained to say it. Reminded me of Chick-Fil-A with "my pleasure."

You guys are freaks champs. ;) lol

Oh I think I vaguely remember hearing about them getting together, whenever that was. I have lost track of time lol.

Oh my goodness. How scary. Yes, I hope she uses something. Hopefully she is not home alone, either.

I never followed their relationship closely. I always wondered if he was even gung ho about having a big family or if that was really just something he didn't stand in the way of KWIM? Like, she was so passionate about it that maybe he was just kinda "uh ok." I don't know them. I'm just saying thoughts that I had. I was more interested in the Gwen/Gavin relationship. Lots of ideas surrounding that and what happened. But maybe that's for its own thread lol.

My mom was finally diagnosed with Parkinson's after some time, but they kept saying vague stuff at first as well. Wilson's disease is another thing that causes similar symptoms. Learned that watching Everwood. We saw issues with my mom's gait over time, too, but didn't know what was going on. I would _not_ want my mom attempting a stationary bike where she's up high and could fall. Maybe something low to the ground or just the pedals. My mom has a device that is just the pedals she can use while seated in a regular chair. I don't want to be negative, but at some point you may want to have her use a cane or walker. Possibly now. My mom had a bad fall and broke her hip. Well I don't know the order. Sometimes people break hips, then fall. But either way, it lead to her messed up thumb which is the crux of her issues. Trying to eat with tremors and an injured hand is awful. In hindsight she probably should have been using a walker or cane back then. I think she was just trying to do something basic like open the refrigerator. Your mom may not want to use a support now, but it could potentially save her a bad fall.

I really don't like driving. I drove ds 45 min. each way to attend a 30 min. martial arts class one year. I hated that. It seemed like a waste. Afterwards we would sometimes run an errand/grab dinner but it didn't make it exactly worthwhile. When dh drove him they would often go grocery shopping afterwards, but that meant they would come in the house between 9-10pm. I was not a fan. Now that he's older the class would be longer so maybe more worthwhile, but it would meet twice a week instead of once and I can't commit to that. We were interested in theory, but practically speaking it just isn't possible at the moment. If I didn't have to drag a toddler everywhere I might be more open to driving for certain things, but still turned off by anything that meets more than once a week. So that pretty much outrules most sports between practices and games. Actually, we are trying private school this year and the transportation plan we had fell through so I'm driving him every.single.day and I hate it. Not 45 min. one way, more like round trip. Dh does drive sometimes, but it mostly falls on me because of his work schedule. I'm trying to see if there are closer things we could do like maybe Boys & Girls Club. Do you have any options like that? 4H? I think for me roads/routes affect my opinion on drive time. Like are we talking 45 min. interstate or back roads? Middle of no where or city? I have driven places where there was no where to stop for gas. I asked someone at the church where the nearest gas station was and they told me I was best going to the next town (?!). I just can't handle stuff like that. I worry about being stranded! lol

That's at your school, but we don't know how they do things at the OPs. I mean they say the background check is necessary, but we don't know how serious they are about it for a reading day.

We have hardly any friends and have been here four years. I think one year isn't so strange to be trying to find friends still. I remember seeing some other posts about people not fitting in after living somewhere a while. So this doesn't sound all that strange/uncommon. I don't know that going to school will change things. I mean, I went to public school my whole life and was still a loner much of the time. I had some friends in high school, but a lot were more acquaintances than friends because we mostly spent time together on campus. At least, that's how I saw it at times. Ds is trying private school partially for socialization (we're very isolated where we live and making it to co-op etc. is quite a stressor) and he's having trouble making friends. The other kids have known each other for years, but it could also be a personality thing, possible ADD, etc. I know this post isn't very helpful probably, but what I'm trying to say is sometimes people just don't click and it may not necessarily have anything to do with school. I think if there was a hobby type thing that might be cool. Like create their own group or find one on meetup.com or such. As for college, yes, I thought of it as a total game changer. I had a way more social life in the college years. Also, I didn't drive in high school so that limited my out of school interactions.