Ok I see when I googled box turtle shell they are probably not the same color as the ones I linked, sorry.

I'm not sure if this would fit your needs? http://www.hottopic.com/product/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-foam-shell/10451051.html It's not a backpack, just the shell. Also, Hot Topic sells the TMNT backpack (not sure if you are against those? They aren't a toy and adults can wear them so I don't think they'd be too small. Similar to what is on Amazon but lower price). This is the backpack on Hot Topic: http://www.hottopic.com/product/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-mini-shell-backpack/883368-001.html Walmart has this less expensive version but it may not be the right size (also saw this item on Amazon but for a higher price on Amazon): https://www.walmart.com/ip/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-Turtle-Shell-Kids-Backpack/52616049?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227043155088&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=87051206089&wl4=pla-193504312129&wl5=9013896&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=52616049&wl13=&veh=sem

Lol well I'm glad people know what I'm talking about but it can be a pain. Dh has some strange alarms. He has these music alarms on his phone, I don't know if a music alarms would help certain people. Dh's music alarm of Death's "Freaking Out" makes my heart jump as I wake up to a man screeching.

When I said short, I meant shorter than that. Ten is within normal range.

This thread is amusing. Some people are saying their voice will be enough to wake someone. I can have a whole conversation with dh and he doesn't remember any of it because we find out later he was still asleep. Maybe conversation is an exaggeration, but some type of question/answer or statement/reply. Sometimes his answers give away the fact that he's not really aware.

Packing lunches is new to me since ds just started taking them. I don't have any special ideas, but for things like cold pasta salad I use a little food container thermos thingy. They are short and wide. I have also put fresh cut strawberries in it. I'm trying to figure out how to use it for hot food, I guess you heat the food before you leave the house? I don't know. So you could potentially pack soup or spaghetti o's or such. They could buy lunchables or recreate lunchables. Leftover pizza. I might just fold a paper plate in the bag so they could microwave when they got there. I'm not sure if you're talking about empty containers or they previously had deli meat in them. I have considered re-using deli containers for easy storage.

Weird. I never even knew about high histamine foods. I can't tell from your post if you're trying to conceive? I currently meet with a natural family planning teacher while I chart my cycles. If you chart you should keep an eye on your luteal phase length. Shorter ones are linked to miscarriages and once spotted a woman can take something to address the short luteal phase and fix it. Some of mine are shorter because of breastfeeding, which is not uncommon, but in other cases it can signal that something is amiss. I can't find my book right now, but it is probably addressed in it as that is the method my teacher uses (The Billings Ovulation Method book) and we have discussed short luteal phases.

Sorry, I did not mean to imply that no one ever needs encouragement or help or intervention of some sorts. I know that part of the reason my second birth went smoother is because she came early and was a smaller baby than the first. But with the first, looking back, I feel like it wasn't time to push or something was off and the dr was just rushing me. He wasn't even my normal obgyn.

I hope he can work things out so he can run on Monday. Also, if he's not aware, I might mention that the other kids were uncomfortable. He might be more swayed by that than the coaches' comments.

Well dh can sleep through a FIRE ALARM (he slept through most of it in college once) lol so I get it. He sometimes has multiple alarms going off in the house... he will sometimes set 11 on his cell phone (a few min. apart) and then Alexa will be going off. I'm usually the one that wakes him to say Alexa is going off down the hall and can you shut it off. My only advice is to make sure that he isn't staying up well past the time he gets home from work. Dh will work late and then stay up late watching TV sometimes. I think that adds to the problem.

yay!!

I don't know if this will be comforting or not, but my first birth was very hard for me (vaginal, no pain meds except they pressured me into pitocin for the placenta which was a mistake) and coached pushing. My second birth was done on my terms (also vaginal, no pain meds). I chose when to push based on when my body felt ready and I confirmed with the dr it was safe. 2-3 pushes and she was out. It was a much easier birth overall and I luckily did not tear and require stitches the second delivery. So my advice is that you skip coached pushing. My deliveries were night and day. There is hope. :grouphug:

Rach, he was banned from the library, but do you know if the activity was reported to police? I guess if I knew the activity was happening in a place where the person could be identified, I could press for info and/or have the staff call the police. In a place where a person is less likely to be known as a regular, maybe the staff could still report it/show video cameras to police to identify the person. I wouldn't be surprised if the person doing it was going around town trying to do the same thing in other locations. I have heard of weird activity in libraries, not quite the same, but also alarming. Like there was a guy on my college campus that was flashing people and they posted warnings.

I don't know. That is crazy. Ds told us that kids think he's weird because he uses the stall rather than the urinal at school usually. I just said, well, do whatever makes you comfortable. So, in your example, I might suggest the stall vs. the urinal?

Oddly, this showed up in my feed today: http://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/real-life/in-the-news/two-boys-avoid-potential-abduction-because-of-tricky-people-lesson

Hmm Well I am personally very intimidated by melons. They're so thick and awkward. I might worry about holding it steady, getting juice everywhere, not picking the right knife, etc. Maybe he thought he'd cut himself, struggle with the thickness of the melon, make a mess and have to clean up juice or even accidentally cut himself. Then how to store it when you are done, do you put the whole melon back in the fridge or what. I'm also paranoid about spreading listeria from outside of melon to inside when you slice knife through. It was in a video I watched about listeria. So I sorta get the melon hesitation. I'm not sure where he was coming from, though. As for the lettuce, I bet he just wanted to grab a bowl of prepared salad and the idea of having to put together a salad (which I'm guessing would mean also combining other veggies or toppings? Which may or may not have been prepared) just seemed like too much work. I can't explain it, but I am easily turned off by even the smallest things and could see myself doing something similar at his age. Now? If someone had prewashed the lettuce I'd be thrilled. I hate washing lettuce because even when I had a salad spinner it never got dry right away and I don't want a wet salad. Any chance he's hoarding potato chips in his room? lol. Or another prepackaged food (gas station, vending machine, etc.) Maybe he's depressed, for an unrelated reason, and it's affecting his interest. It does sound like he's deliberately staying ignorant (not watching the demo) to avoid getting involved for whatever reason. If you have him help with prep around other family members maybe that intimidates him. Having him cut out seeds while the rest of the family rushes to prepare peppers might backfire. He might feel extra anxiety as this is a task that needs to get done ASAP.

I know realistically I'd panic, too. But to ease my anxiety I would go explore the area before committing or have dh explore it and send videos or whatever. I'd come up with questions about local shopping, internet access, etc.

Regarding anxiety in the kitchen, I have a level of that. For me personally it can be some OCD type things like touching raw meat or eggs, worrying about spreading salmonella or something. Then I hate dishes so even just using a knife and cutting board I'm thinking, ugh, something else to wash. I don't eat tomatoes so yeah, I wouldn't be excited about cutting tomatoes. When I do chop carrots they fly across the cutting board sometimes. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have watched videos, I have watched others. I just kind of suck at it. I think our knives probably need to be sharpened and I don't like to fold my knuckles down and hold my hand like the pros seem to do. But I don't know if that explains carrots flying lol. I would rather just chop more slowly with no one watching and judging me. I'll admit for me personally, I think I have a combination of OCD, anxiety, stubbornness and laziness. lol Dh has teased me about how I lived before we met (he can cook). I say hey, I was thinner back then! lol

A melon slice or a piece of lettuce do not stop a person from eating a meal. They just skip the fruit or the lettuce. Surely he's eating something? Maybe he ate the tacos sans lettuce (or whatever the item was). I'm stubborn. I don't like to cook. My mom didn't teach me, but would have worked with me if I had been interested. So as a married woman dh got a partner with probably the same level of skill as your 16 yr old. Trust me, you can go years without self teaching and survive. I'm not saying it's a great way to live, but it's very possible. I'm better now, but still don't consider myself a cook. You can eat easy mac, refried beans from a can with a tortilla, frozen items like corn dogs. None of these involve true prep. Besides the tomato, were the requests for him to do prep for the family? If you didn't specify an actual task and just hoped he would do it for himself, you could easily wait forever. I am still like this. I would rather buy shredded lettuce for tacos or bagged salad than deal with a head of lettuce most of the time.

I want to try this. I mean try the finished product :D

Good point. But the neighbor may have used the dark as a reason to coax her into a ride. "You don't want to be walking home at night alone."

Exactly. I would hope the women at the gym were not butt naked while they applied makeup, either lol.

Oh man, I haven't even looked to see if costumes are out but I have stumbled upon other Halloween stuff out already.

I wouldn't want to be alone walking after dark period, really. But that's just me. For the record I shared the story more so because the girl was leaving a late night job when it happened. And she was just accepting a ride (from someone she knew as a neighbor I think).

I wasn't close enough to know how loudly ds answered, etc. I ran the thing through my head a number of times and couldn't tell if his admitting he walked in was strategic in seeming innocent or just an honest mistake he wanted to admit. I couldn't tell if I liked the guy's demeanor, either and I had just taken a protection of children class about molesters so I was extra sensitive to the whole situation. And before anyone jumps in, I know that the odds are probably low of someone choosing that situation for that kind of behavior. Anyway, for us, I have decided it's probably best to do a little more coaching and/or bring my kids inside the restroom with me. I agree that locations/situations/specific children can all affect a person's answer and comfort level.