Oh I believe you, in case there was any doubt. I just meant that I think it's the exception. Where I currently live, I alternate between a few parishes. I've lived here 3 years and I think the only time I heard an announcement was during a funeral. I'm usually out of town for holidays so not attending the local parishes then, but they often say something at those on a major holiday. Dh just sits in the pew. He has never gone to get a blessing. I don't know many adults that do that. Not that there's anything wrong with it.

I started to type out a list of options like cross arms or put finger over lips but erased it because I said to myself, "if I was visiting I doubt I'd remember what to do or I just wouldn't feel comfortable getting up." I've been to numerous churches and it's very rare to hear a priest (in my experience) give directions unless it's on a major holiday/occasion where they know there are lots of non Catholics in the room. My son goes up with his arms crossed all the time (he has not had First Communion). I'd just sit near the end of the pew so I could step out if I didn't want a bunch of people walking around me. Sit in a less crowded pew, OP, if you are worried about that.

We have a wire sink guard thingy which catches a lot. But yes, food still does end up going down. Looks like this: http://vermontkitchensupply.com/products/Sink-Strainer.html

Not completely what you asked but... If it wouldn't be weird, you could ask to go to Mass with your midwife just to visit and see for yourself. If you go alone, just remain seated during Communion (that may be obvious, but not sure). My dh is not Catholic and he attends with me sometimes. He actually stays seated for several parts. RCIA is not just for people converting. It's for people interested in Catholicism. So if you get to that point where RCIA interests you, you could call a local parish and ask about it. When classes start can vary from church to church. Some do it year round. Others may start in August. At my church I did the Word on Fire series with my Bible study. We watched some videos in the series. The priest did a great job of explaining something to me about our belief on Communion. On the website it says he has a book. http://www.wordonfire.org/ Edited: Oh wow, he has a Kindle book on sale for $1.99 right now for a limited time. I just bought it. http://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/get-bishop-barrons-best-selling-catholicism-book-for-just-199-today/5049/

I'm so accustomed to not having one that I don't know what to do with myself when I go places with one. My in-laws are always like, "oh you can dump that down the drain!" if they see me scraping a plate into the trash can. But I don't know how much can go down the drain and I feel weird about it. They peel their eggs over the sink and use the egg shells to "clean" the disposal walls. I don't peel eggs over the sink. This does not affect me. I'm pretty sure when we had a disposal it ended up messing up and being worth more hassle than it was worth. Maybe user error, I don't know.

Since I never started using tampons, it does affect my wardrobe (like I won't want to wear a dress and certain pants even) and desire to leave the house in early stages of it. It is physically painful to stand on a heavy day sometimes. But I don't think I'm the norm. I actually went 21 months without it only to have it return last month. Truly one of the best perks of pregnancy/breastfeeding lol.

I'm afraid to click the link. Kidnapping? Wow, I don't remember that in CG. I was thinking he was a stow away. I was more fixated on the fact that The Man with the Yellow Hat smoked and the author used "fat" to describe a police officer or fireman in one story (ds was taught that fat is not a word for describing people) when we read it.

I see. Well, if I was looking at the photos and wanted to take them seriously I would like to see a normal pose in the before, not a "I am so unhappy and my hair is a mess" vs "I came out of the salon and got my teeth whitened" LOL

I have a friend that posts pics and yes, she's a Beachbody coach. I didn't know it was like a rule or something to post those photos. Progress photos are kinda awkward to me. Before/after is different to me than progress pics. I don't care either way, but I personally might not feel comfortable posting certain things. I don't think she posts daily photos. In general, happy for someone that posts before/after. I do have a FB friend that got so into fitness they are doing competitions now (like muscular in a bikini) and that's a bit over the top for me. I mean, I'm happy for them. Just don't get the need for bigger muscles. What is the reason for the question? :) Are you considering doing the coaching stuff or just curious about people's reactions or..?

Ok what bins or storage baskets do you guys use in the chest freezer? I need some ideas :) I am sure how they fit will vary from freezer to freezer.

When people say "this one holds more than that one" I think it really depends on which two items you are comparing. Our chest freezer is small. My MIL's upright is huge. I think hers fits more. I feel like I need to wear gloves to dig in mine. Brr.

I *think* the chests might stay colder? But maybe that is just compared to a freezer that is connected to a fridge? I only say this because I often see breastmilk storage guidelines allow for more time in a chest freezer vs regular.

We have a chest and we fantasize about a stand up. We just couldn't afford it. My hands get cold searching for items in the chest that would more easily be found and removed from the upright. My MIL has a beautiful upright. I don't know that we need the size of an upright, but we would definitely use it if we had one. We have a rather small chest freezer we got from Lowe's.

I don't know if I can listen while driving lol. Last time dh and I tried that the book was putting us to sleep and I had to turn it off.

It's quite similar at times here with my 7yr old. Everything seems to take so long. We're trying to establish a better school day routine. I printed out a check off list last week and told him we need to buckle down and do the list daily (we actually did not do everything on the list, but got most done). I got these little push pin magnets and put the list on a magnetic board so it's the same thing and we just move the magnets in each check box. I really hope this helps us get more accomplished. I don't know if something visual like that would help? Or if you already do something like that. Can you get your dh to help at all? Usually I'm doing the school stuff, but sometimes we'll do school stuff after dh is home and we can each focus on one child. Last week dh worked with ds on the school while I focused on the baby. I am trying to declutter and organize the house which I hope will make our days less stressful by making tidying up easier in the future. Join us on the declutter thread on the chat board if you haven't already. I don't have much advice, but mostly commenting to say you are not alone! Most days are a battle here. Just getting ds to get out of bed, feed the cat, eat breakfast is often a struggle.

I don't quite know how to define it. This may help: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_colleges_in_the_United_States I have never heard of a 4-yr degree from a CC despite the link above. Typically you would go there for roughly 2 years and finish a program there or transfer to a university. I did not have to complete an AA and chose to stick around one more semester to do so. I figured if something happened (my schooling got interrupted or I wanted better job prospects earlier on) I would at least have the AA on my resumé. It was just a personal preference for me. Whether you want to earn a graduate degree seems irrelevant at the CC level. You would transfer to pursue that and need to get your bachelor's before entering grad school. My major was part of the School of Mass Communication and Journalism. I always considered this liberal arts. I haven't seen much mention of some of these majors in this thread but that would expand to things like film and PR. Sorry, screwed up the quote stuff.

I'm not sure if I sound like a country bumpkin for saying this, but I don't relate to some of the "oodles of extras." Yeah, I can name extras, but they aren't all academic-related. My favorites were not, actually. Like my friends playing Capture the Flag on campus in the evening. He wanted to be an archivist, but it required more than his BA and/or nothing was available. He was in a program to get a certificate, but they didn't offer the last class he needed the final semester he was in his online degree program I think. And I'm pretty sure that was the graduate program. Not sure if he could have obtained that sooner. Most things on that list to me sound very random and may not necessarily appeal to a person that sought out a history degree. Why would you give the advertising executive job to the person with the history degree? Heck, I don't even qualify for that and I have a degree in Advertising. This list actually just proves to me that there isn't much geared toward history majors.

Thanks for the update. Mine is the real baker/chef in the house. Sometimes he does rolls from scratch, sometimes not. Edited: just saw the update

Yeah, I haven't even made it through the first ep all the way without wondering if I really want to watch it.

I don't think she should review a book after only 50 pages (for many books, that's less than a third). I don't know if that's what she did, either. I have several books here (hard copies) I want to read, but it's so hard to find the time. I'm in the middle of an audible trial and I'm on my second book. I don't know if that counts lol. But the point is if I want to get the information out of the book, it is easier to find time with audible. I don't necessarily like listening to the narrator's voice, though. I listened to a few samples and some I said, "nope, don't want the audio version." My problem is not just time, though. I physically cannot hold the book sometimes (baby in my arms, it's too difficult unless I decide to babywear with a book maybe) or maybe I have less energy and it seems easier to listen. I don't have an interest in speed reading, really. I'd feel like I didn't have as much time to absorb what I just read or enjoy it.

I know it varies from child to child. The addictive nature can happen even with little to no restrictions imo. Ds seems to display this, anyway. But regarding the bolded, this made me think of my cousin. His parents put a lock on the TV and it was very limited. I think it was like no TV til summer or something like that. I remember visiting him one summer and he didn't want to do anything but watch tv all day.

I don't know if anyone actually said that a BS degree is the thing to get. Lots of school debt is just a given for many people. It may have nothing to do with the major. But if they are going to be paying on debt, they at least hope they are working a decent job as they make payments. I know that in some jobs the thing the employer cares about is that you have any degree. But in an area or time frame where the job market is competitive, you probably want a more relevant degree for the jobs in which you apply. Like I said, dh got a BA in history. Aside from teaching or maybe a job at a museum, I don't know too many jobs in which his degree would be relevant. And his focus was on diseases. He got his current job after he got a Master's (not in history). I'm curious if the friends you mentioned higher up in the post are working stereotypical jobs or not. For the record, I have no problem with my children choosing BAs when he time comes. It's the specific major I might have reservations about.

This has yet to come up in the house. But today ds spilled juice next to his workbook at the kitchen table. I don't think food and books go well together :lol: Would be worse if it was a tablet. Or a book that doesn't belong to the reader.

Yep. I got approval before. I wouldn't want to do the gen ed. stuff last since it was what led to my getting an AA at a community college. And I felt that the math classes might be harder (or more difficult to seek help) at the university level than in the smaller classroom where I took them.

Yeah, in my experience there were pre-reqs that would mess that up or you'd be a senior sitting in a room full of freshman doing Comp 1. Ugh.