FWIW, I think you are in FL. I just looked up 3 different diocese there. I was able to easily see that the bishops of 2/3 have offered dispensations from attending Mass for the rest of March (that'd be the Diocese of St. Petersburg and Diocese of St. Augustine). It appears the Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando has offered a dispensation that isn't quite so broad. I didn't look at the websites of the other Florida diocese. But, mostly, I'd assume other diocese will follow suit.

Can I ask when that was? I'm asking because the bishops/archbishops of our diocese and those close to us issued dispensations from attending Mass over the weekend. Then today (Tues.) many of them cancelled all public Masses (most at least until just before Easter, some indefinitely). So definitely double-check what's happening in the Catholic diocese you are in. It may have changed since the weekend. Also, I've gotten short emails like that from our priest (not about COVID-19). Usually it means he is thinking about things and he usually gets back to me with a better response. That may just be my priest though.

I decided that this week is spring cleaning week. That is, we are going through the kids rooms and majorly downsizing and organizing. We will go through their dressers and check sizes on clothes. While I don't love doing stuff like this, I love the way it feels when it's done. Though it means we aren't doing most schoolwork, my kids aren't happy about it. I tend to put off doing this as long as possible, but if we are forced to be here, I want things clean/organized. So here we go!

I should be finishing teaching Sunday School and heading to Mass, but here I am at home. Though I am not too worried about DH, our kids, or myself, I don't want to be someone who passes it unknowingly. So, though I don't like missing Mass, I am trying to do things I can to flatten the curve. Yet, I am sure my older mom attended Mass today, after having returned from an out of state trip yesterday.

Well, that washing is full of symbolism. It is not supposed to be actually removing germs. Anyway, I don't know how I feel. I hate, hate, hate the idea of Masses being stopped. But...I get why that decision would be made (it hasn't been made yet in my diocese). And given that I currently have a condition that nobody knows if it makes me high risk or anything, I am feeling extra conflicted. So far, we plan to attend Mass (and I teach a class) this weekend. But there's only been a few cases in our state. Should that change, we may start watching a Mass online.

Well, we go to Mass and religious ed weekly. We also go to the library once a week. I seriously hope this doesn't interrupt religious ed, as I have one making a sacrament this year! Historically, we have often gotten sick after our weekly library trip. So far this year, things have been okay. But I made 2 big changes to our trip. The first is that we no longer go during a storytime. It's just too many people (germy kids). So now we go at what is usually a pretty quiet time at our library. And everyone must wash hands when we get home. I supervise this for everyone, even the 9 yo. Basically, I resigned myself to the fact that even 9 yo can use some supervision in hand-washing. We don't usually start going to the park until May-ish. I can get away with this because we live in the country, so my kids have plenty of space outdoors here at home. If we need to stay home more than we do, we will go hardcore on schoolwork. This would help me feel better about our time off this fall (when something big is happening in our family). There will be more screentime. I, as a pp said, would need to be a better activities director for our kiddos. We'd probably get to poetry time more often. I'd seriously up my prayer-time to include prayers that we all stay sane (and healthy).

When I open a jar of sauerkraut, I have a problem. Namely, if I don't keep my eyes on it at all times, it might be half gone or more by the time I want it for dinner (if we're putting it on brats or whatever). So I guess I just don't understand the problem, as clearly my family and I think it's good straight from the can, and I should just see myself out of this thread. Also, Storygirl posted as Is typed, and now her recipe will be tried very soon!

Another vote here for Celestial Bengal Spice. I don't sweeten it. Sometimes I even brew it double strength (2 bags per cup). I rarely cover my cup. If I do, I just use a saucer.

Actual LOL to having a specialty shoe store in my area. Does Walmart count? Or Target? Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'll keep taking more if anyone else has ideas.

I am to the point in life that I must have shoes with good arch support. I live in a rural area and don't have access to a good shoe store. I am looking for shoes to wear this summer. I need a casual sandal for errands around our (small) town. I'd also like a slide on shoe for wearing around the house. I actually much prefer to be barefoot, but can't do that if I am walking at all. So I need an easy on, easy off pair for around the house as I will kick them off any time I sit down. To complicate matters, I do not like having anything between my toes or around my big toe. I also have very large, very wide feet. If it helps, I recently got a pair of the Verra sandals by Teva. I think those will be what I wear to/from our pool and taking our kids to the local lake. Please help me shop for more shoes!

This is almost exactly what I was going to say. Also, until this post, I had no idea that it's traditional/required in some places to wear white for Confirmation. I've never seen or heard of it. So, I definitely wouldn't be forcing a daughter who didn't want to wear white to do so.

How about a compromise? Put the old set in the junk drawer and the new one where you want it. Really, though, I would explain to DH why his system drives me bonkers. Then, I'd try and accept whatever he does after that. However...I, like others, wonder why there is a junk drawer in that location. I might not be above just moving that somewhere else.

My parents tore down their small, old garage (with doors that slid to the side, so you had to open them by hand...oh yeah, and half was too close to the house so you could only park one car in it) and built a huge, amazing garage. It easily holds two cars, their pop-up camper, gardening supplies, snowblower, etc...And that's just the first floor. They really went all out and built a 2 story garage! My dad became famous around his small town for telling people "bigger is better" when it comes to building a garage. And multiple people have said they are happy to have followed his advice. I have no advice on who to hire, as they used the contractor they've used for pretty much everything since I was born.

We always fast (mostly) from chocolate. It's only mostly because one of our kids has a bday during Lent, and she is allowed to choose a dessert with chocolate. We use this as an introduction to fasting for our kids. I try to either fast from something else or add something good to my life as well. This year, it's my goal to attend Stations of the Cross weekly with our kids (we are Catholic). This year, we are trying something new with our kids. When we see good habits of prayer, fasting, works of mercy, or super good manners, they will be allowed to add a bean to a jar. On Easter, those beans will be traded for jelly beans. At dinner during the Easter season, they will be able to nominate people who have continued good deeds from Lent (so prayer, fasting, etc...) and those people will get a jelly bean for each act until they are gone. I want to try and show them that we aren't supposed to make those changes just for a season. We make them to make ourselves better versions of ourselves, and hopefully those changes last!

Welcome to the world, baby girl! I hope you recovery is smooth sailing!

Praying that all goes well and you and your SIL will both be enjoying newborn snuggles very soon!

If I am understanding correctly, you have absolutely no proof that someone took it versus the store making a mistake. I...cannot imagine confronting someone about this and accusing them of stealing in such a case. I know that if someone did that to me, it would definitely...cast a shadow over any relationship we have. Therefore, gently, I think you just need to let this go.

Once our kids are out of high chairs, we don't contain them at the table. And they've all been done with the high chair by 2ish. Yes, sometimes they run off. Sometimes they graze as they dash around like mad. Generally, they have all stayed in the kitchen area though, as that's where the action is. So it makes it easy to keep an eye on them. I cannot fathom wanting to contain an unwilling 3 yo at the table. It just sounds like a disaster in the making. No one would enjoy the meal, so what's the point? But as for helpful suggestions, do you have a belt? As in, a belt for pants. Try that, putting the buckle in the back. And good luck if this is something you continue to choose to do. I hope you find a path to calmer mealtimes.

We always use whatever my MW recommends. (We can purchase it as part of our birth kit.) Generally, we are good about the first doses...and then our compliance drops off. So far ours have been exclusively BF. If you need, I can look up what brand she currently recommends. (Our youngest is now 3, so it certainly might have changed!)

My heart dropped reading this...and I have been a public school 4th grade teacher! First, the "what to do" and "what not to do" examples should be given before a project is done (and in fact, may have been). Also, my examples for those would have come from previous years and/or things I made up just for that situation. If there is going to be class editing, I'd have pulled the samples back out and then asked students to check for specific things in their own work. I just don't think most 4th graders are mature enough to do peer editing of projects well. I hope you do address this with the teacher and IEP team.

I'd totally send along a homemade muffin mix (that is, dry ingredients for some of our favorite muffins). They can have fun making them together and then have snack for a couple days. Also, even though it's winter and cold, they'd be taking along all their winter gear. My mom's house is...small, really small and not well laid out. And her tolerance for noise/chaos is very different from what is allowed in our house (IOW, she can't handle any. There is NO running in the house, no jumping, etc...it worked with my quiet, compliant sisters and I growing up, but our kids are not like that.) So getting outside daily would be pretty much non-negotiable or everyone would go crazy.

If anyone in our family is sick, we try to hunker down as much as possible. I mean, DH would still go to work if he's not sick. Or one of us might need to run to the grocery store. But pretty much everything else gets put off if possible. Frankly, I don't know if I would trust them after this. I would certainly be asking a lot of questions before any possible get-togethers.

Well, my brain followed the same path yours did. The other way isn't bad, necessarily, just more overdone.

Okay, now I need to know it's pattern. But I have a feeling this would drive me batty too.

Yes, typically you'll notice the fridge getting too warm before noticing the freezer getting warmer, because the cooling coil is in the freezer, and the fridge depends on airflow from the freezer to keep cool. When the coil ices up it blocks the airflow so the fridge warms up, but the freezer still keeps cold by conduction because there's a very cold block of ice in the back of it. If you don't see frost in the back of the freezer section, near the vents, then it's probably not iced up, but you could still check by unplugging and warming it up (might not be easy if it's in a garage). Usually there will be enough water to overflow the pan under the fridge and run out on the floor, or pull the pan out and check when it stops dripping. Defrost problems are 90% of refrigerator not cooling problems.