I would probably appreciate your doing that.

I really hope @DawnM has not had to wait almost 3 years for those gifts to get opened! 😄

Since I said we typically leave... 👀 Our route to my parents' house is almost entirely backwoods Georgia and we never have heavy traffic. And we don't stay in a hotel in this situation.

We are preparing for the possibility of heading to my parents' house. We tend to leave town if anything stronger than a tropical storm is coming through. But we'll wait and see how the models look over the next day or so.

Right now we are past my comfort level with activities. 13yo has an outsourced science class (weekly), musical practices (2-5 times weekly), Latin club (monthly club meetings plus weekly practice for her activity in the club plus occasional competitions), and church youth group. 10yo has volleyball (2x/week). 8yo has speech and occupational therapies (one therapy per week, alternating) and taekwondo (2x/week). All three go to Grammy and Grandpa's house for 2-3 hours once a week. Some of those don't feel like "activities," exactly, but they are things I have to take kids to. And I am feeling like it's too much, but not sure what I would cut. 🤷‍♀️ We've already cut some things - we were doing piano for all three, but we needed to change instructors, and I haven't gotten them signed up at the new place yet because I don't know when we would do it. The younger two were also going to do the choir they've done since they were tiny, but the volleyball and musical practices conflicted with choir and we couldn't make it happen. I feel really sad about not having any music instruction happening for 10yo and 8yo right now.

I mean, you probably shouldn't do that, either. 😆

Pokemon Go 👀 YNAB Nest (thermostat) ESV Bible app Google Photos

Got Mr. Tumnus finished this evening! Next up is the lamp post, which should go pretty quickly. 😊

That looks fabulous - the doll and the clothes! At one point when DD#1 was younger I got materials to make her a doll, but I chickened out and bought one instead. 😄 I am very impressed!

YES. "The days are long, but the years are short" is the one that bugs me the most. So very dismissive of the legitimate struggles that a mom (almost invariably it's directed toward moms) is dealing with at that present time. Now, if thinking of that is how a particular mom wants to help HERSELF maintain perspective, cool. But if another mom says "hey, this thing in parenting is really hard," that's when I find it dismissive. (See also "oh, just wait until they hit [insert age or life stage somewhere past where the struggling mom's kids are].")

Different quillers have different methods! Some don't use pins at all. If I'm doing something more abstract I don't use them. Here's my current setup, in case you're curious. 🙂 (The drawings are not the whole project, just the parts I'm working on right now.)

I have actually been working on a quilling project for the last week and a half. I mean, it's a project I started a LONG time ago, but I've actually found/made time to work on it again. I'm at a point where I can see quick progress, which is motivating. Maybe another week like this and then I'll hit another tedious portion, so we'll see if the motivation holds up. 😉 It is a Narnia themed piece. Currently I'm working on Mr. Tumnus, and I have never put so many pins in such a small section of a project. 😄

Raised Southern Baptist, but went to Presbyterian (PCA) high school. Stayed Baptist as an adult for a few years, and then dh and I joined a Presbyterian (OPC) church, where we stayed for 15+ years. We left that church a few months ago and are now attending a non-denominational reformed church.

Quick update in case this is helpful to anyone in a similar boat - we have completed four lessons in Notgrass's Our Star-Spangled Story, and DS's retention is SO much better. I don't find the curriculum super deep or thorough, but it is a much better fit for this kid. We are splitting each lesson over three days - first day I read him the lesson and have him come and look at the pictures, second day he answers the three review questions (which I have typed on separate paper with space for him to answer), and third day we do the workbook page and sing the corresponding song if there is one. I know this means it will take us forever to get through, but I'm okay with that because I can see that he's learning. 🙂

My issue is mainly that I find it really distracting, with the names/number of users updating all the time. I also have a tendency to type out lengthy responses and then talk myself out of posting them. I don't like the idea of people watching me type and then wondering why my comment never materialized. 😄

I only see "1 other user" here, so I think yes. 🙂

Let me post this and see if it puts the screenshots in the right order... Okay, yes, order looks correct. Sorry the images are huge! I circled what to tap at each step. After you click "Security and Privacy," it will prompt you to enter your password again, and then just choose the option to hide your online status.

Yes, I can see your username at the top of the page.

@Indigo Blue I could see you typing. Could you see my name, on the thread or typing?

At present I see "1 other user is here" but I can't see that user's name, so I am guessing it's someone who has done the "hide my online status" thing. @Grace Hopper, give me just a minute and I will post screenshots for how to get there on a phone.

Agreed! It also shows users who are typing comments. I did go into my settings and to the security & privacy section, where I was able to choose "hide my online status." I assume that means I am not showing up on these lists, but I don't know for sure. @Helpdesk?

After being sure of local laws, I would just go up non-confrontationally, introduce myself, and at some point in the conversation say, "I did notice that someone was flying a drone over our place the other night - I'm guessing it was someone from here? It made us feel uncomfortable and we'd prefer that you not do that." Unless you have a reason to think there was malicious intent, I'd assume they just didn't think about laws or how it might be perceived.

On the whole, yes, I love it. There are things I don't love about it, and there are days I don't love. But mostly I love it. 🙂

I did a home sleep study. I wasn't told to keep electronics away though. I did sleep horribly that night, but they got enough info to dx me with moderate (I think - but maybe mild) obstructive sleep apnea. Got approved for a CPAP. Waited months for that to be available. Went in to get it...and had a panic attack with the thing on my face. Yay claustrophobia! So I did not get a CPAP in the end after all.

My son was 6 when we began pursuing and got his autism diagnosis. I have told people - I didn't suddenly start walking the road of parenting an autistic kid. I've been on that road since he was born. But NOW, the road has some streetlights. I can see the signs that tell me which road I'm on. I can see some of the bumps in the road and a curve or two up ahead (I can't see all of those things, of course, but way more than I could without any lights). It's so, so helpful to KNOW which road I'm on. And like others said, supports can be available to your son with a diagnosis. It's absolutely worthwhile to pursue the possibility.