We are minimalists by a lot of people’s standards, but we are in no way uncluttered! 😂 We have yet to learn to put our things in their homes. Boo.

Financial stability. Or a warm winter coat.

https://cookieandkate.com/ https://m.facebook.com/groups/1023957707694936 We generally look for ways to push back on meat and be more veggie forward. For us, that can look a lot like the Mediterranean Diet (not Mediterranean cuisine, but the eating guidelines). I shared my favorite “plant-based” (ie vegetarian) recipe site and a super encouraging and helpful Mediterranean FB group above.

Just to clarify: I do not have any expectations of being enthusiastic about Christmas this early. I just know that I'll need to be prepared so that when I'm not feeling enthusiastic, I have some sort of plan. I think that plan should include not having to come up with some half baked ideas on observing Christmas at the last minute. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is my favorite carol for the lyrics. So thank you for the reminder, Patty Joanna. That helps me a lot. ❤️

You totally pegged me. I’m succumbing to the “Thanksgiving is late this year! Prepare now or you won’t have time to make it special for your family!” irrationality. But it’s true, in a way, advent starts three days later. That’s in two weeks. Plus I have a history of feeling like Christmas is just an added load on the mama.

When you’re not feeling it? added points for $0 answers. 😊

Favorites here are: Salisbury steak, Korean beef, Pakistani kima, Bierrocks, and Hamburger stroganoff. Also meatball anything. Eta: I didn’t read first. All mine have been suggested in some form! 🤣

You can see this very clearly on the Honey app. See the example in this link when you scroll down to price history. https://help.joinhoney.com/article/46-can-i-use-honey-on-amazon

Its $0.39lb for Turkey I won’t buy. Store brand free range is about $2.00-3.00lb. Local pastured is about $4.00lb. I let the grandparents buy turkey. They are picky and can afford it. 😂

Wow, this thread got away from me such that I don’t even remember posting it. Interestingly (paradoxically?), I ended up finding the veterans with a wealth of “old school” knowledge and real time encouragement at our a la carte homeschool academy. They absolutely have something to offer if they resist looking down their noses.

Dh has a side gig doing 3d modeling/designwork. He’s taking the hours I could work, and his jobs probably earn more. ATM, they are kind of drying up. I feel like I could work something in IF ONLY I could get more organized. I don’t know how. I guess I could stop sleeping. After school is a valid idea...

I had a beloved MacBook that was still going strong after 11 years when I got caught in a terrible downpour with a not-waterproof bag. It was over. I cried. Backups were there, it wasn’t about the data. We replaced with an Air, but after three years, I’m pretty convinced it’s not the quality that my vintage MacBook was.

Ask the parents. 😊

Try this one without the frosting. If you want it to crown more than the typical cupcake try turning up the heat to 375 and adjust baking time accordingly. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/blueberries-n-cream-cupcakes/

We need a $4500 furnace and a $8000 roof this winter. We’ve been putting off the roof since job loss about this time 2 years ago, furnace is a surprise. We have good credit and can finance it, but since dh’s job post-unemployment pays so badly we are afraid we can’t make the payments. I need ideas! If we can’t make this work, I think we’re bumping up against last resort of giving up homeschool so I can get a job. I have a gifted ADHD 13 year old who is basically a full time job. The other two are neuro-typical. Working from home AND homeschooling is not an option.

Oversaturated market. I don’t think they will all go away.

FYI: lard is from pigs.

My nerdy side LOVES this question. 😂❤️🤣👍🏻

I’m not sure there is a governmental solution. It’s in the government’s interest to have all able bodied people working from a tax revenue perspective. As a stay at home mom, I’m not contributing anything to the tax coffers, as I don’t earn income; nor the consumer economy, as I continually cut cost to make the single income work. Our vacations are few, meals out non existent, we buy second hand. So class differences aside, the SAHM might be something society wants, but not the governmental powers-that-be.

If you are going to give them away, resist the urge to get disposable pans. Go to the dollar store or something like an Ollie’s (liquidation store), or Goodwill and buy glass. That’s probably one of the best things you can do for the quality of your crusts.

I think potlucks are mostly a thing of the past. I miss them. RIP. 😞

Thanks! This does exist, at least for teens. I might be too simple-minded for these discussions. There’s probably 5,000 reasons why my ideas won’t work. I’m of the opinion that schools should do 10 weeks on, 3 weeks off quarters year round, breaks being used for inservice, parent/teacher, teacher workdays. Districts not coordinating breaks to occur simultaneously, otherwise too much concentrated pressure on childcare and tourism during the off-weeks.

I’m not exactly comfortable with this proposal, but I would be okay with a separate and distinct government provided after school program in a nearby but separate location from the school. I know from a physical plant standpoint, it would be more expensive, but I think it would be healthier for the kids to leave school behind for the afternoon. It could be set up more appropriately for play, and teachers could have an option to supplement income by taking part time tutoring/homework help jobs there. More expensive might mean that there needs to be some sliding scale payment on the part of parents. Maybe this already exists. I have no idea. The YMCA has made this model work pretty well, so there’s no saying local governments can’t do it equally well.

Medical care math is the hardest math. 😂

The latter, but yes we also essentially pay the self pay rate. I do feel like I have insurance for anything catastrophic.