Likely not deficient in D3. We’ve supplemented that the past several years. I’ll try to get a copy of the bloodwork.

Blood work done in the summer. Supposedly all normal looking.

Looking at it to help with general anxiety. Fully functioning kid appears on the outside. Struggles with anxiety inside. I think kid would be open to a supplement at this time, but nothing more doctorish. So just looking for a place to start. Would Tryptophan be a gentle supplement to help? What are the downsides? Advice on dosages or anything related to it is welcome.

Not there yet since mine are still in college, but I think there should be a discussion and consensus on the goal of living at home. Is it so they just have more spending money to go out and play, or is it to save for the future? What is their savings goal? I think I’d only be okay with the prepping for the future part. Figuring out much would it cost them to not live at home, and then get used to paying (saving) almost that and learning to live on the remainder.

Will you be growing old in this house? I’d consider making something nicer on the lower floors instead of the top.

We all have the backpack style suitcases from Hynes Eagle. Love them! We have the larger 42-44L type ones. The dimensions qualify for carryons in the US and Europe. So much better than losing luggage! That’s all we bring on trips anymore. We also have and use packing cubes- they’re amazing.

Do you live in Florida? That pricing sounds like our universities, and yes we have a great deal! Especially when kids can often earn merit scholarships from the state that will then pay all of it! Or scholarships from the school on top of that and then get refunds.

Congratulations on the NM! The NMF opened up incredible scholarships for my kids. So life changing.

What I’ve realized being on various boards, is that many of those commenters typically have a budget of $35,000 or under for a year of college. So in those cases, yes- quite a few private schools will come in similar to those amounts with scholarships and aid, and be comparable to their public flagship option. My dd’s friend got about $55,000 in aid from an $80k private school. $25k is a good deal for some folks- it is very comparable to tuition, room and board at many public universities, and in some states, less. but when your budget is really low and you’re looking at your public option as being CC or commuting, then no- private schools probably won’t come close at all. Theres a huge range of what people find affordable. Many seem resigned to $25k/year as being the bare minimum/low end of what they’ll have to pay. That’s not my version of low budget, but I think that’s where the conversation gets skewed. We were looking for way cheaper than that! Lol.

Yes. The bed worked well for her and after she passed, my daughter took it for her room.

I bought a full size adjustable bed frame for my mom at the local mattress store- mattress firm maybe? It was pretty reasonable and we just used her existing mattress.

We have that Ireland book 😂

Home Depot has a 16 pc Corelle Winter Frost white set on sale for $34

I’d guess $40,000 Never mind- I saw you answered, and I didn’t account for the wood inside and special colors.

Oops- I think you meant the application process. Sorry, but the same probably applies. A little of both. Mine are going to a huge state school, so things aren’t very forgiving if they fall through the cracks. I help them stay on top of it because the sheer volume of stuff to do, forms to complete, and websites to look at is overwhelming. I know about things to watch for from reading parent pages and such; I don’t know how kids are supposed to wrap their heads around it all. Gradually yes, but not to know it all as incoming freshman. I couldn’t tell them ‘you’re on your own’ and ignore what I know and they don’t. I look at it as a teaching process.

I’d support him. Maybe he was ready to be done for awhile, but didn’t know how to go about it or even recognize the feeling. This may have just been the push he never knew he needed. Maybe he’s hearing kids talk of other activities and wants the free time to explore other things.

It depends on the market of course, but we staged and had multiple offers the first weekend. It went well above what we priced it for. One realtor we interviewed (and didn’t go with), didn’t think it would sell for near as much because it wasn’t an upscale type home. The staging really helped elevate the look imo.

All AP and IB scores in! All did well, got the college credit they needed, placed out of all the courses they hoped for, and the one got her IB diploma. This year, one kid had 6 APs, one 5 APs, and the other had 6 IBs. Done ✔️

We bought a pre lit tree (white lights). It was the right size (7’ and full) and the right price (under $200). on sale at Lowe’s but really nice looking! We like colored lights too, so we put a couple strands of colored lights on the tree when we set it up each year. Then we can have white lights only, colored lights only, or both 🙂

Wish I had an Apple Pencil, but these photos are what I was saying above. Sorry it’s sloppy. and then of course, replacing the soffit and cabinets on the sink side with cabinets that go to the ceiling.

I love doing practical! To keep it simple without removing walls etc- I would move the fridge to replace the metal shelf unit by the doorway with the brick/stone flooring. Then add base cabinets, countertops, and top cabinets to the ceiling - to the right of the fridge and wrapping around in an L shape until you get to the dining room doorway. This will give you a decent stretch of countertop, even if it is L shaped. You would close up that doorway by the broom and step stool. Also put a cabinet to the ceiling over the fridge for a look of continuity. It will also hold deep, large items. On the other side of the kitchen, I would get rid of the old fashioned soffit that hangs low, and install cabinets to the ceiling. This should be pretty inexpensive and easy since it’s not any major work. Mostly cabinets and countertops, and closing up a doorway. what is on the other walls of the little eating nook? I see a couple windows and two corner builtins. What’s on the walls we can’t see? Any place to add a wall of cabinets to use for more pantry space or less used cookware?

So it’s just those pieces of furniture and nothing else? Or is that just the basis for everything else? I would ask for more details because that is not my experience with staging. Our stager actually reused most of our very old and not fancy furniture (we put a lot in storage as well), but she had new bathroom lights put in, a new vanity, new mirrors, wall decor, bedspreads, pillows, vases, shower curtain, towels, and more. and painted two of our rooms. She rearranged all our furniture in a completely different way and the house looked amazing! I would have never picked such linens/decor but wow. It made our stuff look stunning, lol. She said leave the kids rooms as is because they don’t matter so much. The living room, family room, kitchen, and master bedroom/bath was what she focused on. Btw, she owned all the linens, decor etc. It was loaned to us for the staging, but then taken back to use again.

Another thing to consider is what will happen if you decide down the road that you don’t want to rent. Will there be hard feelings in the family? Will he have money saved up to move? Will you be guilted into continuing to rent?

I’m saving this article for my kids. Lots of good techniques and things to use. https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-get-rid-of-roaches

Adding that mine only applied to a few schools, so we were able to research them well ahead of time via their website, and have specific points to ask about.