Not so much visual, but technical: The wiring in my house is SO poorly designed! I know that it veered from the written plans because of the minor changes we made to the layout, but OMG. I still don’t know all my switches 2 years in because there’s no real logic to them. My car is designed with automatic high beam controls, which are AWESOME for most of my country driving. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to override it for when people are walking their dogs at night, and I’m blinding them. 😔. Also, I DID figure out how to override the automatic door unlock when parking, but it requires pulling the door handles twice to get out, which is weird.

2 of my 5 kids are/have been very picky, 2 have been adventurous, and one is pretty average. Like I had time to food-parent 5 kids 3 different ways, lol. And yet, people have always wanted to blame me. (No credit for the others’ eating habits, of course.)

😢 I hate having to limit my caffeine due to anxiety.

I’m not going to pretend to think there’s one answer for every instance, but I’ll share anecdotes. My firstborn (1998) had a reaction (hives) to PB when he hit whatever the age was that we were told he could try it. Because we didn’t miss peanut butter at all, we actually FORGOT until #2 was a toddler and I handed them both pb&j sandwiches. That’s how much of a mush my brain was after having 2 and 3 back to back! Anyway, he was fine and went on to eat peanut stuff to this day. The two kids we know with the most severe anaphylactic allergies have both gone through exposure tests and passed as teens. (They still carry epis and we avoid peanuts around them, but the fear of accidental exposure is reduced.) My #5 outgrew his MSPI, but not taking the proper precautions could have killed him as an infant. He was genuinely FTT when finally dx’ed. I’m happy to go with the best science at the given time.

I deeply appreciate that! As someone who has done a lot of therapy, has a sister who is a therapist, a close friend who is a psychologist, and is studying to maybe counsel in a non-clinical setting, it is very nice to know that my instincts and experience are heading in a good direction! 😁

As a parent of both readers and “non”-readers, I’m not sure that completely tracks. Probably an influence, but the kid who avoids reading the most in my house still recognizes how his native (and only) language is supposed to sound. He also HATES to write, but the same thing applies. How do these kids not know it doesn’t sound right??? (Assuming native language.) *Please overlook any poor English from me. Hurrying as dd approaches the car to leave, lol.

My CC has remedial math and English courses available. I have no idea who’s IN them, but I cross paths with many who should be and aren’t! They cost just as much, but don’t grant credit. But, like I said, if you have a recent diploma, you’re basically right to regular courses.

Pondering while I was driving, I also think it’s the least interesting thing about me. I’m having a good time with it because I enjoy running numbers, managing inventory, setting goals, and handling other tasks that are relatively cut and dry in my otherwise “squishy” life. But the interesting (I think) stuff is in the squishy chaos, lol.

My community college classes are such a mixed bag, of both teachers and students. Some classmates can’t write a cohesive 4 sentence assignment post, and others jump right in with formatting and references. Some teachers run classes like a middle school, and others run them like graduate courses. What I find most interesting is that my kids and I (me, because my high school diploma is so old and kids because they were DE homeschoolers) had to take the accuplacer. The recent high school graduates do not. And I think maybe they should!

Might not have time to respond until later. Also, it’s not THAT serious, but it’s irking me. So, I’ve been a sahm for 23 years, homeschooling for 17, various volunteer roles including founding, directing, and teaching in a coop of 100 kids for a few years, and I’m in school for social work. Dh’s job has always involved schmoozing, and he’s always enjoyed the responses when people find out he has 5 kids and a homeschooling wife. It brings a lot of questions from intrigued people. At his event last night, he said I was a business owner and entrepreneur. My insides cringed when he told me that! I know part of my reaction is because I don’t feel I have a “real” business yet. It’s a small hobby thing that I’m slowly working towards creating, mostly just for the challenge. I needed an outlet for the entrepreneurial spirit, but I have no plans to make it more like a career. After 24 years, I know that this was a way of him showing he’s proud and supportive, but I didn’t like it! I didn’t tell him that at the time, but I plan to. I just don’t know how to explain it. Is it my imposter syndrome? Is it an attachment to my other identities? Is it added pressure to turn this into an actual business? Huh. I guess it’s all 3. Thank you for this session. Who gets my copay?

Maybe ATVs or golf carts? I have 4 kids of driving age. 1 drives. Sigh.

I usually keep titanium studs from Amazon in mine. Gold, silver, and stainless seem to irritate me.

Definitely felt pads! Honestly, I had a few dining chairs that somehow went without for a while, but any minor scuffs disappeared with mopping. (Pads are on now.) I usually mop with Mr. Clean, but recently learned on CleanTok that a pH neutral cleaner should be used to prevent dulling the finish. My finish is just fine after 2 years (and longer than that at the old house) but I’ve been looking at ZEP on Amazon. I didn’t notice any issues from my furniture or my renter’s when I mopped for selling the old house. We didn’t take any special precautions except for a felt pad under the 1 couch leg that always shifted when the kids flopped themselves down.

😆 So… I’ll just keep riding the fence for now, lol! It IS a small and “no -public” space so, yes, that does make a real advantage for a novice. If I find tile that speaks to me in the next week or so, I’ll probably try it. If not, I may just do a flat surround!

any tips to share? The utility sink in my laundry room is surrounded only by drywall (well, painted green wall, but still.) While I’m not flopping around saturating the place, it does get some splash action, and I’m getting sick of worrying about it. I’m not a fan of the upkeep on tile, so I may consider a flat surround, but I’m still entertaining the thought of pretty tile to make a fancy laundry room. But how frustrated am I at risk of becoming if I take on that job?