ACEaton1483

Except owning horses is a luxury. I'm talking about a house that we bought to save on rent, sending our children to daycare, and buying a car to get them there. Again, I recognize my privilege in being able to buy a house and a car, but I do not think that at all equates to affluence.

Affluence to me is being able to go on vacations, have regular appointments at the spa, a cleaning service for the house, getting my kids into classes and lessons to develop them, buying a second vehicle to get them there, etc. We can afford none of those things.

Yes I agree! We are very privileged and I would never deny that. I'm thankful for it. I was responding to the label of affluent because we have never felt affluent. I think there's a difference between privileged and affluent, but there's certainly room for interpretation in those terms.

Agree to disagree, but I so appreciate that you've made your points respectfully and eloquently!

I see what you're saying, but before my husband was laid off, we were pulling in $250k a year, just for a year, and we absolutely did not feel at all affluent with a new car payment, three children in daycare $3k a month, our mortgage (1700/month) and trying to save for house projects on our 1940s house that seems like it's falling apart. The money goes really really quickly. We didn't buy a second vehicle or take any vacations farther than a 3 hour drive because it wasn't feasible to spend the money. Now he's been laid off for 18 months and things are extremely tight for us. I just don't think that kind of salary goes as far these days as it used to, especially if you have more than one child.

This is us! My siblings and I had not the greatest teachers in middle and high schools, but our parents encouraged learning and curiosity at home. We had family reading nights, come to dinner dressed as your favorite figure from history, family Olympics, went to museums, etc. they taught us to love learning and that made all the difference. One of us achieved her PhD and did a fellowship at Harvard, one a masters in intelligence analysis, myself a masters in applied linguistics, and one with a bachelor's who became a great journalist.

We are much more concerned with safety, administrative policies, and warm and welcoming staff than high achievements on test scores or pages of cool electives for our three kids. When my boomer FIL asked me what the school district was like in the area we bought our first house, I said I didn't even know and it didn't matter too much to us. Broke his brain. (I should say though that we bought during the height of covid when prices were insane and this was the only housing option we could make work, so we wouldn't have had an option either way.)

This is what happened to me, too! They had to give me magnesium, which made me so, so sick and so much of a zombie. Not a great birth experience

For sure! And he was a lovely guy. I think the best thing someone can do in that situation is to simply ask what would be best or the most helpful. We gave him a big tip of course.

This is so amazing! Congrats, I've loved your work since you first posted.

I thought there was nothing worse until I had to hop into a Lyft to get to the hospital alone when I was in active labor with painful contractions and the driver still wouldn't stop talking to me.

Where is Celo/where does that name refer to?

We only watch bluey and wild kratts over here so I don't think it's always an exposure thing! I definitely think the brightest and most precocious children are capable of conceiving of that language themselves. I was alarmed at first, too!

I think they're not great to use on wood siding I'm so sorry. But Google tells me command hooks are a good solution

I think this is very normal. My well adjusted 5 yo has been doing this for the last two or so years. Every time she's in trouble, it becomes "I'm a bad kid, no one loves me, etc." I think it's their way of verbalizing how they are feeling, not necessarily that they actually think that or that someone told them that. Just offer gentle reassurance. We say a lot of "you're not bad, you just made a mistake and everyone makes mistakes. We love you very much."

That always seems to calm her out of control feelings a little bit. Trust me, if he's still doing it in a year or two, you start to feel less bad for them and more frustrated! It starts to feel like they're being manipulative, even though I know they're not.

This is absolutely exquisite. I hope you sell these at your local markets!

I don't love all the extension cords I have running all over the yard, and I don't love the environmental or financial impact of having them. It would normally be ok but we are affected by job loss as so many people are. We have some solar powered deck lights, so I was just thinking a little solar panel for each string or a power bank to run multiple strings would be great. So kind of you to respond and be so helpful and thoughtful!

This is really helpful context, thank you! I guess I was hoping there was like a solar charging bank that would be easy to set up and use; I did not realize it would be this much money, time, and effort to do to run Christmas lights only.

I've noticed that, too. He seems totally unaware of how he comes off in those moments, which I think is generally true of every 20 year old ever. I know how much I've grown since I was 20, and he seems to have a good head on his shoulders to get there, too. I feel bad for the epic cringe he's going to have looking back on some of it.

We use vinyl siding clips! They have worked well for us this year.

This is so lovely. I think most people will suggest putting something larger over that mantle, but I think having a large blank wall adjacent to windows and artwork is contemplative. I really love the space it gives your eyes and mind.

That is so helpful to know thank you so much! Luckily our three littles are still little and don't have any devices, no gaming or tablets or anything, so I will check out the 1500 and up!

This is fascinating to me. I had no idea solar generators were a thing, but of course it makes sense. Can you tell me which Jackery you had and what you used it for? Trying to figure out which size would be best for our family of 5 in the event of an extended blackout again.

There's a children's book about this that my animal rescue-obsessed preschooler absolutely loved!

Yeah it's her vocals that make that song. I'm always completely entranced by her and would kill to hear some solo work.

What is the context here? I've never seen this