Our elementary school has a “share cart” that’s always in the counselors office. Kids can drop off any part of their school breakfast or lunch they didn’t open and kids can grab something at any time. I think they move it to the cafeteria at lunch so kids can drop off easier.

The directions I saw recently were no arousal for two weeks, then ejaculate 20 times over 2 months, then send in the sample. If the sample doesn’t come back clear, then repeat after 2 more months. Insurance does not cover the testing kit.

This happened at a restaurant with a door dash driver. I was breastfeeding in the backseat and she got in my drivers seat. Was super apologetic when she realized. The kicker is that her car, which was next to mine, was a completely different make and model. Just a similar color. I always locked the doors when breastfeeding after that.

We live in Virginia but the museum passport is everywhere (there’s also a separate zoo/aquarium one too). The passport does not work for museums within an hour or so drive of the home museum but it works when we go out of town.

While not free, I find a membership or two to be advantageous. There’s usually member swaps where you can get in another local location for free for a month. When we go on vacations our first stop is always a grocery store, and I usually try to get an extended stay hotel with a kitchen. Saves on eating out because we’ll pack for lunch and make dinner. We have an amusement park pass that works with other locations so parking and admission is included. Our museum membership works for hundreds of other out of state museums so we visit science and children’s museums included. Vacations are still expensive of course but this reduces costs significantly.

Other than that things like parks, beaches, library events. Meet up with friends at someone’s house.

The seatbelts are more so that the non-verbal autistic kids don’t start running down the aisles and pushing buttons while the bus is moving. Also, kids aren’t “regular” or “irregular”….

Our school uses them for pretty much all students with special needs not just mobility issues. It gives them a shorter route, less kids, more adult supervision, and the option for seatbelts.

That’s the worst. Have you spoken up about it? I think they try to be the most convenient and to be “with the times” without realizing that one way does not fit for everyone.

I’m thankful that a lot of early childhood places are really beginning to focus on emotional awareness. There are so many resources for social-emotional learning for kids now. My child’s preschool is SEED certified (https://www.nmececd.org/seed/) and she’s been working on a feelings journal. At our elementary school we have social skills groups where we explicitly teach kids about emotions and also teach them life skills (we have small groups of kids playing board games to handle taking turns, losing, etc). At home and school we have these little “spot” of emotion stuffies and an accompanying book that explain what an emotion is, what it feels like, and what we can do about it. Our school also uses the zones of regulation (pic) to not only help kids understand but to also help the staff understand how our students are feeling.

I was concerned when my kid started soccer and they wanted parents to get an app to get updates on cancellations and to see the game and practice schedule. Fortunately there is a browser version and the app is not necessary. They just don’t advertise this.

Out daycare costs were between $205-305 a week, so between $820-1,225 a month. Once she’s 5, school is free.

Being a new mom can definitely be isolating and I’m not a person who does well at being home. I like being active and doing things. I don’t regret having my kid in daycare. I do think the United States needs to do better at giving mothers the choice though. It’s almost impossible to be a single income family, especially with multiple children. But then daycare is so expensive too.

In the US our child started going at 6 weeks old. Daycare (and now preschool) is just as normal to her as being at home. Especially since in her three years she’s probably had over a dozen different teachers. She’s learned to warm up to new people and situations quickly.

I also work in an elementary school. (5 to 11 years old). I see kids that didn’t go to school at all before coming to us. Even some are homeschooled for a few years before starting school. I can usually tell the difference between kids who went to some kind of preschool (3-4 year old program, even part time) and who hasn’t. It’s not always a bad thing but it’s a harder adjustment for those kids.

We’ve worked hard at maximizing the money we spend. We get a museum membership for a birthday every year and then use the passport program to visit other museums for free. Plus the membership does swaps occasionally so sometimes we get a month of the botanical gardens, aquarium, or zoo for free too. One of my hobbies is amusement parks, which is obviously expensive, but I get passes that work for many different parks and we always pack snacks and meals. We’ve also been spending a lot of time at playgrounds too. We invite a whole playgroup and whoever can make it will come and it’s a lot of fun. We try to limit our consumerism because it’s definitely everywhere

Most of mine won’t let you without an appointment and no matter how I answer the questions online it tells me I’m ineligible

Using parental controls and not using them can both be valid. But they are not set-it-and-forget-it and let the kid run wild with the device. Personally I’m in the camp of not using them but letting my kid use screens in age appropriate amounts with age appropriate content on devices that are family devices in common areas, plus keeping the conversation going about what she’s engaging with.

Have you tried applying to schools that are near military bases? Find a place you would like to live/work and then see if there are openings. Schools near military bases are used to students and teachers being from out of state. They will be more versed in transferring your teaching certificate.

As the school year is starting there are more schools that have fewer applicants and they would rather have a permanent teacher rather than a long term sub. So keep applying. It’s probably worth an email to the principal after an application as well. You can explain that you will be relocating.

If all else fails do what you can to get into a school to meet the staff and students. Lunch monitor. Para/assistant. Substitute. Our school has hired multiple paraeducators and substitutes over the past few years to full time teaching positions because they already know our building, staff, and students. If you do that for a year it also gives you a chance to get your teaching certificate updated so that when you apply for a teaching position that’s one less problem for HR and makes you a better candidate.

The model we have (that’s only a few years old) works like this. My favorite is when it’s trying to get back to the dock, it’ll just move aimlessly until it accidentally reaches the vicinity of it and can make it home. A lot of times it runs out of battery. Or gets stuck somewhere (in the same spots because I can’t tell it to avoid problem areas).

Every once in awhile both my husband and I will drive around the block past our house on the way home when another car is behind us. He does it because he likes to back into the driveway and doesn’t want to make the other person wait. I do it because I’m afraid I’ve been followed home.

When my now-husband and I first moved in together we ate out more than we do now and when we did make food we “cheated” a lot. We had some frozen meals and premade stuff. Over the years we have refined a lot of our cooking skills. We go out maybe once or twice a month, delivery in rare circumstances (we’re much more likely to do carry out) and eat at home most nights. Our grocery bill is around $400 a month for 2 adults and 1 preschooler. That gets us breakfast, lunches, and dinners. My husband will probably go out to eat for lunch once a week. Going out to eat is at least $30 if not $60+ for us and that’s not sustainable for every meal.

I literally sat in my car during a 2 hour lunch break yesterday because my colleagues went to different places and I wasn’t explicitly invited to any of them. Anxiety is fun.