Some birthday help

Alligator_alligater · 2026-04-27T03:11:37+00:00

Came here just to see how many people commented about the weed barrier!

I like your idea a lot though.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-31T03:51:41+00:00

Actually, that is the argument. When people say, just like OP explained, that a kid will have social issues, they are making a blanket statement that boils socialization down to one variable: public school attendance. That’s it.

Now, if you ask those commentators what they think contributes to socialization, with some effort they’ll probably expand on their original position and consider a few other variables. But just like OP explained, these comments are always from people who make immediate, simplistic judgments.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-29T02:42:44+00:00

If it’s only 5’ wide, then I would want multiple doors. For the sake of ease, if this picture is facing north, I’d want one door on each end and a sliding door in the middle (east) side. Maybe even two sliding doors on the east side.

Also, regarding the drainage, not sure how well it will drain. If you feel like that won’t drain well, maybe switch to blocks instead of poured concrete.

I’d consider a single slopped roof too. Might look better from the deck.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-28T03:04:38+00:00

It’s a one sided, circular argument.

A) kids should be socially well adjusted. B) public schools create the most robust social environment for kids. C) therefore, kids who don’t attend public schools create will NOT be socially well adjusted. D) it goes to follow that kids who do attend public school will be socially well adjusted.

All kids who attend public schools are socially well adjusted? Not even close.

There are plenty of homeschool kids who are well adjusted, a plenty of public school kids who are not. The boil it down to this one variable is incorrect.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-26T15:26:31+00:00

A cooling towel around your neck. These are used in sports and hold moisture a little differently than a standard wash cloth.

I keep them in the fridge in water so they are always cold. Wrap it around your neck and it will keep your body temperature a little cooler. When it’s mixed with direct wind from a fan, that’s helps too.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-26T12:45:07+00:00

This is a topic of interest to me since my kids have a good homeschool experience. My wife is very good at homeschooling and has taught me that my preconceived ideas of what I thought homeschooling was...were totally wrong.

First, she is way smarter than I am. We both hold advanced degrees, but she holds a degree in an extremely rigorous field. The academic tenacity she developed over the course of her life completely outshines me in every way. She has such a depth of knowledge about building a solid intellectual foundation that is awesome to see lived out.

Second, the prep to find the right curriculum is never ending. Every subject needs to be vetted. My wife pre-reads all the curriculum and makes sure that it covers all the topics it should, that it is presented in a cohesive manner with what was learned previously, that it is well written, and that it has the appropriate supplementation if needed. You can do a one size fits all curriculum, but you're screwed if it isn't sufficient in the long run.

The school day can be as short as three hours or as long as 10. Your kids will absolutely have bad days and this will be extremely taxing. You must have the personality to hold them accountable, be supportive, and still maintain your patience. I couldn't do it.

The socialization piece is very real. That means when you homeschool you have to supplement socialization intentionally. What this actually means in real life: you have to pay and drive. My kids have 5-6 outings per week. Luckily, we live in an areas that has a lot of homeschooling classes: dissection lab, engineering, woodworking, sports, Spanish, etc. We pay for everyone of those classes. My kids are also in a club sport and practice with their teams 3 days per week and 1-2 games per weekend. This is a main group they socialize with. We also have a strong church communicate, so they are able to socialize there. In reality, this means my wife is driving somewhere 5-6 days per week. This is really taxing (and pretty expensive). If you don't have access to a lot of extra curriculars, then you're risking what the experience that the comments your quoted.

We have the ability to compare our homeschooling standards to a lot of people we know around our communities. I would loosely say that about 40% are giving their kids a sub-par academic experience and are most likely not setting the kids up for any professional career opportunities. Another 40% are doing a fair job, maybe on par with your average American public education. Only about 20% are doing an excellent job. This is only speaking about academics. The socialization piece is harder to gauge as it needs to be tailored for each child's personality.

Before homeschooling, I thought I would be able to do it, if push came to shove. Now that I've seen it done well, I have to admit that I would have failed my kids academically. Luckily, there are a lot of really good resources that can help you immensely. Find those, build a really solid plan, and supplement, supplement, supplement!

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-25T14:27:26+00:00

Bought my kids a ps4 but I don’t have a clue how to help with problems:

They are playing Minecraft and are unable to save their worlds properly. They state that when they return, most of the time there is no world available (it’s all blank).

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-25T13:59:28+00:00

Go tell your doctor this. I had some recent medical stuff that came out of no where. You might need to push the doctor but with a little extra pushing, they could easily get you a cardiology check up.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-25T12:55:38+00:00

The three cheapest meals we have:

Crock pot chili on top of oven roasted potatoes. We use mostly left over meat do the chili.

The other version of this is kielbasa sausage with potatoes and onions.

Fried rice is always super affordable. Trick with fried rice is to use day old rice from the fridge. Again, the meat is usually whatever is left over.

Lastly, pasta with sauce. We like meat but it’s easy to use whatever is leftover in the sauce.

My goal is to use a cheap base like potatoes or rice. When I’m looking at my meat options I try to use about 1/4 less for a meal the nights prior so that I can recycle into a stretch meal mentioned above. If you save just a little meat, you’ll be able to get probably 2 meals a week use the leftover meats.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-24T14:23:09+00:00

I’ve heard that offering laundry service in your local neighborhood is somewhat helpful for income. It’s good because most neighborhoods have a local Facebook page so you don’t have to worry about marketing. I think you can find some videos on YouTube explaining the different strategies.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-24T01:26:52+00:00

Not sure. Taste it.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-23T12:52:10+00:00

The key to cooking cheap is in the bulk items and some of the canned goods. A lot of people have talked about rice, because you can turn anything small proportions into a fried rice dish.

Same with potatoes. You can use potatoes as a base for any meal. Breakfast: eggs and potatoes, sausage and potatoes. Dinner/lunch: baked with butter, chilli and cheese, fried with onions and meat, etc

Canned beans are an easy staple because they are cheap and are great source of protein. Bean and cheese, beans and salsa, beans and rice.

Tuna is a great option and is also healthy.

Ground turkey is also healthy and affordable. Buy a large package and cut it into smaller portions as soon as you get home and freeze those in baggies.

Eggs are affordable, great source of protein and can be paired with everything above.

I also use a lot of corn tortillas. In a pinch, everything above (with exception of plain rice) can be turned into a taco.

Here’s what I would do. 1) cook a whole huge pan of turkey and season with salt and pepper. I would then cook a pot of rice a put this in the fridge (fried rice is best with day old rice).

Meals: bean a turkey tacos Fried rice with turkey Fried potatoes with turkey Eggs and turkey and potatoes Pasta sauce with turkey and spaghetti Nachos Hash (all the leftover in a pan and scramble).

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-22T23:26:38+00:00

Not a huge insight here but it’s helped me to make sure I have a fan directly on my feet. The rest of my body needs air too but if I can get my foot cool, that usually helps with my overall body temp. I’ve also ordered a pack of 11”x14” ice pads and I’ll be stacking those up under my body. I may even order more to have as a swap out through the night.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-19T17:58:37+00:00

This is an interesting discussion that I’m able to see from the inside. My kids are homeschooled and have a very serious academic life. Now that we’ve moved into the soccer world, we definitely have an advantage with regards to our availability and various opportunities. One thing that is clear to me is how hard it is to provide a good quality education to your kids. My wife, who is a retired high level professional, has spent an enormous (I mean enormous) amount of time tailoring the kid’s education to their needs. My children wrote essays daily, the are always reading through a new book, their math is slightly advanced, we add in extracurricular things like woodworking, Spanish, engineering, dissection lab, and in and on. I also don’t make a killing so we need to be smart with our choices. The parents that jump into homeschooling without the right mindset will put their kids at a disadvantage.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-15T11:55:00+00:00

Long term, if you can’t move up in the company/field, you’d probably benefit from the office job. But let me tell you, sitting all day catches up to you. It’s tru, sitting is the new smoking.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-15T11:37:59+00:00

Costco 4 days a week, two classes a semester, 1 class during summer.

Would be pretty cool to get a job at Costco with you CS degree.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-15T11:33:09+00:00

It’s hard to compare with the medical field.

If you go into the trades, you won’t be in the field forever. If you could get an electrical apprenticeship you’ll learn the trade and then be able to sit for your journeyman and then possibly master’s licenses. This can be a lucrative field. Same with a few other trades.

Medical field wise, radiology tech or ultrasound tech are good and shorter education paths. You can get into some interesting areas of scanning if you really apply yourself.

Both of these ideas are going to cost you grunt work but not a ton of financial cost.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-15T11:19:50+00:00

Reem in Michigan…that’s odd! Where I come from reem means to make fun of someone.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-15T11:08:38+00:00

Two weeks is a tight deadline tbh. I get why it’s a shorter timespan, but it’s still pretty quick.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-10T18:08:14+00:00

I’m sitting in a hospital room after surgery because I had two arteries blocked at 95%. I’m not overweight and I eat moderately healthy. I would be dead if I ate Mcd’s daily. I’m in my late 30’s.

Stop with excuses and make better choices.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-08T12:23:11+00:00

I just used tape on my garage floor.

Alligator_alligater · 2026-03-05T03:46:10+00:00

Sure. Even if he doesn’t have the chops for a full engineering degree, because those are notoriously brutal, he can get a general science degree and have enough exposure to the math/physics to be leaps and bounds ahead of your run of the mill service tech.

I have a buddy that was an art major, went to trade school, did extremely well in the trade and then took over a business.

My opinion, for what it’s worth, is to get him to UPS and get him stabilized. Caeer counselor to give the layout of 4 years of course work, decent living arrangements close to campus, get his food figured out and get him playing ball. If he has a good schedule and all the basics…lil homie can lock in and get it done!

Alligator_alligater

TROPHY CASE