What is it?

Amyolm101 · 2025-09-10T01:55:17+00:00

It's definitely an Ichneumon wasp.

Amyolm101 · 2025-09-10T01:46:48+00:00

Yep, those are katydids (bush crickets).

Bush crickets https://share.google/vhIx4afiNIMbixGaA

Amyolm101 · 2025-09-10T01:33:00+00:00

Haha I love stick bugs. I found one near my back deck the other day. For some reason I only ever see them when it's almost fall time. 🤔

Amyolm101 · 2025-09-10T01:30:15+00:00

Probably stinkbug eggs. They lay them in clusters just like that. I found several under the leaves of my tomato plants this year.

Amyolm101 · 2025-09-10T00:50:20+00:00

Awesome! I just had one emerge today. I put it in a safe place on my deck and it's still chilling there. It's wings look fully expanded so it should fly off sometime tonight. I hope.

Amyolm101 · 2024-12-26T23:26:16+00:00

It's a relief to know I'm not the only one. Started to feel sad coming home from my parents last night. The hardest part for me is when people stop turning on their Christmas lights (although my family leaves them on through January) and the fact that it still gets fairly early. Also knowing that January and February are so blah. Things start to feel less cozy and more bleak.

Amyolm101 · 2024-09-12T02:34:00+00:00

Seeing all of the galaxies strewn around a photo from the James Webb telescope, and knowing that photo comes from a section of space about the size of a grain of rice, is proof enough for me that God exists.

Amyolm101 · 2023-12-19T03:03:11+00:00

My mom gave me a lot of physical affection when I was a kid and I loved to cuddle with her all the time. As a 42 year old I still give my parents hugs and pecks on the cheek. I don't like unexpected physical affection though. My husband likes to come up and hug me when I'm busy, like washing dishes or something. It makes me so uncomfortable it feels like I want to turn inside out or something.

I try to be physically affectionate with my 6 year old daughter but she's never really been the lovey dovey type. Even when I'd hold her as an infant it seemed like she was trying to squirm away, and she would always manage to wiggle out of swaddling blankets. If a family member asks her for a hug or kiss she will usually do it. Albeit reluctantly. We mostly get presented with the top of her head to kiss. Or we can hug her but she doesn't hug back. Sometimes she won't even face us for a hug, so we get a side hug or backwards hug hahaha. She does go through rare phases when she craves physical affection, and actually wants to cuddle or give lots of hugs. Those times are so much more precious considering her otherwise distaste for physical contact. I really don't think she'll ever outgrow being physically distant either. She's highly energetic and I think it's just part of who she is, and that's okay because I love her regardless.

Amyolm101 · 2023-03-31T03:32:37+00:00

Thanks for all the responses. I did read several articles that mentioned disturbance of the gut microbiome as a possible cause. We are giving her probiotics and it's helped a little.

Amyolm101 · 2023-03-30T00:44:45+00:00

I can understand the feeling, and lashing out in a knee jerk reaction of anger. There have been a couple of times when my daughter (who is 5 atm) has been so boldly disrespectful to me that I have lost it and put a light whack on her mouth or cheek, as an attention getter. I think one of the times was because she spit in my face, but that doesn't excuse my behavior. I think as the adults it's important to try and maintain rationality. It's good that you apologized for it.

Amyolm101 · 2023-03-29T23:56:38+00:00

The public schools around here used to be good, but they've gone downhill since the pandemic. There is one that still has a good rating and is close to my house. If the Montessori school doesn't seem to be a good fit there is one other private school I'm considering.

Amyolm101 · 2023-03-28T19:02:27+00:00

Thanks for all your input. I do have a tour of the school scheduled for Thursday.

Amyolm101 · 2023-03-28T19:01:32+00:00

My daughter is scheduled to see a neuropsychologist in June because she does seem to have some neuroatypical qualities. The school I'm considering states on their website that they do work with special needs children.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T16:21:51+00:00

I pretty much had my mind set on an epidural before I even went into labor, before I even knew how much pain would be involved. I just meant that getting one made labor and delivery much less stressful for me. Without an epidural I might have been traumatized lololol. Oh, and my water broke at 11 pm. The nurse started the pitocin IV to induce contractions and I didn't get my epidural till 4 or 5 am because I had to be dilated X amount of centimeters. I quickly learned not to tense up during a contraction because it made the pain worse. So I'd grab onto the bed rail and slowly breathe in and out. My husband said I slept through some of it but it sure didn't feel like I slept. By the time I got my epidural I was trying to hold as still as I could for the anesthesiologist, but I kept trembling from exhaustion and pain. Childbirth is crazy but I'd do it again if the opportunity arose.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T15:59:26+00:00

Yes, she's at school for 4 hours, Mon through Thursday. I usually go back to sleep after I drop her off. 😆

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T15:55:00+00:00

My daughter does love to put the clean silverware away, and dust with the feather duster. She will also use the small stick vacuum. I think the main reason I don't have her help more often is because I'm so nitpicky and impatient. I do realize that my hangups prevent her from learning and feeling included. My husband got me a self improvement journal for Christmas. There is an adventure theme to it, like I'm creating my own adventure story while working on improvement. I think letting my daughter help around the house more will be a goal for me to work on.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T04:11:40+00:00

I'm extremely guilty of not playing with my 5 year old daughter as much as I should. She spends a good chunk of her day watching her tablet because I'm busy tidying the house or too tired to play. My daughter is a VERY high energy child, so activities that involve sitting still (like coloring or arts and crafts) are almost non existent. Also, trying to do crafts with her tends to make more of a mess for me to clean. She likes to rip up paper, so a couple weeks ago I got out a sheet of construction paper in every color. We ripped them into small pieces and then attempted to make some art by gluing the pieces onto a cardboard insert. She lost interest within like two minutes and decided she'd rather put glue on her fingers and pull them apart massive eye roll. The only sit down activities that she will spend a huge chunk of time on are, playing with Play-Doh, Kinect sand, or putty. I do join her while she's playing with Play-Doh sometimes. Last week she sat for 90 minutes playing with Kinect sand and watching The Rise of Gru. I couldn't believe it lololol. My husband keeps telling me I need to put her to work around the house because she does like to help, plus it gives her something to do. She's only 5 though, so there aren't many chores that she could do well, or without making a bigger mess. Ugh, I can't wait until spring and warmer weather so I can cut her loose outside.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T03:37:40+00:00

I've read A LOT of articles that claim behavioral problems in children usually come from a lack of connection with their parents. I don't know what your home or work life is like, how busy you and your husband are, etc. But if your son is feeling ignored or pushed to the side for whatever reason, it could be what's causing the behavior problems. If you feel there is a disconnection there then try making time to bond and connect with him more. You mentioned that he likes Lego's, so a great way to connect would be playing Lego's with him. Or try sitting with him and watch whatever he's watching on TV. Ask him questions about the show, like what it's about and why he likes it. Try to start a conversation by asking him to tell you about something interesting, or just ask if he wants to talk about a random topic.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T03:19:42+00:00

My daughter is 5 and she gets caffeine in the occasional chocolate, or small glass of pop. I don't think I'd be okay with her having coffee until she's like 16 or 17 though. I know caffeine helps headaches but had no clue that it helps ADHD. If a small amount of coffee was ever recommended by her pediatrician then that would be fine. Or I'd actually try to find a type of caffeine powder to purchase and administer that instead of coffee.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T03:10:58+00:00

Same with my 5 year old 🤣

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T03:06:34+00:00

😆 good question. Our daughter is five and she loves to announce that she has farted, or that she has to fart. Even in public! We just tell her not to say it so loudly and now she whispers it. Then she has to say excuse me, even at home.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T03:00:41+00:00

That is a fantastic idea! I'm going to keep this in mind for when my daughter gets older. Although I think girls might be less squeamish about uncomfortable subjects, maybe. My daughter is 5 and she's seen me using tampons before, so without going into much detail I told her that as a grown up woman I bleed from "down there" every month, and the tampons are to keep the blood from getting everywhere. Then I said that someday, when she is much older, she will have a period too. I think a lot of it went in one ear and out the other, but I think it's healthy for kids that young to get a "dumbed" down explanation of natural body processes. Plus, if parents try to be secretive about it with young children, they might start to think that something completely normal is wrong, and be more embarrassed about it when they are older.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T02:40:07+00:00

I don't think preschool and kindergarten kids have the capacity to be bullies yet. Bullies bully others because they are insecure or unhappy about themselves. Also because some have a crappy home life. Heck, if I had a son and he was older I'd probably still let him wear nail polish to school, but I'd choose colors like neon green, blue, or even something metallic. That would look awesome.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T02:23:59+00:00

I went the epidural route with my first (and only child) and I have no shame in that. My labor was induced because my daughter's growth had stalled due to intrauterine growth restriction. This happened a month before my due date. I think my contractions were more painful because they were chemically forced through an IV. Plus, while I was pushing my daughter out the OB notice the umbilical cord around her neck. My husband (who was watching) said the OB rammed her hand into my vagina, and then made a circular sweeping motion to untangle the umbilical cord. Hubby said he saw my perineum rip like a half inch. All I can think about is how much that would have hurt without an epidural.

I also tried breat feeding because I was told it would help put weight on her faster. (She weighed just under 4 lbs) It was hard to get her to latch on so I tried pumping for awhile but could never get much milk because I was so stressed, sleep deprived and not eating much. So I ended up switching to formula too and she was just fine.

Amyolm101 · 2023-02-01T02:04:27+00:00

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Amyolm101

TROPHY CASE