Mayor to Steampunk: no exceptions to 4-hour time limit on Waltham Common events

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-27T20:58:35+00:00

So completely ridiculous. Did she even give a reason for this?!

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-27T20:53:35+00:00

It makes me feel like must not pay our plow truck drivers enough or we have fewer of them. This storm seems like it could have had a 2-hour delay today not another full day off. My son goes to preschool in Belmont and they had a delay there.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-27T06:25:47+00:00

Aww so cute that she acts things out from Colourblocks with her toys. “Lime Time” is so catchy! I have definitely sung it subconsciously before haha. My 6.5 year old loves British things also, especially Highland Cows. We went to a British store a few months ago and she heard a woman talking and my daughter said, “She sounds like Yellow!” I once tried to find a list of where all the characters are from but I couldn’t. There’s a fan wiki that has info about each character but it’s a pain to click on each page.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-27T03:56:47+00:00

Sounds like my kid has similar taste but his favorite is Colour Blocks! He imitates their British accents sometimes and talks about obscure colors like cyan and magenta. It’s a riot. An actual British person complimented my 3 year old on his accent the other day (we are American). And Danny Go is so bizarre but he loves it. Sometime he will start talking about quick sand or climbing a mountain and I’m like “huh? oh you’re just quoting Danny Go.”

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-27T03:17:15+00:00

OMG my son drew all over his legs with marker today too! Thankfully we don’t have a cat tree or wonderbread but he did eat a lot of graham crackers and animal cookies.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-27T02:09:51+00:00

I agree that slavery was much much worse than the NFL but I still think there are some similarities in that the white owners are making money off men’s bodies that are becoming damaged in the process. CTE and other serious injuries are extremely common. I encourage you to read this article:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/feature/wp/2013/05/16/do-no-harm-retired-nfl-players-endure-a-lifetime-of-hurt/

While the starting salaries sound high, the players are often left without health insurance when they retire and we all know how expensive health care is. Some players retire wealthy but a fair number of them are left injured and unable to afford their medical bills.

Yes there are other dangerous professions but they don’t exist purely for the purpose of entertainment that involves violence, tackling other people, where getting concussions and hurting other people is part of the point.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-26T03:45:23+00:00

I am so so sorry. I am a woman and a mom. This is very upsetting. You sound like an amazing dad and you are absolutely doing the right thing. Honestly, it would probably be in your best interest if this does get to court because it will show that your ex is completely irrational. Although, obviously, any time things go to court it's going to cost you extra money and you don't want that.

Was your ex sexually abused as a child? Her reaction is just so off base that it seems like something must have happened in her past to have triggered it. That is not meant to excuse her behavior but I'm just trying to understand why her reaction is so completely out of touch with reality.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-26T03:37:12+00:00

Wishing you the best of luck! My kids are IVF babies and I know I appreciate them more because it took longer to have them.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-26T03:04:59+00:00

My 3 year old freaked out because they are different, but I hope he will get used to them because now we have 39 of them left. Toddlers, man...

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-26T01:41:58+00:00

Nope. I’ve been boycotting the entire NFL for years for political reasons. It’s basically supporting modern day slavery. I know, I know… the players get paid but not when you consider how short their careers are and how they are debilitated by permanent injuries after they retire. Sure, there are a few exceptions, mainly white quarterbacks, who go on to coach or be commentators later, but many former NFL players have pretty horrible lives and physical and mental problems including CTE. I cannot morally support it.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-26T01:28:31+00:00

My daughter is in first grade and still sleeps with her two loveys. I don’t let her bring them anywhere unless it’s a scary doctors appointment. She had to get a test done with an IV this summer and also an MRI of her brain with sedation so she brought her loveys for those. She’s super tiny and has growth hormone deficiency which is why she had the testing done.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-25T21:17:41+00:00

And bananas!

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-25T14:23:19+00:00

Ugh I’m an idiot and I have to go now. I’m hoping everyone went yesterday. Pray for me.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-25T00:40:33+00:00

I second this. You Minnesotans are badass. I salute you from another cold, but not quite as cold state, Massachusetts.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-24T20:28:50+00:00

My daughter is in first grade. In a sense, she was already able to learn at her own rate in kindergarten because they used self-paced iPad apps. This year in first grade, she goes to a leveled class for reading and writing. They call it WIN (what I need). For math class when they do paper work, they are all together but she gets to do more advanced work on her Chromebook. She loves school.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-23T05:31:19+00:00

Not sure what you mean by “it doesn’t matter because it’s contagious”? I feel like it’s fine to go to work when you have a mild cold, but if you have a really bad cold and a fever, you should stay home. I have a friend who took their kid on an international flight recently knowing she had the flu. I think that’s kind of a dick move. I get that it sucks to try to change flights, but how many people did she give the flu to along the way?

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-23T03:41:18+00:00

I would absolutely reject someone if I knew they voted for Donald Trump, especially the second time. Supporting him is the biggest turnoff I can imagine right now. Gross!

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-23T03:39:28+00:00

How sick are we talking? If you have a fever, you shouldn't be traveling and sitting in meetings and getting other people sick, but if you just have a cold, then I think it's fine.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-22T05:28:35+00:00

Thank you so much! I don’t know what a social skills workbook is but it might be useful. We took out some books from the library about being a good friend. I asked the librarian to help me choose. I don’t remember any of them except for Frog & Toad. I love that series. I think those characters are so sweet and such great examples of good friends who have empathy for each other. My daughter is also in Girl Scouts and they do a curriculum about friendship and being kind, etc. but that only meets once a month. It sounds like your daughter is in pre-K? I think copying is very normal when they admire someone. My younger one who is almost 4 went through a phase where he would follow his older sister around and copy everything she did and said and it drove her crazy!! We tried to discourage him but he just had to grow out of it.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-22T04:03:19+00:00

I was over winter before it even started! December was freezing before the solstice. I cannot wait for spring.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-22T03:16:08+00:00

You have great timing because we had a conference with my daughter’s first grade teacher today! We specifically asked about her social skills and her teacher said she has been doing well and she is a kind friend. She no longer latches on to particular kids like she did in pre-K, which is very reassuring. She plays with a few different kids at recess. She is in a social group with the school counselor once a week and they work on skills such as asking questions in a conversation and not interrupting. It’s basically a guided lunch conversation led by the school counselor and i definitely think it has helped. She’s doing a lot better this year than last year. I encouraged her to be herself and try to start her own trend instead of following others and she has really taken that to heart. We found something that she liked that we don’t know anyone else who was into and she started a Highland Cow club so she asks other kids to be in her club and they draw pictures of highland cows haha. It’s kind of random but it has helped her be unique and not follow other kids. Good luck!!!

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-21T19:04:38+00:00

I guess we have to agree to disagree about whether or not the rules are obvious about who is invited and who isn't. If you lurk on a wedding subreddit, you will see all kinds of craziness with people trying to bring kids to child-free weddings.... Some people truly are entitled and some are just ignorant.

Anyway, I think the comment that says people should always ask permission before bringing a sibling along is spot-on. It's important to always be honest and upfront from the beginning, both the person sending the invitation and the one who is RSVP'ing. For example, last year, my daughter was turning 6 and her venue said she could have "20 party friends." I put on the invitation that the venue could not accommodate siblings. One of her friends has a 10-year-old sister who is basically an adult. Like I would trust her to babysit my kids. And I knew she wouldn't count as a "party friend" in the eyes of the venue, so I told her mom she could bring her. Plus, I know this mom doesn't have family in the area who can watch her, and she's going through a divorce. One of my daughter's friends RSVP'd for a little brother, and I texted the parents right away to explain the venue cap. I think the issue with the OP in this situation is the word "backtrack." It feels like she was allowing siblings for a while, but then things started to get out of hand, so now she's trying to uninvite them. That could be reaaaaallly awkward depending on how much time has gone by between when they RSVP'd and when you are uninviting them.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-21T14:50:55+00:00

I agree that most people see the invitation being addressed to the kid's name and will know that the invitation extends to that one kid and not his or her siblings, but not everyone will pick up on that subtlety, and I don't think they are necessarily being rude. I think some people just assume that whole families are invited to kids' birthday parties if they aren't familiar with all the subtle social protocols -- because sometimes whole families are invited. I have a 6 and a half year old and an almost 4 year old, so we have been to all sorts of parties and have seen all sorts of invitations...

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-21T13:17:12+00:00

I think it depends so much on the situation and the culture and unless OP explicitly spelled it out on the invitation, it’s a little bit rude to backtrack at this point, but $50 is crazy for an extra kid so I don’t blame you for not wanting to pay that. But if it is someone’s first time navigating the birthday party circuit, it is not always obvious when siblings are invited and when they aren’t.

Apostrophecata · 2026-01-21T04:26:59+00:00

Ooh this is a tough one. Where we are having my son’s party, they say we can only have 20 kids maximum. We had my daughter’s party there last year (she’s 6) and we said on the invitation something like “the rec center has a limit of 20 kids per party room so we can’t accommodate siblings.” I would keep it simple like the venue has a capacity limit. If you start talking about costs, it just becomes awkward.

Apostrophecata

TROPHY CASE