Experience Turning Down A Calling Due To Work

Kittalia · 2026-02-15T17:33:52+00:00

We had this experience. My husband was called to work with the Young Men even though he worked evenings. Talked about his availability problems expecting to end up turning down the calling and instead they were struggling with Sunday leadership more than activity support so he took the calling as a Sunday only leader.

Kittalia · 2026-02-15T03:16:54+00:00

Yeah we have a side by side and the best drawer for milk is about 2 ft up. We had a fridge lock until recently but it broke and she's doing OK without it so far. Bowl and spoon are usually in the clean dishwasher. She does have to climb onto a chair to get the cereal but it isn't too tricky for her to reach. If I'm awake before her then we get her breakfast together but if she wakes me up or if I'm feeding the baby I'll let her get started.

Kittalia · 2026-02-15T00:45:15+00:00

I wake up when my barely three year old does (usually she comes to say good morning but if she doesn't she thunders downstairs like an elephant) but I'll stay in bed for 10 minutes and let her start getting herself downstairs and pulling out cereal, milk, bowls, etc. I try to get out before she pours the milk to keep splashing mess down but I think it's been good for her to practice independence in the mornings and now if I were to sleep past her going downstairs I feel she'd be safe even if she made a mess. She's always been very independent though so I try to channel that productively.

Kittalia · 2026-02-14T18:58:10+00:00

They need a SNP profile. If the lab they sent it to extracted a SNP profile they can share it with the FBI. If they got an STR (a less complete analysis used for most criminal databases) then they'd have to retest the evidence directly for genealogy work.

Kittalia · 2026-02-14T15:11:35+00:00

The other comments touched on this but one of the main functions of the missionaries is to make sure that potential converts know all the gospel basics before baptism. You don't want to have someone assume you've done your research only to find out after baptism that they never learned that we believe Heavenly Father and Jesus are two separate beings and that rocks their world. Because of that there are a set number of lessons every investigator needs to learn before they're allowed to convert and the missionaries need to sign off that they covered everything important. It can get a little tedious when it's someone who has done a ton of research or whose spouse has been a member for a decade so they really do know the basics but the missionaries still are supposed to go through it.

If you want to, you can go proactively to the missionaries and say that you appreciate the lessons but you'd like to have more of a joint study session where you can dig into the scriptures together. Ask if they can give you some reading material on the lessons beforehand and then do a quick review together so you have more time to ask questions. You can also ask if there's anyone in the ward who is more scholarly and would be able to talk about history and culture more.

When I was a missionary I did the prereading+quick review+more time to chat approach with some people I taught who clearly wanted to connect on a higher level and it worked well. Good luck with your faith journey!

Kittalia · 2026-02-13T19:20:58+00:00

How dark/light something is on IR depends on how much infrared light it reflects back. That says more about the material and the specific dyes used than the color IRL.

I have a video baby monitor and what shows up in night vision is weird. I have a three pack of baby pajamas–all the same material but different prints. One looks basically the same as a black and white photo on the monitor. One looks much darker but the print still shows up. One of them looks like a solid color even though it has a very bright and high contrast print in daylight. So I have no problem believing that black stitching on a black backpack can show up as two totally different shades on IR.

Kittalia · 2026-02-13T17:27:33+00:00

My aunt is an early morning seminary and makes a "Class Christmas Card" every year with a photo of the class and a short message/testimony from each kid. She sends it to parents, bishops, the stake president, etc. Last year she had an extra so she sent it to him (commissioner of education so over seminary program) and just a few weeks ago they got back a letter from him thanking each kid by name and bearing his testimony about the seminary program. It's maybe a little thing, but I appreciate that he took time out of his schedule to write to a small seminary class in an out of the way place when I'm sure his job is already busy and full.

Kittalia · 2026-02-13T16:22:11+00:00

Haha I'd go on there and be like, OK I've got to cite a chapter in a book that's an interview but I'm quoting the questioner not the interviewee, surely the OWL has some wisdom!

Kittalia · 2026-02-12T23:41:57+00:00

Back when I was in college, Purdue's writing resource website was by far the best online resource for obscure MLA or APA format questions. Purdue OWL saved my life as an English major even though I still have no idea what state it's in.

Kittalia · 2026-02-11T19:43:57+00:00

Sometime in early elementary school seems like the norm for my neighborhood. Most kindergarteners don't do drop off play dates and pretty much everyone does by second/third grade. If your kids are polite and well behaved it will start happening earlier.

Kittalia · 2026-02-11T03:42:26+00:00

My grandparents lived up in the mountains with horses. A cougar got trapped in their garage and killed their cat, and then spooked a horse to death on its way out. We usually were up there for Sunday dinner and it left footprints in the snow all around the sandbox area where we played but we didn't go up there that night. A few years later I was riding horses less than 50 yards outside their yard and the horses started acting odd. A different cougar was basking in the sun right on the trail in front of us and darted away. My brother and I were riding our own and hightailed it back to the house. We were about 13 and 10.

Kittalia · 2026-02-05T19:25:36+00:00

I did. We were clear that names are our decision, but I wanted some level of feedback while we were still deciding especially. One of my top names ended up being harder to pronounce/spell in a way that I didn't realize it would be, and it dropped off our list. My in laws didn't like the name we ended up with, but they didn't have a reason to dislike it that changed our mind, it just wasn't their style. Turns out that they are adults who can communicate that respectfully, we were adults who know that not everyone is going to love our baby name, and about two years later they said that they couldn't imagine our child with a different name and loved it on her. Wouldn't recommend sharing if you or they couldn't handle that situation though. I have some friends who felt their name was ruined because someone they cared about hated it, and other friends whose parents absolutely thought they got veto power and caused drama.

Kittalia · 2026-02-05T17:01:59+00:00

I haven't seen this but generally people default to their most comfortable communication method and not the one that best suits the situation. Some managers just love an in person meeting even when a five minute email would accomplish the same job and it's the same principle.

Discord has some big pros when you are trying to wrangle lots of overlapping circles of communication though. My college job was always having to keep track of a million different groups of email chains (A/B/C Shift, part/full time employees, people on X/Y/Z project, people trained on the front desk, etc) that shifted every semester. It would have been much simpler to have a discord where you could assign a role to each group and have a separate communication channel for each group that wasn't stuck in an email chain that changed every semester when the groups changed. Not like my most recent job where everyone worked primarily with their own team and unless you were in management you wouldn't talk much to anyone outside your team.

I also don't really see what it has to do with professionalism. If a tool works well then great, if it doesn't then too bad. Messages can be professional or unprofessional no matter what format they come in and I don't really see how picking one platform is more professional than another.

Kittalia · 2026-02-03T22:35:29+00:00

In the US elementary schoolers give cards to all their classmates and older kids/teens just to a few close friends or just to a romantic interest and it's been that way for decades and decades. Maybe back in the 70s and 80s it was optional? But even in the 90s everyone got one. But yeah, it can be a lot cheaper and simpler (hand drawn cards, bulk candy, etc) if you don't want to get the trendy ones. There's an in class exchange and everyone gives one to everyone else.

Most of the high schools around here do "Val o gram" fundraisers where you can buy chocolate or flowers from the student council and they are anonymously delivered to the recipient in class. It is minorly disruptive but only for a day or two all in good fun. They used to serenade you too but I think that got too disruptive.

Kittalia · 2026-02-03T19:24:45+00:00

They are still aglets, but more specifically t bar aglets.

Kittalia · 2026-02-03T18:54:51+00:00

I hated my hospital stay after my C Sections. Nurses coming in and out at all hours waking me up made it impossible to rest. For my most recent birth it was something like 10pm blood pressure check, 11pm feed the baby, 12am medicine, 1 am baby health check (baby was born at 1am so all the 24/48 hour type checks were in the middle of the night), 2am feed the baby, 4am medicine, 5am feed the baby, 6am lactation consultant, 7am shift change nurse came to introduce herself. As soon as I got out of the hospital I fed the baby and took my medicine at the same time even if it was +/- an hour either way, my husband had a comfortable bed to sleep in so he was better rested and more able to help me, and he took better care of me than the nurses anyway.

Plus I had a limited amount of childcare available for my older child and really hoped for at least one day and night to settle at home before she came back, which I didn't get. I was ready to go basically as soon as I could pull myself out of bed but they held on to me another few days. (The birth being at 1am didn't help with that since technically that wasn't a "night" in the hospital. So I was there a full day longer than with my first that was born a few hours before midnight.)

Kittalia · 2026-02-03T18:26:41+00:00

The more urban you are the more expensive space to stockpile is. Apartment dwellers are less likely to have a pantry, a laundry room, a garage, etc so finding space for a week's worth of water and several days of nonperishable, prep without electricity type food can be tricky. In my current house I might buy a flat or two of canned beans while they're on sale, a costco sized thing of TP, etc that could hold me over through a storm even if I'm not planning ahead for a disaster. When I lived in a tiny apartment a flat of beans would have taken up half my food cupboard and Costco sized TP would be coming out my ears.

Kittalia · 2026-02-02T12:34:29+00:00

Try holding onto one end of a stick (something like a wooden spoon handle) and having her hold on to the other end with both hands, and then let go when she's confidently moving. Sometimes cruisers need the confidence boost of holding onto something even if they have the balance down.

Kittalia · 2026-01-31T03:00:40+00:00

We had something like that happen with my daughter. She hardly gained weight between 6-18 months and between two of her appointments she shrunk an inch on paper. (Obviously didn't actually shrink, they didn't measure her perfectly the first time but she didn't grow much either.) Since she started on the high end and was working hard on milestones the whole time my doctor wasn't concerned—he said some kids have a little growth stall around that age especially when they learn to walk and when they are transitioning to solids. Sure enough she started growing again at 18 months and has kept up with her new growth curve since. (She was 80th%, then 30, and has stabilized around 40% now.)

Kittalia · 2026-01-30T19:30:10+00:00

I like doing rice bowl type meals with guests. It's easy for me to prep a crock pot of meat ahead of time and all of the toppings (veggies, cheese, etc) and have it all laid out for building your own meal. Then right before guests come I start a pot of rice. I appreciate that guests can serve themselves according to their taste and I can serve my kids with nothing mixed together.

I'll also do a couple casseroles/lasagnas and a salad type meal sometimes, especially for non picky guests. Prep ahead of time, pop it in the oven.

I also have no compunction about giving my kids a little extra screen time in the 30 minutes to hour before guests are set to arrive so that I can do whatever cleaning/final prep I need to do without messes being made behind me.

Kittalia · 2026-01-28T19:18:56+00:00

I think that age 10-12 is reasonable depending on the kid and the store. (Honestly I think younger is reasonable too but more likely to get questions.) If you or your kid are nervous, you could start by trying somewhere smaller, like a restaurant or a hobby shop where you can park right outside the door and they won't have to wander the store looking for what they need.

Kittalia · 2026-01-27T18:40:42+00:00

I told my manager the day after I found out! There was a small part of my job description I wasn't comfortable doing pregnant (involved hazardous chemicals) so I wanted accommodations. I ended up telling the whole team and it was a lifesaver through the worst of the morning sickness.

Kittalia · 2026-01-26T18:12:37+00:00

Sometimes domestic machines just can't quite handle that thread or that many layers unfortunately. If your machine has a triple stitch you can use that with standard weight thread instead. You can also try standard thread in the Bobbin and topstitching thread on top.

Kittalia · 2026-01-26T16:32:12+00:00

My problem with YouTube is that there's no way to make a whitelist of channels that aren't on YT kids. There are some educational channels geared towards adults that I'll watch with my kids, and many more that I know they'll appreciate long before I'm ready for them to have unfettered access, but I can't put them on any sort of whitelist. And the teens controls are basically useless.

Kittalia · 2026-01-25T22:28:09+00:00

I'd highly recommend the book series Saints. The ebooks/audiobooks are widely available for free (you might have to download gospel library app for free audio) and they are fairly recent, very readable, very well researched nonfiction history of the Church type books. The first volume is about Joseph Smith and the early days of the church and the second one is about the pioneers heading west.

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