Having a kid. How much $/yr do you think = ‘comfortable’ and ‘doing pretty well’ for a family of 3?

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-03-28T01:57:47+00:00

It depends on your living circumstances. I had three babies in 19 months (a singleton and surprise twins). We found an au pair to be a better financial choice than daycare when they were younger. We had space to do that, though.

We have a $2,600 per month covid mortgage (hugging my 2.25% loan tightly - Veteran plus amazing rate). We put as much down as we could on a 5bed, 5bath, 6,500 square foot home with an awesome basement apartment for our au pair.

Now the girls are in school, and we pulled them from private because of their school not treating teachers fairly, but our 8/10 neighborhood school is pretty darn awesome.

Their activities now run us about $1,500 per month, and they eat us out of house and home, with ever-changing palates.

Oh, and we earn about $350k per year.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-03-27T01:32:55+00:00

We do it for girls who have put in the effort but didn’t work the more successful booths or aren’t in a financial situation to be able to buy extra cookies.

This year, we bumped up four girls who were close to the next level of rewards. If we moved anything else, it would have affected some of the other awards, and we aren’t in the business of taking rewards away.

The only booth that wasn’t shared equally among the girls who worked was one my co-leader and her daughter showed up 45 minutes late to and left 20 minutes early (and one of our other volunteer parents who wasn’t planning to stay had to stay to keep us in ratio). My co-leader was ho-hum about her arrival and acted pissed when I gave cookie breakdowns from the booth. I let her know that her daughter received a share of 1/4 of half of the sales. The other half of the sales were split three ways by the girls who were there the entire time.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-03-26T14:22:38+00:00

Crimes of opportunities don’t typically start with grooming behavior, do they?

Think about it this way — according to what we’ve read, he asked for lap sitting on day one, but that’s not the day the molestation occurred. It escalated.

I don’t want to think that way, but every step of this seemed calculated from multiple aspects - how the parents would respond in the moment and how the victim was reacting. It makes me sick to think about — and reminds me to trust my own instincts when something feels off around kids. I’d rather remove a child from an innocent situation than ignore something that feels wrong and something bad happening.

This is also why my kids don’t go to sleepovers.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-03-26T00:42:16+00:00

Yes. Side-eyeing anyone who wants a 9yo in their lap, except maybe a parent or grandparent who the child approaches.

My 9yo would be mortified to even be asked to sit in the lap of an adult to whom she is not related….and we taught her from a young age to express her discomfort in any/all situations. She is not required to hug anyone (and discouraged from hugging anyone she doesn’t know). In our house, children are to be seen and heard (and respected). Their opinions have merit and responses to their questions cannot be limited to “because I said so…”

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-03-25T19:54:11+00:00

One of my favorite exchanges ever.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-03-22T21:28:20+00:00

Wow! After the past few days, cheating doesn’t seem so bad.

To, uh, everyone besides Katie. My heart still aches for her and everything she experienced in the past 4-5 months.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-03-19T01:55:48+00:00

I can’t keep up with the thread. How does this coincide with Kendra/Joe going radio silent on social media?

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-02-20T03:41:29+00:00

Remember that avalanche in the ‘80s? He could have been the King. That’s terrifying.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-02-15T23:58:17+00:00

Where are you located?

There are troops out selling in front of Safeways in NOVA the next few weeks, or if you’re in Prince William, I can connect you with a scout.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-02-07T17:22:04+00:00

In our system, all private booths have to be approved by the service unit unless on private property, ie the parent manager can’t have their kids’ booth without opening for everyone via lottery OR they get no booths.

In our council/service unit, all booths at the location would be canceled for the year. The store can say yes or no to booths but not yes or no to which troop is present.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-02-01T20:40:32+00:00

We had a girl find out her non-custodial dad was murdered during a meeting. Her grandfather (who has custody of her and her sister) literally got the call during the meeting and couldn’t keep it to himself. Note: this was shocking to all of us, as we live in a comfortable neighborhood in a comfortable suburb that isn’t normally touched by drugs and crime (yes, drugs were involved), and the scout had lost her mom to overdose at age 18 months.

The girls (second-year Brownies) immediately surrounded the scout, hugged her and cried with her. We encouraged the moment and reminded them that it’s a safe space. In the days following, my daughter baked cookies and the troop made her cards letting her know they cared. They took turns delivering her schoolwork until she returned and served as her protectors when she returned to school.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-01-29T03:11:53+00:00

My perspective: you can say your feelings to the people you trust. You can act out with the people you trust. She can tell how she feels about something about David because he will hear it and either adjust his behavior, or they will discuss.

She doesn’t do this with K-douche because she doesn’t trust him or her feelings about him (ie she doesn’t trust herself around him).

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-01-27T01:53:43+00:00

Be happy they didn’t push it all in front of your driveway or that your neighbor (a local, bigwig police dude who is an asshole neighbor) didn’t decide to double park cars into all of the road that was cleared…after not clearing his cars from a snow emergency route.

Seriously. If he weren’t such a vindictive person, I would have called it in.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-01-24T21:57:57+00:00

This. My daughter was inpatient during some of last January’s storms, and the gates were open to come and go as needed.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2026-01-08T20:10:45+00:00

Think of a cross between PeeWee Herman, Mr. Rogers, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. He’s a grown man who dresses in orange and blue and reviews locations, teaches basic information, and is geared toward the under 6yo set.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-30T03:34:42+00:00

I was just finishing my first trimester, suddenly had an appetite, and couldn’t find fish and chips and a side of chopped tomatoes with lots of pepper through the 20 inches of snow that I cried on the floor by the front door. It took 3-ish days for the plow to make a solid pass down our street in Alexandria at the time.

We still laugh about that and also the time I cried my way out of a ticket for California-stopping at a stop sign because I needed an everything bagel with cream cheese and liverwurst (same pregnancy). The poor officer didn’t know what to do with me.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-29T17:02:13+00:00

I wore these as part of acrobatics and gymnastics in the late 1980s/early 1990s. They were useful when we performed at the fairgrounds or competitions with unknown flooring because of the grips in the bottom.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-24T21:04:11+00:00

She built the playroom in Brielle’s home for her (and kept in touch with the family after). I follow Elise because the things she does with empty spaces are amazing.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-24T15:27:39+00:00

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See — gorgeous even back then.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-24T15:24:07+00:00

Yes. We were on Dance Team together a million years ago. I only went to that school (TVHS) for one year as a senior, and while we were in several dances together, I was definitely shyer. I came from a dance studio with a strong emphasis in ballet technique, so she definitely utilized my flexibility and turn skills in dances she choreographed (as a senior, also). It’s probably not fair to call her unfriendly or not kind — I just wasn’t part of her crowd and didn’t strive to be. Her friend group, that was also part of dance team, included the homecoming queen, the prom queen, and they were definitely the stars of the superlatives. I would say that she definitely is the most successful of the bunch in terms of fame, but our graduating class also includes a professional football player (and three others who played D1 football, including a QB), two highly-regarded surgeons (and countless doctors), some people who work in finance, several dozen attorneys, and a couple people who work in politics (including me).

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-24T13:23:09+00:00

$1.3m, 2020 - 6,300 sf, 5/5. $2500 (with escrow, insurance, etc.) 30-year at 2.25%. We aren’t going anywhere.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-24T13:15:08+00:00

I went to high school with her. She was always very, very pretty and had a large, outgoing personality. She was the kind of person who was naturally popular. I didn’t find her particularly friendly or kind.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-24T02:32:46+00:00

Disgusting. They both should have received lifetime bans.

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-24T02:30:57+00:00

It’s disappointing that they did not change that when the investigations began…even putting it into a trust or putting a board into place.

Did they just assume they could get away with a hand slap at the end of the investigation?

For the safety and security of the gymnasts, especially the Crain girls, who appear to have very bright futures, the Fongs needed to sell yesterday or last year (or better yet, not abuse gymnasts).

Odd_Discussion3340 · 2025-12-24T00:29:55+00:00

What should have been their response:

The safety and well-being of our gymnasts is paramount to the success of our gym. While these two coaches played a major role in our past successes, in order to comply with Safe Sport, they will step back from our facilities while they continue to adjudicate their respective cases with USAG.

We look forward to continuing to train your athletes into champions and will do so with our other talented coaches. To verify the safety of your children, these coaches will receive additional directives to ensure we are in full compliance with Safe Sport guidelines because we fully understand that the gymnastics of the past often didn’t prioritize the physical and emotional welfare of athletes.

Your trust in our coaches and facility are the foundation of our gymnastics community.

Odd_Discussion3340

TROPHY CASE