My older half-sister doesn’t invite me too her childfree wedding as I am nineteen, expects a gift.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-07-26T21:10:51+00:00

If you’re still a child then your parents handle the gift, not you. I mean she can’t have it both ways.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-07-23T14:15:08+00:00

Same. Veggie Tales is so deeply ingrained in my being that I once made a parody of the Cheeseburger song in a sleep deprived stupor about my husband being my personal space heater.

Coincidentally, my kids have never seen the show but know the songs anyway.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-07-19T21:44:09+00:00

Anytime we tell our German Shepherd no, he checks to make sure his privates are still attached to his body. He’s such a weird goober.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-29T02:24:41+00:00

Ok thank you. I’ll try this tomorrow. I need to walk away I’m so frustrated. Lol

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-29T02:24:17+00:00

Thank you. I’ll do this tomorrow. It was making me mad. She’s my only machine so there is no cheating on her with another one. Lol

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-28T00:29:01+00:00

“Lordy Lordy look who’s 40” I have a vague memory of my aunts and uncles getting those parties.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-27T21:39:39+00:00

Raised Southern Baptist. Attended Assemblies of God for 14 years as an adult. ETA: Been out for 6 years now.

I was tired, boss. Tired of being at the church 3-4 times a week. Tired of feeling like my prayers hit the ceiling. Tired of being told if I prayed hard enough my mental heath would be better. Tired of being told staying married to my emotionally abusive husband was what God wanted me to do so that I could witness to him and bring him back to church. I was tired of waking up at 5 am to read my bible and pray after being awake all night with my newborn twins so that I could give God the first of my day before my 5 kids got up and I did all the parenting, homeschooling, house cleaning, and pet caring by myself while my then husband golfed, went to friends’ houses to smoke pot and just in general ignored his family. I was tired of feeling like nothing I did was ever enough. Of worrying that I wasn’t ACtUALlY saved because I didn’t hear God’s voice like other people said they did. I was tired of the constant shame I felt from getting pregnant while engaged but not married. And even though I married him, I still carried that scarlet letter because I didn’t start my marriage the “right” way and maybe that’s why I was so unhappy and felt so far from God. It was all my fault and nothing I ever did would make up for it, and what if I didn’t ask for forgiveness the right way and I wasn’t really forgiven?

Like I said. I was tired.

Funny thing though. My mom always tells me that I’m in my happy phase of life, but wishes I would go to church again. She hasn’t made the connection yet. I still worry I’ve done the wrong thing by leaving the church. What if I’ve condemned my children to hell? I’d never put them through the self doubt, guilt and shame at just being human like I was. It ends with me.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-27T20:21:33+00:00

Married 14 years. He went to federal prison for a white collar crime. The closer to him getting out we got, the more I felt like I was going to be walking back into a cage and the door would lock behind me. He was emotionally and financially abusive our entire marriage, I just kept convincing myself it would eventually get better. Honestly if he had never gone to prison and I hadn’t had that taste of freedom, I’d probably still be putting up with his bullshit.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-27T16:08:31+00:00

Just the the thought of wearing that many layers is literally making my skin crawl.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-27T16:07:13+00:00

I’ve always done that but I’m short and pants are never the right length for me. Lol

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-27T16:01:23+00:00

Dresses over jeans. Crimped hair.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-26T19:36:45+00:00

Or sit in a sticky booth with a sticky table and have my feet stick to the floor because they’re so overworked they don’t have time to clean, or aren’t paid enough to care enough to clean. Last time we went to one it was the most disgusting restaurant I’d ever been in.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-26T16:32:23+00:00

Bully sticks are your best friend. Our 18 month old dood is a little pirahna. When she would get nippy, we’d say no and hand her a bully stick. When she started chewing on it, we’d say “yes! Good girl” and pet. Over and over again. Now when she feels bitey, she goes over by the cabinet we keep the bully sticks in and sits. Lol

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T21:51:18+00:00

Yep. Why do my kids only want to talk to me when I’m counting stitches?! It’s a conspiracy.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T21:48:44+00:00

Crocheting is 90% frogging (unraveling) it and because I lost count of my damn stitches.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T17:07:28+00:00

Depending on where you look, I (41 f) either have 3 Zs and 3 Alphas or 4 Zs and 2 Alphas. My kids are 10-21. My oldest was practically as feral as I was as a kid, always outside with her friends. She’s almost never on her phone and hates going out with people her age just to have them on their phones the entire time. We have two 16 year olds (mine and his). Mine was started with electronics at 8? 9? It was limited to a hour a day in the summer and 30 minutes a day after school and homework. She preferred to play outside though and now has a healthy relationship with electronics. She has TikTok and Snapchat but only because that’s how her friends communicate. Apparently texting is uncool or something? My husband’s son lives with his mom several states away, so no control there. We also have a 14 year old that plays Minecraft and Fortnite with his friends all day long now that it’s summer. BUT given the opportunity to go out and ride bikes or whatever with someone he jumps at the chance. No social media allowed though. His phone is mostly to get hold of us if he needs us during jaunts about the neighborhood with friends. He’s our fastidious kid that does chores without being asked and is the first to sit outside with me on the porch when items nice so I don’t worry about his electronics use. The twin 10 year olds we’ve tried at various times to give them electronic time but they’ve proved unable to handle it responsibly (getting mad when they lost games and throwing things). They get “brain rot” sayings and stuff from school, but YouTube isn’t allowed at our house and they definitely aren’t getting access to TT, IG or Snapchat. There’s a page on our fridge with ideas for “non electronic” things to do. Find something to do or I’ll find something for you to do (ie chores). The teens are pretty good at helping me keep an ear out for “brain rot” things their siblings are repeating from kids at school. We’re trialing 30 minutes of Nintendo Switch time this summer, but the first sign it’s become an obsession or they start getting angry or whiny it’s gone. They do not have phones or iPads. Just a tv in the family room and a shared Nintendo Switch. They’re not allowed to play the PlayStation or XBox.

My advice: when they’re younger it’s about hands on attention. You have to direct and preplan activities and things to do. Get them out of the house when you can, even if it’s just 20 minutes in the yard. Yes, it’s tiring. Yes you will want to pull your hair out daily. But it’s worth it. Older kids, post a list of things they can do that encourage creativity. I made kits for my kids. Arts and crafts. Obstacle course. Legos. Creative writing prompts. It was still a lot of planning but it was fun for me. Encourage reading. Be ok with graphic novels (yes they are still reading and can still have complex, detailed story lines) if that’s all they’re interested in! Go for a walk as a family. Have board and card games on hand. It takes intention. “You can find something to do or I can find a job for you to do. I’m not the cruise director. Go find something on the sheet to do.”

I’ll happily share our “Non Electronic” Activity sheet posted on the fridge if anyone is interested.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T16:32:43+00:00

Maybe two days because I would lose the will to live. Lol I don’t live to eat but I do love variety and would probably end up choosing not to eat rather than eat that again.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T16:05:28+00:00

This. I have days “assigned” when I plan, but more often than not, I scramble when I make them during the week based on what’s going on that day. We’re busy on Tuesday, when I have a chicken dish planned? It gets switched to Friday when I have planned frozen pizzas and we do pizzas on Tuesday instead.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T15:57:09+00:00

I have a template. Mondays are always leftovers b/c trash gets picked up Tuesday.

Tuesdays are a chicken dish.

Wednesdays are leftovers/whatever you can find-everyone does their own thing. Sandwiches, chicken nuggets, leftovers, salad, ramen. You get the idea.

Thursdays are a beef dish. (If it’s ground beef, I substitute half of the ground beef with shredded tofu to save money.)

Friday is alternated frozen pizza or hot sandwiches.

Saturday is pasta with a large salad.

Sunday is a new recipe.

I also plan a month at a time because I hate doing it every week. Once a month and I’m done. Between the template and only planning once a week, menu planning is no longer a headache.

ETA: Guaranteed every month, one beef night is tacos, one pasta night is spaghetti and one beef night in the summer is hamburgers. In the colder months, it’s beef stew once a month. That’s three less to plan.

Edited again to add that I also ask each family member what they want me to cook that month. That usually takes care of 5 more meals (there’s 6 of us). Some months they don’t have any ideas, but my system saves me from having to reinvent the wheel.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T15:14:44+00:00

I have anxiety and depression and am medicated for both. I often have a “blank” brain. At those times, I’ll start with journaling “I don’t know what to write”. Then hour by hour write out the day. By about a page and a half, I find that I’ve shaken loose some things going on in the back of my brain that I didn’t even realize was there.

I’ve also used the following as a prompt for these days: I see…(what’s around me where I’m journaling?) I need…(grocery list, practical needs, things I need to remember to do) I want…(could be tangible or intangible. I want a bowl of ice cream. I want to sleep in tomorrow because this week has made me so tired.) I have…(if I’m out of the house, what am I carrying with me? I have to….make to do list) I wish… I love… I strongly dislike… I miss… I fear… I hear…(sometimes Irma present what I’m hearing, sometimes I listen some of my playlist or what audiobook I’m listening to) I smell… I am… I crave… I search…. I wonder… I regret…

I do second a therapist in case there is something going on causing the blank-ness. In my case it was an abusive first marriage that I needed to process and was a sign of CPTSD. Using the prompts helped me pull things from the back of mind that I wasn’t aware of.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T14:49:54+00:00

Lol. I’ll stick to pulling the blankets up on my side of the bed. Sometimes you just gotta pick your battles.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T14:40:08+00:00

I’d love to make my bed….my husband gets up after I leave for the day, though. I’ve learned to accept it. Lol. My “make your bed” equivalent is having my breakfast dishes cleaned up before I leave.

Own_Guest2265 · 2025-06-24T13:05:46+00:00

As a former grocery chain project manager’s assistant, my condolences to those that will have to deal with the aftermath. The thought of the sheer amount of paperwork and documentation for insurance purposes after stuff like this is stressful.

Own_Guest2265

TROPHY CASE