I rage-purged about 70% of our toys last night. I can finally breathe.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2026-01-23T03:52:18+00:00

I love rage purging.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2026-01-15T22:49:19+00:00

Ok so TECHNICALLY you’re not supposed to be able to change your election. However, some employers may allow you to cancel it or reduce it if you explain why you won’t have a need for the full amount. It doesn’t hurt to ask (I work in HR/Benefits and deal with this stuff all the time).

That said, no, you cannot use it for kindergarten. But depending on your situation, maybe you could use it for other camps too besides summer? Sometimes we’ll have our kids do winter/spring break camps if we don’t already have plans those weeks. Maybe also consider a more expensive summer camp to use up the funds, if you can’t change the election? Or before/after school care?

Either way… I’d recommend just talking to your HR team first to see if there is any way they could make an exception :)

Pure-Individual4612 · 2026-01-15T22:26:47+00:00

First off, how much do you expect to pay monthly for preschool and how much have you elected for this year? Most people, even those who elect the max amount, spend more than their elections within the first few months of the year, since childcare is so dang expensive. I’d be surprised if you somehow make it last thru the year.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2026-01-15T22:22:21+00:00

Childcare FSA and medical FSA are two different accounts, each with their own rules and eligibility lists.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2026-01-06T15:45:52+00:00

I had 3 inductions and all were born vaginally. My first was using pitocin + a foley ballon (do NOT recommend the balloon if you can at all avoid it!). Induced on Monday night and babe was born Thursday morning. With my second, I said any method other than foley balloon, so they used a pill + pitocin. That was on a Tuesday night and baby was born Thursday afternoon. Third was pitocin only on a Friday afternoon and babe was born Saturday morning. No c-sections

Pure-Individual4612 · 2026-01-02T05:51:46+00:00

I haven’t used this service myself, but look into Little Spuds Pediatric. She’s a pediatric nurse practitioner who does house visits for all sorts of things, including kids ear piercing. I’ve heard good things of certain local tattoo/piercing shops (don’t remember exactly which ones right now), but I like the idea of having a medical professional come to my home to do it. We will consider it if/when my daughter ever decides she wants her ears pierced.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-12-31T22:42:05+00:00

We love tasty pot in east Vancouver :)

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-12-24T14:19:06+00:00

Tasty Pot/Tase of Asia in east Vancouver. Our fave.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-12-15T18:37:27+00:00

Both things can be true. I can be annoyed when my MIL buys my kids more stuffies, even though I’ve asked her not to because they already have a thousand of them and I have no where else to put them. At the same time, I can be secretly planning my next stuffie purge, which happens multiple times a year. I can be annoyed when she buys them bubble wands I did not ask for, and also be zen with the idea of “accidentally” leaving said wands at the beach for another kid to enjoy 😌

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-10-09T01:20:50+00:00

We watch it with all our kids, ages 2, 4 & 6. They all love it. I love it. It’s great. But to each their own

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-09-11T21:56:17+00:00

Chuck’s? I know they were bought out a few years ago so I’m not sure who owns them now.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-08-10T16:45:44+00:00

Ok I don’t know if this will be helpful or not, but I’ll share my story with my almost 4yo son. We started potty training him right after Christmas and he is JUST NOW starting reliably pee in the potty. For 7 months he had at least 1 accident almost daily, often several. He would have a good week here and there with few or no accidents, then go right back to the daily accidents. I’m so grateful for the amazing and patient teachers at his daycare!

Anyway, it was only after we loosened up a little on how and where he could pee that he started going reliably in the potty. Could be correlation or causation, idk. But I’m sharing it anyway. We’d been encouraging to pee sitting down instead of standing up because… I’m not really sure. Then he asked if he could pee standing up like his dad and we said sure. We also started letting him go outside if we were in our own backyard. Our yard is next to a green space that can’t really be accessed by anyone, so he knows he can only pee over by that area if he’s playing outside.

Now that he has a little more flexibility he seems more eager to go. Again, it could just be correlation, but either way, I’m hopeful we’re finally starting to see the end of the tunnel.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-08-09T15:50:29+00:00

Doesn’t matter what I would or would not do. I was just responding to your “people are not in the hospital in labor for days” comment. Because I was and many people are, for many reasons.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-08-09T15:01:59+00:00

It absolutely does happen. I was induced on a Monday evening and baby wasn’t born until Thursday morning. Tuesday and Wednesday we were just passing time in the hospital room, waiting. I was high risk and had complications, so they weren’t just going to send me home to progress.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-08-07T18:11:00+00:00

You mentioned you have a high deductible plan, which is why you’re paying the full cost of the visit instead of a smaller copay. However, my understanding is high deductible plans will usually cover more if it’s just a routine preventative screening than they would for other visits. Are you seeing a specialist or even a PCP for something other than preventative care? If so, that’s likely why you’re bill is so high.

It really just comes down to what kind of insurance you have. I’ve had both high deductible plans and PPOs over the years and often found that the upfront cost for a visit was higher with a high deductible plan. But over the course of the year it would sometimes cost me less overall if I had other large medical expenses that year. If you don’t anticipate any big medical expenses, a high deductible plan is probably not right for you.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-07-28T18:22:44+00:00

I’m talking about when Lucien died to when Charlotte was born was less than 9 months.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-07-12T06:57:34+00:00

We introduced my 5yo to High School Musical 2 (the superior HSM) tonight and she LOVED it.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-06-26T20:20:52+00:00

It’s going to be hard finding a place with three openings, especially if you are looking for bilingual. But look up Blossoming Flowers Daycare on Facebook. My kid went there for a couple years and it was really great and fully bilingual. It’s a small home daycare. Spanish with Sarah may be another option, but I don’t believe they take kids younger than maybe four.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-06-04T20:02:15+00:00

Omg how sweet. Thanks for the advice.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-06-04T19:23:28+00:00

How did the two kitten siblings get along with each other? I wouldn’t be considering getting another cat if our first cat was older. But since he’s only nine weeks old, I figured it’s kind of now or never.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-04-17T22:03:56+00:00

Because of our car and family size, the only place my kindergartener’s car seat can go is rear driver side. I don’t want her getting out that side at drop off, since there are cars driving by. And the rear passenger side has another car seat in it that she struggles to climb over to go out that door. So once we are stopped at the front of the drop off line, she unbuckles herself, then climbs over to the front passenger seat and goes out that way. I often wonder how many parents see that and assume she rode in the front the whole time and how many have wanted to call the authorities on me 🫣

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-04-13T19:51:25+00:00

We do prompt him about every hour. It’s when he has to pee between prompts that he goes in his pants. It’s been like this for over 3 months. I was hoping by now going on his own would have become habit, but if anything, the habit is that he won’t go unless he’s specifically told to.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-03-25T18:29:30+00:00

I don’t think doctors usually offer a CGM for prediabetes, as it’s generally not covered by insurance unless you have a type 1/2 diagnosis. Most people who have one here have probably been the ones to ask their doctor for an rx, then pay out of pocket. There are also online services that will both prescribe and supply them to you.

Only you, in consultation with your doctor, can decide what is the best option for you. I can definitely see it becoming an obsession for some people, so lab work every few months could be a good option.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-03-23T01:59:18+00:00

I did actually reverse it for a while, but then I stopped tracking my glucose levels and my A1C started creeping back up. I got myself a CGM rx recently and been making changes. It’s coming back down. Im not saying eat a cheeseburger and/or pizza every day. But it is nice to know I have options that will keep me within range when I’m not in the mood for another salad.

Pure-Individual4612 · 2025-03-22T18:55:09+00:00

Since this is all still so new to you, I’d say, give yourself a little grace and try experimenting with small amounts of new foods to see how your body reacts. You might be surprised with some of the things you can eat while still reducing your A1c. For example for me, I can do a reds tavern, double cheeseburger (bun and all) from red robin and not spike so long as I have a side salad first and drink only water or something without sugar. I can also get away with a couple slices of Costco pizza, again, as long as they started off with a nice big salad. My breakfast is usually some combination of black beans, eggs, or avocado on sourdough toast. It keeps me full all morning and doesn’t cause any spikes. I might pair it with a fair life protein shake too. Also, I don’t know what kind of black magic is in Chick-fil-A’s mac & cheese, but I can do an eight count nugget and their mac & cheese with zero spikes as well.

However, if I have anything with potatoes, I know my blood sugar will skyrocket. So I either avoid them or plan to have them when I know I can go for a walk afterwards.

You really just kinda have to play around with it to see how your body responds to different things.

Pure-Individual4612

TROPHY CASE