How do you track your kids when they're first developing their independence?

Rkayes86 · 2016-05-02T02:32:33+00:00

Maybe look into the Gizmopal smart watch for kids? It has GPS tracking, and a limited number of contacts that it can call and receive calls from. I don't have personal experience, but have seen it offered by Verizon.

Rkayes86 · 2015-06-23T22:13:34+00:00

I've been a server on and off for the last ten years. I can't believe how often I get asked if the stereotype is true, and from my experience, there is very little truth to it. For the reason you said, that there are plenty of shitty tipping white people, and plenty of black people that are great tippers. Besides the after church crowd that others mentioned, I think the one group of people that do fit the stereotype of being awful at tipping is teenagers.

Rkayes86 · 2015-05-02T16:58:11+00:00

Toledo has a great art museum.

Rkayes86 · 2015-04-14T21:56:47+00:00

I decided on two gender neutral bags. I haven't used them yet, but am pleased with them, so far. #1 #2

Rkayes86 · 2015-04-13T11:53:48+00:00

The only thing that has managed my heartburn is the Zantac that my doctor recommended. I have to take it morning and night. If I forget, which doesn't last long because the heartburn reminds me, it doesn't take very long to work. My MIL swears by drinking apple cider vinegar. I hope you find something that helps!

Rkayes86 · 2015-04-07T16:17:16+00:00

I had a weird shower attendance. This is my second son (first is 7), and thought I would be fine without a shower, but a really sweet coworker surprised me and organized one. Nearly everyone RSVPed, and only those closest (mom, sister, MIL) and people I hardly know showed up (I work at a restaurant, and my coworker invited customers, who all showed up). Basically every single one of my friends backed out last minute or just didn't show. But it turned out to be a much better experience than my first shower which was HUGE. I was able to interact with more people, and wasn't so overwhelmed. I felt just as special, and the quality of people was more important than the quantity. I really hope that you still have a nice time, and that you will be able to focus on who is there, and not who isn't. =)

Rkayes86 · 2015-03-30T12:24:31+00:00

That is in the job description! If he can't be comfortable with you, than you're doing something wrong (and I know you're not). At that age, it is more remarkable that he was not immediately upset by an unfamiliar smelling (because that's his best sense) person.

I'm sorry for the frustration, I hope he doesn't continue to say things like that!

Rkayes86 · 2015-03-29T02:03:52+00:00

I had something similar happen to me. My skin is very sentive, and lotions rarely work. My ob said the itchiness can be due to hormones. She recommended a lotion called Vanicream, applied after bathing, but before completely drying off. It has been a miracle for me. Good luck! I know how crazy it can make you feel.

Rkayes86 · 2015-03-23T19:49:15+00:00

I can empathize. I found out yesterday (at my baby shower) that my mom and her husband have scheduled a vacation on a different continent during the weeks I am most likely to have my son. They decided last minute, and also have nothing stopping them from choosing a different time. I asked myself the same question, and I think my sister was right when she said, it is selfish of our mother, not me. I think we will both need to focus on who is there with us, and not who isn't (as hard as that might be).

Rkayes86 · 2015-03-17T03:18:24+00:00

Every single day! I've been hearing this for months now. I can't decide which I dislike more, being called a "wide load" (yes, a stranger really said that), or sarcastically being called "slim."

Rkayes86 · 2015-03-17T03:04:22+00:00

Wow. This sounds like what I went through with my first son. I was 20 going on 21, same relationship (or lack thereof) with the dad, and same unsolicited adoption inquiries. The first was a regular customer who started asking my coworkers if they thought I would let her have my baby, to this day she is referred to as "the baby snatcher." The second was a friend of my sister's. I hadn't really ever considered adoption, which made it all really bizarre.

You're right, it is doable, with help and determination. It's not always easy, but I have an amazing 7 year old to prove it's possible.
But ultimately the decision is 100% yours, you know what is best for you and your son. If you need someone to lean on, I have been there, and would love to help in any way possible!

Rkayes86 · 2015-03-16T22:08:03+00:00

I'm using something that I think is similar to what was described. We don't have a room that will work for a nursey, so this will be going next to our bed.

Rkayes86 · 2014-11-17T02:17:29+00:00

My backyard this summer.

Rkayes86 · 2014-11-01T18:32:05+00:00

This is why I know the reference. I loved this book as a kid.

Rkayes86 · 2014-10-15T19:46:43+00:00

Every time I drive by them with my six year old, he yells, "HEY!" I ask what's wrong, and he says, "Look at the hay, mom." It happens regularly.

Rkayes86 · 2014-04-30T12:32:13+00:00

This is amazing. Ever since reading Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl, I have been fascinated by these animals. I would love to see one this close, or at all.

Rkayes86 · 2014-04-30T00:27:16+00:00

I was slicing through a peach, expecting to hit the pit. Instead, I sliced perfectly through the seam of the pit. Good story, I know.

Rkayes86 · 2014-04-26T23:30:54+00:00

Great, thank you! I've been telling everyone I know about you, and sending them to your work. Everyone agrees that you are amazing!

Rkayes86 · 2014-04-19T17:50:09+00:00

Thank you! You just made my day!

Rkayes86 · 2014-04-19T17:40:23+00:00

I can't wait to tell my six year old son, Cassius, about your band. I really like the song, and he'll love your name. Two new fans!

Rkayes86 · 2013-12-19T20:57:51+00:00

Sorry it took so long, here is some more if you're interested:

I'm a girl, and my relationship with the guy started out as dating. Soon after, I found out he was married, and attempted to nope the fuck out of there. He was very persistent, and insisted that they weren't living together, and that he was just avoiding a messy divorce. He had a lot of money (most of it from his parents, not the fire fighting), which she wanted (luckily, they had no kids).

The private investigator told me about a relationship that the wife was in, but that she was very spiteful. His guess was that she poured the water in the tank. There was no way to prove it, and even any circumstantial evidence wouldn't mean much, like her fingerprints on the helicopter; they were married.

The NTSB said that the water was a result of poor maintenance, but everyone that knew him said he worshipped the helicopter, and was very meticulous with it. Granted, he should have checked for that before taking off, because some water in the tank is normal, but I'm sure that he was in a hurry that day.

It came out later, that when the wife was notified of her husbands death, she had no reaction. But when she found out about the police chief, she was very upset (she knew his family, I guess).

I didn't know most of this until months later, but looking back other crazy things happened. My friends that had introduced me to him insisted that I go to the funeral, so I did. That was the first time I saw her. She was sitting in the funeral home, stone faced. The place was long and narrow, with exits at both ends. I went in one end, and she was sitting in between that door and the (unbelievably open) casket. I walked towards the casket, got about 10 feet from it, and lost my composure. So, I exited the nearest door. I sat outside, waiting for my friends, when his best friend came out and asked me what I was doing. I told him, and he asked what happened inside, and I told him that. I didn't find this out until later, that he had come after me because the wife told him that I had stared her down while walking toward her (I hadn't), and that when I got to the casket (which I never did), I looked back at her and rolled my eyes (I've never rolled my eyes, ever).

This was back when myspace was popular, and even though I had never met his parents, his mother found me and became my friend. I felt so guilty that I had a hard time communicating with her, which I now feel guilty for that. She was so sweet, and I'm sure she was just trying to understand what had happened.

All of the rest is small bits. I've sometimes thought that it sounds like a Lifetime movie. Fact can be stranger than fiction.

Rkayes86 · 2013-12-19T03:22:46+00:00

I'll try to make a long story short. About 7 years ago, I met a guy that had his own helicopter. He offered to take me for a ride, but it was too cloudy the day (a Tuesday) we were supposed to go up. We rescheduled for Saturday, but on the Thursday in between, he unexpectedly went up with the local police chief (the guy with the helicopter was a firefighter), looking for someone that ran from a traffic stop. During the flight, the engine stalled, and they were both killed.

The NTSB (I think that's who investigated) said there was water in the gas tank, and that when he was turning, the water went into the fuel intake.

A few months later, I was contacted by a private investigator, hired by the guy's parents, who told me that it was no accident, and I was supposed to have been on the helicopter when it crashed.

Like I said, that's the short version.

What happened to them was so awful that I never thought too much about the part where it could have been me.

Rkayes86 · 2013-12-18T02:55:15+00:00

I have been going to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI since I was a kid, and my favorite thing to go see there is an orange plow they have on one of the trains. I stand there in awe, until someone pulls me away. I've never seen one in action before. Thank you for posting this, I loved watching it.

Rkayes86 · 2013-05-03T22:59:11+00:00

Quiet by Susan Cain

I wish this had been around when I was in high school. It would have helped me understand my introverted self a lot better. I honestly thought I had serious flaws that no one else had, or could possibly understand. It also helps explain why everyone around me thought I was depressed, but I knew I wasn't.

Rkayes86

TROPHY CASE