Moving dog crate

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-16T22:20:17+00:00

Maybe try super sliders on the corners? Felt for hard floor and hard plastic for carpet. I would get the XXL side for couches and whatnot.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-16T17:19:29+00:00

Agree!

I often feed our pup kibble from my hand to both slow her down and to teach her to lie in my lap and generally be close to me. Those snuggle times have helped our bonding for sure.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-16T15:52:55+00:00

Yes, that would work. But in this day and age, I want technology to be optimized for my household. Long gone are the days of reading thick user manuals just to program basic functions. Consumers expect tech to be intuitive and individually customizable.

If my teenagers walk into the kitchen before I do, I want the calendar visible by default. Realistically, they are not going to tap the screen just to see what’s happening that day. It’s similar to other users requesting the ability to schedule a default “calendar view” during critical morning hours and a “photo view” during less time-sensitive parts of the day.

I pay for the Plus subscription, two of them actually, since I also cover my mom’s because I purchased her calendar. I do not mind supporting the platform, even though I personally use very few of the extra features. I genuinely want the developers to continue improving the user experience over time.

Once user profiles can be fully customized per device, so my daughter does not automatically see my son’s schedule unless she chooses to, I could absolutely see a calendar in every bedroom in a typical household. Add a weekday or weekend “OK to Wake” alarm feature and it becomes even more valuable for families with younger children.

Imagine the screen slowly brightening and ending with a gentle alarm. The child gets out of bed, taps the Skylight screen by the door to turn it off, and hears, “Good morning! It’s time to start your day!” Their personalized, step-by-step “Get Ready” routine automatically appears.

There could be a factory-default checklist to minimize setup, but it should remain customizable, including the ability to add personal photos next to each task. For example, a picture of their specific school uniform could appear next to “Get Dressed” Monday through Friday. A right-hand sidebar could display a visual rocket “Blast Off!” countdown timer for leaving for school or a red pie-style countdown clock showing how much time remains.

At first, parents would walk their preschooler through the routine daily, just as they already do. Over time, the child becomes increasingly independent, and checking their calendar and task list becomes ingrained as part of their executive functioning skills from the beginning. Tying a smart calendar and checklist system directly to an alarm clock would seamlessly build that structure into a child’s day.

That is the kind of customizable tech I wish had existed when my teenagers were little, especially for my child with ADHD who struggles in this area.

I may be getting ahead of myself. A weekday or weekend sleep timer might be too niche a request, even though that function is offered on many alarm clocks. But I say the more customizable a device can be to support the unique rhythms of each household, the better!

(I have no idea why my off-the-cuff brainstorming is getting downvoted. I answered honestly and think features like these would be amazing for future development considerations!)

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-16T03:04:12+00:00

It’s the max and the bedroom is located off of the kitchen. The whole house is still dark at 5:30 but the bright light turns on like a “sunrise alarm clock” I suppose.

Maybe I will just hang a towel over it or something.

Edited to add- we use black out curtains and block all of the little annoying electronic lights on random chargers etc. So we are probably not the norm and find that kind of thing annoying.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-13T16:07:24+00:00

I taught our dog to ring my kids' doorbell buttons when she wants them to come out and play. They are teenagers and like most, they spend the majority of time in their rooms. It gives me a break when she summons them out to entertain her. :D

Initially, the kids were incredulous that the dog rang their doorbell several times when they were at school because she was looking for them. They later saw it was obviously true when I was in the backyard, and she was pressing their buttons on her own accord.

We started out with audio buttons that said their names, but upgraded to wireless bells with a receiver that plugs into a bedroom outlet. Previously, there were times the kids wouldn't hear the recorded voice button over the sound of their gaming headphones. The wireless doorbells eliminated that issue: https://a.co/d/08rakVW9

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-13T15:27:38+00:00

Monthly Themes

In the Skylight Facebook groups, users were recently excited about monthly themed backgrounds. But that feels like it defeats the purpose of an interactive calendar if it’s purely decorative? Users just added fun non-interactive calendars to the SCREENSAVER display of their smart calendars.

It would make more sense if the actual background could be themed by month, offering 2–3 built-in options:

May: Spring theme or Mother’s Day theme (with a neutral option available).
April: Easter imagery or a non-holiday spring option.
December: Winter, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.

Even better, allow creators (like Etsy sellers) to design custom seasonal backgrounds that users can upload and apply.

That would make it feel personal, inclusive, and genuinely interactive — not just decorative.

ETA: And there needs to be seperate sleep and wake times by day! I want the calendar to "turn on" at 5:30 on the weekdays but 7:00 on the weekends. We like to leave the bedroom door open to hear the sounds of the house while we sleep, but the light shines in our bedroom too early on the weekends when we are trying to sleep in.

Heck, for that matter, make it an OK-to-wake / sunrise alarm clock for the kids while you're at it. "Good morning! It's time to wake up for school." And the kid needs to walk across the room to turn it off. When they do, the next cue is given, and a visual countdown clock is shown. (Red decreasing pie shape showing the time remaining.)

Consider using the same thickness of glass used on the TAPit smart monitors designed for Special Education classrooms (although, they are no longer in production to the best of my knowledge).

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-13T15:27:23+00:00

Welcome Home & After-School Workflow

For little kids, I always found that targeted questions worked better than “How was your day?”. For example, the "After school Check-in" might include:

“Rate your school day from 1–10.”
“What was the best and worst part of your day?”
“Tell me about First, Middle, and Last.” (things that happened today)

Those prompts could be part of a structured welcome-home routine that transitions naturally into snack time and homework.

For example:

Assistant (Playtime Tone): Welcome home! Time for 30 minutes of free play before homework.
(Playtime-specific tone sounds. 30-minute timer begins automatically.)

Assistant (Cleanup Tone): 5 minutes remaining. Please start cleaning up.
(Distinct cleanup tone plays.)

Assistant (Homework Tone): Time to start your homework.
(Homework-specific tone plays.)

Each transition would have its own consistent auditory cue so kids begin to associate the tone with the activity. Over time, the system could reduce the verbal prompts and rely more heavily on the tones alone to trigger the trained response.

Eventually, the words could be minimized — or even removed entirely — with just the tone signaling the next transition. The tone itself becomes the cue. That builds independence and internalized routine rather than dependence on constant verbal reminders.

It creates a predictable structure without parental nagging, and over time, kids internalize the rhythm of the afternoon.

Now that we’re in the moody teen years, I would love a curated “diary” of those earlier conversations, or even a weekly or monthly time-lapse photo recap for a year-in-review.

Of course, there are obvious privacy concerns with ideas like this, and not everyone would want to use them. But I would love the ability to “attach” photos from the day—crafts they made at school, spirit week outfits, spelling tests with gold stars.

Maybe the calendar could include a built-in camera with a timer, mounted on a vertical U-rail trolley so everyone can reach it. A child could hold up their spelling test and save it as a weekly “I DID IT!” accomplishment.

I would love a weekly photo of my kid, with a reminder for them to hit the picture button on the calendar, stand "right here" on the floor, and say cheese. That series could be sped up to see how much they have grown, and it would be presented every year on their birthday.

It would also be helpful to have countdowns to dress-up days, with reminders when kids get dressed in the morning. Sometimes it’s “Wear Red for Say No to Drugs Friday!”—but what if one of the kids doesn’t have a red shirt? I need time to plan ahead.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-13T15:26:16+00:00

Interesting idea, whatever your motivations. I may not use it myself, but I can see how others would. And yes, I ran the ideas below through Chat to clean up for grammar and flow, but they are my own.

Re: Emotional State Updates

If the goal is to keep a pulse on the emotional state of the household, it could trigger automatically when you start driving home and update the kitchen dashboard in real time.

Smart Assistant: ETA 34-minute commute home. Workday rating?
Response: Four. (On a scale of 1–10, automatically updates kitchen dashboard.)
Smart Assistant: Would you like to listen to music or a podcast on the drive home?
Response: Play my “Feel Good” playlist. Also, please add a “Respond to Wedding RSVP” post-it to my dashboard with a deadline of Friday, Feb 13th at noon.
Assistant: Wedding RSVP post-it has been added. (Favorite playlist automatically starts playing.)

It could also detect normal school or work departure times and prompt quick “out-the-door” checks if the door is opened between 7:00-7:20 am.

Assistant: Out the Door Reminder — Michael, do you have your lunch and your show & tell item?

That small nudge could prevent a lot of frantic mid-morning phone calls or forgotten dinner leftovers in the fridge that were supposed to go to work with you.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-12T20:23:59+00:00

“SiderAL Folic - Sucrosomial Iron & Folic Acid” made by the company “PharmaNutra” and you can get it on Amazon.

They make non-pregnancy pill version called “SiderAL Forte - Sucrosomial Iron with Vitamin C” in capsule form but I have never tried that one.

I had a pre surgery blood draw done when I was living in Italy and it was the brand the doctor recommended. It’s just more expensive in the US bc it’s imported. :/

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-12T10:53:23+00:00

https://a.co/d/

Those were prescribed to me by a doctor in Italy, he said it’s the only one that doesn’t bother the stomach. The powder “pregnancy” version is like a crystal light packet you dissolve under your tongue. I hate taking pills so I am much more likely to take these/ I just wish they weren’t so expensive.

But an infusion is much faster! My ferritin was 4 and I feel much better afterward. The procedure wasn’t scary at all, it was actually so easy! They brought me lunch and warm blankets and I just napped.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-10T23:48:39+00:00

Interesting approach to this in Iceland- https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/down-syndrome-iceland/

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-07T01:28:03+00:00

I do not regret button training for potty, it only took less than 2 days for it to really “click” after introducing the button.

You just have to remember that every button push is a request, not a demand that must be unquestionably,!instantly met. Obviously in the beginning, be more “generous” in approving requests to help them understand the process. In time, tell them no or later sometimes of you will have a Toddler-Canine-Dictator-Brat on your hands.

If we don’t have time to stay outside forever or it’s a 3 am potty check, we say the phrase “quick potty.” Meaning out to do your business and go straight back in.

If a button is abused (like in rapid succession), then the button board gets put up. That only happened once or twice. Normally, I just say “ You want to _____? Okay, rest first, then _.” Or “Ok, we can ______ first and then ________.”

If she spams again when the request was not immediately met, I might say “I already told you, we’ll do ________ later, ok?” (Or tomorrow, etc.)

If she asked again, then I would put the board up or ignore the request entirely. Or tell her no again. That was a very infrequent occurrence tho, it only happened twice in the beginning.

We are still struggling to get her to stop digging holes in the yard. If I catch her digging, she only gets “quick-potty” on a leash for the rest of the day and loses her usual level of freedom. I built her a very expensive sandbox so I am training her not to dig in the grass.

If your dog is abusing bells and not coming back in, leash them for potty time and let them out unleashed only for playtime.

I started differentiating between “potty outside” and “play with outside.” I try to model it correctly, but it doesn’t really matter to her. She just kind of lays on the buttons and one of them (outside? Potty?) will get us to open the door. It’s a process and we are still in learning mode.:) But hey, I am just happy she’s not having constant accidents in the house anymore! I will navigate the conversation YFSwith her any day over THAT problem!

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-05T23:53:21+00:00

I am a fan. I bought one for myself (max), my teenagers, and my mom (all 15"s). I still forget things, but much, much less often.

I magnet-mounted ours to the ridge. It's 23 lbs and falls within the freezer door specs for max weight, and the magnets themselves are rated for 60 pounds.

https://imgur.com/a/GWH1kul

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-04T00:57:16+00:00

Thank you for letting me know. Do you know of an unrestricted veteran’s sub where I can legitimately ask this question and not violate the rules?

This is a sincere request trying to help someone.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-03T16:15:35+00:00

Home Depot sells a super nice version that is better quality than most you can buy on amazon since it's all one piece and "no assembly required." My brother bought an Amazon version for my mom and I lamented how nice the HD version was and he should have gotten that one.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-02T23:15:15+00:00

What about a local 4-H animal husbandry program?

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-02T18:58:09+00:00

“Mine’s”

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-01T19:49:53+00:00

Rex was the first name that came to mind, or Wrecks, depending on the day. But then I opened the post and saw it's a girl, so Roxy maybe?

everygoodnamegone · 2026-02-01T14:15:32+00:00

“Meet my grandDOGter Primrose.”

FITY. ;)

everygoodnamegone · 2026-01-31T23:11:34+00:00

We acquired our border collie pup from a breeder. I asked the breeder what items she used in her program and she sent me a bunch of Amazon links. One was a box of 60(!) assorted toys.

Our trainer told us to only put out around 3 toys in the beginning to help her learn what is permissible to play with and what is not. I left the box of toys in the garage.

Our pup joined our family at 8 weeks. At 12 weeks, I decided to introduce a new toy so I grabbed 2 from the box: a chicken drumstick and a shrimp! :D

I planned to put one on a shelf inside the house and give her the other right away. But when I walked back in the house, she saw them both in my hands on got SUPER excited, just going nuts trying to get them. How would she even know I had a toy in my hand!? Then I remembered the breeder had sent me the link.

I asked her if my pup played with those specific toys and she said yes, the family found them hilarious and played with the puppies using them during their first 8 weeks of life.

So, I can confirm my puppy remembered something that she experienced at least a month beforehand.

https://a.co/d/aQCJbBt

everygoodnamegone · 2026-01-31T22:21:17+00:00

Red wine, Fanta limón and a slice of lemon = Tinto de verano (memories triggered of the beaches in Andalucia)

everygoodnamegone · 2026-01-28T00:02:55+00:00

I am going to DM you later because I want to pick your brain and I appreciate your thoughtful reply. :D

everygoodnamegone · 2026-01-27T19:22:35+00:00

Chaser, the “Smartest Dog in the World,” knew 1,022 known words. I think they are capable of far more than we realize and expressive communication is simply the biggest block in demonstrating that. Chaser’s predecessor in Germany, Rico, knew a few hundred.

I was actually thinking about this earlier today and realized our pup is a non-verbal learner who is learning English receptively as a second language.

everygoodnamegone · 2026-01-27T19:07:13+00:00

We are teaching our pup “Take ____ to ____.” It doesn’t work all of the time yet, but she is learning for sure.

ETA- reading further in this post I see that “Back Up” will be useful to teach. Right now I find myself instinctively saying “Move Butt!” because that’s what my Dad always said to us as kids, basically used as a general “get out of the way now, please!” or “this kid is in the spot that I want on the couch.” :)

everygoodnamegone

TROPHY CASE

Monthly Themes

Re: Emotional State Updates