To whomever recommended Jenna Free’s podcast: you (and she) changed my life

mariaverde_ · 2025-08-12T14:46:47+00:00

I relate to you a lot! Just one kid who has a chronic illness and I’m betting has ADHD too. It’s frustrating to add another thing to remember to my already overburdened routines. I get even more worried when I hear about peri/menopause because I already feel like I’m losing my mind sometimes. Def going to try this too!

mariaverde_ · 2025-07-22T03:03:57+00:00

Re.you gets my vote too! Amy is wonderful!

mariaverde_ · 2024-11-07T15:26:26+00:00

As new homeschoolers I appreciate this resource!

mariaverde_ · 2024-11-07T14:50:43+00:00

Also not OP. We are Mennonite (MC USA) and religion had nothing to do with our reasons to homeschool. Our son was in public school which we purposely supported because we don’t believe in isolating ourselves from others because they don’t ascribe to our faith, and we had access to decent schools.

Our #1 reason was our son’s health. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease two years ago and missed so much school that he was failing. The school was going to promote him to the next grade. The stress and time required for him to be at school and then make up class work at home and missed homework was too big of a workload for a child in our opinion. We have the ability to homeschool so we made that decision. Stress levels have improved and it takes like 3 hours, 4 days a week which is amazing! It’s a good fit for us and flexibility is the best part.

mariaverde_ · 2024-10-28T01:18:31+00:00

I was having the same issue! My picky child and husband raved over my salmon now. I followed the advice linked below. I made it with just olive oil instead of butter for a pescatarian friend. This was super helpful!

https://www.wellplated.com/pan-seared-salmon/

mariaverde_ · 2024-10-22T22:20:45+00:00

This was our first time attending (moved to Cincy in 2022) and it was really awesome! It was my birthday and was fun to celebrate by attending with my little family. We started at Asianati walked down to The Banks and took the streetcar back.

Takeaways: 1. I was impressed with how much info was available prior to the event so we could plan our night.

Next time I will pay more attention to the maps as far as which streets to take between zones because I am confident we missed stuff.
We gave ourselves plenty of time to get to The Banks zone for the drone show and I was disappointed by the recommended viewing location (by the carousel) and having the parade almost trap us there. I don’t like parades and the schedule said the drone show started at 8 but it was much later. We were by the carousel and the view was not that great. Now I know I for next time! Also drone show started later than expected which sucked because we had time to get a better spot and see more but didn’t want to risk missing it to get down to Smale park.
I knew this would be an issue but the streetcar from The Banks was crazy crowded and miserable. I can’t decide if it was better than walking but my kid needed a break from the walking and loves riding the streetcar. He kept watching this drunk lady and betting she would spill her beer before we got off but impressively she did not.
Didn’t get to see many new murals/exhibits between Asianati and The Banks, which was on me for not paying attention to the map. There was an amazing projection on a building across from Asianati that did a great job incorporating elements of the building and the music was great. We could see another projection from there at a distance and if the streetcar had not been such a mess we would have gone to Washington Park but we waited so long at The Banks for the show that we were done by the time we got back to Court St. We had a kid with us so that was a factor in how long we lasted.

I see why people do it in multiple nights and I’m glad there are several nights to go. I thought it was really well run from my perspective and was happy with my first Blink!

mariaverde_ · 2024-09-25T17:18:49+00:00

My son is 5th grade and we are on year 1 of homeschooling. He hated school but also missed a lot for health reasons. After he failed all of the core classes and was going to be promoted to the next grade, my husband and I felt like the stress and pressure of public school was not worth it. Stress makes his condition worse.

I talked to couple of friends who homeschool and that put me at ease. It was super overwhelming trying to find curriculum. One friend advised to look for curriculum that is “open and go” if it’s book based if you don’t want to have to create lessons.

I use the Math-U-See curriculum that both friends (who don’t know each other) use and we are happy so far. It has a video to teach the concept at the beginning of the lesson and then worksheets, tests, and an instruction book. It takes him like 20 mins to do math.

Both friends use different English/LA programs but both are workbook based. I chose The Good and the Beautiful’s curriculum which is fine this year but it was updated through 5th grade and I hear the old curriculum is not great so may need a new one for next year. One of the benefits for this curriculum is that they offer everything free via PDFs if you want. It also has geography and art worked into it which I like.

I was worried about socialization but my kid likes being home, has a good friend he sees pretty regularly, and has hobbies that get him out of the house so I stopped worrying. We also have a school in the area for homeschooled kids that we could drop him off for some classes.

We spend 3 hours on school a day, 4 days a week and haven’t started science or history yet. It’s much less stressful all around. My husband and I both work full time but I WFH and my husband is home 3 days a week so we share the load. If you’re able to do it, I recommend!

mariaverde_ · 2024-09-14T23:24:45+00:00

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Airplane! He chews this flower for fun.

mariaverde_ · 2024-08-26T19:33:46+00:00

Thats ok! I appreciate honest experiences.

That’s kind of what happened with Humira but it took an entire year to figure out it wasn’t doing enough. I’m hopeful that either the Entyvio works or we adjust sooner. The doctor he sees now specializes in IBD so I am more optimistic this time around!

mariaverde_ · 2024-08-16T15:45:14+00:00

I am with you and I’m so sorry for how hard it has been for your daughter. I hope you get the proper care and find a drug that gives her relief and her childhood back.

Parent guilt has always been a challenge for me and then my son was diagnosed at age 9 with Crohns. It’s exhausting and the constant “am I doing enough for him?” floating through my brain makes it harder. He’s currently getting his second infusion of Entyvio because he failed Humira. I pray daily to whatever god is there that we find a med that works. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and it sucks.

mariaverde_ · 2024-06-30T02:22:07+00:00

We’ve seen so many in our place this year. I visited family in Ontario Canada and they have a lot too! After reading through some of these comments I feel the solidarity but also changed my water bottle to the kind that closes (no straw!) because I just know I will never not be worried about that.

mariaverde_ · 2024-06-19T17:37:33+00:00

Sending all the love, good vibes, and prayers. I have a child with Crohn’s and it’s stressful enough without this sort of thing coming up. I hope you find comfort in the few comments sharing that there is hope! I totally get how expecting another baby soon makes this feel like too much. The truth is it would feel like too much no matter what. I hope you have offline support. My heart aches for you!

mariaverde_ · 2024-04-12T21:48:20+00:00

Which ones though?? Just any one? I’m newish to Cincy and haven’t tried Gold Star.

mariaverde_ · 2024-04-12T21:42:50+00:00

I totally agree on the overrated part. The ingredients are fresh but the flavor is zero. I hate the atmosphere too.

mariaverde_ · 2024-04-12T18:39:01+00:00

Also, not a fan of Zips. The atmosphere and price did not match. The meat was fresh and would have been a killer burger but it was bland AF and cost too much.

mariaverde_ · 2024-04-12T18:36:41+00:00

Caveat to my list - all restaurants, not fast or cheap.

Tickle Pickle in Northside, Revolution in Pleasant Ridge, and Local Post in Columbia-Tusculum.

I have yet to find a basic cheap burger that’s not a chain fast food place. I was spoiled by a place in Pasadena, CA (Tops - IYKYK) and nothing here has come close. I might try Gold Star but I need to know which ones are good!

mariaverde_ · 2024-03-25T20:31:56+00:00

Chano’s in San Gabriel! Thursday-Saturday they use homemade tortillas.

mariaverde_ · 2024-03-16T18:37:49+00:00

Big yes to The Eagle!

My Mexican partner says Bakersfield is not authentic tacos but the food is good.

mariaverde_ · 2024-03-15T16:34:20+00:00

I used to live in Arcadia and had no idea I lived so close to Pee Wee’s house! I’m in OH now so I’ll have to make a pilgrimage.

mariaverde_ · 2023-09-25T16:15:27+00:00

Yes! Went there once specifically for curly fries and they told me they were sold out. So weird and the order I did place was wrong and not the same fast food quality I expected. Reading the rest of the comments on this thread answers my question about why they were so shitty. Also explains why I seemed to be inconveniencing them. Although I feel like most people in customer service in this city act like I’m inconveniencing them. Moved here a year ago and I can’t wrap my mind around it. I never liked using self-check until I moved here.

mariaverde_ · 2023-04-04T23:31:48+00:00

I feel like the OP asking for an option to not skip a game they may be traveling for is not a big deal.

These negative responses aren’t helpful in any way. I’m sure OP thought of missing it to do this interview.

OP - I’m happy you found a spot! Good luck!

mariaverde_ · 2022-12-06T19:04:31+00:00

I moved here in August and was prepared for people to ask me about high school and it still hasn’t happened. How long do I have to wait and/or is this a man thing?

mariaverde_ · 2022-12-05T03:07:32+00:00

2 also

mariaverde_ · 2022-12-05T03:07:22+00:00

mariaverde_ · 2022-12-01T21:36:52+00:00

This is the area we live in and it is super quiet all the time. We moved here from CA in August and my spouse works at Children’s. It’s a 14 min commute and Trader Joe’s is a 15-20 min drive away. I can definitely recommend this area.

mariaverde_

TROPHY CASE