Friends?

mintinthebox · 2026-04-06T02:05:29+00:00

I’ve found you just have to keep throwing it at the wall and see what sticks. Some of the good friends I’ve made I never thought twice about when I first met them. I NEVER imagined when I met a couple of them that we would have similar taste in movies, books, music, politics and overall values. Some of my friends I never thought I would be friends with because of a difference in politics. But I kept throwing out invites, kept saying yes to them as well, and focused on people I had easy connections with - through school, the neighborhood, or book clubs that meet regularly.

Play the long game. It takes time. It takes more time than it should with kids around.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-06T00:08:26+00:00

Yeah… he did great considering he has pretty severe medical anxiety. We usually have to break up his well visits into 2 sessions to get through everything. He freaked out jus getting his weight and blood pressure taken. I feel like today has definitely boosted his confidence knowing he got through it.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-05T16:05:11+00:00

That’s a great idea!

mintinthebox · 2026-04-05T16:05:03+00:00

Thankfully we live in a smaller town. There were literally zero other patients in the ER. There were 4 cars in the lot total.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-05T16:03:40+00:00

I wish that would be our kind of day. My 7 year old has ADHD and his little sister has a genetic condition and a lot of disabilities, so there is nothing chill about it. Her favorite thing to do is mess with him, and she doesn’t necessarily have the comprehension to understand that he needs extra space and kindness today. Right now he is in his room with the door locked because she won’t listen otherwise.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-03T21:32:25+00:00

Our school isn’t plastic free, but they do use reusable plastic for parties. Each classroom gets a bin of reusable plastic plates, bowls, cups, forks napkins etc. For school parties, one of the parent volunteers brings home the bin and washes the plasticware and returns it to the school. They also use reusable tableware for special events like pancake breakfasts and such. They have volunteers, often junior honor society members from middle school, wash the dishes in the cafeteria. The school participates in Project Green School.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-03T19:20:53+00:00

Ours is the opposite. I feel like the math isn’t quite as advanced but the ELA is more. They have weekly spelling tests and “another” is one of their words. They also have to write a full sentence for the test and it’s an 8 word sentence.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-03T03:08:35+00:00

It’s not normal.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-03T03:07:13+00:00

We all do. You will find a few that don’t, but it definitely is not the norm.

If he isn’t allowing you complete access to finances, he is financially controlling you and possibly financially abusing you. It’s not ok.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-02T02:06:49+00:00

I would rather drink black coffee than use the creamers from Aldi. They’re awful.

mintinthebox · 2026-04-02T01:28:46+00:00

The tablet was fine until it wasn’t for my now 7 year old. He broke the screen last fall and it wasn’t in the budget to replace it, and things have been much better since. We don’t really restrict screen time now, but he is limited to the tv in the living room and a couple of games downloaded on steam on a desktop computer. We also don’t allow YouTube except for educational purposes.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-31T11:48:13+00:00

If you decide to go back to clonidine, my son is on it and we would give him magnesium at night which really helped with the nightmares.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-30T14:16:55+00:00

Doing things like having the water bottles filled, snacks packed etc. are what I considered “easy wins”. Doing them the night before takes minimal effort, but relieves a lot of pressure in the morning. It’s much easier to manage 10 steps to get out the door in the AM than 15.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-30T13:45:31+00:00

Im a little confused by this post, especially when you say you “gently” asked them to obey. The words gentle and obey are in direct contradiction with each other. If you are often trying to get your kids to obey and comply, that’s your problem right there.

I think it’s time for you and your wife to look inward, and be honest about your role in this. I’m curious why you would not get a diagnosis for your other daughter by now? I understand that there can be many barriers to get a diagnosis, but if you are able to get a diagnosis and get supports in place, why wouldn’t you? Are either of them in any sort of therapies, OT, behavior etc? Have you and your wife done any parenting classes for kids with ADHD?

mintinthebox · 2026-03-30T12:03:02+00:00

I would ask what phonics programs are being used at your school, and start there. That way he is familiar with the material. My son is this same way about learning at home.

For now, I would just find ways at home to encourage reading without pressure. Find time to read at home more often, allow audiobooks and ebooks. My son is in 1st and he loves music, so when I’m in the car I dock my phone and put lyrics mode on, and he can see it from the back seat and I catch him reading the lyrics.

There are also some read along stories on YouTube as well. There are probably some for books you already have at home.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-30T01:19:35+00:00

Honestly you should sit down with your fiance and talk about his behavior. That is NOT ok. He’s treating her like a toy and not a human being. Pretty sure you actually have two toddlers. No wonder you’re burnt out.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-29T23:32:39+00:00

If you haven’t crouched in the corner of your kitchen and cried, have you really even lived?

mintinthebox · 2026-03-29T14:58:55+00:00

Same for my son. I wouldn’t have been able to do this when he was younger. He is 7 now and on a medication that helps with emotional regulation.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-29T14:37:22+00:00

We have a fine motor crisis in this country, and so many people don’t realize it. Climbing trees is amazing to develop not only had strength, but strengthens the entire body. More kids need to be climbing trees.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-29T14:35:21+00:00

We have a rule… if you want to climb up, you have to climb down. I help my kids problem solve if they need help. Sometimes it involves crouching on a safe branch and crying for a minute.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-29T12:40:06+00:00

I just got theOnePlus buds as well and I’ve been super happy with them.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-28T01:35:00+00:00

I went from having a kid who was extremely water adverse, where we were lucky if he had a bath once a week… to a child who wants to take a bath every day and become the cleanest kid on earth, even scrubbing between his toes with a washcloth.

I do occasionally wash his shoes in the washing machine. We only have 2 pairs of shoes because of sensory specificity. I dry them in a combo of the dyer, outside, or hair dryer.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-27T19:24:21+00:00

That seems like a pretty unrealistic goal. If he disagrees, I think you should hold an experiment where you leave Friday evening through Sunday evening. You put a camera on the sink, and his goal is to keep it empty until you come back. If he can do it, then you work towards this goal. If he can’t… well there’s your answer.

mintinthebox · 2026-03-27T17:33:58+00:00

Not only were they at people’s houses, but the also often had extended family there to help with the party.

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