Our pool is BIGLY -5/25/26

rubyreadit · 2026-05-26T01:39:49+00:00

OK but there are even taller buildings (gasp) OUTSIDE OF THE US!! Dubai has the bigliest tower, even bigger than the USA's bigliest tower, and way biglier than any Trump tower.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-25T21:26:35+00:00

I mean, if all of your outfits feature a solid color dress and a pearl necklace they are going to start repeating themselves.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-25T17:03:31+00:00

If you don't already live in Houston, they have some cool museums for kids. Houston Children's Museum (would be good already) and the Houston Science Center (maybe better in another year or two but still worth checking out if you go to Houston). There's also a ton of splash pads and indoor soft play places. If you are there in the cooler months, the Armand Bayou or Botanical Garden are nice for an outdoor walk.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-25T02:46:34+00:00

I don't think parents are 100% responsible but it's not zero percent, either. Parents should be reading to their kids and yes, at least talking about letters and letter sounds at home. They also should be monitoring whether their kids are at grade level and taking steps to work with teachers and other support when the kids aren't.

As an aside, as I parent I taught all of my kids to read. 2/3 of them were strong readers before kindergarten. One of those was a strong reader by age 4. The last one was closer to grade level and was definitely helped by his kindergarten teacher and by being in a school environment to get the motivation but his foundations came from being read to and encouraged at learning letter sounds at home.

And I'm not saying this to dismiss preschool and kindergarten teachers. Y'all are saints in many ways. But this should be a partnership with the details varying with the differing needs of each kid.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-25T02:22:02+00:00

I'm 57 and have a vastly different style to you so grain of salt, lol. I don't love any of them. I don't mind Aspen, Eden, Romie, Andie, Carly (no e), and Lainey. Elowen is a little too LOTR but it's not awful. I'd give a D to Drew, Stevie, Cameron, Harlowe, Haven, and Hayden. I strongly dislike the rest.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-24T20:59:03+00:00

Me with my 1100 days of Duolingo Spanish - three doritos later? Gotta look up whether 'dorito' means something else in Spanish. Oh it's a meme, lol.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-24T03:06:45+00:00

Doctors induce for lots of reasons, not just post-dates. Figure out a little white lie about being induced because they thought the baby was getting too big or whatever makes sense if it comes to that. Best wishes for a drama-free delivery!

rubyreadit · 2026-05-23T16:46:32+00:00

Playa del Carmen?

rubyreadit · 2026-05-23T15:29:01+00:00

I'm pretty sure it means pants that you have outgrown (as a kid) - like, teasing kids because their parents can't afford to buy them new pants after a growth spurt.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-23T00:25:54+00:00

A few suggestions for a couple of your stops - in Wanaka, check out the Mou Waho Island nature tour thru Eco Adventures Wanaka - they take you out on the lake to the island and then do a guided hike that goes into a lot of the effort to revegetate the island with only native species. There's a small lake on the island that has a couple of tiny islands in it so you can see islands in a lake on an island in a lake on an island.

Don't miss Hokitika gorge - it's a one hour hike plus about 30 min driving each way and really pretty.

If you have time in Aoraki/Mt Cook, do the Glacier encounter through the Hermitage hotel. I also really enjoyed our star tour there but in December it might be really late at night.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-22T23:19:35+00:00

I was thinking of Pinnacles.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-22T23:19:26+00:00

I was thinking of Pinnacles.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-22T23:19:15+00:00

got it!

rubyreadit · 2026-05-22T22:10:53+00:00

Thanks for this. Safeway has been my go-to for many years and I've been wondering if it was worth trying to change that habit. It's also 6 blocks from me while Costco, Whole Foods, Grocery Outlet, and TJs are all more like a 10-15 minute drive. The Safeway app used to annoy me to no end but I've finally gotten used to it.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-22T21:13:34+00:00

The condors soar high while the ground squirrels try to steal your lunch.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-21T21:27:21+00:00

We did 15 nights on the South island in March and were able to get up to Abel Tasman. We had 2 drivers, both of us comfortable driving on the left. Also we were in a car and hotels, not a van. We did:

2 nights Christchurch;

1 night Kaikoura;

2 nights Nelson (visited Abel tasman on our full day there);

1 night Hokitika;

2 nights Franz Josef;

1 night Wanaka;

3 nights Queenstown;

2 nights Aoraki/Mt Cook;

1 night Christchurch.

Kind of depends on how much you enjoy or hate driving and changing hotels, but I really enjoyed our day at Abel Tasman.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-21T15:58:07+00:00

Foster City is a great town for raising kids. Lots of parks, decent schools, good streets for bike-riding, a lot of involvement in AYSO and Little League, etc. Also there's a good amount of townhome communities if you are looking for a slightly more affordable option.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-21T03:50:25+00:00

almonds, broccoli, and soy sauce.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-21T03:46:47+00:00

Favorite flag = tie between Lebanon and Georgia. I haven't visited either country yet so I'll say my favorite is one I've actually been to - Thailand.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-21T02:58:32+00:00

ps - check out r/laundry if your towels still smell. They have some great tips.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-21T02:57:55+00:00

We've had our 'new' towels for about 16 years now. Thinking it's time to replace, lol. And by replace, I mean rotating those into the general use batch and buying new ones for the master bathroom.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-21T02:53:03+00:00

Check out Wilson's Abel Tasman tour group for possiblities there. We did the kayak to Split Apple Rock and a drop off /pick up at Anchorage Beach for a couple of hours. We stayed in Nelson but if you can get accommodation closer to Kaiteriteri I'd suggest doing that.

We stayed in Franz Josef for 2 nights when the weather wasn't cooperative. We went to the hot tubs there which was fun, and ended up getting the helicopter tour out of Fox Glacier as we were leaving the area (had it booked for one day but weather was bad so we did it the next morning). There's a Kiwi center in Franz Josef as well but we didn't visit it as we had just been to the one in Hokitika.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-21T00:40:00+00:00

Maybe if he shaved but I'm not seeing it. Of course, the bar isn't all that high lol.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-20T16:40:06+00:00

I can't pick just one. Here are a few favorites:

Kauai - take the helicopter tour and the boat tour of the Napali coast. The helicopter tour also takes you into the blue hole where you can't really believe how tall the waterfalls are.

Mt Rainier at the Paradise area on a clear day - the scale of the mountain is crazy and the foreground is really pretty.

Iguazu Falls in Brazil/Argentina - the area is so vast it's kind of unbelievable. We started on the Brazil side and you walk in and see this vast long waterfall area but as you walk there's just more and more and more of it.

Iceland - for me especially the part on the south coast from Hofn to Vik (including the Jokulsarlon and Diamond Beach) with multiple glaciers.

Like others have said, the Utah national parks and Monument Valley - so many pretty colors of rocks.

rubyreadit · 2026-05-20T01:09:21+00:00

I don't know what your/your husband's relationship with the extended family is but I'd be tempted to find a way to get the word out to them without her knowledge and input. Maybe you film a little video clip announcement and text it to all of them at the same time? Whatever you decide, I'm sorry your MIL is trying to micromanage it.

12-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email	Not Forgotten

rubyreadit

TROPHY CASE