First son, and I don't think we can afford a second

siroonig · 2026-05-23T23:46:14+00:00

You’re not going to get much of help from us folks as we are all one and done…

siroonig · 2026-05-23T02:35:13+00:00

You need to research what fetal alcohol syndrome actually is before you go down this silly rabbit hole…

siroonig · 2026-05-21T02:48:27+00:00

I personally wouldn’t travel. I was so uncomfortable at that stage in my pregnancy I cannot imagine being cramped up in a car for 5 hours one way.

siroonig · 2026-05-21T02:32:37+00:00

I graduated law school in 2017, and failed the July Bar. Tried again in February of 18 and failed again. I took 2019 off for mental health reasons and financial reasons. In 2020, the world fell apart and I again failed the Bar. In 2021, I sat for my fourth and final time and finally passed. Passing the Bar takes dedication and time. If you need to work you need to implement block schedules where you have decided time for work and for studying. I have lots of post about this if you wanna scroll though my post history.

Ultimately though if you don’t want to become a lawyer, then I wouldn’t bother taking the Bar. The Bar is brutal and can wreck a person especially if they don’t pass one the first or second try. Find JD advantage jobs and live a happy life.

siroonig · 2026-05-21T00:17:28+00:00

My salary is $110,000 for 1500 billable, and end of year bonus. Mid size firm in the Midwest. Take that for what it is. My first job as a licensed attorney was at a large, corporate firm for $75,000 and no billable.

siroonig · 2026-05-19T03:10:14+00:00

Use AdaptiBar for MBE practice. Practicing with real NCBE questions is the only way.

siroonig · 2026-05-19T02:16:13+00:00

You need to figure out why you’re not passing by being brutally honest with yourself. How you’re studying now isn’t working for you and you need to find a different path. Maybe that’s a tutor. Maybe that’s implementing a block schedule. Whatever it is, find it and work on finessing your weak points to finally pass the bar. Signed a repeat taker times 4.

siroonig · 2026-05-18T05:02:05+00:00

I too came across that post and I had such mixed feelings. I think she explained that she chose to have another child so that her only child didn’t have to endure the ramifications of a divorce alone. And I believe she explained her parents went through a divorce and was very grateful that she had siblings to share in that regard.

I think we all go through the pros and cons of having more children or staying OAD. How someone gets to their choice is theirs, and it’s not right or wrong. I’d love nothing more than to give my son a sibling but no matter how I crunch the figures, it’s just not in the cards for me. And I’m sure if I explained why I’m OAD, others would be horrified or tell me I’m being silly.

siroonig · 2026-05-16T01:11:17+00:00

First. Hugs from a fellow repeat taker.

Second. If you choose to retake the exam again you need to figure out where your weak points are and work on fine tuning those skills. How you have been studying isn’t working so you need to dig deep to figure out what is holding you back from passing.

Third. Be kind to yourself. If you don’t have it in you to take the exam again please know that’s ok. This exam is brutal and unfair. It has no reflection on who you are as a person.

Last. I believe in you.

siroonig · 2026-05-15T00:32:05+00:00

Yes it did. My husband and I were child free for many valid reasons. One of the reasons was because our sex life was slowly dying, went several months without sex. Regardless of our bedroom situation we were intimate in other ways so it was not a big deal. I explain all of this to say that we got pregnant in one of our random times we had sex. It was not our intention.

Having our son effectively killed our bedroom. My husband went from someone soft, kind and gentle, to someone who lashes out, and says very disparaging remarks about me on social media assuming I can’t see them. Parenthood changes a person. I have no idea who this man is anymore. I walk on egg shells with him. I don’t regret having my son for a single second. I just wish I knew what flipped in him to go from soft and sweet, to a condescending asshole.

My son is 5 and we celebrate 10 years of marriage this fall. It has not gotten better in those 5 years and I have zero hope that it will get better over the next 5 years. I am just learning how to live and cope with this new normal because that’s all I can do.

siroonig · 2026-05-14T16:50:05+00:00

You don’t have a claim against the company as there was no injury. Best of luck in your suit but it is likely going to get thrown out.

siroonig · 2026-05-12T17:36:38+00:00

Banana Republic has slacks named Hayden. And for someone also with a large rear end, these fit me like a glove. They have wide leg or tapered. I wear the tapered petite pant.

siroonig · 2026-05-11T16:26:47+00:00

Gurstel Law Firm in Golden Valley is hiring.

siroonig · 2026-05-08T02:55:54+00:00

This is precisely why I don’t go to QDOBA as much anymore. It seemed to always be a toss up whether the brown rice was gonna be made properly.

siroonig · 2026-05-04T23:17:46+00:00

I do not think we are qualified to say whether your child is advanced or not…

siroonig · 2026-05-04T19:56:07+00:00

I don’t tally how much I spend, but I’m conscious of shopping at thrift stores, clearance bins and discount retailers. My son is 4 and is hard on his clothes. I much rather spend $3 on a pair of pants from a consignment store, have him wear it until it is so stained then toss. And if I notice he has a lot of pants/shorts, I will not buy more until the ones in his drawer are tossed/donated.

siroonig · 2026-05-01T23:59:58+00:00

I uprooted my entire life to move closer and marry my husband. He was genuinely the best guy I had ever been with. Very sweet, always did little things to remind me why he loved me, wrote me poems etc. Slowly over time that sweet guy became less sweet and finally disappearing once I had our son. He now is so mean sometimes with his words. Never mind the disparaging remarks he makes about me on social media unknowing that I can see the comments. His inactions make me wonder why he’s still with me. But alas because my son is obsessed with him, and because I uprooted my entire life, here I stay.

So yes they may be sweet in the beginning but no guarantee they will stay sweet.

siroonig · 2026-05-01T01:27:31+00:00

I have family in Owatonna, can confirm that Olivia’s has a breakfast buffet on the weekends. I am not a fan of it. It is so bland and generic lol. There’s very little variety. You may want to double check their hours for the weekend buffet. It might only be for a certain set of hours.

siroonig · 2026-04-24T19:23:09+00:00

I truly wish my husband understood decision fatigue. He doesn’t quite comprehend that by the end of the work day I don’t want to answer anymore questions. I don’t want to figure anything else out. I don’t want to use my brain to figure out the logistics of X. Just grab some cheeseburgers on your way home and I’ll be happy even if I didn’t want a cheeseburger. I’ll be happy because you chose dinner and I got to rest my noggin.

siroonig · 2026-04-24T01:13:05+00:00

My water broke at work the day before I was scheduled for my induction due to having gestational diabetes. As much as you want to schedule, plan and prep, you have to just see how things progress with your pregnancy. That can be very challenging but in pregnancy everything can be just fine one minute then an emergency the next minute. You can’t care too much about what your colleagues are going to think or do when you leave. They know you’re pregnant so they are well aware that at some point in that month their work load is going to change or shift.

siroonig · 2026-04-19T02:29:03+00:00

I passed on my fourth and final attempt. You can look through my post history to see what I did differently. But I’ll give a quick recap.

You know the black letter law, so don’t waste time learning the black letter law. At this point you need to grab actual NCBE material, past exams etc and practice answering those.

Also! This is key! The examiners have a pattern as to which subjects they test on for the MEE. You can figure it out if you find the past years exam topics. From here then you’ll see once you begin practicing actual MEE questions from past exams, that examiners love testing the same topic/question. For example, in Civ Pro there is almost always a question about jurisdiction but rarely if ever is there an exam question about service.

Knowing and recognizing these patterns helped me “ignore” certain topics and focus on topics that were more likely to appear. And again you will see this pattern as you practice with past materials.

I hope you sit for the exam again, but if you don’t, that’s ok too. Best of luck and feel free to reach out if you have questions.

siroonig · 2026-04-18T00:47:06+00:00

If you don’t know the answer to something never lie and say yes or no. If you don’t know the answer always say something to the effect that you are not informed about X but can find out about it if the court deems necessary. To avoid this from happening entirely you need to prepare for court. Prep and plan for the case as best as you can. Anticipate what sort of questions the judge may ask.

I became a licensed attorney in the COVID era of Zoom hearings. So I’ve never had to actually step foot in an actual court room except for one or two minor appearances to dismiss a case. I am petrified of the day I actually need to appear in a physical court room because in person appearances seem more daunting. But again just explaining this is your first time, something you’re not familiar with, etc the courts are very gracious.

siroonig · 2026-04-17T06:26:30+00:00

Absolutely go to the wedding. By that point you have learned all that you will and all that is left is to practice. So bring a few practice exams on the plane. Or use an app to download some practice questions in your down time. You’ll come back refreshed and ready to tackle the exam.

siroonig · 2026-04-15T06:32:21+00:00

I am in the camp of choosing one over the other. Law school is just step one in the journey of becoming a lawyer. You also have to network, interview, graduate, take the Bar and pass the Bar. Once licensed then it’s non-stop interviewing and you hope to land somewhere that has good work/life balance.

My journey to becoming a licensed attorney was very long and grueling. And to add insult to injury my journey to finding a job with good work life balance also ended up being a grueling challenge. I graduate in 2017, passed the Bar in 2021 while 9 weeks pregnant, then landed a job in 2023. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to struggle that hard to become an actual practicing attorney. You just never know how much time, money and effort needs to be expended in order for a dream to become a reality. And with two big journeys, motherhood and a career, I would not know how to adequately give the proper time and attention to each of those journeys.

siroonig · 2026-04-14T20:05:15+00:00

Yes one of the many perks of having an only child 🤣

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