Connect with the local Deaf community. There’s likely a Facebook group or something that you can browse (even without an account). Look at local community classes, college courses, or even free classes held at a church. Our local community has a bi-weekly silent dinner at the mall and other events that hearing and Deaf people attend. I started with a local community center class ($50 for 8 weeks or whatever) and then found everything else through the instructor. I usually screenshot the silent dinner dates from the Facebook group and then attend when I can.

Paid refers to money. Payed is a nautical term.

Our current “game” is figuring out if my toddler is ok with me coming and getting her out of her room or if she wants me to come in, get her clothes, and leave (closing the door) so that she can get up and meet me in the bathroom by herself. If I choose wrong the entire morning is filled with crying over everything else. My husband walked in the bathroom the other day and asked “what seems to be the issue” at her end-of-the-world screams. “I brushed her teeth”.

I read the book Screentime Solution by Emily Cherkin (also Anxious Generation and Screen Schooled). Basically her advice is to be screen-intentional as a family. Right now my husband and I make an effort to put our phones away when we come home from work and spend time with each other and our toddler. Another thing is that she does not have any of her own internet devices. It’s the family tv and my iPad that she uses (with supervision and sparingly). We have a few devices she uses that are dumb (old gameboy and old iPod) but still rarely. Restaurants and family dinner are screen free zones. Even as she gets older we’re more likely to get a dumb phone and a family phone than let her have her own device. Something from the book was to let your kids have access to the internet and social media when you’re ready for them to see porn (not necessarily her opinion but an anecdote) and there’s no fool-proof parental controls. We are getting a family computer soon to teach her typing, using a mouse, and general computer skills but that will not be unsupervised or even internet connected most of the time. My goal is to teach her responsible use and to always have a line of communication open about it.

I didn’t do the marriage thing because of love. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that. I did it for the logistical stuff. Buying a house. Having a kid. Combining finances. Life insurance. Health insurance. While all of this could be possible without being married, it’s much easier to have a marriage certificate than to try to prove to everyone all the time that we’re partners. If my husband were in the hospital on life support, being next of kin would simplify so many things. My culture is designed in a way that traditional marriage shapes so many processes. There may be workarounds, but they’re not always simplified and most people may not know how to use them. That can take valuable time that you don’t always have.

Give him some words to use in stressful situations.

“I need some space”

“I don’t like that”

Especially if he hasn’t been around other kids a lot. They’re loud. They’ll take what you were playing with. They won’t give you the toy you want. They’re in your space. They’ll run into you. Pack 10+ kids in one room with 1-2 adults and there’s bound to be some chaos.

Teach him to ask for help and vocalize what he needs. Sometimes kids won’t advocate for themselves because they’re so used to the adults in their lives knowing them so well that they anticipate their needs.

Also, I second all the independent stuff from the one poster.

I recently read the Oh Crap, Potty Training book and thought a lot of her ideas made sense. Admittedly, her method is not how we trained our almost three year old, but if I could start over I think I would. The recommended method is: a day (or two or three) of completely naked with the potty in the room. You’re trying to get your child to move from the realization of 1. Clueless 2. I peed 3. I’m peeing 4. I need to pee. You’re also looking for their signs of needing to go. Then you go pantless, then commando for awhile. You’re trying to have fewer things to take off but also removing the “comfort” of having the poop and pee close to them. You’re also having them go every 30 minutes or 1 hour.

A few suggestions about your specific situation. 1. The more you “kinda” potty train, the longer it’s going to take. It’s confusing for kids when you’re only trying once or twice a day. They don’t learn their bodies that way. We had the most success with our kid when we just decided we were done with diapers. I know I could’ve trained her at 2 if I actually gave it my full attention. We did no diapers during the day and no diapers at nap. We still do night diapers but honestly they’ve only been wet maybe twice this month. We also did diapers on an eight-hour road trip, but again, still dry. 2. About her fear, poop is a big thing. It took a long time for our kid. Pantless and leaving her alone is what eventually worked (full disclosure, she did poop on the floor and even step on it before she figured it out). Bring her in the bathroom when you poop. Have her sit on hers while you sit on yours. But giving kids a little privacy can go a long way. There’s an entire chapter in the book about poop if you’re interested in checking it out.

https://www.mobilize.us/

This has some. I don’t think 50501 is on there but there’s a range of events. My teacher’s union posted on here and then I found a few more.

What if I asked it to place a white border around the image? Would it watermark the white, which I could then crop?

“And in 2019 there was a startling 1,274 cases, largely driven by massive outbreaks in New York”

But also, we are higher in less than three months than we have been in entire years in the past. There’s still time.

Our house is mostly mobile. We each have a laptop but it’s more for “bigger things” like filing taxes, booking a trip, designing something, and filling out forms. We have decided that we are getting a desktop within the next year, however. We have a toddler and it’s important to me that she is able to navigate a mouse and keyboard. I work in a school library and my lesson on using the catalog in 2nd grade begins with how to use a computer mouse because I have some of the only desktops that are left in the school. (I’ve even had grown-ass adults come in and try to touch the screen).

It was a Christmas gift, but thanks for the heads up!

I have a soda stream and then several flavoring options. I have mio and other brands, then soda syrups, and cocktail mixers. That way I can control the amount of sweet. I personally don’t like the flavor of artificial sweeteners or stevia so I try to find ones that use real sugar and real fruit extract. There’s some with caffeine too.

My American Express card was compromised a few weeks ago and while they sent me a new card I was still able to use the old one at stores, use mobile payments, and recurring payments could process. The only thing I couldn’t do was use it online. Even after I received the new card, recurring transactions were able to occur.

Unless I need something recent whenever I search I update the results to dates from like 1999 to 2021. Filters out a lot of unnecessary crap.

When my sister was a toddler we went on a trip to the Grand Canyon. Immediately after arriving she started climbing over a small barrier that had a steep drop on the other side. Her harness stopped from what could’ve been a terrible accident.

That sounds like our thanksgiving! 10/10 would recommend.

We live out of town (8 hours away) so we visit for a week over Christmas every year. My in-laws live an hour away from my parents so we attempt to split the time as best as we can. We are not allowed to stay at my in-laws because we have a dog that isn’t friendly. My family is super understanding and has worked really hard to gain her trust. My in-laws refuse to do anything except talk bad about her and complain that we don’t visit enough. The worst this year has been that my sister’s (24) boyfriend just broke up with her like 3 weeks ago (by dropping off her belongings and blocking her) so she’s going through it. She had a perfectly fine time for a day or two, went out with us, would have conversations, but then started locking herself in her room (she still lives with my parents). But there’s been a few uncalled for moments in my opinion, breakup or not, like telling my mom “I had a list for a reason” while opening presents because my mom got her something else she might like (especially since her entire list was hunting and fishing stuff, activities she did with her ex). Also my two year old was sobbing outside her locked door, begging to see her, and was ignored. We always do a sibling activity together (go out to a fancy restaurant, escape room, axe throwing) and this year she was hot and cold with it. We would discuss doing something and she wouldn’t say anything but only text us later that she was never planning on going. Finally last night I went off on her a bit. Told her I never get to see her and I wanted to go out and to spend some time with her. That I’m sorry she was having a shitty time but it wasn’t my fault. I’ve never had a great time visiting for holidays but I’ve never been more excited to go home that I am this year.

When I moved out at 18 I was sitting on my parents front porch waiting for my ride and my mom came out and started rooting through all my stuff. Destroyed the dried flowers my boyfriend gave me for prom, took anything she decided I wasn’t allowed to have because she paid for, broke a few other sentimental things while screaming. I just sat back and let her. Didn’t say a word. I had an eerie calm about me because I was leaving and she wouldn’t have any power over me anymore.

Some things for my daughter’s room (a nightstand, a bedding set, and a table lamp) to help her transition to a “big girl bed” from her crib. But they’re not “fun” gifts or toys so I’m not expecting to get them even though they’d be the most helpful. She has enough toys.