A little bit. We were the first in our friends group to have a kid and then we’ve made parent friends since then. I think mostly it’s just the people we surround ourselves with.

It might just because I’m in education and a lot of my friends are in education or science fields but I feel like everyone is really supportive and we have similar parenting styles. We’ve used the same methods for things, we share book recommendations, and when we give advice it’s not something that’s just an old wives tale or something viral from instagram. It’s just nice to feel supported in that way.

I have had students or known kids named Princess, King, and Legend. Charleigh Brown. Atilla Hunt. Harley Quinn. Their name just becomes the collection of phonemes you use to address them. It’s funny when you see it, then you don’t even think about it anymore.

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.

Never have I ever been drunk or high

Paid refers to money. Payed is a nautical term.

When our daycare was closed for bad weather we did not get any discounts in tuition. But the teachers did not get paid because they did not work. Our money just lined somebody’s pocket at the top for services we didn’t receive.

Pajama pants (bonus points for pockets) and a tshirt. I won’t wear tshirts except for bed (it needs to be at least a fitted tee for the daytime).

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.

Just because a person doesn’t have a memory of a traumatic event doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect them. Kids can have lasting trauma effects even from things they were too young to remember.

When I ordered a watch band that for some ungodly reason required a signature they would accept anything. Wouldn’t take it anywhere else. Wouldn’t accept the signature on the back of the “sorry we missed you” paper. Wouldn’t let me change anything online. They came 3 days in a row (Wed-Fri) before informing me they were returning it to sender. Luckily they tried again on Saturday and we were home.

My great aunt gets their fish catered for her family Christmas party every year

Sometimes I get frustrated by the advice. I know they’re trying to help (and I’m guilty of it too), but sometimes I just need to vent about a problem.

I also get annoyed when people don’t respect my kid’s boundaries. Sometimes she doesn’t want to give a hug. She takes time to warm up. She isn’t that close to you. Telling her you’re sad and then pouting is emotional manipulation and it’s gross that grown-ass adults have less maturity than my three year old.

Depends: on a given night I’m not going anywhere. It’s too much with a toddler. We come home from work/daycare and do dinner, bath, bed. The grown-ups sit on the couch mindlessly watching tv before dragging ourselves upstairs to sleep at 9. During the weekend I usually have at least one activity per day. And I like trips and vacations.

“Necessary” I’m fine with. “Unnecessarily” is impossible for me though. Can’t even get close enough for autocorrect, needed to use the microphone…

This sucks. Hopefully they’ll keep the program going. Our local Imagination Library is run through a small non-profit and they have fundraisers with small and corporate donations. They’ve even partnered up with the local hospital to sign kids up automatically when they’re born. It’s such a great program.

I just wish they used the same name with the same type of coaster/ride. When I tell someone I’ve ridden “Batman the Ride” and they have too, we should have a similar experience

I went a few years ago on a trip to 8 parks in 2 weeks. This one was easily the worst. When I walked around at opening it was a ghost town. I literally walked down paths and could not see another person. I rode coasters twice in a row as the only passenger and the ride ops basically begged me to go a third time. Later in the day there were more people, but Six Flags clientele doesn’t exactly have a reputation of being the greatest amusement park guests. I’m not surprised this is closing, I just have to decide if the two coasters I missed (due to closures) are worth the hike to ride.

Also, I’m not sure what possessed Six Flags to name the parks Six Flags America, Six Flags Great America, Six Flags Great Adventure, etc but I’m glad there will be a little less confusion now.

I have ONE good picture of both of my dogs. I got it by taking a bunch and splicing two pictures together. Even then my one dog isn’t looking at the camera. He refuses.