General chatter while we wait (and commentary on the "pull out method")

[gigglebox]

So I don’t even know what “TIL” stands for but that is certainly interesting about the “c word”. Wow, that used to be like the ultimate insult. So I know slang has always been a thing but good God how does your generation have so much?! I can’t begin to keep up. I can only assume it directly correlates with social media access.

Shae if he passes the test, how long is training?

That sounds so sweet about you and your sis! I’m excited that the kids will all be old enough to understand what’s happening. Ds1 kind of “got it” with ds2, but he was delayed and it was hard to tell how much he understood. Once the baby was here though, he was very good with him…but honestly it’s hard for me to remember those early days. Ds3 was less than 2 years later and also I honestly can’t remember anyone’s reaction. Ds2 would have been way too young anyway. So yeah this time should be fun!

We have a family gathering today and if the mood is right, we’ll be telling hubby’s side of the family. None of them know yet, but they’ll almost all be there today so it would be convenient if nothing else. As an aside this will be the first time since ds1 that I’ll be pregnant solo. For ds2, SIL got pregnant with our kids being about 20 weeks apart. My ds3 and her ds2 are about 2 weeks apart! I was early too, so we very well may have had near the same due date (but she was never sure because hers wasn’t planned and she didn’t know when she conceived).

That was a lot of rambling, sorry!
Speaking of coffee, I need some. Had horrible sleep yet again and the new addition of a horribly painful headache . I tried to wait it out but the pain was so bad I couldn’t sleep through it. Thank God tylenol took the edge off. But I’ve also been battling nausea…week 8 comin in hot

 

[HalfricanMa]

I’m torn about bringing the dog back to the humane society on tuesday. They didnt have an appointment for 1 week so now its a total of 3 weeks and we’ve built more relationship with her. Doesnt change that it’s so much to take on and my 3 yr old doesnt listen about being gentle. He’s the type of boy who packs his own parachute and shoots himself out of a canon. He’s some dog’s boy in a yr or 2 but i think from a puppy age. Still hard having gotten excited about the dog, then need to take her back, then excited about a baby, then torn down again.
I told my son he can pick his puppy when he shows he’s gentle with chickens. He’s mostly been raised with sheep so he literally stomps around a lot. He loved interacting with the rams. He thought their stomps were being playful. Lmao. Sorry i bombed the thread.

 

[HalfricanMa]

Wow @gigglebox week 8! Geez it seems to be happening fast! Maybe not for you with the ailments. Exciting to tell your family in person at the same time. I was excited for this to be a pregnancy because my parents are flying in for a visit. I rarely get to share life with them in person.

I haven’t a clue what TIL means either. I agree about too much slang. Haha!

 

[gigglebox]

Bombard away!! The excessive chattiness in this thread is why I love it so much. Aww that is too bad about the pup, especially with bonding more could you possibly foster it while it finds a new home rather than returning it to the shelter? Might be a gentler way to go for your family and the dog. But trust me I also understand the need to just get the added stress out asap!

I’m really sorry about the confusing tests recently. I hope you can get some answers with the additional bloodwork. If you do end up bleeding I wouldn’t rule out a chemical though.

Actually Shae what is a normal non-pregnant hcg level? Half got a 5.6 blood draw. Some say <7 isn’t considered pregnant but I always thought it was <5…? I’m still hoping it’s just super early for you

And yes this has flown by and that’s scary in a way! I’m “only” 8 weeks but I’ve already known for a whole month (it feels like it’s only been 2 weeks), and I only have about 30-ish weeks left of being pregnant at most (planned c section). I know this pregnancy is going to fly by! It already is!

 

[DobbyForever]

MrsKatie I agree crash any time! The three Rs love it haha. I don’t any mindful parent says they’re doing enough. Maybe on a good day they say they’re doing what they can/their best. So I’ll venture that you’re cooking, as the kids would say.

Shae my heart just broke a little reading that. Ngl. The Bay is crazy expensive but we love to eat and the diversity is real. On the nearest corner, walking distance, I can choose between: multiple Chinese, Vietnamese, multiple Italian, multiple Mexican, Traditional Korean, Korean BBQ, Mexican, American, Japanese, wings, pizza, overpriced cookies, boba tea, an artisan coffee shop, two Starbucks, a sub shop, a vegetarian restaurant, a farm to table restaurant, a seafood restaurant, a Safeway and Whole Foods, and a bevmo. This is why I can never leave

Hope the test goes well! And how exciting that it could mean TTC is right around the corner!!! I’m really hoping you two are officially TTC, if not pregnant, by the end of this year.

Lol I’m an elder millennial. I know the Brits/UKers have always been fans of the words. I love the reel of Emily Blunt being asked what her favorite word is and she’s like “I c* say it” and taps on her nose. I love her. She’s adorable. If someone calls me a c* or c*y, I don’t care what age they are. The next words out of their mouth will be an apology hahaha.

Gigs omg that’s a rough start but yay for a wonderful end! I’m so glad that little bean is growing strong. 8 weeks! Wow! And so sweet that hubby was smitten and the kiddos are excited! That makes it so much better. Have you shared the ultrasound news with any of the folks in the know? That’s such a bummer about the muffin snafu! I agree I’ve heard somewhere that SB prioritizes the drive thru like other places do. Or with the mobile ordering. Glad you got the Sammy though! Starbizzies has gotten so expensive!

Co-op homeschool sounds fun! I feel like by high school there’s so many independent and/or online resources. A cute little book club. Idk. I won’t even teach high school as a teacher hahaha. They’re going to move me to 5th grade next year and I’m already dreading it

History for young uns is so meh. It’s the first thing we cut out as teachers. There’s not curriculum ever or it’s 20 years old. Basically, I just need you to have a basic understanding of how we went from early life to today, and my social studies is really dripping with social justice standards. If you want me to teach Native American history, I’m brining in books and guest docents who are indigenous. Every lesson we do ties back into what issues are they facing today and how they were forced from point A to point today.

AFM life is still chaotic. A has a therapy intake appointment in a couple of weeks. His anxiety is off the chain. His WalkAThon was today and I just cannot. We ending a heat wave, so the PTA really did their best. They ended it two hours early because they kids were making themselves sick. They had set up two misting tents on the track as well as a gatorade station. They went hard as always. Two food trucks and a shaved ice truck, a DJ with a bubble machine and karaoke, and tons of games/snacks/raffles/prizes. There was a ladder climb thing that was unsupervised and it got real real quick. One kid, I think on the spectrum, was angry that nobody was following the rules and then my kid is not going to be told what he can and cannot do so they came to LITERAL blows. The other kid said he was going to kill A multiple times. I usually have a rule that I will never directly address someone else's kid but he grabbed A by the shirt and started going to town on him after saying he was going to kill him. And I was like okay yard duty hat on. Luckily the PTA showed up and kicked all the kids off and put people on that activity.

 

[shaescott]

@shaescott I never would’ve been able to guess that Gen Z lingo! Glad you’re cautiously excited. I’m sure he’ll do great; He sounds studious.
@gigglebox yay for feeling more optimistic having seen the ultrasound. I bet down the road you’ll wonder how you ever felt complete without this little baby. Haha!

He’s trying, but he’s got ADHD, so studying can be really hard for him. He’s finally got his ADHD meds set up correctly, so that’s helping. He got really good grades in most classes in high school and college, so I know he can do it, but he’d been out of school since 2020, so I think he forgot how to study. Which like, same (I’m not sure how to type that sentence out grammatically because it’s clearly not good grammar, but I would say it that way out loud lol).

ETA: oh geez, apparently I forgot to refresh. Please hold while I read and respond lol

 

[shaescott]

Gigs, TIL=today I learned. If he passes, training is usually 12 weeks.

For the beta level, it depends on the lab, but our hospital flags >5 as abnormal (aka elevated). I’ve seen a 7 in a non-pregnant perimenopausal woman though, perimenopause/postmenopause can cause slightly elevated hcg levels. Technically they say 5-25 is “inconclusive” and that levels should be repeated in 48 hours, but anything 5.0 or more is abnormal for a non-pregnant woman still in her fertile years.

Dobs the food situation is a big reason we loved living in our non-city city in NH. Tons of options, they had an Asian grocery store and Indian grocery store, etc. Here I order my Indian food medium and it shows up with no heat at all. Tragic.
I’m sorry A’s anxiety has been bad. That’s crazy about the other kid grabbing him and saying he was gonna kill him, I would’ve spoken to the other kid too in that situation. I get not wanting to be seen as parenting someone else’s kid, but there’s got to be a line.

 

[DobbyForever]

Right?! I have to take notes though because I order medium everywhere. I like a little kick/flavor and don’t mind a little sweat but once it’s overpowering the dish’s flavor or burning my tongue then we’re out lol. But you never know how a restaurant interprets medium until you know and then yeah you could order hot but what if it comes out hot hot.

Oooo so nice! I remember you mentioning it was a journey getting the prescription up to date and then this shortage. So glad it’s all sorted for him!

Thanks I felt so guilty for so long. There were tons of parents watching. I wasn’t sure if I handled it all correctly. I was a bit cranky so parent hat came out first when he blamed my kid and tried to justified hitting him. I told him that I cannot always stop my son if he gets hit and that if you go around hitting people then expect kids to hit you back. In teacher words but I said what I said. Then he said so if your kid hits me first I can hit him back and I told him my kid doesn’t hit first (this is true actually A hits frequently but rarely first) and that I was watching him push, kick, hit, yell, and threaten my kid multiple times before A hit him back. And then he launched into the long defensive about to cry monologue I have no time so then I switched back to mature adult did some restorative justice convo. But I’m like damn these other parents probably think I’m a, since we just talked about it, c* no y

Which I think I overheard a student call someone a “c-word but no y” I didn’t give her too hard of a time because she literally said c-word but

 

[autumnal]

Poor A! I agree that he should be able to defend himself if the kid is repeatedly hitting him and noone is stopping it. You did the right thing to defend him and tell the other child to stop.. It seems strange to me that the school allows this recurring behaviour?

 

[DobbyForever]

Oh I did lose 1 lb this week since starting home chef and I do feel better physically even though emotionally I’m still blah. And my meal kit ended up not being much prep at all. So no complaints there.

 

[DobbyForever]

Poor A! I agree that he should be able to defend himself if the kid is repeatedly hitting him and noone is stopping it. You did the right thing to defend him and tell the other child to stop.. It seems strange to me that the school allows this recurring behaviour?

Yeah to be fair this was a school event but in a Saturday so the PTA was in charge. And they were nowhere to be found.

A’s school has lower and upper special day classes on campus. It has for decades. I firmly believe it’s why the parents and kids of that area of my super bigoted hometown is so inclusive and kind and why I bus my kid across town to go there vs our homeschool lol. The classes are tech mild/mid but you do get kiddos who don’t manage their big emotions well. My kid being one of them. If he had just hit A, I wouldn’t have reported it to the principal. But I’m not ok with the whole use of the k word followed by him hitting A. And I especially did not like that on his next lap, the boy and his friends were hitting A. It was like 3-4 fifth graders against a 1st grader. They scattered real quick when I yelled across the field to keep their hands to themselves.

 

[DobbyForever]

Oh but yeah public school so there’s the manifestation law that says you can’t suspend or expel kids with special needs for anything that is connected to their disability esp if it’s something in their IEP. That’s why the school keeps finding creative ways to kick A out only for me to tell them to eat s* and he’s right back in

 

[gigglebox]

Dang look at you chatty Kathys!
omg y'all with this food talk.....now all I want is some masala and naan. Thanks a lot. XD
honestly though I have the opposite problem with heat around here. Everything is spicy as crap!!! I say "as little as possible" or "none" and almost always end up with medium heat anyway, or at least what I would consider medium. But like you said everyone's idea of heat levels vary.

Giirrrrrrrrlllll Dobs I'd lose my shit if anyone hit my kid. Any of them. I'd be instant mama bear mode, followed by a loud WHERE'S YOUR PARENT?! DS1 has been bullied so many times, oh nothing makes me more angry. And that was just verbally; if fists come out, I'd have hard time controlling my rage tbh.
Aside from that, the event sounds like a good time for kids! What kid doesn't love bubbles? And what adult doesn't love a misting tent in the heat? Also yay for a pound down!

Thanks for the clarification on everything Shae! Ahhh yes, forgetting how to study, I'm sure that's all of us who've been out of school for awhile. But then again I feel like the way we study changes as we age......then again it's only been 4 years...idk. I hope he can find an effective method to remember what he needs to.

 

[DobbyForever]

Haha yeah I’m finally feeling more energy do lots to say and post!

I keep going back and forth between I overreacted and I underreacted lol. A is a “bully”, so sometimes feels hypocritical of me to say I want kids/teachers/parents to be more understanding in redirecting him then to turn around and flip s* over this kid who was clearly on the spectrum, overwhelmed, and overstimulated. I’m most mad that his parents weren’t around because lord knows I’m a shadow on A. I clocked 10k steps tailing him lol in the 2.5h. I’m sorry your son was bullied though. Kids really are such s* sometimes

Haha yeah it was super fun and a good time and I’m fine supporting the pta because I know that money goes directly back to the kids programs and supplies and what not.


Oh and yeah I realized my 4th and 5th can’t “study” so we talked about what it means to study and strategies for studying but yeah. I’m doing a PD rn and I’m learning nothing cuz my 4-8 teachers taught me to study and my 9 taught me how to work smart not hard

ETA yes Ty! I was at like 153ish when school started and now I’m down to 146. I’m hoping by Bahamas to be in the 30s so if I keep losing a lb a week I’ll be tickled

 

[autumnal]

I'm very sympathetic as I have a lot of issues with my eldest and school. He is always getting into tiffs and annoying the teacher. I tell him that his behaviour is going to make the other kids not want to play with him but he needs to learn the hard way ..

We all have colds and my poor dh has it the worst of course so we had to miss church yesterday for the 2nd week in a row, ugh, and I have little hope of anything happening this cycle lol

 

[gigglebox]

Autumnal my brother was like that. SUPER defiant in school and absolutely did not like authority. He had a small circle of friends in school, and definitely got in with the wrong crowed in his teens which ultimately led to him getting expelled. I had low hopes for him but he turned it around! He got his GED, then graduated top of his class for college and went on to law school. Now he’s married to a PA, has two kids, and is very high up in the government (working under a contracted company). I don’t think any of us saw that coming lol

All that to say, sometimes people are like that, they just have to learn things the hard way or for themselves.

Oh no, stay away sickness!! Where are you in your cycle? Sometimes being sick in the tww can be beneficial.

Dobs I got ya, that is a sticky situation when your kiddo has been on the other side :/ Anyway I wouldn’t worry about how you were perceived. People have short memories.

 

[shaescott]

Autumnal when was your hcg 5.6? Are you getting a repeat? I hate missing church but I work every other weekend unfortunately, so I feel you on that.

Gigs I’ve resorted to ordering my Indian food “hot” and having plain Greek yogurt or sour cream on hand to temper the heat if it’s extra spicy. I can definitely handle my spice. If I’m not sweating a little, it’s probably not spicy enough. I’ve gotten more and more obsessed over time, I add cholula hot sauce or red pepper flakes to like everything

Dobs congrats on the weight loss! Part of me wants to lose some weight but the other part of me is like, your BMI is still normal for another few pounds, you’re not overweight, so there’s no real motivation to lose weight. Like sure, I’d love to be super toned and lose the extra weight on my hips and stomach, but it’s hard to convince myself it’s necessary when I’m at a healthy weight.

 

[autumnal]

Ah I can't remember who said their HCG was at 5 but it wasn't me - I have never actually had an HCG draw weirdly enough?!? I'm on CD 16 and usually ovulate around CD 19-20 so still waiting a bit

How exciting about the weight loss, what a good job!

 

[HalfricanMa]

Ah that was me with hcg. If I don't get lines on today’s test idk if i’ll do a repeat draw.
Tests arrive before 10pm tonight.

 

[shaescott]

Ah that was me with hcg. If I don't get lines on today’s test idk if i’ll do a repeat draw.
Tests arrive before 10pm tonight.

Ah, my bad how many dpo are you?