Posts by Terry Campbell

I drive too...
Don't see why I wouldn't.

My favorites are definitely the ones who stare you down and ask, "So, when are you having kids?"
Like, can't you see I'm busy?!

Peter Adams58 said:Did the baby arrive yet?
Did the little one make an appearance?
Any news on the delivery?
Is the baby here?
🙂🙂🙂

So when's it happening?
Still in one piece?
Still walking around? 😕

I was actually speechless yesterday, and trust me—that almost never happens...
Some acquaintance of mine, right in the middle of church after a PTA meeting with about 150 other parents, decides to be "tactful" (aka loudly enough for everyone to hear) and goes, "Oh look, she’s glowing! What happened to you?!" I was just stunned. I didn't even know how to respond, so I just turned around and walked away. Not to mention at least 15 other moms giving me those subtle, judgmental side-eyes...
Jesus, I hate it. I seriously hate comments like that. And every second person asks because they saw what happened. Like, mind your own business—whether it happened or not, it's not like I'm going to explain my pregnancy status to every random person on the street! 🙂

So I was poking my belly during this pregnancy yesterday and it hit me Tyler Ramos with that whole gut massage thing—it felt exactly like that. I started cracking up, and the other person totally thought I was just melting from pure joy. 😉

Ugh, honestly, my favorites are the ones who actually ask—I’m like 6 or 7 months along now, belly's basically hitting my chin; anyway, where have you been hiding?!
Nah, I just overdid it at dinner...

Tyler Ramos said:I honestly find it so draining when I run into women who have been pregnant or are currently expecting and act like they’ve suddenly absorbed the collective wisdom of the entire universe—as if nobody knows anything about pregnancy or babies better than they do.
They love to toss out unsolicited "advice" left and right, even though absolutely no one asked for their input, and then they get all huffy and offended if you dare to disagree with them on even the smallest point.
God forbid you actually have an original thought or decide to handle things a little differently than some self-appointed expert momma.🙂

It also drives me up the wall when women who have already given birth describe their delivery as this horrific, bloody battlefield and the absolute worst thing that ever happened to them—especially when they choose to recount those grim details to someone who is currently pregnant.
Look, I get it, childbirth isn't exactly a stroll through Central Park, and some people definitely go through incredibly grueling experiences, but why on earth would you tell that to a woman who’s about to be on that delivery table herself in just a few days?

Well, since I'm clearly on a roll venting about everything that's getting on my nerves... 😬
..I also have to deal with people during this pregnancy who think they have a free pass to just reach out and poke my stomach.
I’m only 20 weeks along, yet people are out here trying to massage my midsection when the baby is still well below the belly button. And let me be clear: I do not want anyone touching me below my navel.
Get lost.

I knew one girl who was so freaked out by someone's horror stories about labor that she almost had a total nervous breakdown—we couldn't even convince her that it wouldn't be that terrifying... Honestly... someone should just slap those people across the face so they can't talk for a week...

And I actually lost it laughing at the bolded part!!😂
What do you care? You aren't gonna have digestive issues from all that belly poking.😁

shadowcrane91 said:Oh, please, prayer books? (I haven't really noticed them handing those out for other types of books, either) — sure, kids get them for their First Communion...
but they don't get anything for Confirmation (at least I never saw that happening, and I did my Confirmation singing in a choir)
however, there are some awesome comics and little books out there that are actually hilarious but still religious—they're perfect for all ages, from toddlers all the way up until you're old and gray...

Not sure about Confirmation—we haven't done any yet.
But yeah, there are some really cool religious books out there that aren't totally stiff; they're more like fairy tales or stories. They'd definitely dig that.
As long as a twenty-dollar bill is peeking out from inside...😛

We’ve already knocked out two First Communions—now we’re just waiting on another one and then Confirmation.

I asked my kid what he actually wanted for gifts and he went straight for cash. Apparently, he's saving up for something specific he wants to buy.
So, if you're stuck on what to get kids, honestly, just give them $17 instead of buying some random junk they won't care about. Looking at kids today, half the stuff we thought was cool is basically useless to them now.
Those religious books and prayer books are fine, I guess, but they usually get those for free from the church anyway. Mine used to read them all the time at first, but not so much lately.

Just popping in here to see how other parents are holding up—turns out I'm not the only one totally lost half the time. Hopefully this thread is mostly actual moms (and dads) dealing with kids in puberty, rather than a bunch of armchair experts who think they know everything because they dealt with their own awkward phase or some neighbor's kid once or twice.

I’ve got three kids hitting that pre-teen/puberty stage—13, 10.5, and 8.5.
And honestly... most days they drive me absolutely insane. It's just constant bickering, poking at each other, and the absolute worst part—they're total snitches. They aren't outright rude to us yet, though they definitely talk back sometimes. My husband and I have a zero-tolerance policy for that, so if they get mouthy, all privileges get cut immediately and they get sent to their rooms to cool off.

The oldest is pretty chill and isn't ever disrespectful to anyone except his brother, but the middle one? Total menace. I'm betting he'll be the biggest headache. The youngest is okay for now, though he has his moments where he's super moody or starts crying out of nowhere. Is he even old enough for pre-puberty stuff, or is he just picking up bad habits from his brothers?

Mine ordered a laptop, some skates, a phone, and a watch. Kid's got modest tastes—not much there.🙂
But honestly, cash is the ultimate gift. Whether it’s $50 or $33, that’s what really gets him hyped. Most kids are always saving up for something anyway, so you can't really go wrong there.

Yeah, we did music class in third grade too—just sat there in front of our lockers, trying to memorize songs from some random CD...

Jason Ortiz5 said:And then I end up with this absolute terror of a woman—my mother-in-law! There’s an entire generation of neighborhood kids who remember her as "that one lady who's always perpetually pissed off." 😲

(I actually heard people saying that, totally unaware that I was talking about my own MIL! 🤣)

🤣

I got a little heated with my therapist—didn't really see eye to eye with her take—but whatever. It all worked out fine, honestly; the shrink isn't half bad and actually managed to get him in line, so things are good now.

Back at my kid's preschool last year, they had some psychologist running all these tests on the kids—basically just wrote up profiles to pass along to their elementary schools. For my son, she noted he was pretty restless and really needed a strict teacher. Well, he ended up getting one—and honestly, based on the rumors, she’s the toughest teacher in the whole district... So, I'm sitting here wondering if that was just pure luck or if they actually read those psych reports. Might be worth mentioning you want a hard-nosed teacher during enrollment.

[B says:
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It’s a bit of a headache—she hits 6 next May on 05/02. But the cutoff is 03/31. I’m guessing that means filing special requests, getting approvals, doing all those tests... honestly, who knows. If I wait, she’ll basically be starting school at 7.5.

I’ve got until September to make a call, but I highly doubt I’ll suddenly become some genius by then...

So she’d start around 6.5. Not exactly early, really...
Mine was already reading and writing at 5, but back in September he was only 6.2 and just seemed way too hyper—like he wasn't ready for the grind. We held him back an extra year in preschool and it was definitely the right move. Now he’s actually focused, takes care of his books, and stays on task—stuff he wouldn't have even dreamed of a year ago.
And he isn't bored either. At first, he was like, "just teach me what I already know," but then his teacher started throwing in extra math and advanced English worksheets to keep him busy, and he loves it. He flies through the standard homework in seconds, then gets a challenge sheet to keep him occupied.

We knocked out all the big and little print plus numbers up to 8 during the first semester—now they're moving on to cursive, numbers up to 10, and word problems. My kid's actually got the hang of it, he's just lazy about the actual writing part, so we're grinding through practice every day. He’s not exactly thrilled about it, but I can see him getting better. Doesn't seem too hard to me—it's really just about staying consistent.

My little guy is in first grade and we just had one of those parent-teacher meetings about grading. They showed us the school district's official rubric and honestly, it looks pretty brutal. The teacher mentioned they have some wiggle room to nudge a grade here and there depending on the situation, but not always. Like, if there are five assignments and you need all five perfect to get an A, there’s basically zero margin for error. It really comes down to how intense the teacher is. My middle kid has this total hardass for a teacher who grades everything—even art, music, and PE—like it's a midterm at Harvard. My kid's been doing track for three years, but she gave him a C in PE just because he couldn't nail a specific backroll move... My wife's sister is a teacher too, and she told us that for subjects like those, as long as the kid shows up with their gear and actually participates, they should be getting an A. But according to the actual handbook, you have to memorize all fifteen songs they learn during the year just to pass music with flying colors.

Everything's going great so far, though—he can already read and write, so no issues there. He's even crushing the word problems! Okay, maybe I'm bragging a little... 🙂

Got about 200 vinyl records lying around and I’m honestly stumped—no clue what to do with them. Most of the stuff is from the 70s. Anyone got a lead on where I could actually sell these? Does anyone even buy vinyl anymore?

It was a lifesaver during my pregnancy—I had zero clue what I was doing and way too many questions. Found tons of stories from other moms there, and honestly, I’ve even stayed close friends with a few of them since.
Always grabbing some solid lunch inspo, too.

casualwalker71 said:Could be ovulation, I guess. Especially if your cycles are all over the place, but why would you think you'd get pregnant on the very first try? Give me a break. It’s pretty rare for people to just jump straight into parenthood without any effort. You'd have to be incredibly lucky. From what I know, everyone usually has to work at it a little bit first.
Just check out http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ovulation-tests/about/acm-20354398. That'll probably give you a better idea of when you're actually fertile and when you aren't.

We only did it once this whole month 🙂 so yeah, she's currently passed out in the crib. 🙂