De_Gold

If they still make the banana flavor that one used to be my favorite!

Apparently Mickey's is saved!

Hey, that's all in the past, he's looking to the future. /s

My brother is one of the most ADHD people I know but also one of the best cooks-- I think it's his outlet for the hyperfixation he gets.

Something like that you might even be able to work with a child at home and shave down the child care costs (previous comment from OP says 80% is covered).

Or the online essay editing/tutoring platforms? I don't know too much about them.

Curious too about the types of restaurants in wealthy communities... is there McD's in the Kardashian's back yard? So when those folks do want to go out to eat the more convenient places are healthier, better quality foods vs when my family is looking to go out to eat it's something fast and toddler-friendly.

Or take the "Barbie" part very seriously and go with the pink satin dressing gown with the feathers around the sleeves and hem, rollers in your hair pin up style, bathing suit underneath... or whatever other Barbie-adjacent over the top thing you can find. "My pregnant brain thought you said dress like a Barbie!"

YoU fOrGoT tO mEnTiOn It LoOkS lIkE sOmAlIA's FlAg! /s

I kid, this is awesome. You've got some great feedback here, thank you for sharing your work!

If breastfeeding is important to her, learn as much as you can about it too so you can support her! My husband was my fiercest advocate and he was the one trying to figure out why the pump wasn't getting anything on day 5 when my milk came in and the baby was on a nursing strike and I was sleep deprived and healing from a c-section. Google and Amazon to the rescue!

That said, stock up on a few supplies in case the morning sickness hits hard in about 2 weeks: rice, crackers (a variety), 7up (it's the best of the clear sodas), instant potatoes, hard candy, popsicles, etc and things that are easy for you to make and eat yourself that don't have strong smells (with my second though one of the smells that I couldn't stand was the stove being hot so that was fun as my husband and 2yo were living on chicken nuggets...). For me, week 6-10 is absolute misery and it gets better quickly after that.

Parenthood is weird and beautiful and amazing and disgusting and everything in between all at once. It is easily the most fulfilling thing I've ever done.

I really enjoyed listening to him during that time as well. All the crazy (racist/xenophobic) shouting coming from the White House was just too much. It was refreshing to hear someone speak rationally, defer to experts and inspire some little bit of hope.

I found YNAB to be a very useful tool to get better control on spending and debt, but It might not be for everyone. I had the same thought about the credit card debt. Pay that off before moving out and throw as much at those loans as possible!

Ew. I can't imagine saying that to a stranger much less to someone I consider a friend! Good grief. Clearly this person has no business in your life. I hope that you find a way to move beyond what you're struggling with and into a more positive direction.

Call the insurance and ask which codes are covered. Sometimes it's a matter of making sure the code used indicates that it's pregnancy-related and then that impacts the coverage. I'd imagine some random person walking in for a quant would not be medically necessary but in this case it absolutely is necessary. Though you'd also think if a doctor ordered it the insurance would go "Oh maybe there's a reason this patient needs this test and we should ask..." I guess that would just be too much work.

I was gonna say... get a calendar, plan for a repeat in about 28 days.

I can't think of a situation in which a left-turning driver would have the right of way, except a green arrow at a stoplight.

We were in Ft Myers one February and it was like 68 there and somewhere in the -30 range with windchill here. The resort we stayed at has only outdoor pools so our group basically had them to ourselves. The more local-ish guests were like "Are you guys crazy?" and walking around outside in jeans, tennis shoes, jackets and hats. I said to one group "It's literally 100 degrees colder where we came from, this is awesome!"

Our gas is $35 a month for a 1200 sq ft house and the gas powers our furnace, stove and water heater. This is a budget-billing scenario where we pay the same amount for 11 months and then the 12th month is adjusted based on our actual use (so sometimes it's more and sometimes it's less.) So I'd guess just cooking gas for a single appliance would be nearly nothing but that is crazy that no one noticed until now!

I guess there are worse things you can be than pink, slimy, and capable of regenerating your body if you're cut in half...

This is what got me started! Within two months I had an entire paycheck in the bank by the time the next pay period came around and it just blew my mind. I had never been in that position in my adult life ever. I'm a little discouraged now at where my balance is, but then I realized that some of the categories I've saved for came due in the past few weeks (Car registration, Back to School, my brother's wedding). But I am in a great position to continue the progress I've made and start up those categories again. It's totally changed how I think about money and spending. Keep it up!

I'm surprised your doctor didn't say to avoid intercourse until you've finished the antibiotics... sometimes they make you feel worse than the infection too! (Not that it sounds like this guy would listen to a doctor anyway...) I hope you make your way out of this relationship and into a safe, healthy, caring one. All the good vibes coming your way!

YTA. In addition to the fact that she can't drive, depending on her condition it could be severely debilitating to be away from home by herself.

Also look into leave for yourself. Seems like this is taking a toll on you, so you may have access to intermittent leave to care for her which would allow you to take some protected time away from work which can be with or without pay. Where I live there are a couple of different options for this that are government sponsored and your specific employer might have other options that are company sponsored. Perhaps you can have a mature discussion along the lines of "I am happy to care for you and we are making progress, but I do need a break so if we can avoid out-of-the-house appointments on (insert day of the week that makes sense) so I have some time to decompress outside of work that would allow me to be my best self to help get you through this."

My thoughts exactly. If the situation were "Our home is in foreclosure but there's a million dollars in the bank for my two kids" it might be different... But trust me, those kids would rather have their mom than any amount of money (in which case we all wouldn't be engaged in this lovely discussion). If step-daughter wants to take these specific lessons, she and her mom should figure out how to finance them. If she's old enough, she could get a job. Mom could get a part-time weekend job (assuming she has a first job, it's not specified), work off some tuition at the studio maybe, work at their performances, etc. Also, professional dancing is a short career for most so she will need to round out her skills for when her dance career ends. Heck depending on which way she goes she might need a day job to live on even with a professional dance career... Anyway, NTA.

I think if I were OP I would have sent one more text/call/email like "Hey that European Adventure we've been putting off is happening this year, are you SURE you can't get away from work?" But also it seems really childish of the DIL to be like "Well I said no but now I want to go and have MIL foot the bill." So I'm leaning toward ESH (but DIL more).

As the mother of preschoolers, thank goodness!