u/BullfrogBackground27

I used to teach elementary school until I had our second baby 4 years ago. This will be my 5th year at home and now I have a 5 month old too. Financially, I do not need to return to work ever if I don’t want to, but I really do want to. The problem is, I never want to teach again. I’ve subbed a little and it is SO hard to spend the entire day with young kids and then come home to 3 young kids. Also the profession sucks right now and the stress is way too high.

I need something to do that is just for me, but I don’t know how to make a complete career change at almost 40 after a 5 year gap. My job used to be so important to me and now I feel like I’ve lost my identity. What can I do??

This year will be our second year as a troop, first year multilevel Daisy and Brownie. In the spring the girls voted on the badges they want to work on next year so I’m doing some advance planning so I don’t have so much on my plate month to month.

My question is: with overlapping badges, do you try to merge the two meeting plans/badge requirements into one that all the girls do together, or do you have opening and closing ceremonies together but split up for the bulk of work time into Daisies with one leader and Brownies with another?

It seems like most of the badges overlap in topic (Shapes in Nature, Eco Learner, Art and Design, etc etc etc) but not exactly in requirements/activities. If we’re going to merge them, I’m having trouble figuring out whether to lean toward the higher age or lower age requirements. Am I overthinking this?

I have 500 oz of frozen breast milk. We’re not going to use it and I’d like to donate it. Does anyone know a family in need or the best way to find such a family? I’d rather give directly rather than going through a whole screening process via an organization.

Have there been surprise songs at most shows so far, or has Noah been sticking to a regular setlist? If so, where in the lineup do the surprise songs usually happen?

Also, what songs from TGD have NOT been played on tour yet? Headed North, Lighthouse, We go way back, a few of your own, spoiled, any others? Do we expect any of these to be surprise songs?

We are seasoned BWCA campers but next year will be a little different. We are looking waaaay ahead to next summer (‘27) wondering if anyone knows of any outfitters or lodges that have cabins on the edge of the BWCA that require *paddling in* to them. We will have babies with us so we want to have a roof over our heads but we also want the relative solitude that camping usually provides and a way to access day trips into the BWCA. Any unicorn recommendations?

I’m in a book slump and I just realized it’s because all the books I’ve been reading lately have had themes of parents losing their children in some sort of way (Hum, Handmaid’s Tale, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, How High We Go in the Dark, Yesteryear, and School for Good Mothers, which I actually had to just DNF). How I managed to do this unknowingly with so many different genres is beyond me.

That said, I need a light, easy, uplifting, maybe heartwarming?? book that is NOT about parenting trauma. I’d prefer a page turner/attention keeper, but could be any genre (mystery, fantasy, literary, memoir, whatever).

Putting up a new LFL and I’m writing a poem to tape to the inside that I will update each season. I’m stuck on this one line!! Can you help perfect it? Any other edits?

Happy summer,
Spread the cheer!
Done with a book?
Leave it here!

Kids and grown-ups
Families too
Will read with joy
All season through

Always open
Always free
???
Through our community

My cat has been pooping on the exact same spot on the rug over and over no matter how we clean it. We’ve tried Anti-icky Poo spray in various amounts of intensity. Tried other carpet sprays, tried Bissell deep clean vacuum. Any other ideas before we have to hire someone or throw the entire rug out the window? 🥴

Hello! Next year will be our first time participating in cookie season (d/b 2nd year as a troop). Thinking about the scheduling of the cookie-related badges - my first cookie business, my cookie customers and cookie family patch - can this badge work start in January, or is it better for girls to have started some of this work already in December to prep for the season? Having not done a cookie season I’m not sure how much advance planning is needed on the girls’ part vs just working toward the badges during the actual selling season. Thank you!!

Hi! I’ve been desperate to put up a LFL for ages. I finally got my plans together enough to apply for the permit through the city and…was told that LFLs are not permitted at all except if they are 20 feet in from the road on our property. Which basically defeats the whole purpose. Has anyone ever gotten a permit totally denied?? Do you just put it up anyway?? There are a ton of LFLs in our city right by the road so I have to assume they are all unpermitted! It was kinda devastating to be told I’d never be able to have one.

Edited to add: I live on a pretty busy county road with a sidewalk on only one side of the road, and it’s not the side my house is on. So I wanted to put the library up on the sidewalk side across the street from me for ease and safety of access, but the land across the street is technically public land (there’s a pond/woods there). They said I could not build it on the public side and also could not build it within 20 feet of the road on my own property because they don’t allow permanent “structures” within the public right of way. The city guy knew what LFL was, he said he has one on his property that his wife put up and he measured the 20 feet in so they would be following the city ordinance 🙄

I started a new daisy troop this year at my Kindergartener’s school. We did the daisy petals this year. Now we have 4-5 current first graders who will be moving on to brownie troops next year and their spots will be filled by new girls. The majority of the troop will already have earned their daisy petals and we’ll be working toward other daisy badges, but there will be a handful of girls who have not earned any petals or badges yet. How do you manage a split group like this? Do the new scouts earn petals at some point, and if so, how? Thanks so much for any advice.