u/basement-egg

Hey, I was wondering if you all might have any suggestions.

We'll be visiting Pigeon Forge, TN next month, and I was hoping we could find some animatronics to visit.

My 3 year old is absolutely obsessed. We'll be taking her to Frizzle Chicken Cafe for sure, and to see the band in the basement of the knife museum. But I was hoping there might be more in the area that we could find.

I'd love to hear of any you might know about. Thank you!

I need some help and I wasn't sure where else to turn.

I have a mom friend we'll call Casey. We're not super close, but our daughters (3/4) love to play together. So we see each other just about once a week. Casey is very sweet, and it's always nice talking to her.

I know she's been going through a hard time lately, since her husband was deployed overseas. But she and her daughter are living with her parents, so she's got support.

Previously, we were meeting up in the afternoons, but her work schedule changed recently, so we've been meeting in the mornings. Since then, I've noticed some stuff that concerns me in regards to her daughter's diet.

I knew her daughter was picky, and I'd witnessed her with some unhealthy snacks (chips and soda), but didn't think much of it. I give my kid junk from time to time, more often when we're out, that's no big deal. But since we've been meeting in the mornings, Casey has repeatedly said that what daughter is eating is her breakfast, and it's been completely devoid of nutrition. Things like a bag of mints, a tub of cotton candy, or a handful of artificial sweetener packets.

We talked a bit about it today. Casey admitted that this sort of "meal" was typical for her daughter. That she's been struggling to get her to eat anything. And that she herself has a very limited, very unhealthy diet. She said her parents fed her the same way growing up.

I expressed sympathy, and agreed that it was difficult to get kids to eat some times. But I didn't offer any advice. She didn't explicitly ask, so I'm hesitant to give any.

I have to admit though, it's kinda tearing me up that her daughter is seemingly not having her nutritional needs met. And it sounds like Casey isn't doing much to change things.

Should I just mind my own business and assume she's doing her best? Or should I bring up the topic again and offer her some advice? I really just want to help in any way I can, but I don't want to overstep here.

I need some advice and I wasn't sure where else to turn.

I have a mom friend we'll call Casey. We're not super close, but our daughters (3/4) love to play together. So we see each other just about once a week. Casey is very sweet, and it's always nice talking to her.

I know she's been going through a hard time lately, since her husband was deployed overseas. But she and her daughter are living with her parents, so she's got support.

Previously, we were meeting up in the afternoons, but her work schedule changed recently, so we've been meeting in the mornings. Since then, I've noticed some stuff that concerns me in regards to her daughter's diet.

I knew her daughter was picky, and I'd witnessed her with some unhealthy snacks (chips and soda), but didn't think much of it. I give my kid junk from time to time, more often when we're out, that's no big deal. But since we've been meeting in the mornings, Casey has repeatedly said that what daughter is eating is her breakfast, and it's been completely devoid of nutrition. Things like a bag of mints, a tub of cotton candy, or a handful of artificial sweetener packets.

We talked a bit about it today. Casey admitted that this sort of "meal" was typical for her daughter. That she's been struggling to get her to eat anything. And that she herself has a very limited, very unhealthy diet. She said her parents fed her the same way growing up.

I expressed sympathy, and agreed that it was difficult to get kids to eat some times. But I didn't offer any advice. She didn't explicitly ask, so I'm hesitant to give any.

I have to admit though, it's kinda tearing me up that her daughter is seemingly not having her nutritional needs met. And it sounds like Casey isn't doing much to change things.

Should I just mind my own business and assume she's doing her best? Or should I bring up the topic again and offer her some advice? I really just want to help in any way I can, but I don't want to overstep here.

My daughter is almost 4, and I need suggestions for high quality, engaging nonfiction books on a variety of topics.

So far, her favorite has been Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extrodinaire! It teaches about backyard exploration, with real photos mixed in with the illustrations. It also includes a bit of story with the characters she knows. Very digestible. I also love the inclusion of real life activity instructions / recipes.

Thank you in advance for your recommendations!

My daughter is almost 4, and I need suggestions for high quality, engaging nonfiction books on a variety of topics.

So far, her favorite has been Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extrodinaire! It teaches about backyard exploration, with real photos mixed in with the illustrations. It also includes a bit of story with the characters she knows. Very digestible. I also love the inclusion of real life activity instructions / recipes.

Thank you in advance for your recommendations!

So, about a decade ago, I developed pretty severe tmj disorder (arthritis in my jaw joints.) I sought help from a specialist to mitigate the damage/ pain, and I'm doing my best to manage it. But one of the symptoms that the specialist mentioned, and which I have certainly experienced was tinnitus.

A couple years ago, I noticed that the tinnitus had gotten very bad. Unfortunately that tmj specialist is retired now, and there isn't another one in my area. It got to the point that I was constantly having to ask people to repeat themselves, I couldn't watch TV without subtitles, and my family was getting frustrated with me "ignoring" them. It seemed to be worse on days that my jaw was hurting more.

I stared to wonder if it was just tinnitus related to my jaw, or if something else was going on. So last year I made an appointment with an audiologist.

She gave me a full hearing exam, and said that I had mild/ moderate hearing loss. Not enough to recommend hearing aids. I asked if it could be related to my jaw, and said that my pattern of loss was consistent with genetic hearing loss, but that I needed to make an appointment with an ENT specialist. She said I should come back to her in a year for another test to see if my hearing was getting worse.

I'm gonna be honest, it's been a year, and I haven't seen the ENT dr or made a followup appt with the audiologist. My hearing definitely hasn't gotten better. And has continued to be a hindrance to my communication. Especially at work.

But the thing is, back when I was in college, I had some GI issues. I spent a year going to constant dr appointments, seeing specialist, getting more and more invasive tests done... all for nothing. There were no answers. It was just, "yeah your stomach is messed up. No idea why. Let's do more tests!" Finally I just couldn't handle it anymore. It was so much wasted time and money. My anxiety had gone through the roof. I had dropped out of college because of it all. And after all that, after I stopped pursuing answers, my issues got better.

I just don't want to go through something like that again. When the audiologist told me I needed to see a different specialist, my heart sank.

I feel frozen now. Do I pursue answers? Should I make the appointment with the ent doc? Potentially get sent on to someone else? Have to go through increasingly invasive tests again? What if we get no conclusive answers? I have a kid now, I have other things to focus on. But then, what if my hearing gets worse? Could they even do anything to help me?

Can someone please help me unfreeze? Should I just accept that I have some hearing loss and just try to live life around it? Or should I make those appointments and try to find out more?

Thank you to anyone who reads / offers advice. It's very appreciated.

So, about a decade ago, I developed pretty severe tmj disorder (arthritis in my jaw joints.) I sought help from a specialist to mitigate the damage/ pain, and I'm doing my best to manage it. But one of the symptoms that the specialist mentioned, and which I have certainly experienced was tinnitus.

A couple years ago, I noticed that the tinnitus had gotten very bad. Unfortunately that tmj specialist is retired now, and there isn't another one in my area. It got to the point that I was constantly having to ask people to repeat themselves, I couldn't watch TV without subtitles, and my family was getting frustrated with me "ignoring" them. It seemed to be worse on days that my jaw was hurting more.

I stared to wonder if it was just tinnitus related to my jaw, or if something else was going on. So last year I made an appointment with an audiologist.

She gave me a full hearing exam, and said that I had mild/ moderate hearing loss. Not enough to recommend hearing aids. I asked if it could be related to my jaw, and said that my pattern of loss was consistent with genetic hearing loss, but that I needed to make an appointment with an ENT specialist. She said I should come back to her in a year for another test to see if my hearing was getting worse.

I'm gonna be honest, it's been a year, and I haven't seen the ENT dr or made a followup appt with the audiologist. My hearing definitely hasn't gotten better. And has continued to be a hindrance to my communication. Especially at work.

But the thing is, back when I was in college, I had some GI issues. I spent a year going to constant dr appointments, seeing specialist, getting more and more invasive tests done... all for nothing. There were no answers. It was just, "yeah your stomach is messed up. No idea why. Let's do more tests!" Finally I just couldn't handle it anymore. It was so much wasted time and money. My anxiety had gone through the roof. I had dropped out of college because of it all. And after all that, after I stopped pursuing answers, my issues got better.

I just don't want to go through something like that again. When the audiologist told me I needed to see a different specialist, my heart sank.

I feel frozen now. Do I pursue answers? Should I make the appointment with the ent doc? Potentially get sent on to someone else? Have to go through increasingly invasive tests again? What if we get no conclusive answers? I have a kid now, I have other things to focus on. But then, what if my hearing gets worse? Could they even do anything to help me?

Can someone please help me unfreeze? Should I just accept that I have some hearing loss and just try to live life around it? Or should I make those appointments and try to find out more?

Thank you to anyone who reads / offers advice. It's very appreciated.

Really I'm just wanting to rant more than anything. I'm sure you all understand.

So for a little background, my mil split with my husband's dad when my husband was pretty young. She got with her most recent ex soon after, and they were together for over 20 years. During that time she was a homemaker. They never married. She raised her son and her ex's two kids, looked after the house, and handled all of his business paperwork (basically being his secretary.) She had no assets in her name, no savings, and no resume.

I'm sure you can see where this is headed.

She caught him cheating a couple years ago, and he kicked her out on the street with literally nothing. We don't live in the same town as her, so we couldn't offer much assistance. She wound up moving in with a friend of hers.

And she's just continued to make poor choices since.

She revealed to us that her ex had become volatile in the last couple years that they were together, and insisted that she was scared of him. But she continually contacted him, provoking him and his new gf online, and in person for months afterwards. I thought she'd finally moved on from that, but just the other day she admitted that she had texted him again to cuss him out for what he did to her. I don't want to victim blame or anything, but if she's really afraid of him that's just so dangerous.

Not to mention, he had started doing hard drugs. A lot of her friends do too. And I'm like, if you hang around people who do hard drugs, you can't be surprised by their bad behavior.

During all this, she's been living with her friend, not working, not paying rent, and while she does help around the house, she also regularly gets into huge arguments with her friend, who has come close to kicking her out a few times. But always relents.

Also, during that time she would occasionally call us to ask for money, but would never actually ask, just hint around it, then get all pissy when we didn't offer anything and hang up.

So then, a few months ago she had a major health scare. She's doing much better now, but her doctor advised her to apply for disability and food stamps. She had just gotten a job finally. But when she went to apply for disability, she decided that it was "too much trouble" and she "didn't really need it now anyways."

Like, what? She's really not making that much at her job. And her doctor told her it could take a year to get approved. What if something changes in that time? What if she loses her job? Or her health gets worse? Or her friend kicks her out? Zero forethought.

And on the topic of her health, she still hasn't stopped binge drinking or smoking. She doesn't think the drinking is a problem. But she'll go out with friends every weekend and get blackout drunk, but thinks that's normal.

She knows the smoking is an issue. And she lies and tries to hide it from us. The last time she came to visit, she kept stepping outside to "take phone calls." One time she left the door unlocked, and my 3 year old followed her out a minute later and immediately said, "why does it smell like cigarettes out here?" Not to mention all the times she's said, "Grammy, you stink!" MiL sent her a package full of toys and junk the other day, and it reeked like cigarettes. My daughter said, "Mommy, we need to wash this stuff."

I'm just wondering what she thinks is gonna happen in 5 years... 10 years... 20 years.... I'll tell you this, she is NOT going to move in with us. Currently we rent a 1 bedroom apartment. We have no room for her. And even if we did, my husband can barely handle when she comes to visit for a few days.

All she does is complain about her life, and drama with her friends. And criticize everything my husband does. She thinks that because she's "lived a hard life" that she's so much smarter than everyone else. And that she has the right to "tell it like it is." That's why she gets into fights with the friend that she lives with. It's crazy though, because she was a teen mom, so she's not really that much older than us.

I know shouldn't be bothered so much by it, but every new poor choice she makes just stresses me out a little bit more. And I feel bad for my husband. He's said more than once that he loves his mom, but he doesn't respect her. He acts un- bothered, but I can see how deflated he gets when she calls him just to complain and criticize.

So yeah, I just needed to get all that off my chest. I do care about her, but I can't even try to give her helpful advice because she gets offended.

Feel free to give advice, words of encouragement, a dose or reality, or to share your own similar experiences.

Yesterday while eating lunch, my daughter (3.5) suddenly yelled, "AHH! MOMMY! HOW DO I GET THIS YOGURT COVERED RAISIN OUT OF MY NOSE?!"

Thankfully it only took one good blow and it popped right out. We had a long talk about how dangerous it is to put things in our nose, and she cried pretty hard. I think it really scared her.

I feel like we made it out pretty lucky on that part.

What has your kid shoved up their nose? Did you get it out at home, or did it require a trip to the dr.? Any repeat offenders?