I think I read an earlier post that the problem might have something to do with the touchpad. If you can turn it off, do some typing, turn it on and repeat the typing exercise, maybe----- .

I would never condone cutting visitations but under these circumstances I sure would. DH should wait until mom picks SD up, then call and say he has a stomach flu and can't get there. Normally any normal mother would be excited that she finally can spend weekend wiht her daughter. BM will be miserable and maybe even change her mind about custody, she will realize she will have her daughter wiht her on the weekend at some point! SD lying is not normal, I wonder if she needs child psychologist to do some evaluation, just not normal. I remember DD very clearly at 10, she loved fantazy in terms of playing wiht her toys imagining stuff like stuffed lion lives in a castle, this sort of stuff, but nothing of what you described.

From what I am reading, you were lucky enough to secure a contract on an unusually large home in a hot market. In circumstances like that, being in the right place at the right time gave you the opportunity to buy a desirable home. If you choose to back out, you will spend more money trying to secure alternative housing, fees and charges duplicated on the next house you find and likely pay a higher price for the replacement. If you back out now, you are guaranteed to lose money, but if you close, you have a fairly good chance that you haven't bought a problem house. Most issues found in a home inspection are not deal breakers, especially if the property was built in the past few decades. Old houses are more likely to have expensive problems but if this is a newer home, serious issues aren't as likely. In my area, most sales are as-is with an inspection clause which allows the buyer walk away if there are substantial defects found. In common practice, buyers request certain items to be fixed and sellers often fix issues to avoid losing the sale. However in a hot market, sellers are likely to refuse to fix issues unless lenders refuse to finance the purchase.

I put aside the shopping season festivities a long time ago. I just quit buying any presents and told all that I want none. Of course, one exception is the wee young ones, the grandkids. I quit with the tree and went with a nice super big wreathe. Now I have quit with the wreathe. Last year I was almost able to ignore it completely. I think that there has been a change in our view of this dictating and dominating holiday. I see less and less of the frenzy around it, fewer home decorations, and I, thankfully, hear less of that gawd awful sappy music due to the fact that I spend less time in stores (in normal times). Also, I don't get as subjected to the TV advertising since I watch most streaming. The exception is the news channel where they mostly advertise heart medicines and reverse mortgages. I identified with the notion of feeling a sense of freedom from it. That is just exactly the way I felt---liberated. Joyfully liberated! I am ready for a new perspective to take shape in our American world view. Those old traditions are ready to take a back seat to a new culture, hopefully. I wont be around to see it, but I have hopes that it will change and evolve to meet the new world. Time for a new perspective. The old one is too small and narrow , and, is worn thin as can be. Good riddance! I have alway liked both Thanksgiving and New Years much better than the Shopping Season. Having said all of that, I just might put the big wreath up this year. Not for me, but for hubs who is having a. hard time coping with it all and he has alway liked the lights. I stopped liking the lights when we went to LED tree lights. . They are such a cold unblinking light that I don't like them. They cast an eerie cold glow onto everything. I have seen some holiday trees in the windows of some houses that are so flashy that they could be seizure inducing! You know, those high tech explosive light shows on the tree.