Weekend & Family Friday: Automatic Bubble Machine
This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
My husband is an active Amazon Prime-er, and random boxes are always showing up on our front steps. Upon opening one particular box, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “I bought a bubble machine!” That he did. We have one similar to this, and my son is at prime bubble-loving stage. If you’re hosting a gathering with any number of children, or even just want to get one child out of the house for some fresh air, a machine like this will make it a memorable experience. It’s likely cheaper to just buy a machine than to keep renting one, and when your child outgrows bubbles (sob), pass it along! This bubble machine is $46.99 at Amazon and is eligible for Prime. Automatic Bubble Machine
This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
Since you know he will eat small bites of regular food, just send the regular food to daycare with him, but chop it up into tiny (pea-sized) pieces.
We never did baby food. We went from milk straight to soft regular food (no salt).
At 6 months we started feeding him:
Vegetables: peas, soft cooked carrots, mashed potatoes, corn, soft cooked squashes (acorn, butternut, zucchini), sauteed spinach and kale (chopped finely before cooking so there were no long stringy pieces).
Proteins: tofu, ground meats (broken up into pea-sized pieces while cooking).
Fruits: avocados, bananas, mangoes, kiwi, blueberries (halved or quartered depending on size)
Grains: rice, steel-cut oatmeal (no sweetener)
At 8 months and 10 months, we introduced more things into each category. Here is the exact chart I used for when to introduce certain foods. https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/assets/uploads/2015/04/solids2chart.pdf I just picked it randomly off the internet and didn’t do any research about it. The only strict rule I kept was introducing one thing at a time and waiting 3 days for allergic reactions.
WWYD. You pick your 2 kids up (~4,~7) up from gymnastics and are holding their hands walking out the front door. A person parked in the (handicapped) space directly across from the front door is backing out. Slowly, but right into you. You yell “hey! Watchout!” But she continues to slowly back out (presumably not hearing and continuing not to check behind her).
I watched the whole thing and instead of pulling the kids away from danger (already holding their hands), the guy kicked the bumper of her car. WTF?
FWIW it was a dad with the kids and a granny type in a beat up old car in the parking spot. Our town is full of such bros. Everything happened at <1MPH so they could have just walked out of the way, much less scampered. Obviously the driver is at fault but it seemed like such a bad way for Dad to handle it.
Really late post, but I just remembered. Daycare sent something for mother’s day (husband showed the bag this morning as I was leaving). And then, at daycare I see a non with envelopes for the teachers. Is this a thing? I had not thought I needed to gift daycare teachers for mother’s day….
Sorry this is a late post! I need help – got a call completely out of the blue to interview for an interesting job on MONDAY. It is not exactly my industry but I know the organization and it’s intriguing. I am 12 weeks pregnant. I will tell them at some point in the process but I haven’t even told my own boss yet and do not intend to tell them. Because I’ve had other pregnancies, I’m LARGE and cannot fit into my suits, and a sheath dress is out of the question. The organization is 2 people, so I can’t imagine it is super formal. Are black pants, black flowy top, and a fancy gray wool blazer ok? Just meeting with one man, who hopefully won’t notice. Thanks!
The comments about asking husband to plan mothers day make me think … is anyone annoyed at how if we want anything to happen, it more often than not falls on the woman? So if we want good childcare / schools, we have to think about it. If we want to have a good relationship with our husbands, we have to think about it and put in the work. If we want to enjoy our weekend, we often have to think about what we want to do. I get the idea of “dropping the ball” but that seems like an awful solution too, which only means meh marriages and not so great things for our kids. I guess I am just frustrated with all the emotional labor today.
I need meal prep/planning help for my twins who will turn one next month. Any ideas for stuff I can batch prep/cook/chop on the weekends that will get me through most of the week? We’ve been pretty prepared food-heavy recently, but I’m trying to avoid that with the babies for now (and hopefully that’ll carry over to the rest of us). I really like the Lean Green Bean’s toddler meals so I’m starting there, but I’m open to other suggestions as well. Every night is a rush of getting home from daycare, chopping the babies’ dinner, getting my 3 year old’s plate ready, so basically my husband and I are eating standing in the kitchen over what’s left.
Are any of you following the (insane IMO) discussions on the main s!te about parental hobbies? I have interests outside of work and family, too, but there seems to be a sincere misunderstanding of the demands of parenting that makes me both giggle and be a little sad all at the same time. It’s no wonder the realities of working motherhood knock so many women off their feet if they go into it thinking they can just take the baby along for a 6 hour round of golf or continue to prioritize whatever pre-kid hobby to the same degree with enough effort. Maybe so for some, but these unrealistic expectations would be a clear set up for disappointment and frustration for most.
What happened to the week in the life posts? I wish they were posted every week!
Has anyone’s kid gotten an amoxicillin rash? About a week after my 15mo got put on antibiotics for strep, he broke out in an intense rash all over his body and face. We took him to the doctor and they diagnosed him (by sight, not with any tests) with hand foot and mouth, but he never had a fever or any other HFM symptoms. And he doesn’t have sores on his mouth or hands. But he looks EXACTLY like the photos of kids online with amoxicillin rash (apparently it’s not an allergic reaction, just a rash that sometimes happens). Now I wonder if I should take him back to the doctor for a second opinion (the diagnosis matters because if he has HFM he should stay home from daycare longer, but if it’s amoxicillin rash he can go back).
Can I be honest about the fact that I really don’t enjoy Mother’s Day? The hype ends up feeling like pressure and an expectation to be a certain way as a mom. Always sacrificing, always soft, always putting the children’s needs first. Which, I mostly do that, but I’m not always happy that it’s the expectation. I would like to be appreciated for more than one day a year, you know? If you’re struggling with parenting in general, it can feel so crappy to realize that your feelings about motherhood are complex and not always pretty, even though you love your child immensely. I don’t know; I feel like a mediocre mom on most days, and Mother’s Day is just a reminder of all my shortcomings and all the ways I fail every single day.
I’m barely making sense to myself, but I think my ultimate point is: No bouquet, gift or dinner makes up for the fact that motherhood is so, so hard. The holiday is sort of a cheap substitute for real, everyday appreciation. But I can’t actually admit that in person.
Hello moms. I posted on a neighborhood site for babysitters. I got a couple of responses. Any suggestions on how I should proceed with them? I was thinking I met with the teen and parent at a local Starbucks or have them come to the house for an informal in person interview. For a high school sophomore, I have no idea how much i should be offering as pay. Any advice? Suggestions?
Also is a 12-13 year old too young to babysit a 14 month old? Thanks in advance!
Talk to me about baby food. Did you make it or buy it? Are there certain ingredients you try to avoid? Do you send it to daycare and, if so, how much do you send?
My son is 8 months and I’m feeling clueless about this issue for some reason! Life was so much easier when he only needed milk.
This morning, I put on a white shirt with narrow, widely spaced black horizontal stripes, and came downstairs. My 3-year-old said “Mom, you look nice today!”
I said “thank you,” and she added “I like your shirt! It looks like a worksheet!”
A $50 bubble machine is a lot. Unless you are a professional bubble entertainer. These things are like $10 at target
Does anyone have any experience with Khan Academy for little kids (like K – 2?) A colleague said her daughter thought it was fun but she’s (by her own admission) kind of a Tiger Mom. My kid likes the educational iPad stuff they do at school but we currently don’t let him do that at home because it becomes a little obsessive. Thinking about trying some for the summer but was wondering if anyone had any advice.