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Updated: Apr 21, 2021 157 Comments · by

Makeup & Beauty Monday: Lavender Epsom Salt Soaking Solution

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Lavender Epsom Salt Soaking Solution

If you are lucky enough that your home has a tub, consider this soak for alleviating the tired-to-your-bones feeling after these long days. Running after a toddler all day, dealing with work stresses, not to mention just the stress that’s just in the air nowadays, my body aches at the end of the day. Even though I consider myself in a privileged position these days — I don’t work in any essential services and I’m certainly not a doctor or nurse — I am still relieved when the day ends. We all love our kids, but is there a sweeter feeling than when they’re tucked in for the night and you can just exhale? I really love the lavender scent, and the fact that it helps with calm and aids in feeling tired — and the epsom salt soothes muscles and skin. A three-pound bag is $4.89 at Target. Lavender Epsom Salt Soaking Solution

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About April

April is a working mom, a longtime reader of CorporetteMoms, and wrote our morning fashion advice for working moms from April 2018 to October 2020. She has one child (born 2/17!) and she’s a public interest lawyer in NYC.

Comments

  1. Cb says

    Does anyone have a storage solution for scooter + balance bike in a small flat? We have bike storage in the stairwell but it’s cumbersome to access and my son’s been biking 2x a day since he got his bike last week. But if I keep tripping over the bike on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I may cry. Is there some sort of hook I could mount it on? Not requiring an elegant solution, just a practical one.

  2. Chores for a 5 year old? says

    I’m looking for some chores for my soon to be 5 year old. Feeding the dog, sweeping/swiffer/dry mop the floor, set the table, clear her place at the table, make her bed, put her clothes away are things we’ve thought about; any other suggestions?

    • Cb says

      Watering plants? Loading clothes into washer and moving them to dryer? I always have my son help me with these.

    • anne-on says

      Help clean up toys/books at the end of the day? +1 to helping to load clothes into the washer/dryer. She may not be the *best* at folding now, but maybe have her ‘help’ you fold and then ‘help’ put away clothes (you hand them sorted stacks of all the socks, all the pants, etc. to put away).

      • Cb says

        On the putting away clothes, I’ve put picture labels on the boxes and that seems to help my son grasp where things go a bit better.

    • GCA says

      Wash the non-breakable dishes? (I don’t like putting the kids’ plastic ones in the dishwasher because we seem to have a hard water/ white residue problem, so we just hand wash those. Pre-K kid can soap and rinse them if he stands on a step stool at the sink.)

    • Knope says

      Helping you sort clothes for folding – make a pile of the shirts, pants, etc. Match the socks and put them in a ball.

    • CPA Lady says

      5 years should be able to do a passable job at folding their own clothes. My kid can do it. She’s not going to medal in the folding olympics, but it gets the job done. She can also sort the laundry into piles by color.

      She also helped wash our cars yesterday. That is novel enough that she thinks its a fun new game. And there is so much pollen right now that we could do it every! single! day!

    • octagon says

      Wiping down the bathroom sink.
      If you have a stainless steel fridge, wiping it down.
      Do you have a hand vacuum? If so, vacuuming the couch/under couch cushions.
      Stripping sheets/pillowcases from beds when it’s time to change them.

    • Anonymous says

      fold and/or put away laundry and/or sort socks. Vacuum. Wash windows. Sweep. pick up toys. pick up dog poop, sticks, acorns etc. in the yard. feed any animals. make beds.

      My 6 y/o does tons of stuff. I just don’t allow her to use bleach type cleaning products.

    • Beth @ Parent Lightly says

      My kids are doing these things (5 & 8):
      Wipe down kitchen table, kitchen counters, coffee table and their bathroom counters
      Clean toilet (5 year old needs a little supervision)
      Vacuuming (they don’t do the best job but it’s better than nothing and they like it.)
      Pick up toys, shoes and coats
      Feed dog
      Set table, clear table
      Empty dishwasher (anything that goes low enough they can reach)
      Bring dirty clothes down to laundry room
      Bring clean clothes upstairs and put away (not the tidiest but I don’t care!)
      Dusting
      Empty small trash cans
      Put new trash bag in large trash can after grown up empties it
      Make bed
      Sweep
      Fold small dish towels

      They do maybe 30 minutes of chores a day total right now while they’re out of school, plus a short “4 pm cleanup” to tidy up from the day.

  3. anon says

    My department at work has been having weekly check-in calls. This week we were supposed to switch to zoom. I was apparently the only person who dialed in via audio only this morning, and when big boss said something passive aggressive, I just decided to have no filter and flat out said, “I am breastfeeding right now. I am not turning on video.” There was this awkward silence and he muttered something and moved on.

    Victory? I guess?

    • Lily says

      Sure, I guess, but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to have a weekly check in call with your team via Zoom. Your boss obviously think it is important for you all to see each other face-to-face once a week. I totally understand that breastfeeding is difficult to juggle with work, but presumably you could schedule breastfeeding around the check-in call, just as you would if it were a client call. Based on the information you provided here, you sound difficult.

      • AnonLaywer says

        Most of us pay daycare so we don’t have to try to “schedule” breastfeeding around client calls either. Sorry, my baby is not interested in my schedules and I am currently feeding her on all sorts of audio calls.

        • Anon says

          +1 seriously wtf to this comment. We are all doing the best we can right now without the normal support we have

      • Janelle says

        Ok, agree that we cannot schedule breastfeeding around calls or that we should have to, but I am not sure I understand why you would be rude about it. I am guessing there is more to it, but based on just the information you provided, your response was obnoxious. Your boss didn’t know you were breastfeeding so why would you treat them like they should have known?

        It sounds like you just said that for the shock value and to embarrass your boss. But why? I don’t think that furthers the goal of normalizing breastfeeding and like it or not, your coworkers on your call are going to remember that you did this. So I guess if that’s something you’re happy about, then that is good, but I would not want that. And I am pro breastfeeding anywhere and everywhere, but I think we can have a little professionalism about it. For me in this situation, I would have just let whatever passive aggressive comment my boss made go. Who cares?

        • Anon says

          There is nothing unprofessional about breastfeeding or explaining that’s the reason you aren’t participating. Her boss was calling her out for not participating, she explained why she wasn’t. Do you also think it’s unprofessional for women with glass offices to close their blinds when pumping because…it’s unprofessional for people to know you’re breastfeeding?

        • anon says

          Janelle – I think you are way off base. Not the OP here.

          “I am breastfeeding. I am not turning on video” is direct and relevant statement of fact. Breastfeeding is a very good reason to be offscreen, and she had to let them know. I don’t think women need to dance around the realities of motherhood. In normal circumstances, I need to pump through out the workday. Now, I need to nurse throughout the workday. I don’t hide that. I should have been in a jury trial this week. I would have absolutely said to the judge, “I am a nursing mother and will need to take pumping breaks every X hours.” No dancing around it.

          In fact, we need to be upfront because other people (reasonably) forget that. Her boss now realizes that there are legitimate reasons for people to be unseen and/or muted during calls. As for letting the passive aggressive comment go, that would be a mistake. He was judging her negatively when she is actually being an exceptional employee – nursing her child while attending a call during a pandemic. Good that he knows. If she stayed silent, it would have harmed her more.

          • Janelle says

            I guess…I hear you and am on board everything you’re saying, but your description of what happened is way more reasonable than OP’s. To me it sounded like she responded to her boss in a rude way and for the shock value, not because she was directly stating a relevant fact. Perhaps I read that wrong, or maybe there is more to the story and some background information that means her boss deserved that kind of response?

            We’re all mothers here, so we’ve all had to deal in one way or another with something like this, but using it as a way to make someone else embarrassed is not cool. Totally agree that we don’t need to hide this stuff, would never expect anyone to, and actively encourage openness about all things mothering, including pumping and breastfeeding. Just saying you’re undermining the effort if you’re rude about it.

        • Anon says

          It’s not rude! It was an explanation for why she wasn’t on video. And a perfectly valid explanation at that.

      • Anon says

        I disagree – keeping to schedules are important for lactating moms. When I was pumping, I regularly told people, I can’t have a meeting at such and such time, that’s my pumping time. Why is this different? Participating in a call on audio only seems a lot less disruptive than insisting the call be rescheduled or declining to participate.

        • AnonLaywer says

          You can pump on a schedule but that doesn’t mean the person who has your pumped milk is feeding the baby on a precise schedule. (I know some babies are more amenable to this than others, but not all babies are going to stick to a schedule. Or at least you’re not going to get them to without a lot more disruption to the call than would result from feeding them.).

          • AnonLaywer says

            SA. Oh sorry, I think I misread your commenet to be in support of scheduling feeding around the meeting.

          • Anon says

            Yeah I was saying if this is her normal pumping time then it’s fine to skip a meeting held at that time, and attending without video is less disruptive than skipping the meeting or asking for it to be rescheduled.

    • Anonanonanon says

      HAHAHAHAAHAHAHHA I loved this. amazing. thank you for sharing, and good for you!

    • Pogo says

      I actually find the video pretty distracting for focused business calls. We only turn it on for virtual coffee breaks/happy hours and it’s mostly a joke, we end up putting up the fake backgrounds and laughing about that. Especially on a team call with a bunch of people, why do you need to see everyone anyway??

      • Anonanonanon says

        I actually wish we did video calls sometimes. I’m finding it harder and harder to focus on calls since I don’t have to visibly look like I’m paying attention.

        • Pogo says

          Most of my calls are collaborative, looking at a spreadsheet or presentation together or working down an action log. I agree if I’m just listening for informational purposes it’s hard not to multitask, but that goes for meetings in the office as well.

      • Anonymous says

        Due to geographic separation and agile offices, my org was doing a lot of calls/zoom even before the pandemic. My boss is adamant about video, and most of the time I kind of like it. I find it easier to pay attention if I see the person talking rather than just listening to a disembodied voice. Plus, I like to have faces to go with names! I’ve never met some of the people I work with in person.

  4. anon says

    My daughter is starting kindergarten this fall. I admittedly have just been letting preschool get her “kindergarten ready.” We read at home a lot and do artwork, but I haven’t done much else. However, now that she’s out of preschool for who knows how long, what should I realistically be doing at home? I went on Pinterest and nearly cried from frustration because everything is really hands-on (duh) and I am not sure how to make that work while I’m working.

    I feel guilty because we also have a kid in elementary, so all our academic energy and focus has gone into making sure he’s keeping up.

    (As an aside, what we are doing now — working, homeschooling, parenting — is really not sustainable. The depths of my despair this weekend were really something. I just don’t know how long I can realistically do this.)

    • Anonymous says

      Nothing. Literally nothing. Keep her healthy, let her play outside, read to her at bedtime. Kindergarten readiness is an age-inappropriate scam do not fall victim to it.

      • Redux says

        PREACH! We crossed off our list any daycare that said it promoted “kindergarten readiness.” As a former early childhood educator, I was like What? That is meaningless.

    • Anonymous says

      Also a preschool kiddo at home. But she’s an Oct. birthday so will start kindergarten in 2021. We’ve just been trying to play games or do stuff to help her remember her numbers and letters. We’ve played countless games of Uno and some alphabet bingo. I wish she’d do more writing, but she has been resisting, and we’re not pushing it at the moment. As long as she can still recognize them, I’m hopeful that writing them will come back quickly.

      • Anonymous says

        Idk why anyone is worried about writing before kindergarten. Y’all know none of us knew how. It’s fine. Kids that age need love, play, and exposure to language.

          • Anonymous says

            We started kindergarten at age 4.5 or 5. Thanks to earlier cutoff dates and redshirting, kids are now starting at 5.5 or 6. They should definitely be reading and writing by that age.

            I had to pass a reading and writing test to enter full-day kindergarten in the early ’80s, so reading and writing is definitely not a new expectation.

          • Anon says

            Just to ease some anxiety here, I think this varies by state/district. My school district has become really strict about not allowing red shirting except I’m assuming under extreme circumstances, so maybe that’s part of it, but my son is in kindergarten and it was not the norm for kids in his class to be reading heading in. He certainly wasn’t, and now that we are near the end he is right where he should be with it.

            I’m in CA. I will say though that I was taking with a friend from my home state and it seemed like the expectations there were different, so it can vary.

          • Anon says

            Also, Anon at 10:29…when you mention the tests you had to pass, did you go to a private school? I don’t think public schools can deny kids entrance based on ability like that, especially for something that understandably a lot of 5ish year olds can’t do yet. But I’m sure if I’m wrong someone in here will let me know!

          • Anonymous says

            +1 to 10:35 that this varies by state and district. There is no expectation in my school district that kids are reading before entering kindergarten. They do a few dozen sight words in K, but phonics is first grade.

          • Anon says

            Echoing that it varies by school and district. School starts in early August here and the birthday cutoff date is in November, so quite a few children enter kindergarten at age 4 and those who are “red-shirted” are typically still 5 when they start. The average kindergarten age was actually older in my kindergarten class (cutoff August 1, so everyone was 5 and the redshirted summer birthdays – yes, it was common even in the 90s, at least in my hometown – were 6). Reading is not expected to enter K in our public schools. They formally learn to read in first grade. Quite a few kids are reading at “Hop on Pop” level by the end of kindergarten, but I don’t know many who entered K reading more than a handful of sight words. Don’t stress OP!

    • Anonanonanon says

      You have a kid in elementary so you’ll be fine. Also, all the other kids are in the same boat, don’t worry! I always thought the main value of preschool for kindergarten readiness was teaching kids that they have to wait until the designated lunch/snack times to eat, have to stay in their chair while they eat, learn how to be quiet during rest time (not that I or my children ever learned that) etc. Basically, classroom behavior. Maybe that’s something you can do? I know it’s hard while we’re trying to keep kids quiet while we’re on calls and sometimes the only way they will is if we hand them goldfish on the couch.

    • Anonymous says

      I wouldn’t do anything special. Maybe have the older kid play school with the little one, if they’re both into it and need new play ideas.

    • Jessamyn says

      Honestly, she will be fine no matter what you do. Kinder teachers are used to bringing in kids who have never been in any organized school and whose parents did nothing to prepare them. Your kid is already way ahead of the curve.

    • Io says

      Get Tiny Polka Dot and Blah Blah Blah and have the elementary kid play with the preschooler (basically you get War and Uno, but with numeral/numbers and letter recognition) teaching will give your older a big confidence boost, solidify academic skills and improve soft skills like patience, kindness, empathy, responsibility. Kill a bunch of birds with one stone. (And look for fun cooperative games too: Race to the Treasure, Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, Stack Up)

    • Spirograph says

      Try not to feel guilty or worry about this at all; kindergarten readiness is about behavior, not academics. She will be fine, and to the extent that this period out of school will impact her, it will impact all her future classmates the exact same way, and the teachers will be ready for it.

      That said, I mentioned a couple weeks ago that maintaining the basic structure of preschool with 15 minutes of “circle time” in the morning and then hour-ish blocks of time for centers and outdoor play helps us stay sane. We also got some letter tracing handwriting workbooks for my kids — the first grader actually needs to practice handwriting, but my rising K daughter just likes it. She’ll trace a few pages independently, then color the picture of airplane/bicycle/cat, and that’s “School”

      I’m right there with you on feeling bewildered and upset and this work-parent-homeschool situation is completely unsustainable. No advice, but you’re not alone.

    • Anon says

      I think every other kid is in the same boat and kindergarten readiness standards will be more relaxed this year.

    • Anon says

      What about having her write letters to her friends? Mine (same age) did that and it’s been good practice to keep up her writing. She did all caps and it wasn’t pretty but we were still exercising that muscle, which is good I think?

      Eager to hear others suggestions too.

    • Quail says

      Just here to commiserate. My son (also starting K in the fall) clearly misses the structure, challenge, and socialization of his full-day preschool and there’s no way we can replicate that. He can’t read enough to do worksheets or anything like that independently. TV makes him irritable and craving more, and its hard to keep his attention for FaceTime/virtual playdates/meetups. And he always wants us to play with him during his endless imaginative play. (He has a baby sister who is 6 months old, so not useful for a playmate yet, at least for fighting the bad guys as knights or taking the rocket to space…he does like pretending to be a baby with her, though, lol). Breaks my heart to have to keep saying no, I’m working. It’s totally unsustainable.

    • Anonymous says

      I also have a preK at home and have some of the same thoughts although honestly my bigger worry is social/emotional development, which was our mail goal in preschool. At least all the kindergarteners will be in the same boat? Despite commenter below saying all kids “should” be reading and writing by 5.5-6, I pretty strongly disagree. I know I refused to learn to read till first grade and that was pretty much the norm in my class in the 80s. We are trying to read a ton together, continue playing letter games and word games as we have always done, counting and number/pre math as part of everyday activities like always, make sure there is some kind of music daily, spend as much time outside as work allows, and try really hard to do some kind of fine motor activity every day like drawing or cutting so he doesn’t lose those. That’s pretty much it. Our kiddo likes to write so he does that nonstop without prompting but not pushing anything else. He’s spending most of the day playing with little brother and that’s just fine.

      • SC says

        We held our son back from pre-K this year to give him another year for social/emotional development. He’s still not ready for pre-K and will likely not have any classroom time for the next 6 months. We are also trying to find a pre-K to enroll him in (hopefully) in the fall. Our school district only has a pre-K option for underprivileged kids and special needs kids (ours would likely qualify, but the evaluation process has been put on hold, and applications are due next week). We applied to several private preschools in our area, and he didn’t get in to any of them because of his behavioral issues. We’re trying to find something else that will work, but all the schools are closed.

    • anon says

      DD didn’t even know all her letters when she started kindergarten. Yes, I was stressed out about it. No, it didn’t matter. She is now reading ahead of grade level (Gr 1). Kids learn to read when they learn, and the age doesn’t have any bearing on how they’ll do later.

  5. Anonymous says

    Baby screamed all the way through my 9 am call this morning… I do not know how we’re going to keep doing this.

    • Pogo says

      Big hugs. This weekend was so tough for us. You have to take it one day at a time and not think about all the possible days to come or it becomes overwhelming. If you get a chance/can sneak out, take a drive by yourself (or with baby if you have a baby who will sleep in the car) and just cry. That helped me yesterday (also, was the only way to get kiddo to fall asleep and I was about to lose it).

      • FVNC says

        This weekend WAS tough. The kids were okay, but the level of bickering and whining definitely intensified. I felt so depressed realizing that we couldn’t “just make it to Monday when we ship them off to school!” which has always been my way of coping during tough weekends.

        • lsw says

          Hugs to the OP and YES, this is my life. There is no respite. And so. much. bickering.

  6. Anonymous says

    I’m sick. And I’d be shocked if it isn’t Covid-19 – fever and cough. I’m not high risk, and it’s under control with Tylenol, so I’m not someone they’ll test at this point. That’s fine – I’m not complaining about not being tested. But I am frustrated because we’ve been sheltering at home for 3 weeks now even though my rural Midwest state doesn’t require it. I’ve gone to the grocery store once a week and been super careful. I WFH full time anyway. I suppose it is possible that DH or kiddo were an asymptomatic carrier instead of me picking it up when I was out. It’s just really frustrating to do everything right and still be sick. And I worry about keeping my family safe. Mainly I’m mentioning it here, because we’re not telling anyone until way after the fact unless absolutely necessary, and I feel the need to vent about it.

    • Pogo says

      ugh, that’s my nightmare – you do everything right and still get it. Hope you feel better soon.

      • Anonymous says

        Thanks. And I realize it could totally be something else. But I feel like no one in my family should be getting anything contagious right now!

    • Phlegm says

      I had a sinus infection that was heading towards sinus surgery that predates this coronavirus stuff. And I want to wear a signboard announcing “Sinus Infection + Allergies — the hacking and coughing is not “new or worsening””

    • anne-on says

      That stinks – I hope it stays mild and you start to feel better. I know you likely won’t be tested, but can you call into your doctor and see if they can have a standing prescription for a nebulizer and steroids for you placed? Our son has asthma so we’re stocked on his steroids and that seems to also be the main course of action for many adults.
      On the plus side – I kind of think a ‘mild’ case might not be the worst thing as it means you’re then immune and you might be less worried about catching it when it comes back next fall?

      • Realist says

        We stocked up on our kid’s asthma steroids too. But just FYI, the Lancet published something suggesting steroids are contraindicated for coronavirus. For our own child, we’re using the daily one at the regular level that keeps the asthma under control but I am wary to use the emergency one unless absolutely necessary (it is infrequently necessary in our situation). Hoping we can rely on the nebulizer and minimize use of steroids. Just wanted to let you know, you might want to talk to your child’s doctor to see if they have any recommendations. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a lot of evidence of much at this point, so even the preliminary info on steroids could be wrong.

    • Anon says

      Oh no, I hope you feel better. Were your husband or child interacting closely with other people in the last two weeks? I think it’s very common for children to be asymptomatic. It seems like the younger you are, the more mild the disease is (generally, there are of course exceptions).

    • Anon says

      Similar situation here, except less clear COVID symptoms. I’ve had bodyaches and nausea for three days. We’ve been home with the kids for three weeks. We’ve had no contact with anyone outside our home. I wear an N95 mask with proper fit to the grocery store once every ten days or so and change my clothes, shower, and wash my hair, and wipe down all grocery packages with Clorox wipes before bringing them into the house. I wash my hands constantly. I cross the street when approaching others on the sidewalk. So where the F did I pick this up? I was saying to a friend if this is COVID then we’re all screwed. I actually thought for a hot second that it’s more likely to be an oops pregnancy, which it’s definitely not. Sigh.

    • Anne says

      Ugh, I’m so sorry. This thing seems sooo contagious it seems impossible to know how/when. I’d start having your doctor call in prescriptions for the things you might need – nebulizer, that oxygen testing thing etc. now so that it’s available if you need it. I’m no expert but from what I’ve read it gets worse at day 5 for a lot of people who are able to ride it out at home so it’s better to get those things before then.

    • OP says

      Thanks everyone! Kiddo was in daycare through 3 weeks ago today. So it is possible she could have been exposed, become asymptomatic, and then passed it to me. Or DH at work too. My itchy throat started Thursday, but I assumed it was allergies, because I get/have allergies. But on Saturday afternoon the fever came on. The fever is getting better (after sweating through three sets of PJs last night), but not entirely gone. Still taking Tylenol for some rough body aches and joint pain. Hopefully this has been the worst of it, but I keep seeing 10 days and that it can get worse later (as noted above). Maybe it just started earlier and I didn’t realize it? Fingers crossed. Or it could just be something else! Looking forward to antibody tests down the road!

  7. Jessamyn says

    Can you all share any recommendations you have for under-$10 craft or art or activity kits that a 6 year old can do without help? The sticker book featured last week was awesome, so more along those lines would be great.

    We got the Melissa and Doug tape/cutting practice books, more of the sticker-puzzle books, and I just bought a bunch of new markers and paints for general art. We also typically like the Alex craft kids, though those can be more adult-necessary.

    Any other brands/sources y’all would recommend that I’m missing?

    • Pogo says

      There’s a M&D bracelet making kit I was eyeing but it seemed very girly, I wish it was more gender neutral (boys like making jewelry too??). It is available at Tarjay where I also had luck doing a ‘pick up in store’ order (meaning I just go to counter rather than having to walk through the store).

      I’m hesitant about shipping since a giant box of construction paper I ordered from Amaz0n got lost in the ether, and I feel awful complaining about it since we have an outbreak at our local UPS warehouse. I’m sure they’re just doing their best and it seems frivolous to order random kid art supplies if I can get them locally (somehow). Anyway, still can’t find construction paper anywhere locally so we’re doing without that.

      • Cb says

        I hear you on trying not to order random kids supplies online, I’m currently trying to barter for a pair of kid’s safety scissors in my neighbourhood facebook group. I’ve found a random supply of art paper and have had good luck cutting out photos from travel magazines for collages etc. Any sort of delivery boxes are repurposed as well.

    • Anonymous says

      Paper airplanes and origami can be good at that age, depending on your kid. We have a Dover easy origami book that is easy enough, and the Kid’s Paper Airplane Book was a big hit. It has pages you rip or cut out and fold up.

    • octagon says

      Slightly over $10, but I think 6 is a good age for latch hook, and you can get lots of different kits if it’s a hit.

    • a says

      My kids like Hidden Pictures. Highlights has them available in electronic form, if you are concerned about shipping or want them sooner.

    • lsw says

      The markers themselves are probably over $10 but I love the Do A Dot markers and coloring books.

    • A. says

      Water beads! Those things LAST and they come with approximately 1 bajillion to a package.

  8. Anon says

    Starting to think about my kid’s 6th birthday coming up. He’s really into the planets right now. Any specific gift recommendations for that interest? He’s not really into rockets or astronauts, just the planets. We already have a solar system puzzle and a bunch of books. Google search didn’t produce anything else super compelling, but thought I’d ask the wise folks here. (I can’t believe there aren’t Lego planet kits?? Just astronaut type ones or Star Wars as far as I can tell).

    • Cb says

      Ooh, what about one of those kits to make a hanging solar system? Cool PJs with planets on them.

    • Spirograph says

      Do you already have glow-in-the dark stars/planets to stick on his bedroom ceiling?

      • OP says

        Ha, I remember having those on my ceiling when I was growing up, and no one in my family ever had the energy to scrape them off so they stayed there forever. Forgot about that. I wonder if my parents sold the house with them still up there, lol?

        Maybe I can find easier to peel off ones. Or just get less lazy, ha.

        • Spirograph says

          Right?! I remember rearranging them with my siblings, but eventually the putty just kind of hardened into cement.

        • octagon says

          That reminds me of when DH and I moved into our first apartment. Exhausted from moving, we turned the light out and collapsed into bed. And…. STARS, all over the ceiling. We kept them there the whole time we lived there.

        • Anonanonanon says

          OMG yesss! Mine were on a POPCORN CEILING too. Oh lord what a nightmare.

    • Io says

      Planetarium that shines constellations on the ceiling?

      And at this point I’d spread out a bit. Get him something about geology (planet formation) or the elements. Something about NASA’s Mars Rover (a documentary?) Something about space exploration or understanding (I think there’s a picture book about Henrietta Swan Leavitt discovering star distances.)

      I was a kid with weird interests and sort of circling them was often the best my parents could do.

      • GCA says

        I chuckled at your username :) I also have a space-nut child (though we are really into rocket and space shuttle launches right now, so stomp rockets, Lego rocket kit, model space shuttle, etc. are big hits). But he would love a planetarium that shines constellations on the ceiling as well! We also got a NASA wall calendar for him. If geology is a thing, a crack-open geode kit is lots of fun. And Thekidshouldseethis.com has a link to a video series about the weather on each planet.

    • octagon says

      NASA has photos and posters that you can download, maybe frame a few for his room?

  9. Anon says

    Did you see Dr Fauci say that up to 50% of those infected may be asymptomatic?? This virus is crazy! (And I’m wondering if totally asymptomatic, or perhaps super mild symptoms that no one would think twice about? I had a mild dry cough/sore throat and occasional chest tightness for nearly a month Feb-March, and I would never assume it was Covid19 but I am in NY so maybe???) I am so interested in what we may discover when the antibody tests roll out and become broadly used. This also gives me huge hope that society can reopen the second half of this year and future outbreaks will not be nearly as catastrophic. Just some more speculating because that’s how I deal…

    • Anon says

      Yeah I think a lot of experts believe there are 5-10 as many cases as the number of confirmed cases, due to asymptomatic and very mild cases. But that’s still a very low percentage of the population. Even if 3 million people have been infected, that’s 1% of the population. You need over 50% for herd immunity.

    • Boston Legal Eagle says

      I feel like I would be one of those asymptomatic people, or with a really mild version. I did have a bad cough and then what I thought was a cold in late January so I may have had it then. Who knows. I was taking the train into the city at that point so entirely possible that I spread it. I hope there is a test for antibodies at some point soon!

    • Anon says

      Yeah reports out of China for a while have suggested there are either super spreaders (think Typhoid Mary) who are contagious for 45 days! or that all kids are getting it with zero symptoms. Scientists have gone Occam’s razor and just said the social tracing has huge gaps instead. But maybe? (No one knows where the flu goes every summer….)

      As a NYCer whose kid had a brutal cold in February and I had a sore throat the week before schools shut down (there are cough drops in my work bag!) I’m really looking forward to getting an antibody test. It would relieve so much anxiety if we had it or might make isolation easier if we haven’t. (It would make isolation easier if we have had it too! The anxiety is killer!)

    • Anonymous says

      I’m with you! DD had a persistent cough and fever in mid-February, before any documented cases in our area. Negative for flu. She ended up with mild pneumonia and recovered fine, but a few weeks later DH and I both had mild coughs with lingering sore throats. I said to him the other day that I am hoping that was all it was for us, but given that we don’t know, we are still taking all precautions. I feel awful that we might have been spreading it, but we could only act based on what we knew at the time!

    • Anonymous says

      I’m also hoping we had it already. In MoCo outside of DC and the first 3 weeks of March we had nasty bugs and lingering coughs. DD was the only one with fever. She was seen by the ped who said it might be Coronavirus but it was near impossible to get tested in MD at that point so…just treat with Tylenol.

    • SC says

      Yes. My husband’s father has been putting pressure on everyone to self-isolate for 2 weeks, and then everyone can see each other again! “Everyone” includes 5 families, for a total of 16 people. (Nobody else thinks this is a good idea.)

      Even if we all self-isolated for 2 weeks, I have seen no data suggesting that the virus runs its course in asymptomatic spreaders within 2 weeks. Before, the assumption was that within 2 weeks, you’d either be sick (and then go out once you’d recovered) or you could assume you didn’t have it. Now, testing would seem like the only way to determine if it’s safe to be around other people. But then you’d need, like, daily rapid tests.

      • Anonymous says

        Yeah, I feel like you’d need 28 days. 14 days as the longest incubation period to start being an asymptomatic spreader and then 14 days from then. But, really, if you have families living together, couldn’t family member one become asymptomatic on day 14, and then the next one 14 days later, and so on? I know it’s highly contagious, so most likely that exposure for everyone will occur around the same time, but I also don’t think you can rely on that.

  10. Night cream while pregnant? says

    How careful was everyone with cosmetics while pregnant? I’ve pretty much just being using moisturizer (hello WFH), but man, my skin is looking sad and tired these days. I wonder if a night cream would help, but I’m 24 weeks pregnant so I’m not sure what my options are, or even if they are any different than normal.

    • Anonanonanon says

      No retinol while pregnant, that’s the big no-no. Outside of that, everyone has varying levels of comfort with stuff.

      • Pogo says

        and no salicylic acid masks, for the same reason as no aspirin. But a toner with 0.5% SA is prob fine, just not a peel like youd get at a derm/spa.

    • Doodles says

      I’m pregnant and haven’t really changes up cosmetics or shampoos. I sorta did with my first pregnancy but not with this one. I use Burt’s Bees night cream and like it. And the Neutrogena Hydro Boost day moisturizer. I used both before pregnancy too. I also totally forgot to change deodorant to a natural one (I always hated natural ones since they never work) and freaked out about it a little last month. I’m 30 weeks now.

      • AnonATL says

        I too am pregnant and like the hydro boost gel. I think they make a heavier duty product that might be good for night use.
        The cerave cream is nice and thick, but it has parabens in it (pretty sure) and some people avoid those.
        I was using some aveeno products the first half of my pregnancy, and they were fine but kinda meh. Most of those fall into pregnancy safe other than the “youth” products which have retinol type ingredients you can’t use.

    • Realist says

      There are a lot of natural lines of you want to try something, like 100% Pure. I would think anything you are safe to eat could also go on your skin if you want to DIY something with stuff around the kitchen and Google recipes.

      • Anonanonanon says

        Oh yea. I did stop using chemical sunscreen but I shifted the whole family to that and continued after pregnancy.

    • anon says

      I stopped wearing all makeup, but it’s been 12 years and I never went back so it’s possible that I just hate makeup.

    • anon says

      Check out the blog 15 Min Beauty. There are tons of posts about pregnancy safe skincare.

    • Anonymous says

      My derm gave me a glycolic acid cream that is pregnancy safe. I’ve also been using Ilia products which have squalane or something that seems to help? I’ve struggled to find a good moisturizer and cleanser as my old ones had chemical sunscreens and/or salicylic acid, which I’d like to stop using. I just ordered the neutrogena hydro boost to try.

  11. Annonny says

    What factors did you consider in deciding if your baby was ready to sleep train, besides age? I feel like my 4 mo old is ready but I was hoping to wait until he’s rolling and he’s not yet. Waking up almost every hour every night is killing me though . . .

    • Anon says

      Weight. How big is he or she? I’m sort of making this up but I feel like hitting around 15 lbs meant they were up for it.

      • Annonny says

        I think he’s about 17 lbs. We still swaddle, too. I’m thinking I’ll just rip the band-aids off all at once and stop swaddling and sleep train together. Is that too much? Maybe I’m overthinking it but we didn’t sleep train my other kid until 6.5 months so I’m nervous about doing it earlier.

        • Anon says

          so i have twins. one was sleeping through the night by 4 months and the other took until 5.5 months when she just finally stopped waking up to eat. we were lucky though in that neither of them ever woke up every single hour, except the two nights after we switched from the swaddle to the sleep sack, the one who took longer to sleep through the night woke up like every 1.5 hours. other than that, she generally did not have trouble falling or staying asleep (we had some off nights, but overall) then she adjusted to the sleep sack, but continued to wake up once a night to eat and then she grew out of it. She was smaller at birth and in the nicu (other one wasn’t) so i had a lot of trouble with the idea of not feeding her if she was hungry

    • anon says

      I sleep train when it seems like the baby’s night feeds are fairly light.

      On the other side of sleep training. My baby went from 8pm to 7am without a peep last night! I feel amazing. DO IT.

  12. Anon says

    I stopped nursing almost 8 months ago now. My breasts still feel weirdly hard and heavy in the middle. The outsides are soft but if I push down from the top or up from the bottom I can feel a lot of hardness. It feels sort of like a clogged duct felt (I got them ALL the time when I was nursing) but more uniformly distributed and not as painful or as hard. Both breasts feel pretty much the same so I’m not worried it’s the c word, but it’s uncomfortable and I’m starting to wonder if it will ever go away. The pain is worse at the start of my period. Did anyone experience this? Did it go away eventually?

    • Anonymous says

      You may just have dense tissue (a lot of women do?) and the rest of the area got stretched out. That’s my hypothesizing. One OB told me that random twinges of pain there aren’t uncommon, especially around your period. Maybe a more supportive bra would help? But my experience is my milk went away very quickly after DD (nursed for 14m, down to one feeding/day when weaned). B**asts were a little saggy for a few months but then regained tissue. Not sure how they’ll recover this time around after EBF DS!

      • Anon says

        Thankfully no, I have my period now. I’ve always had mildly sore breasts at the start of my period so that’s nothing new, but it feels like they’re harder and denser in the center than they were before. Perhaps I’m just more aware of it because I got so used to feeling myself up for clogs and massaging out clogs when I was nursing.

        • Pogo says

          Hm, yeah it is possible they just changed forever. I know what you mean as I got clogs all the time too. I definitely noticed in my 2nd pregnancy they felt super full and heavy VERY early so that’s why I had to mention it! I don’t think I was as consistent in feeling myself up after I weaned, I’d check in a month maybe and see if anything is different? Or if you feel like a specific lump. That’s the only time I’d worry.

  13. Anonymous says

    My kindergartener said sadly today that she’s not sure the Easter bunny will come because of the coronavirus. I thought she might be worried about social distancing, but it turns out that it’s because the leprechaun didn’t come on St Patrick’s day, so “everything must be cancelled.”

    Ladies, a leprechaun has NEVER come to our house. I do usually do silly things like make the kids’ milk green and buy lucky charms or green donuts and I didn’t do that this year- I just up and forgot in all the chaos. I suspect seeing friends set leprechaun traps made my kiddo think we had a leprechaun, too.

    BUT! I have an out. One of my other kids suggested that perhaps the leprechaun DID come, and did something so sneaky and tricky that they hadn’t found it yet. This is now the working theory. I now need some kind of sneaky idea where we can happen to find this sneaky thing before Easter. DH and I are just so fried we can’t think of anything. While typing this out, I realized if i could get some chocolate coins and hide them somewhere and tie it to a thing of some kind (tying all their summer clothes together in the bottom drawers they never look in?) it might work.

    Any other ideas?

    • Anonymous says

      I think whatever the leprechaun did should be so incredibly sneaky and well hidden that it requires the kids to clean and organize all their drawers and toy bins. Perhaps so sneaky that it takes until Christmas to find it.

      • Anon says

        +1. Make it somewhere they haven’t cleaned yet, like behind the books on their bookshelf or at the bottom of a bin of toys. Once you hide it, then you can announce “hey guys, we’re going to start cleaning up around here!” and make sure to clean a different spot or two before you hit the targeted bookshelf. You get a cleaner house (and maybe they’ll clean another spot to see if the leprechaun left more items!) and an explanation for why it took so long. “The leprechaun probably was trying to leave it somewhere you haven’t touched recently to keep from getting sick himself!”

        If that works, you can do something similar from the Easter Bunny and say the leprechaun must have Facetimed the bunny and passed on his tricks.

    • Cb says

      Play her the clip from the NZ PM on the Easter Bunny to reassure her. I wonder if you put them in a pair of shoes they haven’t worn? Or a school bag they haven’t opened?

      • Anonymous says

        We actually were thinking of backpacks since those have sat unopened since 3/13. Or summer clothes which are in the bottom of the dresser. Love the spring shoe idea too. If I can find gold coins :).

    • Anon says

      i like your idea! and i like how creative yoru kids are! if you are stressed about trying to find gold coins, perhaps you could print out pictures of gold chocolate coins and attach them to a baggie with a different treat (if you do one that is not chocolate, you could include a note saying that the leprechaun thought it might take a while to find and didn’t want it to melt?) are you planning on easter baskets or whatever you normally do for the easter bunny?

    • Anonymous says

      Tell them that the leprechaun planted some random patch of clover in your yard. They just hadn’t looked outside yet.

  14. Anon says

    My 2+ year old son has started hitting quite frequently over the past couple weeks since we’ve been home. We redirect him, say things like “we don’t hit” and read little Dinos don’t hit, but I feel like nothing is working. For the most part, he hits when he’s angry, but other times it will be totally out of the blue.

    Any other tricks to save our sanity? I don’t want to remember this time and only recall getting hit all the time.

    • Anonymous says

      We tried to be very Janet Landsbury with our older child (“I won’t let you hit me,” redirect, etc) and it just really did not work for him. We let it go on way too long (till almost age 4 we were getting hit daily) and the only thing that eventually worked was consistent, instantaneous, long time outs in his crib or later room.

  15. anon says

    What’s everybody doing for Easter baskets? I didn’t have my ish together before getting quarantined so everything needs to be available via Target or Walmart pickup. And after spending way too much time on the Target app, I can confirm that the website is terrible for general browsing.

    • Anonymous says

      Same as always–candy and useful or somewhat useful things in pretty spring colors. For little kids, Target’s Sun Squad brand has some really cute coordinating trowels, gardening gloves, sun hats, and rainboots. A big basket of pompoms, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, fancy papers, washi tape, and popsicle sticks could keep them busy for a while. For older kids, a hand lettering book and brush markers.

    • Anonymous says

      Some books with CDs. Kiddo will do them herself, which is a big plus right now. And a CD player for her room. Not sure we’d normally do the player, but our only other CD player is the blu ray player, and it is a PIA. We need something kiddo can use herself.

    • SC says

      I just placed an order with Target this morning and picked it up during my lunch break. There were no delivery slots in the next 2 days, the website won’t let you schedule delivery further out than that, and shipping options wouldn’t arive by Sunday. The pickup system at my local Target was OK but not great. They had a line with chalk marks for social distancing, but then the employees were too close to the shoppers, and there was no way besides showing your license or phone for them to verify the order.

      Anyways, I bought a basket, some plastic eggs,candy, a chocolate bunny, a few Pete the Cat books, and a Pez dispenser. The Easter bunny may also bring a Lego set I’ve had sitting in the closet. We’ll hide the eggs and do an Easter egg hunt at home since we didn’t get to do a community one this year. My Target was out of egg dying kits, but I think I have some tablets left over from last year… somewhere.

      • In House Lobbyist says

        We just dyed eggs tonight with hot water, vinegar and food coloring and it worked great.

    • Anonanonanon says

      Only got what I could get in time from amazon, slipped our minds with everything going on.
      Got younger one some new puzzles, got older son a lego kit, got the only eggs that could get here in time which have wind up little ducks inside and will hide those around the house. Didn’t get an egg dye kit but that’s fine, I think the kids will be OK with it.
      Will have our traditional easter late lunch/early dinner of ham (this year just a ham steak, that’s what we have), mac and cheese, and biscuits. I might make a cake or something too so it feels fancy. I didn’t get any easter candy this year. Older kid is old enough to understand why things are different right now, younger one won’t even notice.

    • anon says

      The Barnes & Noble near me had good contactless delivery. It was very easy to order books and toys based on what was in stock at the store and then pick it up the same day. We are going to repurpose some random other baskets we have around the house.

    • Anon says

      I stocked up pre-lockdown. Some fun candy for each of us, coloring books, some new little people and an easter themed book – all hiding in a box on our dining room table since a 2YO doesn’t know to go looking and DH only passes through our dining room (we eat in the kitchen normally).

    • RR says

      I ordered from Target via Instacart, which hopefully will actually deliver. I just did basic candy, and then I ordered a craft kit for each of them from Amazon to round it out. My older two would understand, but we have to have something for the 6 year old.

    • Anon says

      Scholastic Book Clubs has a pop-up shop right now where they’ll ship straight to your house. I ordered a bunch of books from there, some egg candy and a stuffed bunny from Target pickup, and several of the art kits listed above. Whatever arrives in time will be part of the Easter basket, the rest will be used to get us through the rest of the school year.

    • Beth @ Parent Lightly says

      Shout out to my husband for thinking of this last week and adding a bunch of Easter candy + extra Easter baskets to our Target pickup order. Thank goodness he thought of this because I would have waited until Thursday.

  16. Easter Dinner says

    What’s everyone doing for easter dinner? Normally we host, have a big party and do a ham, turkey, all the sides. This year, obviously not (if we did we’d need a bunch of extra dishes for all the sides of covid). Since it’s just three of us and two of us don’t like ham, I think I’ve settled on a stuffed pork tenderloin – I have the pork and goat cheese and just need to figure out what else to stuff it with (maybe butternut squash and apple? (both of which I have – and no fresh herbs to be found). Probably a side of cheese potatoes of some kind (maybe scalloped) and corn and asparagus.

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