Make My Life Easier Thursday: No-Tie Shoelaces System
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If your kids aren’t quite ready for tying their shoes, this brilliant no-tie system makes any shoe a slip-on.
This no-tie system works for all types of shoes and sizes, including adult styles. The elastic, no-tie laces adjust to your foot, and the lace anchor locks them securely in place. Available in nearly three dozen colors, they’ll match any shoe.
Xpand’s No-Tie Shoelaces System is under $10 on Amazon.
Sales of note for 2/14/25 (Happy Valentine’s Day!):
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase — and extra 60% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + 15% off (readers love their suiting as well as their silky shirts like this one)
- Boden – 15% off new season styles
- Eloquii – 300+ styles $25 and up
- J.Crew – 40% of your purchase – prices as marked
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site and storewide + extra 50% off clearance
- Rothy’s – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Flash sale ending soon – markdowns starting from $15, extra 70% off all other markdowns (final sale)
I got a letter of expectation from my employer. My understanding is that it’s a precursor to a PIP which is a precursor to termination. Some of their complaints are valid (I’m not as productive as I could be) but some of what they wrote is bonkers (they said I didn’t do certain things that I was asked to do, but they never asked me).
Is this something people come back from, or is more like a PIP where you should treat it like paid severance and focus on job searching?
At my first job, we got an annual COLA plus a separate merit increase based on performance. Now my husband and I get “merit increases” that don’t even keep pace with inflation. I just discovered that my internet bill is going up by 15 percent next month. Someone tell me how inflation is being caused by “too many dollars” and “wages that are too high”? It seems to me obviously to be caused by limited availability of goods and services and market power imbalances between producers and consumers. Limiting wage growth isn’t going to stop inflation. We need to break up the monopolies and oligopolies and stop companies from artificially limiting production. It’s absolute BS that there are no cars available to purchase right now, for example. It’s not because of factors beyond the car companies’ control. It’s because the companies realized during COVID that they could charge exorbitant prices for cars nobody really wanted because there were no other options. Now they act like you would be lucky if they allowed you to purchase a different model than the one you want for 75% more than it cost five years ago.
has anyone visited legoland NY? thinking about going this summer and i was looking at the website last night and it looks like to visit the water park part you have to make a reservation? and being able to make a reservation requires purchasing their version of a ‘fast pass’? why must everything be disney version/level of complication. i visited lego land san diego when it first opened in the late 90s (like literally the first week it opened and half the rides werent working properly), but haven’t been back to any lego land since. i will have two 7 year olds with me. i was thinking this is kind of our last year to do it because then they will age out? thoughts? tips? worth a visit?
Anyone have a favorite jogger that is substantial enough to wear outside on a cold winter day? I have fleece lined leggings that do the trick, but wanting to vary my “soft pants” game. I have cozy sweatpants, but don’t like wearing those out of the house.
Is it feasible to deplane, customs, pick up bags, and be at hotel (Shoreditch) in 3 hours, if we land at 7am? No kids.
I am the poster below but wanted to start a separate thread for another question: What do the parents in your preschool do for Teacher Appreciation Week in April? Do they do something for the teachers every day that week?
I am on our Preschool Advisory Committee and we are organizing a lunch for the teachers during their in-service day. We usually have parents sign up to make a dish and bring it in, but this time we will also include an option to contribute cash to cater part of the meal. What is the most appropriate way to collect money from parents? Can I share my personal Venmo handle so they can just Venmo me the $, or is there a better way?
My husband’s step-grandfather died and there’s a funeral on Monday. There’s a visitation on Sunday and a funeral on Monday. We have a three year old, who visited grandma and step-grandfather’s house probably once a week or so. Grandma and step-grandfather got together in the last 10-15 years but never married. They’ve been together a long time, but all kids and grandkids were adults, and the families don’t blend that much, so it’d be nice to have all of us there, but our presence is not demanded.
The other issue is that step-grandfather was very well known in the community so I am expecting both events to be packed. Like, take an hour to get through the visitation line packed.
Do we take her to both? Just the visitation, because at least we can walk around a bit? Do we try to go and then leave if the kid is acting up? Do we plan on doing daycare that day and just go ourselves?
I just picked my kid up and the playground is COVERED with trash – candy wrappers, crisp bags – disgusting. Am I being that parent if I don my gloves, my litter picker, and passive agressively litter pick the playground next week? I think there is an issue with seagulls in the bins but my son tells me kids do just drop the wrappers as well.
I know there are plenty of divorced moms out there, but I hardly ever see discussions of coparenting and custody agreements in the spaces I read. I’d love to get a general idea of what might come up, so I can get ahead of it; not legal advice, just the kind of thing I see with reading about potty training and daycare schedules here.
Any suggestions for online spaces? Anyone here up for sharing the logistics of their custody agreement? TIA!
Cross posted on the main site since this is maybe a bit of an older kid thing: Planning to throw a scavenger hunt party for DD’s 10th birthday. She wants to invite 12 girls, so likely teams of 4. And we’re doing photo and video challenges around the neighborhood (there will be driving). Has anyone thrown a scavenger hunt party before? Any tips? We’re going to end at our house and give awards and have pizza and cake. I’m thinking it’s a three hour party. This is a higher degree of difficulty than I’m used to so would love any wisdom!
We haven’t had a full week of daycare in over a month and I’m losing it. (Illness, Christmas, New Years, Carter’s memorial, now illness and next week is MLK day). Aaaaah.
I’m taking my kids (11 &14) to Paris in June. My oldest has Celiac’s, so I either need to stay somewhere that has a gluten free breakfast available or be able to make some of our own food. Does anyone have a recommendation for an AirBnB in Paris? Preferably centrally located so that we can go back for lunch, if need be.