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Sweater dresses are a staple in my winter wardrobe. So, I was delighted to find out that I could wear a sweater dress in the summer!
This sleeveless sweater dress from Ann Taylor can go from the office to WFH to brunch. This midi-length dress is made from a stretchy, ribbed cotton blend and features a flattering V-neck, self-tie belt, and button front. I’d keep the accessories simple — maybe a fun silk scarf, low-heeled sandals, and a bold cuff.
The dress is $149 for “Sail Cloth” (beige) or $109.88 for “Molten Lava” (a bright red/orange). When you add it to your cart, it comes down to $75 and $38.46 (final sale), respectively. It’s available in regular sizes XXS–XXL and petite sizes XXS–XL.
Sales of note for 3.28.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50-70% off everything plus extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off 2+ items; 40% off 1
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles
- Lands’ End – 10% off your order
- Loft – 50% off everything
- Nordstrom: Give $150 in gift cards, earn a $25 promo card (ends 3/31)
- Talbots – 40% off 1 item; 25% off everything else
- Zappos – 37,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – 50% off entire site
- Hanna Andersson – 30% off all swim; up to 30% off HannaJams
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 40% off sitewide; 50% off select swim; 50% off kids’ styles
- Old Navy – 50% off Easter deals
- Target – 20% off Easter styles for all; up to 30% off kitchen & dining; BOGO 50% off shoes & slippers for the family;
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
fallen says
how do you keep your life fun post-kids? I feel like post-kids my life has become just a lot less fun… i.e., 95% of what I do is work or spend time with family. It’s certainly meaningful but not exciting! I am sure part of it is partially the pandemic, but I am looking for ways to find more things that are exciting and that I can look forward to.
Anon says
I plan vacations. Kidding but not really. Daily life with little kids is a slog.
Anonymous says
I play music all the time.
Anonymous says
Sadly, I can spend hours on Zillow using the mapping / show lot lines thingie and just travel up and down waterways looking for escapist vacation homes. Apparently I need to win the lottery, because my preferences and budget are wildly out of sync. Also, a lot of rural areas have disclosures like “well shared with 3 houses and nothing is on file with the county re this” or “septic only for 2 bedrooms (on a 4BR house)”. Spouse and I can “argue” for hours re second house purchases with lottery winnings and what is our walk-away # for quitting our jobs.
Anokha says
I got nothing but commiseration. Life feels like a grind right now of balancing work and kids, and I’m mostly getting the balance wrong.
No Face says
The height of the pandemic was very difficult for this reason! Nothing to do but work and wrangle kids while trapped in the house, while all our favorite things were closed.
The key for me is spending time with friends. Lunch dates are great for working friends. A good friend and I used to watch Game of Thrones together every week. Our new plan is to watch Succession. If you like group exercise classes, invite a friend to join. Occasionally take a day off from work but keep your childcare so that you can do whatever you want. I am much happier now that I’ve started to do these things again.
AwayEmily says
Fun post-kids is always tough but I think COVID made things dramatically worse. There was a piece in the NYT recently titled “There’s a Specific Kind of Joy We’ve Been Missing” about how many of us haven’t had a feeling of communal/group joy in a long time — laughing with a big group of friends, going to shows, even those times when all your coworkers crack up about something random during a work meeting. The piece really resonated with me. I’m not super extroverted, but I miss that feeling intensely. It’s not that i never see anyone, especially post-vax — I go on walks with friends, I go out for a beer with someone, we had a couple of friends come visit for a weekend — but it’s not the same type of joy as that “big group” feeling, y’know?
Anon says
Interesting! I was just thinking that I’d be ok never having to go to a large group gathering again. I’m very introverted but lockdown (which I consider March 2020 to March 2021 when we got fully vaccinated) was awful for me. Humans are just not made for that kind of social isolation. But now that I can see close friends and family, travel and go out to eat, I’m fine. I have no desire to go to parties with 10+ people. I do really miss theater (it’s reopened in my area, but I’m not going to a large indoor event w/o masks until my kids are vaxxed) but that’s about it.
Anonymous says
Right? I’m an introvert, but I had so.much.fun at a work happy hour last week. On paper, it was the kind of thing I hate: Outdoor patio on a 95 degree day, a long drive, babysitter needed b/c DH was out of town. 10 coworkers, only one I would consider something like a friend, 8 of whom I’d never met in person before, 6 of whom I’d never even had a zoom meeting with. I dragged myself there because I’m middle management and felt obligated, but it ended up being a recharge I didn’t know I needed.
Anon says
This. We’ve been having weekly happy hours as a carrot to bring more people into the office and they have been surprisingly lovely.
Spirograph says
I don’t know if it qualifies as exciting, but I enjoy leaning into hobbies and dabbling in new skills. I’m an amateur musician and aside from constantly working on new repertoire, I recently started meeting up with my chamber music group again. Pre-pandemic, I took ballet classes for a year or so. Now I’m doing figure skating. I started because my kids were doing it, but my classes don’t line up with theirs anymore and it’s a nice just-for-me thing once a week. I’m not very good at ballet or ice skating, but it’s fun to try, and adult beginners are a really nice community. There are so many little wins to celebrate when you’re learning something new!
Also I love escapist books, and I build lego with my husband after the kids go to bed. Drinks + music + individual lego kits at opposite ends of the dining table is what’s passed for date night for the last 18 months.
Curious says
Okay I love this.
Boston Legal Eagle says
I think I’m a low energy introvert as doing a lego set together with my husband over drinks is my idea of fun! We typically watch a show together at nights now, with venturing out for more date nights now that places are a little more open. We also vacationed together recently and did a few spontaneous fun things. I also enjoy reading (have the kindle app on my phone to mix it in during the day).
Anonymous says
Oh, I miss adult figure skating so much. I was pretty serious about it for a couple of years after college but had to give it up when I met my husband.
Anon says
Why does having a husband mean you have to give up a sport you enjoy?
Mommasgottasleep says
Obviously she gave it up because his ex wife is Tonya Harding and her figure skating triggered him.
Anonymous says
Do you know how expensive competitive figure skating is?
Anon says
I’m actually a former competitive figure skater (ages 8-18) so very well aware how much competitive skating can cost :) but the emphasis is on “can” – it generally it costs WAY less for adults because adults have much less time to devote to the sport than kids and more awareness of budget constraints than crazy skate moms. One of the adults at my former rink was a partner in a Big Law firm so she could only skate about one hour a week but still still had a lot of fun with it. And yes, she had money obviously but if you can only skate for an hour a week you just can’t spend that much money. It’s the tens of hours a week of ice time and coaching that really add up. I mean, yes, if you want to compete you will have to buy costumes and competition entry fees and stuff like that in the hundreds of dollars annually, but I don’t know any adult figure skaters who buy 20 hours of ice time a week or pay $100+/hour for private coaching because there isn’t the same pressure or desire to try to make the Olympics. Many competitive adult figure skaters are actually self-coached. And of course you can stop being competitive without giving the sport up completely! If you just want to skate for recreation, it’s no more expensive than a gym membership.
And all that aside, I still don’t understand what the husband has to do with it -if you could afford the sport at whatever intensity level you were doing it at before, why does that change when you get married? If I’d been spending $2k a year or whatever on skating and I could comfortably afford it and my husband told me to give it up, I’d be divorced.
Anon says
I gave up swing dancing because, while I love it, I have limited “free” time when I am not working, and I would rather spend that time with him (and now, with him and DD). Doesn’t mean I love swing dancing any less, but I love my husband more. Priorities can shift when you get married, and I’m not sure that has to be a bad thing?
Anonymous says
It just wasn’t fun for me on anything less than 5 hours of ice time per week.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
I do blame the pandemic a lot for this feeling. DH and I were talking and I realized I hadn’t had any time 100% off since February 2020, compounded with pandemic and a lot of really tough life changes.
For me, it’s helped having trips to plan – a weekend wedding with DH and girls trip this fall (no kids) has put a spring in my step. Also, knowing that weaning DS #2 is right around the corner, which means (hopefully) time to exercise again. I’ve also started thinking about an overnight at a hotel/spa in my city for some alone time.
Having new books to read, shows to watch, etc. This stuff helps but less now than it did pre-COVID. Also, just…going to a coffee shop and drinking a cup while working or something is a nice scene change.
Of course COVID/Delta is a factor so we’ll see how many of these plans all shake out…but hey it’s helping right now.
CPA Lady says
I am a high energy extrovert, in case that was unclear from what I’m about to say. :)
I do two hobbies a week (a dance class and a choir), and try to hang out with friends once a week, on a playdate where I hang out with my kid’s friend’s mom while the kids are playing or going on a walk with a friend in the evening or walking down the street to hang out in a neighbor’s yard. We do fun stuff on the weekend as much as possible too. I have also recently embraced the concept of a long weekend trip rather than only going on vacation when I can make it “good and worth it” (which basically meant I never went on vacation). Husband does one hobby, which is a group activity with his friends. Scheduling varies on this, but I try to make it possible for him to do whenever he has the opportunity.
All of this is possible because I work a 40 hour a week job (when it’s not tax season), husband is an equal partner, kiddo has an early bedtime, and everything we do regularly– work, school, hobby locations, etc — is in a ~3-5 mile radius in a small city so there’s not a lot of time spent in the car. I strongly prioritize location when picking activities. I think the only child thing is probably key here too, but I would think that you could make a modified version of this happen with multiple kids if you wanted to. Husband and I do a lot of trading off of parenting and household tasks vs. trying to do everything together. I typically handle mornings and getting kiddo out the door and to school/camp/etc. and husband handles pickup/cooking dinner/bedtime. We eat dinner together every night. I do most out of the house activities because I like doing that stuff and husband hates it. I try to make friends at all child’s activities, because then they become opportunities for me to have fun too. I got much better friends with one of my kid’s friend’s moms when the kids were in the same activity, which made sitting in the overheated waiting area while the kids were in lessons way more fun.
fallen says
Thanks! I do all of this (lots of weekend activities/trips, see friends multiple times per week, multiple hobbies) and it just doesn’t feel like.. enough? Like it’s fun when it happens but it’s not exciting since it’s a regular thing.
Anon says
You might be depressed? I think it would be worth at least talking to your doctor about it.
Curious says
Definitely worth at least checking on it!
Anon says
From this response, it sounds like you are making a distinction between regularly scheduled fun and novelty. I get it. It’s easy to get into a rut of the same activities. One idea is from the Artist’s Way. It’s called the Artist Date and it is a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. So for me, I might go solo to a restaurant I’ve never eaten at or explore a place in my city I never have or go poking around a museum. I also try to think, if I was a tourist in this city, what would I do? That leads me to planning some day trips to odd but interesting places.
Anonymous says
I used to do Artist Dates during my lunch hour.
Anon says
+1 – also a high energy extrovert. We do all of the above as well. (We each have a hobby, and the kids are each in one activity, non-travel team. No travel teams allowed for our family.)
But I’ll say now my kids are elementary age and that has significantly added fun to our lives. Around once a quarter, we plan something super fun. Last summer we built our own monkey bars for the backyard. Last month we did a ropes course/ zip line adventure as our first one coming out of pandemic. We’re going to try to squeeze one more in before the weather gets bad again, and then hopefully by spring they’ll be vaccinated and we can do even more.
Our super fun thing is always a group planning session – the kids hear ideas from kids at school or camp and adults research to see what’s possible. It adds so much fun to plan it, anticipate it, and then do it.
Waffles says
For me, fun is as much work as work. Being entertaining takes effort! It really helps to gravitate towards people who have a sense of humor and thus end up sharing the “work” somehow.
But yes, it’s work. Like: finding cool places, searching for fun tv and movies, and throwing parties. Most of all, managing people’s emotions.
This is why I try not to have fun unless absolutely necessary. Kidding… sort of.
anon says
I feel this way, too.
Anon says
What kind of exciting things are you missing? I think I must just be a boring person, and it probably depends on the age of your kids (and for me the fact that I spend a lot of my time working in a job that I find a lot of contentment in even though it is exhausting and so many hours), but my kid is fun and exciting for me. Watching Jeopardy every night is exciting for me too, so YMMV. For me, I think it’s about making all of the kid and family time fun and exciting, rather than trying to add additional obligations in which would stress me out and for which I don’t really have the time, and taking the opportunity to be spontaneous. We’re silly together, getting to see the joy and curiosity she has for life and she reminds me to just laugh and live in the moment, even if that moment is DH and I sharing a smothered laugh at DD screaming because she thought a moth that flew in the house was trying to attack her or because she can’t live at the neighbor’s house. DD is almost 4, so the last year has really been coming out of that slog period (and we’re TTC still for no. 2 to restart the slog again). Last night the weather was nice and I was WFH, so we impromptu decided to try making homemade pizzas on the grill. Yes there was flour all over my freshly cleaned kitchen, but it was fun (and a success)! I came home from the office early last week to find DH napping while DD was playing, so she and I snuck out for a girls’ only dinner and brought him back take-out. We try to once a month do a BBQ or fire pit night with family friends who DH and I both adore and their daughters are close in age to mine, so all the kids run around and the adults catch up. Otherwise, I think it sounds like you need to coordinate with your partner to carve out some solo time you can spend on a passion project, whether that is regular kid free time with friends, a cooking or pottery class, a new book series, a new exercise class, etc.
Mary Moo Cow says
Do you mean exciting things to do with kids or by yourself or with your spouse? I struggle with these feelings, too. Like, yesterday I was reading our local city magazine and it had a round-up of local ice cream shops and I felt so depressed because I’ve lived here for 12 years and only been to 1 of the 20. It brought on feelings of “why don’t I make an effort to go do fun things? Oh, because I’m an introvert with a terrible since of direction and I’ve had 2 kids in the past 6 years.”
Fun with kids is, like someone else said, work. I’ve been trying to relax a bit at home and just say yes for 15 minutes, and sometimes I actually have fun playing dolls or in the yard. I’ve mentally picked some days to go try one of those ice cream shops after dinner. It is a work in progress.
Fun for myself also feels like work because I have to make sure there’s child care and I also have to push aside my guilt/sense of obligation to go do it. Being WFH for the past 16 months has helped that, enough that I’m eyeing both an adult dance class and a photography class for the fall or winter. Dance is an old hobby and photography is something I would like to become a hobby, so that’s why I chose them, if that’s helpful to you thinking about what would be fun.
I also agree that planning trips or vacations puts some pep in my step. We’re planning a long weekend to go visit my sister in her new (closer!) town and a week at the beach, and even just buying road trip snacks made me smile.
SC says
If you are looking for novelty/breaking out of your routine, I have embraced day trips and long weekend trips. I also really enjoy planning, so that is part of the fun. We keep our regular weekend activities to a minimum (at most, swim class on Saturday or Sunday morning) so we can leave on weekends. These are still spending time with family–but we have more fun as a family.
Day trips are usually hiking (sometimes with geocaching) or trips to the beach. DH does not like fruit picking. When Kiddo gets a little older, I’d love to go kayaking, tubing or horseback riding. I have a general sense of places to go and things to do near us, and I usually plan these trips 5-7 days out. We usually do something about once a month.
For long weekend trips, anything new and different from our normal routine is fun for me. We tend to go to state parks and smaller cities that are 2-6 hours’ driving distance from us. We stay in cabins or AirBNBs. From New Orleans, in the past year, we’ve been to Tishomingo State Park in MS, Lafayette LA, and Chattanooga TN. We have plans to go to Poverty Point State Park in LA and Gulfport MS later this year. For future trips, I have Shreveport (and maybe the LA state fair), Houston, Mobile, and St. Francisville LA/the Clark Creek Natural Area in MS, on my list–though no specific plans.
Anon says
What did you do pre-kids that you don’t do post-kids? Maybe I’m just a very boring person but I feel like everything I did for fun before I had a kid I still do (pandemic aside). My life obviously isn’t the same and I definitely have less time to myself, but I don’t feel like there’s “fun” I’m not able to have.
Mommasgottasleep says
Not OP but I’ll play: sleep til noon, watch tv all day, go for a six mile walk, go out for drinks at 6PM on a Sunday, decide at 5PM to go see a movie or meet a friend for dinner, have an uninterrupted conversation with my spouse, workout for two hours, decide on Thursday night to take a weekend trip somewhere, take three hours to get ready for an event, travel internationally, garden whenever I feel like it (literal and the other one). I know eventually I will do all these things again, but these are some of things I honestly miss. This is not me saying I regret having kids btw: I love them and would not trade them for my old life.
Anon says
I only have one kid but I do most of these things, it just takes more planning and effort than it did before. I agree that deciding last minute to do things is hard with kids (although I will say we regularly decide mid-week to take a spontaneous weekend trip and it is super fun for all of us!). Maybe I phrased my comment badly, but I definitely wasn’t trying to imply that pre-kid life is the same as life with kids but just that I can’t think of anything fun I can’t do with some planning.
Mommasgottasleep says
Sorry I didn’t mean to @ you: making that list was cathartic for me. I definitely take your point that you can do almost all of this with some planning.
Anon says
No worries! I hear you on the loss of spontaneity. And I freely admit I have a more boring life than many. I do like to travel and go out to restaurants but my bar hopping days ended way before I had a baby and we’re not people who regularly go to out to parties or to fancy events like the opera or anything like that. My #1 “hobby” is reading, which is the easiest thing in the world to combine with kids since you can do it whenever they’re napping or nursing or even while you watch them play once they get a bit older. I felt a lot older than my chronically age in my teens and 20s so it’s probably not a huge surprise I think being a middle aged mom is fun.
Boston Legal Eagle says
“I felt a lot older than my chronically age in my teens and 20s so it’s probably not a huge surprise I think being a middle aged mom is fun.” – this is me too. I also feel like I’ve already done the bar hopping and late nights in college, and I wouldn’t have enjoyed just continuing to do this in my 30s. I do miss our mornings of going to the gym for 1.5 hours on the weekends, but I think I can get back to at least long runs very soon.
AwayEmily says
Honestly, the biggest thing that I am missing in my post-kids life is hanging out at a bar with my friends until 1am, not getting super drunk or anything but just talking about whatever, eating nachos, and laughing a whole bunch. That’s difficult these days for more reasons than just kids — we’re older, busier, have moved to different places, etc. But I still miss it. Late nights with groups have a certain magic to them.
Anonymous says
This is so funny. I don’t miss going to bars at all!
Anonymous says
Saaaame, my husband and I heard a Kesha song on the radio yesterday and we were both like omg sooo glad those days are behind us. I’m not much of a drinker at heart though, so I’m definitely not the target audience for a bar. I drank heavily in college but it was bc of peer pressure and I’m so happy to now have a life where the only alcohol I consume is a champagne toast at weddings.
Mommasgottasleep says
I feel this in my bones. I miss the spontaneity of “hey let’s check out X after work.” And then just enjoying a beer or two and talking for hours.
AwayEmily says
Yes exactly. I never went out to bars/pubs to meet new people or dance or anything like that. For me they’ve always been a space to just sit with friends, talk about everything and nothing, and have a safe little cocoon away from the world for awhile.
anon says
Name your favorite party favor.
I like something sort of big and useful instead of a bag full of little plastic junk. Favorites (for me and the kids) have been a hula hoop and a dog shaped balloon.
MeStl says
We have twice taken my son and 3-4 friends to an indoor playground type place (city museum in St. Louis if you know it) where it’s hard to keep track of them for the birthday party. Both times bought all kids matching brightly colored shirts to wear/party favor. Once went all in and got them personalized. Kids loved and helped us find them always in a crowd. All pre-COVID of course.
anon says
Smart idea!
Anonymous says
Glow sticks.
CPA Lady says
My kid’s friend had a “spa party” and the favors were a pair of flip flops and a towel. I’m a grinch and I hate party favors, but these were great.
TheElms says
Bubbles were a hit with my toddler and they are consumable so I liked that. At a first birthday party all the kids got those little egg shakers that the mom, who is crafty, had personalized with the kids names.
Anonymous says
I am also on board with big and useful.
3 year old just brought home some “animal flashcards” from a daycare birthday party and he loves them.
I have given out dress-ups: for one kiddo’s superhero birthday, they all got a costume (superhero mask and cape from amazon) to bring home. For another birthday, everyone got a felt animal mask of their choosing. When kiddo was 1, I bought a lot of (~6″) plastic trucks – they were about $2-3 each from Toys R Us back in the day. Kids could play at the party and take one home. I like all of those and we have the extras at home the kids continue to use.
Mary Moo Cow says
Mylar balloons. Kids love them, they don’t take up much space, and they have a natural life span so I don’t have to sneak them into the trash.
GCA says
A (good-quality) superhero mask and cape were one of my kid’s favorite party favors from a party we attended. For my kid’s 3rd birthday, I gave out mini science kits (really just a magnifying glass, some coffee filters, a plastic prism, and a few other things, plus a little card with a list of ideas for STEM experiements. Other than that, I like consumables like bubbles.
SC says
This is probably over the top, but my favorite party favor that Kiddo has ever received was a t-shirt. The birthday party was unicorn themed, and there were two different t-shirts to choose from as favors. One was more stereotypically feminine, and the other was a black t-shirt with a unicorn wearing sunglasses and riding a motorcycle, or something. It looks like a rock band t-shirt. Kiddo wears it like once a week.
Anon says
Call me a grump, but I’m a big fan of no gifts and no party favors for kid birthday parties. My kids don’t really care for party favors, and when I explained that each gift meant a thank you note/video, they’re also really happy to forgo gifts (they already get so many gifts from us/family, it’s hard for them to come up with wishlists).
Cutting back on extra items on the to-do list has been great—lets me focus more on planning a fun gathering and entertaining guests.
That said, I once hosted a science-themed birthday party where kids used lab goggles and got to take them home.
Anonymous says
cup that changes color when gets hot or cold (also dishwasher safe). Water bottle. take-home from the party (eg. blueberries if blueberry picking). my daughter’s friend had a sleepover and all the girls came home with a matching set of PJs for them and their AmGirl size dolls.
Anonymous says
wow, the last one is so extravagant and I would have loved it as a child.
Anonymous says
Agree totally over the top extravagant!!!! To me, that’s to the level of way over the top.
anon says
Remind me WHY I registered my kid for a new summer camp every week, instead of picking our church program that’s the same every day? (Which he was technically eligible for but, as a 10-year-old, would’ve fought tooth and nail on account of being one of the older kids there, which would’ve caused other issues.) I am so tired I could cry, just from the constant schedule changes and trying to remember every camp’s esoteric rules and manage a new drop-off/pick-up time every week.
The upside is that he’s really happy and is having a fun summer. It is completely coming at my expense, literally and figuratively. I’m never doing this again. From now on, the kids get to pick *one* special camp per summer and do a consistent program the rest of the time. Learn from my mistakes, ‘rettes. Don’t do this to yourselves.
Anonymous says
For my kids, they have been miserable with our local schools not opening. And lonely. I would not knowingly sign them up for a camp they’d protest (like being an older kid at a “baby” camp). I wanted this to be a great summer for them. Even driving to a different place every week let me get finally back into the office (or to work alone in a quiet house), either of which would have been a gift *to me* after the past year and change. Having some variety let us explore some new camps (one is truly a winner) and keep some old favorites in the rotation.
Lily says
This doesn’t really help with your problem but… thoughts on talking to your spouse about helping your kid organize something special for you as a thank you? The thing could be a surprise for you, you don’t have to plan it, and it would teach your kid gratitude by reciprocating in a similar way. And I bet he would have fun planning it – he doesn’t have to know that it was your idea!
Anon says
Ooh I like this idea!
anon says
That’s a nice idea. I do feel like I’m struggling with all of this work being very, very invisible. But that’s pretty much the story of my life.
Anon says
Can your 10 yo help stay on top of the schedule changes and remind you? I see why this is frustrating to you, but I think there’s a lot of value in sending your kids to camps they really enjoy, especially after the pandemic year+ kids have just had (and Delta possibly messing up school in the fall).
Anon says
Good idea. Maybe you can continue to own any detail that would cause a major headache for you (like pick up time), but let him track the different rules for each camp, the things he needs to bring, reminding you when you need to leave in the morning, etc.
Or, put him in charge of finding kids to car pool with if that makes sense for any of the camps.
(I am currently reading the book “How to Raise an Adult” and rethinking my natural tendencies to do things for my kids instead of empowering them to take the responsibility. Camp seems like a great low-stakes opportunity for this.)
So Anon says
After multiple summers with various spreadsheets, only made more complex by the pandemic, what I have settled on is that I will let my kids register for any camp offered within our small New England town. Our local rec has a standard program that runs every week, but my kids will loudly object to more than a week or two of this camp. However, our rec will partner with other programs to have a week of soccer, science, cooking, etc. Any of those camps are fine because they are close. For any camp that requires a drive to another town, I will do like one or two, tops. Last week, my son was in a lego robotics camp at the local university, which had weird hours and was 45 minutes each way. I’m only signing him up for one of those per summer.
SC says
My coworker has 3 kids. The youngest goes to the same daycare everyday. The older two each go to different camps, which change every week. My coworker showed me a schedule his wife printed up, with drop-off and pick-up times and which parent was assigned to which one on each day. It’s insanity. She works for the public school system and is more flexible during the summer, and it’s still insanity.
anon says
I put this all on a Google calendar as the camps are scheduled. The calendar is shared by those doing pick ups and drop offs. The calendar hold has all information about the location and specific info re what to bring / wear / weather / phone numbers to contact / etc. It ends up being no big deal, but I do only book very local camps.
I transfer my pick ups/drop offs to my work calendar to hold the time.
Anon says
Thoughts on staying in touch with daycare teachers? We’ve always really liked our teachers, but this year we had one we all (kid + us) adored, and it seems like the feeling was mutual (she brought my kid random gifts and things like that). Of course we’d love to stay in touch, but I want to be mindful of the fact that she teaches a dozen kids every year and in the big scheme of things my family isn’t that important to her. Is it gauche to ask if they’d like to babysit? I certainly don’t want to imply she’s struggling financially or anything like that, but I know many daycare teachers like picking up babysitting gigs.
Hmmm says
When we left our daycare, I gave one beloved teacher a thank you card with a note that included my phone number, email, and said Child will miss you and I know you’re busy but if you ever have time and are interested in babysitting on the weekend please let us know.
She did and it’s worked out great!
Anonymous says
I don’t think it hurts to ask. I send a holiday card to one of our former daycare teachers and text her occasionally to say hi and send a picture of my rising K son still insisting on wearing a T-shirt she made for him when he was <2. She was everyone's favorite teacher and did a lot of babysitting, so I don't flatter myself that we were special, but two of my kids were in her class (staggered) so we saw a lot of her and I liked her as a person as well as a teacher.
Anon says
All of our babysitters are our favorite day care teachers. Usually I phrase it as a “Hey, do you ever date night babysit?” at some point before there’s a real need. Literally every one I have asked has been an enthusiastic yes.
Anonymous says
Did anyone here have their child via egg donation? I’d be interested in hearing about the experience/what it’s been like raising your donor conceived child. Woman married to a man and egg (or embryo) donation is likely our only option for having kids. (Yes, I’ve considered adoption – adoption would be difficult due to my medical history (although I am fine now).)
Aunt Jamesina says
I haven’t, but the subreddit r/IFGameteDonorParents looks like it would be helpful to you. It’s private, so you’d have to sign up and join, but I found r/infertility and other related subreddits to be very helpful without the stupid acronyms or toxic positivity of other forums. Best of luck to you!
anon says
I did not, but I know a friend used PVED (parents via egg donation) to find resources and connect with other parents considering egg/embryo donation. Might be worth checking out.
anon says
Not quite the same, but my two kids are from my wife’s eggs and donor-sperm. What kind of things are you wondering about wrt raising donor-conceived kids? Mine are only 4 and 5 and know that they came from donated sperm and Mommy’s egg, but haven’t asked any more details than that.
anonymous says
My husband and I did have our child via egg donation — I was in my early 40s, and we had gone through multiple unsuccessful rounds of IVF and one natural pregnancy that ended in an early miscarriage for 6 years prior to that. Our child is still a toddler, so we don’t have a ton of experience yet, but a couple things stand out — first, at least at my infertility clinics, using a donor egg is often portrayed as a “sure thing.” However, that was not the case for me. I had a few transfers that were cancelled due to lining/fluid issues, which I had not experienced before, and then our first actual transfer did not work. I was unprepared for how devastating that was I had generally thought the problem was my “old eggs,” so to have the donor egg embryo also fail was a blow. We did have success after that; however, we also tried to have a second child with each of our remaining embryos, and all failed as well. So we had 1 out of 7 work, which was not at all what I had been led to expect with donor eggs. Overall, the experience of having and raising our child has been amazing — however, there are moments that feel sad — like at the first pediatrician appointment, where I started to fill out my medical history, and then realized that it didn’t matter, from a biological perspective. We are determined to be open and honest about the egg donation with our child, but now that it’s almost time to start introducing these concepts, it’s a bit stressful and I haven’t found many good books or tools yet. I did not belong to any sort of support group, but I do recommend that. I also think its important to let yourself grieve the loss of having a child that’s biologically yours before moving forward. Feel free to post any specific questions and I can try to answer them!
Anon Lawyer says
My child was conceived with a sperm donor, though she’s still too young to be able to talk much about the experience I think in general there’s a lot of info out there on the best way to handle this with kids and the thinking is to tell them early so that it’s just part of their story and never a big surprise. My understanding is that research shows that donor-conceived kids are as happy and well-adjusted as any other kids in general but that problems do occur when it’s a huge shock in their teenage years or later. There are also a lot of options now regarding whether the donor will be known and when it comes to connecting with donor siblings. I think it makes sense to think that through in advance – there’s not a “right” answer but it’s good to think about your comfort level in handling it.
One nice thing is that there are a lot of picture books written for this situation now. If you do a search on Amazon, you’ll find books specifically written for young kids in heterosexual (and other configuration) families about donor egg and donor embryos. That can help open up the conversation.
AnonIVF says
I did not, but if you are on Instagram, I recommend Kayla Kohl (thekohlchronicles). She had a daughter last year via embryo donation and has shared a lot about the process, their relationship with the donor family and other recipient families, etc., as well as IVF generally.
2 under 2 says
What foods do you rely on when your toddler is sick with a runny nose and cough, and generally refuses to eat? I would try chicken noodle soup but she won’t eat anything warm – it’ll be room temp which doesn’t seem as soothing? Any home remedies or special tricks to help her not feel so miserable? Thank you!
Anonymous says
Chocolate milk or another flavored milk. Or maybe a smoothie.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
+1 big on green smoothies with ginger, tumeric, and honey blended in.
Anon. says
Watermelon – hydration is key.
Anon says
It’s not really a big deal for a kid to go a day or two without eating as long as they’re drinking. They may even lose a bit of weight when they’re sick but they’ll put it back on very quickly. I know juice is controversial but we always give it to my kid when she’s sick. Clear liquids like juice and water go down more easily than milk. Honey dissolved in juice or water seems to help a bit with a cough. Soup at room temp is also completely fine. Just because it’s not appealing to you doesn’t mean it’s not appealing to her – kids really don’t care about stuff like that, in my experience.
Mommasgottasleep says
+1 to all this. Sometimes when I have a runny nose, the phlegm drips down the back of my throat and makes me sick to my stomach so I don’t feel like eating. I offer my sickie water, pedialyte, and room temperature herbal tea. I will also heat up soup and then let him add ice cubes until it’s cold. He seems to prefer it that way. Kids are weird.
GCA says
If she has a sore throat to accompany that URTI, warm soup may feel painful to drink. Is it hot where you are? Try Pedialyte popsicles.
2 under 2 says
Thank you! I had no idea Pedialyte popsicles existed. Just placed an order at Target.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
Oh, and popsicles! You can go old school 90’s or organic natural depending on your preference.
Anon says
I also rely on liquids – whatever she will drink. Have also been known to offer popsicles and yogurt (for all meals). Run the humidifier and tylenol or motrin can help with a sore throat even if kiddo doesn’t have a fever. If they have a runny nose, they likely have post-nasal drip and will likely have a sore throat. Plop them on the floor in a bathroom with a toy or tablet while you shower for some extra humidity, and run the shower for a bit before an extra long bath time as well.
Outdoor Toy Recommendation says
Kiddo played with these at church last week and begged us to order some. They’re a hit, and I’d never seen them before.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IE624Z0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Anonymous says
I can hear the sound these make in my mind. These are old school; we had them growing up.
Bentgo Lunch Boxes says
Do folks like the Bentgo kids’ lunch boxes? If I put yogurt in one compartment and dressing to dip veggies in in another compartment, will they truly seal tight and not run? Thanks!
Anon says
We only got to use them for 6 months before the pandemic shut everything down, but liked them and plan to use them again if Kindergarten is in-person this fall. We never had any issues with leaking even when we sent runny things like tomato soup or applesauce or yogurt. The main critique I hear about them is that they’re small, so won’t work all the way through elem school, but depending on your kid’s appetite it should be big enough for preschool and early elem.
Mary Moo Cow says
My Kindergartner did not like them. Hers didn’t leak, but she didn’t like what I packed and wanted hot food or cold foods more often. We switched to an insulated lunch box and Rubbermaid Lunch Blox after a few weeks.
OP says
Thanks! Kiddo is starting kindergarten and eats like a bird at school lunch (too many distractions!). So that actually should be okay.
anon says
Not sure its too late in the day but . . . my very sweet mom bought my 5 year old a Fire HD10 Kids Pro. I have never used a tablet before, neither has my husband. We are typically Apple users, with Mac Airs, and our kid currently uses my old MacBook for Netflix or Prime (in the browser). She is not on the internet at all. The only apps/games she ever uses are PBS Kids Games apps on our iphones. While I like the idea of her having a tablet for car/plane trips (which I had mentioned to my mom as something we were thinking about and likely why she surprised us with this), I guess I had imagined we’d buy an iPad so we could use it too. Kid is also getting a Chromebook when she starts K in the fall (provided by her school). I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but I know nothing about Fires or Kindles or any other tablet. Thoughts? Should we keep it? If we sent it back, my mom would probably be disappointed but understanding. She’s pretty great! :)
anon says
We have Fires that we use for my kids to watch tv and movies on while traveling. They’re fine for that, but not as good for apps as an iPad just because they can be slow, so it depends on what you want to do with it, I think.
FWIW our school district has the school iPads/Chromebooks very locked down so you can’t add anything of your own to them.
fire says
The Fire is great – kid friendly. Download Amazon kids, Netflix, Prime, etc. – you can set up profiles so your kid only sees age appropriate apps. Kids Kindle and Epic (reading app) are on the Fire as well. We have Fires for our kids and keep the IPads for grown ups.
Mary Moo Cow says
I have no experience with the Fire tablet, although I’ve been thinking of getting one for my 6 year old now that more travel is on the horizon. I, too, have an iPad. If the issue is worrying about your mom, I would keep but it only for those situations you mentioned, car and plane trips. Your Mom doesn’t have to know kid isn’t using it every day, and if that becomes an issue, you can say you are using expressly for the car and plane as you mentioned. I would say an enthusiastic thanks, don’t complain to Mom about the learning curve of using an android device, send Mom a picture when kiddo uses it the first time, and then not mention it again.
Anon says
I use my kid’s Fire! Mostly as a kindle for reading books, but I have watched TV on it too in a pinch. It’s definitely clunky and not user friendly compared to the sleek iPad, but it works. My 3 year old is a menace to electronics so I like having a more durable tablet. I also like that the only things on it are apps and TV that we installed, she can’t accidentally open up a web link (presumably there are parental controls on the iPad too but I don’t know much about them – it seems like the Fire defaults to a more parental controlled setting). We’re not A-zon people and don’t have Prime, but it came with a 1 year subscription to A-zon kids and there’s lots of content on there that she enjoys.
I would keep it for travel personally. I don’t think you’re really supposed to take a school Chromebook with you on vacation, right? Also if it makes you feel better they’re like $50 so this wasn’t a big investment on your mom’s part. Much, much cheaper than anything Apple makes.
Anon says
+1. I find the parental controls incredibly intuitive on the Fire Kids. For my 5 and 8 year old, we have it set to require 15 min of reading books before they can play the included games. I also have it set to shut off at 6pm during the week so they just know it’s a rule that tablet time ends before dinner.
The biggest find for me was connecting it to our Libby app during the pandemic. So now I can check out ebooks and audiobooks from the library and send them to the tablets. (There are a ton of options as part of FreeTime but for example my 8 year old read through all of the “A to Z Mysteries” this summer and my 5 year old read/ listened to every age-appropriate book on dogs that I could find.) It takes a few steps to send it to their device and then allow it via parental controls, but otherwise it’s really expanded how we use the tablets.
Anon says
We have two fire tablets. They are easy for the kids to use and a lot cheaper if they lost them on the plane or something. We have been happy with them but will likely switch to an iPad as our kids get older (my older one is a wiz on my iPhone so I think he’s so great with an iPad). Neither of my kids can spell so no browser use yet.
Anon says
We love the Fire for kiddo (4). She has the amazon freetime on it which is a bunch of kid-friendly apps and games. We also have Disney plus and the PBS Kids apps on it as well. I think you can put Netflix on it, but she would watch Simpsons all day on it (parenting fail) so Netflix is only on our phones or the TV. I also love that if it gets destroyed (which it will, because even careful kids are kids) it’s a relatively cheap replacement vs. anything apple makes. It’s in a big bubbly case and has survived 2 years of pretty solid abuse (far more than I would be comfortable subjecting an ipad to).
Anon says
Officially weaned my 15 month old this morning, which was bittersweet as he’s likely our last baby. I just wanted a place to celebrate 28 cumulative months of nursing between my two kids as a working mom. I was lucky that BFing came easily to me with both kids, but it was still hard and a huge commitment. It feels like a weird thing to be proud of, but I’m really proud of myself.
Also, I’ve been either pregnant or breastfeeding since March 2017 (with the exception of a 6-month window). I finally get my body back to myself! WILD.
Anon says
Yay! What an awesome milestone, and hooray for getting your body back after 4 years. Hope you can treat yourself to something special to celebrate.
Anonymous says
Cheers to you!!!!
Anonymous says
Congratulations!
Anonymous says
I also did 4+ years of not having my body to myself and it was so great to be freeeeee again. Congrats to you on making it through, because you’re right, it was a huge commitment! and welcome back to your body being a temple just for you.