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There are two sweater seasons — when the temps start to drop outdoors in the fall, and when they start to drop indoors in the summer.
I’m always on the lookout for a good desk sweater — it must be not too thick, but not too thin; hold its shape after living for days on the back of my chair; and match everything.
J.Crew Factory’s Sweater Blazer has more than 700 nearly perfect reviews for a reason — it comes in four neutral go-with-anything colors, has a classic and office-friendly profile, and is made from easy-to-care-for cotton.
I could see pairing this with a classic collared shirt during the week and jeans on the weekend.
The sweater blazer is on sale for $46.50. It comes in sizes XXS–3X, and most colors (black, heather cassis, heather quartz, and heather light khaki) are still available in most sizes.
Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ 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 – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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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?
Pogo says
Sigh. I would love to have a place to wear a nice sweater blazer!
Because my life is not crazy enough (update: kiddo is negative and going back to preschool Friday, hallelujah), I am applying for two internal positions that would both support my career progression (very similar roles just in different business segments). For those of you who have successfully interviewed for internal roles, what are your tips? I feel like it’s a fine line between regurgitating the status quo (which you know because you’re internal) and telling the panel you think they suck at running their business currently.
CHL says
At my organization, the way to go would be “building on a foundation of success and evolving for the future” or “continuous improvement.” Respect what has come before, and also the world evolves and we have to evolve with it.
Redux says
I would highlight the things you think they do well and that you would love to be a part of (i.e., what draws you to the role apart from getting a promotion), and then give a couple examples from your current department of things that you have helped to improve upon, and your interest in working with the new department to think through the same kinds of improvements for the new department.
Tea/Coffee says
I made it about “using my strengths in the best way possible for the org” so that is was less “you guys suck at this” and more “you could be getting more usefulness out of me.”
Although, that got me a position where i was doing the work of 3 people, so YMMV
Congrats!
Family Vacation says
I’d like to take a weeklong vacation in early August, when my toddler’s daycare is closed. He turns 3 in May. I will also have a 15 month old. We’re coming from Ohio. We’ve done a few weekend trips so far with the baby and those went reasonably well. I’m OK driving (8 hours or less) or flying (if direct flight of less than 4 hours). We’d like kid friendly activities, and near the water if possible. We might also take my parents. The only family vacation we’ve done is a week in Florida when the toddler was 1.5. Florida is August is probably not great. Or is it? Any other destination suggestions? Thanks!
AnonyMich says
Is Traverse City/Up North in Michigan your style? Finding houses to rent right now might be tough, and there isn’t much in the way of hotels that I’d recommend, but this is my go-to summer vacation (I’m in Metro Detroit). Might be a little farther than 8 hours drive depending on where you are in Ohio.
So many family-friendly things to do – Moomers is fun and has a farm tour, the Great Lakes Children’s Museum is excellent, and there are so many little parks around. Great drives to the dunes, and if you have a toddler that sleeps in the car you could go to the local wineries that have the outdoor tasting deals. I’d maybe check out Elk Rapids to see if there’s something to rent close to downtown – you could walk to the beach from there, which is right in a municipal park with a wonderful playground.
Anon says
i don’t specifically know this area, but i agree that some kind of driving trip might be best. At many other destinations you’d have to rent a car and apparently that is not so easy and quite expensive right now bc rental car places sold off their fleets to survive covid
Anon says
I just rented a car for a Hawaii trip in June and it was dirt cheap. Hawaii might very well be different than the mainland though, since they can’t easily relocate the cars to a different state.
Anon says
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2021/03/11/a-car-rental-apocalypse-is-coming-heres-what-you-need-to-know/amp/
Anon says
Traverse City was our summer 2020 vacation (with a 2 year old) and I was underwhelmed. The area is definitely pretty, especially the Leelanau Peninsula, but the beaches are all very similar so even going to a different beach every day we got really bored fast. Sleeping Bear Dunes NP didn’t have much that we could do with a toddler who couldn’t walk very far. We’re from Indiana and our local dunes are less scenic but more toddler friendly. We were very unimpressed with the restaurants, although that may be at least partly because we did takeout/delivery only. We couldn’t find any outdoor things to do with a toddler other than playgrounds, which we have at home. We didn’t do wineries but all the Midwest wine I’ve had is pretty awful, and I don’t really consider myself a wine snob. We ended up driving to Florida for winter vacation and even though it was a pain in the A getting there, we enjoyed it a lot more and it felt much more like a real vacation. Coming from Indiana that part of Michigan just didn’t feel that much different than home, and I imagine someone from Ohio might feel the same way.
AnonyMich says
Sorry you feel that way and had an underwhelming vacation! That must have been frustrating. It wouldn’t surprise me that the Summer 2020 experience was a bit different in the restaurant aspect. In terms of wineries, there’s a lot to like up here with a bunch of different varietals and usually a ton of awards at wine festivals, and I wouldn’t write them off if you haven’t tried them. I particularly like 2 Lads and L Mawby.
Anon says
I’m biased because I grew up visiting family there, but we go to Acadia National Park every August when daycare is closed and it’s gorgeous and very kid friendly. Pretty much everything you’d want to do is outdoors and almost all the restaurants have outdoor seating so it’s very Covid friendly too. You can’t get super direct flights though, you’d probably have to connect or fly to Portland which is 3.5 hours away. Even the nearest major airport (Bangor) is an hour away. There are Chicago-Bangor non-stops but I doubt any from Ohio.
NYCer says
I was going to suggest Maine as well. Acadia is amazing, but the area around Portland is very nice too! (Cape Elizabeth, Kennebunkport, etc.) There is probably a better chance of a direct flight to Portland, though I feel like that isn’t even guaranteed from Ohio.
Florida is way too hot and steamy for me in the summer, but YMMV!
Anon says
Portland is great too (the restaurants are amazing). One thing I love about Acadia if you have little kids is the the stroller-friendly carriage roads, so you can easily walk around a lot of the best scenery with your kids in tow. I never really figured out the hiking carrier thing, so Acadia is basically the only national park where I haven’t felt limited by my kid. Especially with many people avoiding indoor stuff because of Covid, having that outdoor option is really great. But definitely Portland is easier to get to, and if you get a rental car and explore some of the nearby beaches I think it could be very fun with little kids. Weather in all of Maine should be pretty delightful in August.
So Anon says
The Portland Jetport just added a bunch of direct flights from hubs, so it would be worth checking out.
Maine is a great summer destination. Acadia is beautiful, and you could also easily spend a week in the greater Portland area enjoying different, kid-friendly things. Portland, and specifically the Old Port, is easily walkable with fun shops and a great toy store on a main street. The dining in Portland is amazing. Cape Elizabeth (the other side of the bridge from Portland) has a public park with the Portland Lighthouse, a little beach, and a children’s garden hidden towards the back of the park. There are local lakes with public access for swimming, beaches close by and kid friendly farms to visit. I highly recommend Wolfe’s Neck Farm, which is right on the ocean in Freeport and you can visit LLBean’s flagship store, which is fun in and of itself.
Pogo says
We used to camp at Wolfe’s Neck Farm! The best.
Spirograph says
Aren’t you supposed to vacation in Myrtle Beach if you’re from Ohio? :) I grew up there, and that’s where everyone except my family seemed to go.
Do you want an ocean, or will any body of water do? I loved the Great Lakes when I was a kid. We lived pretty near Lake Erie, and my grandparents lived near Lake Ontario, so we never explicitly vacationed there but there are tons of little rentals on the lakes. Cleveland (I know, I know) has a fantastic zoo, plus there’s a children’s museum if you’re into that, and the metroparks trails are nice. I also remember a great vacation to Lake Superior/Mackinaw Island. Similar vibe with the Finger Lakes in upstate NY.
Family Vacation says
Haha we’re in Cleveland! House is right at a metropark. And yes, have done many vacations in Myrtle Beach :) Lake or ocean doesn’t matter to us. Just a change of scenery.
Portland sounds like it could work. There are direct flights. Where would you suggest to stay in Portland? Probably an air bnb would be better than a hotel, but what area should I search?
Thanks everyone!
Disney Mama says
We have a (fully refundable) trip to Disney World booked in mid-Sept this year. My kids will be 3 and 5, and we booked it with the knowledge that there was a high likelihood we’d have to cancel it and that it wasn’t great to miss a week of kindergarten just a few weeks. We’re doing IVF now and expect to be pregnant/having a baby in spring 2022, which is why we wanted to try to squeeze this trip in in the fall. I’m nervous about what COVID will look like in Florida by Sept, whether we’ll have a fall mini-surge, and the fact that my kids obviously won’t be vaccinated yet (though we parents already are).
I know this is a personal decision, but here’s my query to this group: do you think it’ll be more stressful to go to Disney at the tail end of COVID or to go a year later with a 6 month old (presumably also not vaccinated, but hopefully rates will be minuscule by then)? The idea of going with a young baby stresses me out, but so does having to police our kids’ mask usage, worrying about other people’s proximity/mask usage, not wanting to eat indoors, etc. Thank you for your thoughts!
OP says
Also, it would be our first trip there with the kids.
AnonyMich says
Go before the baby. Early fall is best for crowds, and I’ve heard that WDW is very strict with COVID precautions, so that wouldn’t bother me as much. The travel would, though, and I’d prefer to drive if possible (which it wouldn’t really be for us).
If I’m going to Disney, I want to enjoy it, and I think I’d enjoy it more with my 3 and 5 year olds so you’ve got a 1:1 parent/child ratio and you won’t have to worry about a baby in a stroller.
Anon says
I’ve heard they are already relaxing some of the mask rules
Anon says
Yeah I would be shocked if Disneyworld is still requiring masks in September. It’s Florida! There are no rules about Covid. Disneyland will presumably be stricter because of the CA government.
Anon says
Interesting how people assess risk differently. To me, the flight seems much safer than visiting Disneyworld, although I suppose a flight to Orlando will have a very disproportionate number of children, some of whom probably won’t be in masks.
Anonymous says
I think it depends on your anxiety about COVID. Mine is low. DH and I have had it. Our kiddo (5) has been exposed by DH and me and at school once, and hasn’t been affected. DH is already fully vaccinated, and I have my second shot in three weeks. Proximitiy of other people and an occasional distanced meal indoors wouldn’t bother me. But if you’re going to be anxious about it, it’ll ruin it for you and probably your husband. Your kids will probably look past it and focus on the excitement of Disney. But if you can’t relax, it could make for a rough time. My two cents is that September would be a good time to go, becuase the parks are usually slower once school starts.
Anon says
this is hard bc it’s likely baby dependent. Like if you have a go with the flow kind of baby who will happily be in the stroller I’d say wait bc September in Florida is also still hurricane season and I’d personally probably be too anxious about covid to fully enjoy. You also don’t know how you’ll feel pregnant or what type of pregnancy you’ll have. Also- what type of childcare do you have? Could there still be quarantine rules about out of state travel? Do you have grandparents who could watch the 6 month old while you take the older two? On the flip side- your oldest will be 6 by then- will you be able to take him/her out of school?
Anon says
Neither of these are great options, but years ago I went to Disney with a 4 month old and 3 older kids and the kids had a good time. We parents were completely wiped out.
For any trip to Disney with young kids, I highly recommend taking it easy, not trying to do every ride, taking a nap at the hotel every afternoon, and other meltdown-saving techniques.
Anon says
Trials are already happening for 6 month olds, so I think it’s pretty safe to assume any kid who is 6 months or older can get vaccinated by early 2022 (and even if Covid magically vanished, I wouldn’t be inclined to do air travel with a kid under 6 months because of flu and whooping cough). Unless Covid numbers drop dramatically I would not take my kid to Disneyworld before she’s vaccinated. It just seems like an unnecessary risk. We’re flying this summer, but only to spend time with older family members who may not be here in a year. You know Disney will be there next year.
Anonymous says
No advice, but we also have a refundable Disney trip planned for October with our 2.5 year old, so I’m curious as well! I’m not sure under what circumstances we’d cancel — I guess if Florida does have a surge in the fall, we’d skip it. We’re playing it by ear.
Anon says
I’d definitely wait until kiddo is a bit older.
Anonymous says
I would not plan to visit Disney World while hoping to be pregnant. I went for a single day when I was pregnant with my first and it was absolutely miserable. I couldn’t ride any of the good rides, and all of the usual hassles (heat, standing around, long waits for bad food) were much more uncomfortable than they would be while not pregnant. I’d rather do it with a baby in a stroller.
Anon says
+1 Going to Disney while pregnant, especially in the heat of Florida in September, sounds like absolute h*ll to me. It’s going to be a trip not a vacation anyway because of your older kids so I don’t really think adding a baby into the mix will make things that much harder.
OP says
That’s a good point. Because we’re doing IVF, we can time it a bit and I expect I’d be under 4 months pregnant at this point. I get tired and a bit nauseous at that point, but definitely couldn’t manage after 5-6 months (and wouldn’t!).
I should add that we are bringing my mom along as a thank you for being their makeshift nanny all year. So we’d have some extra help with the baby next year, too.
Anon says
not to scare you but every pregnancy is totally different. there is no way you can guarantee that you won’t feel more nauseous this time around. One of my friends is currently pregnant with her 3rd and she didn’t vomit at all with her first two and this time her first trimester was horrible
anon @ 9:30 says
I was early in my first tri, mercifully before hyperemesis hit. Absolutely do not recommend.
Anon says
How is it a thank you to your mom to have her be a makeshift nanny on a Disney trip? Maybe send her for a spa day instead?
Anon says
Yeah…I’m not really sure how bringing your mom on a vacation to help with your kids is a thank you to your mom. Send her to the spa or give her flowers or chocolates or whatever she likes that’s just for her.
OP says
This is a ymmv kind of thing. My mom literally suggested coming with us to Disney and getting to see her grandkids enjoy it as her ideal thank you. This was her idea. She’s also not a spa person. She has a lot of fond memories going with us as kids and wants to enjoy it with our family. We aren’t making her a makeshift nanny on the trip, but she would obviously be an extra set of hands (which again, she said she would enjoy).
Spirograph says
I think that’s lovely. Both my mom and my MIL would see being included in a family trip as a “thank you.”
Anonymous says
This is kind of assvice as I have yet to visit Disney as a parent, but my perspective from having gone as a child (more than once – we moved to FL when I was 9) and as a parent who has not done it is that it seems more worth it for school aged kids than preschoolers. If I were you I would postpone the whole thing for 2-3 years. But my kid does not like movies in general and has little Disney exposure, and I hate Florida, so we have no plans to go anytime soon.
Anonymous says
Yeah I’d wait until the youngest is 5
Anonymous says
Same. We went when ours was 3 and she barely remembers it.
Anon says
Omg “a$$vice”…I’m totally stealing that term! And I agree, although I’ve also never done Disney as a parent. My 3 year old does not really have any awareness of Disney characters and doesn’t have the attention span to sit through a full movie even if we deliberately tried to introduce the characters. I don’t have any recollection of having any awareness of Disney myself before kindergarten, but I definitely remember by elementary school other kids talking about their trips there and being vaguely jealous that my family didn’t drive to Florida every spring like a lot of my friends’ families. Also, the bar for impressing a 3 or 4 year old is SO LOW. I’m sure my kid would have fun if we went to Disney, but she also has so much fun at the playground a block from our house, so I would rather save a trip like this for when she’s older and starting to get a little eyeroll-y about routine stuff. We’re tentatively planning Aulani (the Disney resort in Hawaii) for when our kiddo is in the 7-9 age range.
Anon says
yes, my parents took me to Disney for the first time when I was just shy of 3.5 and they left my infant sister at home with the grandparents. they said i loved it…but likely could’ve been just as happy hugging mickey mouse at the mall. that being said, i am contemplating taking our twins before age 5 mostly bc it is easier to take kids out of school before kindergarten
anonymommy says
My parents ACTUALLY basically did that. They told us it was Disney, but in fact we went to that outdoor Disney mall. We had no idea it was any different. It saved them $ we wouldn’t have appreciated at that age anyway and was probably less stressful for them. Went to Disney 1 day (not for a week straight!) for later vacations and loved it.
Anonymous says
We went on a Disney cruise when my child was 3. My child was terrified of the characters. After a year of virtual learning, I will have no problem scheduling a vacation during the school year. When my kids get older, I will reevaluate that position.
Anon says
We took my kids fall 2019 when they were just turned 3 and 5 and had a blast – I think different ages are fun in different ways. We weren’t expecting to enjoy it but it ended up being such a fun trip! I’d say go before baby if you are feeling well but if not, wait! I could not have done disney first trimester with two of my pregnancies – one would have been fine.
Anon says
I wasn’t going to chime in because I thought I was weird in this regard, but COVID or no I totally agree (about postponing 2-3 years). I felt 0 urge to bring my preschoolers to Disney. Agreed, neither of them at that point even knew enough of the Disney characters for it to be worth it, the whole napping/diaper/not being able to walk for long sounds like a nightmare. My kids are 5 and 6 and I’m just now starting to think maybe we should plan on it in the next few years.
This also might be weird, but we randomly went to Disney World twice when I was in middle school (and my brother was 2 years older!) and I vividly remember those trips as my favorite from growing up (and we travelled a lot). So while I would like to maybe go before then, that’s probably why I’m not in a super big rush.
Anon says
I brought my 3 and 5 yos to Disney a few years ago. I did all of the planning and went for a relaxed schedule, but it ended up being a miserable trip. My 5 yo ended up being overwhelmed by the crowds and lines, even with fast passes. My 3 yo was scared of the characters and disliked rides (too scary). It was just too much for them both. I was beyond stressed trying to follow a schedule so that we could avoid lines by using our fast passes. Throw in a few thunderstorms and ride closures and it was misery.
I had much more fun with them on our cruise or a quiet beach vacation. We’re planning to try Disney again when the youngest is older than 6.
Audrey III says
This is a tough question – here are some other things to consider. First, I think the answer will depend on what’s open at Disney. Right now, almost all of the shows are closed and the character experiences are very limited — no hugs, see from a distance. There are also no FastPasses. I don’t know if that will change by Sept. — which I agree is a fantastic time to visit Disney. We have a 3 and 6 year old and I currently have 4 placeholder trips booked (work is very unpredictable), but we’re now of the mindset that we’ll likely cancel the June placeholder even if it works out with work because of the limited things my 3 year old will be able to do, as well as no FastPasses – even if that means we can’t visit until next year. We went when my daughter was 12 months, and she LOVED the characters and LOVED the shows. With height limits on many of the rides, what she can do will be limited, and using the FastPass rider swap last was clutch in terms of allowing my son to ride the big rides a couple times in a row while the other parent waited with my daughter. Second, crowd levels — I have some worries that 2022 crowd levels will be crazy as people take trips that they put off for COVID, but if you’re still thinking Sept., that should mitigate it a bit.
I agree going at tail end of COVID will be stressful – however, there’s no guarantee that masks will not still be in place in 2022, but based on what Disney leadership has been saying, I’d say there’s a fair chance it will not. You should check out Disney Tourist Blog – they’re my favorite for giving honest assessments and constant updates of Disney World, and have been great about describing what it’s really like during COVID.
I also think going with a 6 month old will in many ways be less stressful than what we did, which was go with a 12 month old; she was mobile but not walking. Baby wearing was key, and the 6 month old will likely be more able to do stuff like nap on the go. And if they bring back the perks, like the FastPass rider swap, I think up to three people can use that — meaning each kid rides the big rides twice in a row, while parents swap out with 6 month old. The blog I mention above should have a good explanation of how that worked in the before times.
We are huge Disney fans, so it’s been really hard not going this year. My parents thought we were crazy to bring a 1 year old, but so much of the stress level is your mindset – we were primed to think we’d have a great time even if my 1 year old melted down (which she did a couple times), and really low key about things compared to the “go go go” Disney trips of me and my husband’s youths, and we had a blast.
Redux says
Sidebar: how do you book a fully refundable trip? Is this through a travel agent? Curious as I would like to plan something, too, but am spooked by losing large deposits.
OP says
Oh, we are fortunate in that my father has a Disney Vacation Club membership and has booked our hotel reservation through his points. They’re fully refundable up until some point in time that I can’t recall (but late summer at a minimum) and we haven’t bought admission tickets or booked flights yet.
Clementine says
Disney is just totally refundable for everything. Like, you can cancel and as long as it’s 48 hours in advance, you get a full refund (or practically a full refund).
The mouse knows what it’s doing. And honestly, I wouldn’t have called myself a ‘Disney Person’, but the best vacation I’ve had with kids by FAR has been there. We cancelled a trip last year and I am already looking forward to being in a place where we can go again.
For the OP – I would 100% go with a baby versus pregnant. Agree on Rider Swap (your big kids can ride the rides they like on repeat without waiting!) and also – the baby will just ride along in a carrier and be totally fine. 6 months is a sweet spot for air travel, too.
(Oh, and our kid still remembers the Disney trip when he turned 3. He adored it.)
Anon says
We just barely got our Disney trip in before everything shut down. Definitely delay it, unless you plan to go back several times. We only planned to go once, so I’m not sure I’d spend Disney-level money to miss a bunch of the main attractions, nor would I want to spend that for kids who will miss out on a lot of the magic.
Spend some time understanding what exactly you could do with a 3 and 5 year old so far and what you think they would enjoy. Right now, there are no character visits, many of the rides are closed or they’ll be too little, and most of the shows are closed. They aren’t even doing the fireworks or parades.
My kids were 8 and almost 5. My 8 year old was enthralled, my almost 5 loved it but had a few rough spots – he was too small to ride a lot of rides and he was tired at the end of the long days. We got a stroller even though they’re way past that at home, and it was key. But for both, the biggest magic was in the character visits. The rides were okay but getting autographs of the characters ended up being their favorite part. Even the characters they didn’t know were awesome to them. If we had gone this fall, I’m sure they would have still loved it, but a lot of the extra excitement and most of the things they loved would have been missing.
anon says
Disney while pregnant OR with tiny kids sounds like he!! on earth to me. Wait until they’re a little older and can appreciate it more, and hopefully when covid isn’t a concern.
We’d booked Disney for July 2020 for our elementary-age kids, which we obviously canceled. I don’t know when I’ll feel comfortable enough to rebook. Maybe Disney is being careful, but I have zero trust and faith in traveling anywhere in Florida.
Anon says
I agree with waiting a few years.
I spent part of my childhood in Florida, most of my family is there, and I trust the state and the people to be absolutely reckless with public health and safety. Covid just exposed the extent to which this is true, and upped the risk.
I would be really unhappy if one of my kid’s classmates went to Disney and came back without quarantining in the fall unless Covid rates around the country were super low (like less than 1 new case per 100,000/day).
Clementine says
Past Clementine: Super proud of herself for being organized. Bought summer keens for the kids on sale last fall! Organized and put away all the hand me downs!
Kids (at some point): started finding things and trying to pull them out.
Me: Put them in a different place. Still Organized! Still together!! Wow, look at the efficiency.
Now… For the life of me I can’t find any of my 18 month jackets/sweatshirts, the keens I put away, or the summer clothes I bought at the end of last summer. I highly suspect they’re all in one bin… But it’s not in the place I store things! Joke’s on me.
Cb says
Oh no, in your closet maybe?
Pogo says
omg, this is me. I try so hard and end up buying double of things because I put them in a “super safe place so I wouldn’t lose them”. I was so sure I had 6-12 mo sleep sacks, couldn’t find them, bought more and found them literally the next week.
AIMS says
I had this happened with snow pants for my oldest for this winter. At this point, I am just hoping I find them before my youngest outgrows them. I honestly considered that I never bought them at one point but then my mom found a picture of them on her phone from when they were purchased. House elves!?
Anonanonanon says
The only way to find them is to spend money to replace them. Then they will appear. I don’t make the rules, the universe does.
GCA says
Yes! Always.
Anon. says
This.
Redux says
Same for us for the plastic easter eggs I bought for 50 cents at the grocery store last year post-easter. And did I find them in time to use this year? No, I did not. Did I have to buy new ones at full price? Yes, I did. And then did I find them post-easter hidden in my closest. Why, yes I did.
AwayEmily says
Yup. Had the exact same thing happen to me this year with plastic easter eggs.
Clementine says
I love this solidarity. Luckily, there’s an hour long conference call that I’m (literally) not allowed to talk on, so I’m about to go on a hunt.
(The crazy thing is – I am not naturally an organized person so I’ve compensated by giving myself really strong organizational structure. So… I only have a handful of places where these things would be kept!)
Walnut says
I literally JUST found the stash of winter hats and gloves. In April. When we don’t need them.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Potty training question. I feel like an amateur as this is my second kid, but I’m wondering when I need to potty train? Kiddo is 2.5 and has gone pee and poop on the little potty we have in our bathroom consistently at night (but no other times). Is he ready for potty training? Do we just pick a long weekend and do it? For our first, we followed the Oh Crap timeline and technique to the letter as we were anxious about getting in that window before 30 months and before our second was born, but with kid 2 I’m kind of meh on doing it now and was going to consider waiting. But should we aim to do this now to avoid missing any developmental windows or is that not that big of a deal?
oil in houston says
I was wondering this for my #2 myself last night. He is starting to tell us when his diaper is dirty, and to warn us too, but refuses to go on the potty. If yours is uing the potty, I’d say go for it now, kiddo seems ready!
AwayEmily says
SAME. With my oldest we EXACTLY followed the oh crap timeline. then with our second we trained him not because it was the right “window” but because it finally got warm enough that we could spend long periods on the porch/in the yard without pants on (he was 2.5, as it happens).
So, I’d say do it when it’s convenient for YOU — a combo of warm weather, a long weekend, etc.
Anonymous says
I don’t know there is one window that applies for all kids. Our older we waited till 34 months and it was super easy and fast. Current kid is …32 months? I think? And is in a super oppositional phase and it’s not convenient for us right now so we’ll be waiting another couple months too.
GCA says
I’d say at this age and if he has used the potty, go for it if it’s convenient for you. It sounds like he could be ready! Otherwise, there’s no rush – kids we personally know have potty trained anywhere from before 2 to almost 4. (The militant tone of Oh Crap rubs me exactly the wrong way and reminds me of the worst gym instructors…)
Anon says
Re: your last parenthetical – oh my gosh, me too. I cannot put that kind of stress on us right now. DD is 3 at the end of the month. Pees sometimes on the potty, when prompted, so I believe she’s ready. But I also don’t know how else to do it since Oh Crap is all any friend of mine has suggested. I was a big fan of cry it out, so I’m not afraid of tough love to help with transitions, but this one just gets me all kinds of anxious (which is not a baseline for me). Struggling hard to figure out when and how to pull the diaper plug.
Pogo says
N of 1 but for various reasons we didn’t do the commando method until our oldest was well out of the “magic window”. We used bribes and a sticker chart. Basically all the stuff you’re not supposed to do. It worked in 2 days. I was SO glad I waited as many of my local friends w/ kids the same age had tried and failed several times and it ended up taking much longer than if they’d just waited.
Anonymous says
My 21 month old has discovered cookies, and now that is all he asks for. He woke up this morning and yelled “cookie!” I’ve taken the Feeding Littles course, which says that you decide when you’re serving cookies and then give them as many as they ask for (within reason), but what about outside of mealtimes? My son is constantly wandering into the kitchen and saying “cookie”.
Anon says
Outside of mealtimes, I would just say we’re not having cookies now. That seems like all the explanation you need.
Fwiw, I’ve had to ignore that Feeding LIttles advice about not limiting quantity. I believe there are some kids who can teach themselves moderation after eating to excess once or twice, but I don’t have one of them. She can eat an entire batch of cookies if we don’t stop her so now when we bake or have a cookie with dinner we say we’re all eating one cookie and that’s it. She’s accepted it and I like that we’re not labeling food as ‘bad’ or anything like that, just teaching her that some things are best enjoyed in moderation. Sometimes you have to tailor the generic parenting advice to fit your family and your kid’s personality.
Anonymous says
+1 to your second paragraph. I think there are some people who truly don’t feel uncomfortable enough when they’re full to know that it’s time stop eating. My husband and one of my friends are like this. They will just keep eating until all the available food is gone. People like this have to come up with conscious workarounds for self-regulation like serving up a bowl of chips and putting the bag away instead of eating straight out of the bag, but this kind of planning and self-awareness is just not possible for little kids.
Anonymous says
Yup this is me. My intuition says “eat the full roll of thin mints.” As a child, I stole loaves of bread and ate through them.
Anon says
Wait, the full roll of thin mints is not a serving size? There’s a reason I only buy a few boxes here, hah.
Anon says
The full roll was definitely a serving for me when I was nursing. In fact I’m pretty sure I ate a whole box in one sitting at least once. The joys of having a March baby!
Anonymous says
“We’re not having cookies now.” If you want to go all “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen,” you can validate the feeling and/or grant the wish in fantasy.
Anon. says
That’s what we do. I have a kid crazy for bread and butter. If he could, he’d eat that exclusively.
If he gets upset that he’s not allowed to have it both for breakfast and for lunch, I usually mirror his feelings, acknowledge that it’s frustrating not to get what you want, and then follow with a ridiculous example: “I would so like to eat a whole pink elephant right now because I’m so hungry, and it makes me so angry I can’t have it!”
Anonymous says
Lol mine does this constantly and I just say “no, it’s not time for that”. Literally a dozen times a day
Anon says
“It’s not time for eating right now.” We’ll have X for snack when it’s time
Anon says
In our house it’s chocolate. If she asks in the morning, I usually say after lunch (so she can get two meals in). She has a small piece or two, and then when she asks again later I either say after dinner (if she has eaten enough protein that day) or we’ve had enough sugar today, you can have some tomorrow. She takes both responses reasonably well, usually with a pre-teen worthy sigh (at 3) and then goes and finds something else to do. My kiddo would subsist on straight carbs and candy if we let her though, so I have to balance my mantra that food is not a battle with I’d like my child to eat more than a handful of things (including at least some vegetables!) by the time she’s 4. She actually put a carrot in her mouth at dinner this week (before chewing it for 5 full minutes and spitting it out) which is the first vegetable that has passed her lips in 6 months, so I’m calling that progress.
anon says
Ya’ll, I’m so sad. I work for a very small law firm, and the legal assistant who is our boss’ right-hand-woman, who has worked there forever, passed away unexpectedly and suddenly. She worked so hard and was so smart. I’m just at a loss. It’s a very very strange time with covid on top of the normal work/life mixing that comes at a time of loss. Because of covid, I didn’t see her in person, but we talked several times a day by phone. Anyone else lose a coworker during covid? Anything thoughtful we can do for the family? I’m not sure of my state’s funeral restrictions at this point in covid, but I doubt an associate attorney from work will make any kind of shortlist (understandably). On the other hand, this is someone who spent a lot of time working, so I’m thinking of writing a short letter to her family expressing just how uniquely good she was at her profession.
Anon says
I think the idea about writing a letter to her family is lovely. Sorry for your loss.
Anon says
i think writing a letter sounds lovely. my mother passed away in 2019 and one of her former coworkers (my mom had stopped working a year prior, but had been sick during her last years of work) wrote me the nicest email and it meant a lot
Spirograph says
I agree writing a letter would be a very thoughtful gesture. A vendor my team had been working closely with passed away unexpectedly last year, and we sent a note to pass along to his family. We didn’t get (or expect) a response, but I feel like it’s always nice to acknowledge people’s grief and share a memory of their loved one. And I’m sorry for your loss — even when it’s not family or a close friend, an unexpected hole in your life hurts.
Redux says
Where do you buy your elementary-age kids shoes? It’s been so long since we’ve been to a real store, and I honestly am not sure I have my kids sizes right anymore. I’d like to take them somewhere with a few options– a sporting goods store? department store? when I was a kid our shoes came from Payless, but I am looking for something higher quality than that but with similar breadth of options. DSW? Where do you physically take your elementary age kids for shoes that won’t break the bank?
Anon says
If you want them fitted, I would suggest a department store, and frankly I think the shoe fittings we’ve had at Nordstrom have been best even if the shoes are not the cheapest. Once you know their size and what brands or styles work best, then I would try DSW. DSW (at least the one near us) doesn’t really do fittings and it is very much like a help yourself style warehouse, but if you know what you are looking for or are comfortable fitting them yourself it can be a great option.
Anon says
I know this might not exist for everyone in a reasonable distance, but we go to a local mom & pop store that specializes in kid’s shoes. I have full confidence in their measuring and they have the best selection. Any chance there is anything nearish you like that? I would drive pretty far for this vs. heading to some big box stores like I did recently to find almost 0 help and little selection.
Anon says
This – in the DC area we love Fit Right Kids Shoes in Chantilly. Well worth the drive.
Anonymous says
We’ve been to fit right but moved to MD so now we go to Shoe Train. Love them both!! I don’t mind spending money on 2 GOOD pairs per size and anything else I just buy from DSW
Redux says
We do have a small one but it is super pricey and very limited selection for older kids. It was definitely my go to when my kids were toddler and preschool age, though!
Anonymous says
+1 – I do order online from Zappos and Amazon, but my son has really hard to fit feet (high arches and high instep) and I’ve finally decided in person shopping is worth it periodically to figure out styles that work for his feet and what size he needs. I found out the hard way that at least right now, he needs a full size larger than his foot measures (1.5 sizes up from what I measured) to get a shoe that is comfortable, even in a wide shoe that is theoretically good for this kind of foot.
Anon says
For this kind of trip where I’m not sure on sizing/needs, I always go to the local mom & pop children’s shoe store. It’s expensive, but worth it. If you’re on the SF Bay Peninsula, Howard’s has a few locations.
Anon says
We went to Dick’s sporting goods, which is where my husband buys his shoes also. Unfortunately their store policy doesn’t require masks so we won’t go there now that our state mask mandate has been lifted.
Anon says
Lately we just take them to the Nike store near us, or Dicks. It seems like DSW only carries light up shoes, which I abhor, so going straight to athletic shoes seems to work best. We’ll do Nordstroms or even Kohls/ Target/ Old Navy for special occasion shoes but for day-to-day, Nikes or other athletics are good.
anon says
We go to a local sporting goods place when I feel like they need to get sized and/or try on a bunch of options. But I’ve also purchased plenty from DSW (online selection is better) and Zappos, just in bigger sizes in the brand/style they already own.
Anon says
I order from 6PM a size or two up to get a discount and then try on every few months to see when they fit. I basically keep a mini discount shoe store in their closet.
Anonymous says
I haven’t taken my kids to a physical shoe store in years. We order from zappos, get a few styles and sizes, and then return all except my kids’ favorites. Voila, virtual shoestore.
anon. says
Pediped has been amazing for our kids and they are washable.
I can’t recommend the brand enough. They are not cheap, but if you sign up for the emails they’ll send buy one, get one 50% off occasionally.
AnonATL says
My 8 month old has what I suspect is heat rash behind his knees. It’s not very bumpy but red and warm. Yesterday was the first hot day here this year, and I just noticed it this morning. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him. Any good remedies? Of course if it gets worse I will call the ped.
Anon says
Sound more like eczema to me. Heat rash is normally bumpy and behind the knees is probably the #1 classic spot for eczema. An oatmeal based lotion can help but you may need to get a steroid cream from your ped.
anonymommy says
I’d try a dot of CeraVe Hydrocortisone Anti-Itch Cream before bothering with calling/getting prescriptions. My daughter has very sensitive skin, and a dot of this in the creases of her knee/elbows at night clears up various bumps/dry patches most of the time. Aveena night cream is also good, but I’ve been wondering if it is as good for summer/sweaty as it was for winter/dry.
Anonarama says
Agreed, I’ve used hydrocortisone cream before in this exact scenario as well with great results.
AIMS says
I put aquafor on everything.
NYC girl says
100%
Anonymous says
Story of my life with both kids. We swear by shea butter mixed with calendula ointment and if you’re b-feeding, b-milk. Apply 2-3 times a day
Anon says
Any tips for when we grow out of the sleep sack? Newly two year old sleeps GREAT and is still in a sleep sack. We are not close to potty training, and he’s still in a crib for the foreseeable future. He’s too tall now for a sleep sack, but maybe I should be looking for one that is extra length? Or do we transition to a blanket (which I’m certain won’t stay on him/actually keep him warm).
Anon says
I had to buy Woolino sleep sacks to accommodate my large kid when she was almost 2. They’re expensive but high quality and huge – I doubt she’ll grow out of it before 4 or even 5.
Anon says
i’ve been trying to avoid the woolino, but maybe i should just give in. i have twins and like to have 2 for each of them and i dont know that i want to spend $400 on sleep sacks
Anon says
I use woolino too and I think they may be the longest. Kyte baby has big sizes you might want to check out as well but they aren’t quite as long. Probably cheaper, though.
Anon says
I sympathize. My daughter was getting too long for her sleep sack, and I was dreading having to spend the money on woolinos due to cost (I actually liked to have a number of sleep sacks on hand). Then, one night she decided she didn’t want to wear a sleep sack at all anymore. Just like that. Long sleeve and long leg pajamas with a blanket. Socks and/or slippers on her feet. She didn’t really like the footed pajamas that we tried, but she greatly enjoys wearing her slippers to bed and surprisingly keeps them on her feet. Blankets may or may not stay on throughout the night, but we keep her room warm so it isn’t a problem.
Cb says
We used the long ones until my son was 3 – Grobags. He’ll be 4 in August and he still kicks the blanket off and needs help in the middle of the night. The sleepsacks look so nice and cozy, I’d definitely sleep in one.
Anonymous says
YES!! see if you can find larger sacks. (that got us about 8 months extra)
Alternately – even post toilet training kiddo went back to the full fleece, footed, zip up sleepers. He loves them but alas he is now in 5T jammies…. so i suspect by next winter we will be out of luck.
Anon says
you’re abroad, right? where can i purchase the larger grobag sleep sacks. i just went to their site, which takes me to another site and the largest they have on the site where i can actually purchase is up to 36 months
Anon says
I would vote for warm jammies and a biggish blanket that may/may not stay on…
Redux says
Same. My kiddo wears fleece footed pajamas still at age 4 because he wiggles out of the blanket.
AwayEmily says
Yeah, this is what we do. A twin-sized fleece blanket works well because it also sort of sticks to them more than a comforter.
TheElms says
The XL Halo sleep sacks still work for my 37 inch tall toddler and I’d say we probably have another inch or so.
Pogo says
They also have an “early walker” version that has legs, kinda, but still a blanket. I was about to move my 2yo to that when he proclaimed he was done w/ sleep sacks.
EDAnon says
We use the foot hole for my 2.5 year old and he loves it. He can sleep without a sleep sack but he prefers wearing it. The foot hole ones also mean they can get a lot taller and still wear it. My older one was done done done with sleep sacks by 2. But the little one really likes it.
No Face says
I switch to zip up footed pajamas.
Anonymous says
Are you sure he’s too tall? Only because my >99th percentile height child was comfortable in his 18-24 month halo sleep sack until over 2.5, even if his feet reached the bottom. Then I was worrying about what came next snd he just naturally started taking it off and covering himself with his blanket.
Anon says
Post-sleep sack, it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out that a comforter that’s well tucked in/under a twin bed did a pretty good job of staying put.
Anon says
My tall three year old somehow still squeezes into her XL Halo sleepsack. The move to a “big kid bed” was easy, but I dread taking her “sleepysack” (as she calls it) away, since it’s become such a comfort item for her. We have one Woolino and it’s great quality and much larger than the Halo, but she seems to prefer her Halo. I have no idea how to get her out of it when she does eventually outgrow it but that’s a problem for Future Me.
ifiknew says
My DD turns 4 next month. She is in the process of giving up her nap (was about an hour), but it was making bedtime miserable and she was calling for us until 8:30-9:00 nightly. SHe sleeps by 7:30 without the nap. She’s always called for me in the MOTN atleast 2-4x week, so miserable, but atleast I got some nights to recover. Now with nap being gone, she wakes up every night and it’s just really wearing me down. Is it going to take a few weeks to adjust? I am so sick of the MOTN wakeups and it’s so depressing to have a 4 year old that’s still doing this.
Even if it doesn’t change, if anyone can help me stay positive, I’d appreciate it.
Anon says
DD is 3.5 and we still have MOTN wakeups I would say 6 nights out of 7. I don’t count this morning because it was 6:30, even though she went back to sleep until 8, but at least I had gotten 7 hours by then. No suggestions, just solidarity. 3.5 (or 4) years of broken sleep is brutal, but eventually (I hear) they will grow out of it, or at least not need to wake us up to deal with it. Some children are just terrible sleepers (DH is as well so mine at least comes by it honestly) and I think we just don’t talk about it because children are “supposed” to sleep through the night.
octagon says
I’m here to tell you it gets better. Kiddo napped way later than most kids (4.5!) and was staying up until nearly 10 before we dropped the nap, even though he was in bed with lights off around 8. Then even after the nap disappeared, he still had a really hard time winding down even though he was exhausted, which made for some challenging nights and lots of meltdowns. Throw in some stretches of nightmares/MOTN wakeups and I felt like such a zombie for a few months.
Now, more than a year out, those issues are behind us. We do make more of an effort to do something physical after dinner, even if it’s YouTube yoga or a walk around the block. That helps get the post-dinner energy out. We also got really strict with a shorter bedtime routine so there were less options to drag it out. Hang in there!
Sleepy anon says
Just solidarity. Our almost 3.5 year old very, very rarely naps but has taken to waking up at 3am wide awake and unable to fall back asleep until crying herself to sleep (often on the floor with her lamp on) around 530/6. We’re working to get a referral for…someone who can help. Sleep specialist? Psychologist? I will pay anyone any amount of money to make this stop. We are all miserable. Also have a baby coming next month so obviously we’re thrilled about this. Ped sent us a note after our last call about sleep and noted that 4/5 last visits have been sleep related. Our ped said it could be growing pains so try tylenol, or she’s either under or over stimulated. So far no good answers or resolution. So yeah…I sympathize.
Pogo says
We hired a sleep consultant who basically said to be super brutal on the night time call outs and ignore them (walk over to doorway and say, “it’s night night time, love you, see you in the morning”. I did it for awhile and it worked and then I got lazy and weak and didn’t want him to wake his brother with his howling I CANT FIND BABY!!![Baby is his lovey] so now, like, you I get woken by my 3yo almost every night. Solidarity.
With no nap, she did say to try and get them in bed between 6 and 6:30. I would start there and see if sleep improves somewhat.
Anonarama says
Another nap question! I have a three year old who still naps regularly including the weekends, at least an hour but usually two. This is great, but the flipside of this is that she doesn’t go to bed until 9:30/10. We usually have her bedtime routine all completed by 9, and she’ll just play in her room until she falls asleep. If she doesn’t nap, she gets extremely crabby by dinner time.
I would love if she could get to bed earlier (I sometimes go to bed before she does!), but does it make sense to try to get her to drop the nap? Or just wait this out until she drops it on her own?
NYCer says
Personally, I would start encouraging her to drop the nap or at least cap it at 1 hour max. My patience wears thin that late in the evening, so I would not be the best version of myself if my toddler was awake until 9:30 or 10pm every night. (Aka, it would drive me crazy! Ha!) If you don’t mind the very late bedtimes, then I don’t see any harm in sticking with the naps.
AwayEmily says
+1 on shortening the nap. My 3yo was also taking epic naps and as a result going to bed late/waking up a lot. His daycare recently switched him to the “late” nap group (aka shorter naps) and he goes to sleep SO much more easily and there are fewer wakeups.
No Face says
I personally do bed time at 7 or 7:30, directly after dinner. The crabbiness at bedtime to me indicates that she can skip the nap and go straight to bed after dinner.
Anon says
following with interest. everyone always says to cap the nap, but when i wake my kid up from a nap, her response is as if i am performing surgery without anesthesia and it is usually so so unpleasant for a couple of hours. is this just suck it up until she totally grows out of nap?
ElisaR says
haha same here
Anon says
Rather than capping the nap, I started alternating days of nap and no nap. After the effort of putting kid down for a nap no way was I waking him after an hour so he could scream and cry for another hour… Or plan a car ride around nap time so it’s a short nap that day.
Katala says
If you drop the nap, the crabbiness by dinner should ease relatively quickly as she adjusts by going to sleep a bit earlier. I always find dropping naps to be rough but usually works itself out within a week or two. Those weeks are rough though!
Spirograph says
My kids spent a long time in the phase you’re describing where a nap keeps them up late, but no nap makes them crabby. My 4.5 year old still naps at least half the time, and my older kids were the same until kindergarten. What’s worked for us: We do quiet time on most weekends, but do not encourage sleeping. If anyone falls asleep, we wake them up by 4pm so we still have a fighting chance they’ll be asleep before 10pm. Bedtime is 8:30 lights-out because I want kid-free time before I go to bed! I don’t care (too much) if the kids stay awake after that, as long as they’re quiet and leave me alone. If they stay up really late, it evens itself out because wake-up on school days is 7:15, 7:30 at the absolute latest, and they’ll compensate by falling asleep earlier the next night.
anon says
First communion gift ideas? I like the idea of something personalized/commemorative, but I’m also wary of introducing a lot of clutter. Also, not at all religious and I have no idea what’s appropriate. Girl and boy, ages 8 and 10 (they could match or not).
Anon says
If they’re Catholic, cash in a card.
Anon says
For girl: a “fancy” necklace. Could be a cross or something else she’s interested in. Possibly even a charm bracelet with a monogrammed or first communion themed charm on it Doesn’t have to be expensive – I’ve gotten my nieces sterling silver crosses with rhinestones/CZ jewels on them.
For boy: a wallet with cash, or a “masculine” cross necklace or bracelet if you think he’d like it. Search etsy!
You can also give them something secular if nothing else seems appealing to you – a Lego set, a book etc.
And then sometimes you get good news! says
A little over a month ago I wrote here because I was feeling super down in my fertility journey, and so many of you shared your stories and hard-earned wisdom and great yoga links, and gave me hope and perspective and a little bit of a kick in the seat of my pants. Thanks to you, I called a fertility coach the next day, and she was amazing at helping us figure out options and get us over some IVF hurdles which I’d not been able to see around (we just needed to jump country borders!), and we got a plan in motion to do IVF. We also talked more about how we’d make our lives full and meaningful if we don’t get to have kids, which was really good. And then last week we got the most wonderful surprise of all – a positive pregnancy test!!!! I guess that strong presence of a little soul I felt last month wanted to be a Christmas baby! I just wanted to share that happy news with those of you who had been so helpful, and hopefully give a little hope to those who are still waiting for their miracle. (And, so far I’m finding my “newly pregnant” anxiety to be about 1/100th of my “trying to conceive” anxiety. Also, I highly recommend the “Fertility from the Soul” Youtube channel for affirmations for those who are trying – they really helped me).
Anonymous says
aww thank you for sharing this good news update. Congratulations, and best wishes for a healthy pregnancy and baby!
Anon says
Best of luck to you, congratulations!
AnonATL says
Woohoo!! Best wishes for a happy and healthy pregnancy!
So Anon says
What wonderful news!! Congratulations!!
Pogo says
aw, congrats!
ElisaR says
well i haven’t followed your journey at all but this post makes me so happy for you.