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We have a hodgepodge of night-lights all over the house that run all night long — perhaps we should swap our collection for these motion-activated ones from GE.
This UltraBrite Motion-Activated LED Night-Light automatically turns on when it senses motion (up to 25 feet away) and turns off after 90 seconds of no activity. It also automatically stays off during the day thanks to light sensing technology. so no energy is wasted. It’s perfect for anywhere you might need a little extra light, like bathrooms, halls, and basements. It even comes in four finishes to blend into your decor.
This nightlight starts at $9.24 depending on the finish. It’s available at Walmart.
Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Zappos – 26,000+ 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 – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
Cb says
We’ve put an IKEA motion sensor and smart lights in the hall and it’s so nice not to lock the door and realise you’ve left the light on or fumble for the switch when your hands are full. We’ve also got timer lights next to my side of the bed and above kiddo’s bed in hopes of spurring us to action in the morning.
Anonymous says
Ugh I’m at the tail end of a cold right now where I’m basically fine from 10 AM to 10 PM, but then I am up all night coughing. Do you all have any recommendations for a cough syrup or something to help? I tried taking a hot shower, which helped for a little bit but not all night.
Anne-on says
Do you use a humidifier? I mentioned that I got Covid over the holidays and had a terrible cough – sleeping slightly elevated and a humidifier really helped a lot. I also got the advice from my doctor to take sudafed and Mucinex DM basically 24/7 for at least a week to loosen and expel all the gunk from my chest – that did seem to do the trick.
AwayEmily says
Ugh that sucks, I’m sorry. When I had a bad cough a few months ago I took Unisom to help me sleep through it.
Anon says
I like delsym personally. But you can also get a prescription for a cough syrup with codeine which helps most people sleep (in me it actually keeps me up, but I understand I’m the minority (similarly, my kid is is one where Benadryl causes excitability rather than drowsiness, which we found out with an allergic reaction while traveling, sigh).
Spirograph says
+1 to humidifier, and honey works better than cough syrup for me. Also, mucinex DM if it’s the type of cough that is post nasal drip related. I’m at the tail end of a cold too, and just waiting for the nighttime cough to start. ugh
Bette says
Ugh, so sorry. I had a terrible cold over the holidays too and couldn’t take many meds (pregnant). Used all the tricks: humidifier, sleeping with head elevated, unisom, and honey. I also rely heavily on Throat Coat tea with lots of honey when I have a cough or sore throat. And I find that sleeping in a separate room from my spouse helps a little, because I’m not trying to stifle the coughing to avoid waking him. Hope you feel better soon! Mine lasted about a week but damaged my throat so much I still have laryngitis and can’t really talk.
Anonymous says
If it is caused by post-nasal drip, elevating my head helps me a bit.
anon says
Try a medication like Sudafed or even an allergy med to help with post nasal drip. Mucinex DM is also good. I have a longer comment that disappeared with more info.
Lise says
I had the same thing in October, and found Honeyworks spray and regular saline rinses to be really helpful.
CCLA says
Something with dextromethorphan (delsym, mucinex dm, etc) – that’s the cough controlling ingredient. IIRC it’s every 12 hours at least for Delsym so make sure to time it so you’re not due for a dose middle of the night. Also echoing humidifier, and if it at all seems like congestion, sudafed (the real stuff from the pharmacy, not the PE version).
Weird kid habits says
This is kind of embarrassing so staying anon but do any of your kids have weird/kinda gross habits?
My kid (2.5) will find my hair on the floor or sofa or wherever and put it in his mouth. Sometimes going as far to pull a piece off my head. It’s gross and obviously pulling my hair really hurts. Is this something I need to talk to the ped about?
He’s otherwise “normal” and doesn’t seem to have any other sensory type habits.
Anon says
That could totally just be a toddler. The other thing that pops to mind is pica – does he do this with other non-food substances? Does he have iron in his diet/has his iron been tested lately?
OP says
He’s still in a stage where he puts everything in his mouth but it could be the iron. He doesn’t really like meat though he does generally eat beans and most veggies and cheese.
And it’s just my hair. No reports of him pulling hair at school or my husbands (short) hair.
Anonymous says
My now perfectly normal 5y/o would lick any *charging cable* she could find as a young toddler. It was awful!!
Anonymous says
My 1st grade daughter itches her crotch all the time. In public. She also wipes her hands on her clothes.
We are working on both and no, she doesn’t have an untreated infection of any kind.
Louisa says
10 year old son still wipes hands on clothes. So many reminders, but sigh.
Anonymous says
Same! And nose.
Anon says
My husband does this. I wish his parents had been able to break him of this habit!
GCA says
My 2nd grader still wipes his hands (mouth, nose, argh) on his clothes. Oddly his pre-K sister is more fastidious and will get down from the dinner table and immediately wash her hands.
Anon says
You might look into lichen infection rather than just bacterial infections, if the only symptom is itching. I suffered for as long as I can remember (very early childhood) and never understood what it was till I read Dr Jen Gunter’s “V* Bible” as an adult.
Anonymous says
As a child I suffered with itching and was misdiagnosed with yeast and all sorts of stuff. Only in college did I realize I have very sensitive skin in that area and very very very easily get contact dermatitis (one day of tight pants will do it), which 1-2 days if cortisone ointment will clear up. Worth thinking about if it’s an ongoing issue.
Anonforthis says
Nothing like that (though it’s kind of hilarious if that makes you feel better?) but wondering how many other parents of 3 or 4 year old girls are going through a phase where the kid is crossing her legs/rocking in a way that’s very obvious what is going on, if you get my drift? This seems to happen every few days (sometimes not as often) for the last few months and she gets very focused on it. I know it’s normal (not sure how common though).
Anonymous says
I have fond memories of masturbating at rest time in K, and my son apparently did a lot in preschool. He proudly announced to me when he came home one day that he got to have rest time in a special area so he would have more privacy!
Anonymous says
My son used to like to pull his hair when he was falling asleep as a baby, and when he was a bit older he liked to eat hair. We used to do baby swim lessons that were held in a kind of gross public high school pool, and I have a distinct memory of him crawling toward a clump of hair he spotted in the drain in the nasty locker room while i was trying to change post-class. I have never moved so fast to intercept him. He also once tried to lick the pole you hang on to in the subway. (He has outgrown the hair thing!)
Anon says
tell me about outgrowing this! I have a 15 month old that pulls out here hair – but doesn’t put it in her mouth. Everyone thinks she’s a boy, which is fine I guess, but I’d love for her to have more hair eventually!
OP says
My son used to do this too until he figured out how to suck his thumb. He was bald on one side of his head for months where he pulled it all out.
Earlier poster says
ugh, so DD pulls it out with one hand while sucking the fingers on her other hand. And it’s been going on for probably 9 months? The pediatrician said she should outgrow it but I’d love it if that was sooner rather than later!
Paralyzed by travel planning! says
I posted this on the main board yesterday and got a lot of very helpful responses but was encouraged to post here since my kids are young.
TIA for your thoughts!
(Fully recognizing this is a privileged position to be in) I am experiencing what I can only describe as paralysis related to making travel plans. Some backstory: I am married with two young kids (who will be approx. 2 and 4.5 this coming spring/summer/fall). Prior to having kids, I traveled a good amount (both as a child, with my single mom, as well as during my school years, college, and post-college). Nothing crazy but I am decently well traveled in Europe, Latin America, Canada, and South Asia. For a few years while dating/engaged, my husband and I did a good amount of travel, but much of it was domestic because for a while we were attending like 8-10 weddings a year, and I was a big law associate for 7 years and therefore never wanted to take more than a long weekend of vacation time. We did do two 1-2 week trips in Europe over the course of those 7 years, plus a couple of 3 or 4 day Caribbean trips. Then we got married, had kids, and COVID hit. I am desperate to start traveling again but I feel totally unable to commit to a location or start booking plane tix/hotels, despite the fact that (a) we have plenty of money to travel and (b) I now have an in-house job with 4 weeks vacation that I can actually take and not have to work during. I have also been told that these years before kindergarten start are a good time to travel because we don’t have to travel during peak season or pull kids out of school.
As an example, last fall we decided to do a Jan/Feb/March (flexible) Caribbean trip this year but never got around to actually planning it, and now it feels too late. I think part of the reason is that I have felt “travel starved” (again, I recognize how privileged and entitled that sounds, believe me!) and so I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself for the trip to be perfect. The other reason is that this will be the first time I am undertaking significant, international travel with two kids (or any kids at all) and I’m worried it won’t be anything like what travel used to be. Ok, I KNOW it won’t. But I can’t seem to get over this. I’m worried we’ll spend a boatload of money and have a miserable time, even though I intellectually know that we are likely going to spend a lot of money, and have some very good memories and some annoying times, but overall will not regret going.
My mom’s 70th bday is coming up (I actually posted about this here a few weeks back) and she wants to go to Spain, so we’ve settled on that. I do like Spain, but again there’s this nagging thing in my brain going “but you love France! And Italy!” and “what will you and the kids [all vegetarian] eat in Spain!” even though I know it’ll all work out.
Any tips for getting over myself?
And, now that we’ve decided on Spain as a destination, please recommend your best itinerary for 7 full days (9 including travel) for 3 adults and 2 young kids, aiming for 2 cities (maaaybe 3 if one of the cities/towns is within a short train/drive from other city). Budget up to $1k per night (not including flights but must include accommodations that will allow my mom to have her own bed, and at least one twin bed for the kids) but would be delighted to spend less. My mom and I have been to Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Valencia, but more than open to revisiting one of Madrid or Barcelona. My mom is intrigued by Basque country but it seems hard to get to – I don’t want to spend a ton of time schlepping kids around on connecting flights, long train rides, etc. Travel month is flexible but March, June, or September/October would be ideal.
TIA again for reading this self-absorbed novel!
Anonymous says
Just book part of the trip. Today. Once it’s done you’ll be ready to do the rest.
Anonymous says
It’s not too late. Book the time off work today, call a travel agent, and go. The Facebook group for The Stripe can give you a good travel agent recommendation
Anonymous says
A few thoughts:
(1) you will eat all the potatoes and tomatoes in Spain and it will be great! If you eat seafood, even better, but even if not there are lots of vegetable dishes. Definitely try the espinacas con garbanzos.
(2) Yes, travel will small children is different, and probably in a lot of ways worse. But it is also still travel, and you will still get to enjoy a lot of the same things you used to love about travel.
(3) The only way to get over this fear/trepidation is to just go ahead and travel with kids a few times. Once you’ve done it, you’ll know the ropes and figure out how to adjust your expectations and plan for eventualities so you can all have a good time. You’ve got this!!
anon says
I’d recommend being based in max 2 cities and take day-trips to other places. Prekids we’d spend a night or 2 in a place at a time and hit 5 cities in a trip, but with little kids it’s a lot more work to pack up everything every night. This isn’t Spain, but as an example, for a Portugal trip with toddlers we spent 8 nights in Lisbon (with 3 day-trips outside the city by train or rental car) and 2 nights in Sintra. For an upcoming Europe trip with elem-aged kids, we’re doing 3 nights in one city and then 7 in another with lots of day-trip options.
It might also be worth thinking about if you have any flexibility with sleeping arrangements–when we travel to European cities with my in-laws it’s much easier to book places with 3 bedrooms (one for my parents-in-law, one for my BIL and SIL, and one for us) and just put the kids in sleeping bags on the floor (or pnp’s when they were younger). YMMV, but mine are almost 6 and have no issue sleeping on the floor for a week.
Also, for me it helps to not treat these trips as “much see absolutely everything!!”and assume that we’ll go back at some point. So we just got back from a Europe city trip where we didn’t set foot in a single museum. Is that very different from how I traveled prekids? Yep, but it would have been more miserable for everyone if we’d dragged them to art museum after art museum and I know this is just a season of life. We did museums when they were babies/toddlers (and napped in carriers while we looked at art) and we’ll do them again once they get a little older, so for the time being we focus on outdoor activities and long walks.
Anon says
Agree with all this, as someone who takes my young child to Europe often. We usually try to do at least one museum but it’s always brief and there’s an ice cream/gelato bribe involved. Don’t be afraid to visit playgrounds. It’s fun for the kids, but also a really good way to get a glimpse of local cultures. We always meet locals there and it’s fun to hear about their lives.
Spirograph says
Just do it. My husband and I also traveled a lot before kids and while I didn’t travel with a 2 and 4.5 year old (thanks, pandemic), we’re getting back into it with our early elementary-aged kids. It’s not the same, it’s frustrating sometimes, but it’s still fun. Just book stuff. Be realistic about how much “adventuring” you can do, though. DH and I were just talking about this last night with regard to the trip we took over winter break — we used to leave our hotel in the morning and just kind of wander around all day, usually with one destination in mind, but then a lot of “what’s over here?” “this cafe looks cute!” our kids can’t hang for a full day of that. Keys to traveling with kids (for me) are
1. streamlined travel. Like you say, connecting flights and long train rides are not going to be fun with kids. Anything with a deadline is stressful – you don’t want to be trying to catch a train or a bus on a schedule every other day.
2. home base that is central-ish to what you want to do, and easy transportation (be realistic about walking distance) to activities
3. no more than one activity/site per day
I’ve been looking at tour companies that specialize in family tours — haven’t tried one yet, but if you want to visit multiple cities, I’d be inclined to go that route. There is just so much other stuff that takes up time and brain space when you’re traveling with kids, it’s very appealing to me to have someone else deal with the logistics (and get back on track if anything doesn’t go to plan).
anon says
Oh yeah, family tours is a great idea! I haven’t done them with my kids yet but my parents took us on group family-oriented trips starting when my youngest sib was 3 and I have nothing but good memories about those. There were always other kids to play with (which both entertained us and probably kept us on better behavior) and my parents were able to cope with moving around from place to place more (and thus seeing more of whatever country we were in) because all they had to do was get the 6 of us packed up each morning and someone else was in charge of transportation logistics, activities, and figuring out where we were going to eat.
Spirograph says
Thanks for this! My family never did anything like it when I was a kid, so I have no idea what to expect from them and whether they’d add fun for the kids or just be less work for me. I fell down a rabbit hole recently looking at some bucket list-type locations, and the tours seemed awesome. I’m happy to mess up, adjust, and figure things out when it’s just me or just me and my husband, but with jet lagged kids on a hair trigger to melt down and make everything miserable, the stakes are much higher. In a country where I’m not fluent in the language and have invested a lot of time and money to get there, it’s like an insurance policy.
AwayEmily says
This sounds awesome! Let us know if you find one that looks promising, I can imagine doing one of these. The older I get, the less I enjoy the logistical aspect of travel. Love the idea of having someone else do it, and having built-in friends for my kids. Also, then my husband and I could gossip about the other people on the trip.
Anonymous says
Tours aren’t cheap, because you’re paying for the convenience, but here’s one company I’ve had good experiences with: https://www.journeysinternational.com/travelers/families-with-school-age-children/
Anonymous says
No matter what you do, it won’t be perfect. Maybe reframe this as, how can I make this fun for mom? I find it weirdly freeing to not have to have a good time. You may regret going. You may have a miserable time. But you can’t know that in advance. No amount of preparation can insulate you from things going wrong, so you have to just do your best with the limited information you have now and trust that you will use your considerable resources to make the best of whatever happens.
Anonymous says
Voice of experience on Spain… make sure you’re staying somewhere with AC!!! My kids had huge sleep issues there last summer due to heat, and it made the trip miserable for everyone. We also had a lot of problems with the restaurant hours there, so you probably need a strategy to deal with that, if your kids do best on a regular schedule and earlier bedtime. Frankly… I would not go to Spain.
Spirograph says
oh man, I have not traveled to Spain with kids, but now that you say that I remember when I was traveling with a group of 20-somethings there years ago and we showed up for dinner at like 8pm and the restaurant staff looked at us like we were insane for being so early. they hadn’t finished setting up the tables for dinner service yet. My kids turn into pumpkins if they don’t eat by 6:30, so excellent point that we will not go to Spain for several more years.
Anon says
Many parts of Europe eat dinner later than we do, but there’s usually a decent assortment of non-fancy restaurants open by 6 or 6:30 pm. There are more options in touristy places and I think generally things open earlier outside of big cities (just like people in the US Midwest eat earlier than in NYC). We had zero issues in Mallorca or any of the parts of Italy we’ve been to with kids (not Rome), but it was a big issue in Paris. It’s definitely put me off traveling to the biggest cities like Rome and Madrid with kids. Another option is eating your big meal at lunch and then just doing snacks for dinner, we’ve done that a few times. I’ve also heard of people trying to keep their kids on US eastern time so they go to bed around midnight Europe time and sleep in, but my kid’s internal clock is very tied to the sun and that doesn’t work for us.
Anon says
We don’t try to keep our kids on EST, but have had good luck shifting them only 4 hours instead of 6, so bedtime is 9pm Europe time instead of 7pm at home, which makes eating out easier (and lets the grownups sleep in!).
Anonymous says
This. We do a 10pm bedtime while in Europe. Allows us to have dinner out in the evenings. You see kids napping in strollers at outdoor cafes and restaurants all the time. In August vacations in Italy and Greece, often we all took a nap for a couple hours in the afternoon.
NYCer says
+1. It would be tough to keep our kids at their current ages entirely on EST, but we definitely do not fully adjust. We also aim for bedtime around 10pm.
Anon says
In the time it has taken you to post this twice and read everybody’s comments, you probably could have just booked the whole thing.
Paralyzed by travel planning! says
[Sorry if this comment posts more than once, having issues with the s*te today]
[Re-posting from main board at a commenter’s suggestion – thanks for all the responses yesterday].
TIA for your thoughts!
(Fully recognizing this is a privileged position to be in) I am experiencing what I can only describe as paralysis related to making travel plans. Some backstory: I am married with two young kids (who will be approx. 2 and 4.5 this coming spring/summer/fall). Prior to having kids, I traveled a good amount (both as a child, with my single mom, as well as during my school years, college, and post-college). Nothing crazy but I am decently well traveled in Europe, Latin America, Canada, and South Asia. For a few years while dating/engaged, my husband and I did a good amount of travel, but much of it was domestic because for a while we were attending like 8-10 weddings a year, and I was a big law associate for 7 years and therefore never wanted to take more than a long weekend of vacation time. We did do two 1-2 week trips in Europe over the course of those 7 years, plus a couple of 3 or 4 day Caribbean trips. Then we got married, had kids, and COVID hit. I am desperate to start traveling again but I feel totally unable to commit to a location or start booking plane tix/hotels, despite the fact that (a) we have plenty of money to travel and (b) I now have an in-house job with 4 weeks vacation that I can actually take and not have to work during. I have also been told that these years before kindergarten start are a good time to travel because we don’t have to travel during peak season or pull kids out of school.
As an example, last fall we decided to do a Jan/Feb/March (flexible) Caribbean trip this year but never got around to actually planning it, and now it feels too late. I think part of the reason is that I have felt “travel starved” (again, I recognize how privileged and entitled that sounds, believe me!) and so I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself for the trip to be perfect. The other reason is that this will be the first time I am undertaking significant, international travel with two kids (or any kids at all) and I’m worried it won’t be anything like what travel used to be. Ok, I KNOW it won’t. But I can’t seem to get over this. I’m worried we’ll spend a boatload of money and have a miserable time, even though I intellectually know that we are likely going to spend a lot of money, and have some very good memories and some annoying times, but overall will not regret going.
My mom’s 70th bday is coming up (I actually posted about this here a few weeks back) and she wants to go to Spain, so we’ve settled on that. I do like Spain, but again there’s this nagging thing in my brain going “but you love France! And Italy!” and “what will you and the kids [all vegetarian] eat in Spain!” even though I know it’ll all work out.
Any tips for getting over myself?
And, now that we’ve decided on Spain as a destination, please recommend your best itinerary for 7 full days (9 including travel) for 3 adults and 2 young kids, aiming for 2 cities (maaaybe 3 if one of the cities/towns is within a short train/drive from other city). Budget up to $1k per night (not including flights but must include accommodations that will allow my mom to have her own bed, and at least one twin bed for the kids) but would be delighted to spend less. My mom and I have been to Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Valencia, but more than open to revisiting one of Madrid or Barcelona. My mom is intrigued by Basque country but it seems hard to get to – I don’t want to spend a ton of time schlepping kids around on connecting flights, long train rides, etc. Travel month is flexible but March, June, or September/October would be ideal.
TIA again for reading this self-absorbed novel!
Anonymous says
Also Omg stop apologizing!
Louisa says
Hi all! looking for advice/tips/thoughts about the best way to wean my 26 month. nurses a few times a day (mostly short evening and morning sessions, but still waking sometimes to nurse). my oldest kid (8 years difference so he’s 10 now and this is all a little foggy now) was easy to wean at 18 months. my toddler is definitely my last kid and she lives it so much (says very clearly that she wants to nurse). she’s OK with out me (I thought a 5 day trip away from her would end things last summer but no such luck-she got that party started when I got back).
Louisa says
Sorry, she loves it so much. Guess she also lves it right now too.
NLD in NYC says
Suggested it yesterday, but a friend had success putting aloe on her n*pples. When it tasted gross, she said that the milk had gone sour. Good luck!
Anon says
Someone had this question yesterday, so you can check there for more responses! If you are ready to be done, you have to start refusing (kindly). You can offer water or cuddles, but accept that there will be tears. Stay active/not sitting during the times she normally asks.
Anonymous says
oh thank you, I’ll check out yesterday.!
Megathread - All Inclusives You've Liked! says
I know there have been threads about this in the past but hoping for a mega thread here – Hit me with your best all inclusives in the Caribbean for families with toddler through say 3-5 grade kids! Thanks.
Anon says
Beaches. It’s pricey but all the other family all-inclusives we’ve visited have been a big disappointment. We’ve given up trying new places and just go to Beaches now. For adults only all inclusives there are lots of nice options at varying price points and Sandals (the Beaches partner brand) wouldn’t be my first choice, but for whatever reason the family resorts we’ve been to are almost all overpriced and blah.
Anon says
Grand Velas
Anne-on says
It is definitely $$$ (and not all inclusive) but my then 4th grader LOVED the Baha Mar and I have other friends who are similarly passionate about Atlantis. There is just SO much to do – water park, beaches, pools, snorkeling, etc. and it is such a quick and easy flight from the east coast.
Otherwise I’d second the vote for Beaches Turks. Jumby Bay is supposed to be amazing but that’s honeymoon level cost (imho). The Points Guy website has really good reviews of the Dominican Republic/Jamaica resorts!
anon says
I’m going to the Hyatt Ziva in dominican republic and have read great things
The other option i was looking at was Finest (both in DR and Cancun)
Anon says
We went to Hyatt Ziva after reading positive comments about it here, and were very disappointed. The food and service were very meh for the price. There weren’t many food options for picky kids. Also the pools are not heated, which may not be an issue for your kids, but was a big issue for mine.
Anon says
We loved the Xcaret resort in Mexico. It comes with access to all of the Xcaret brand parks. My kids loved all the ziplining, caving, all terrain vehicles, snorkeling, etc. It was a blast, but I wouldn’t go with kids younger than 5 or 6 yo.
The food was fantastic too.
Silly snack question! says
We are going to our first all inclusive resort vacation – and I am confused about snacks. I have twin 7 YO boys and they snack constantly Which is not ideal, but better than grumpy kids. Do I take snacks? Go off resort to buy snacks? Or is there just so much food I should let it go? The point of this trip is to not have to worry about anything! However, I don’t want to get caught with two cranky kids waiting for a table at dinner?
Spirograph says
My experience with all inclusive resorts is that there is food always available. If you’ll be away from the resort, sure you should bring snacks, but if you’re just going to be hanging out at the pool or beach, they can just go grab a plate of nachos when the spirit moves them.
Anon says
There’s always food available. You can go to a buffet or a coffee shop-type place to grab snacks.
Anonymous says
Just got back from one of these! Yes there is always food available but it might not be what your kid wants to eat or what you want your kid to eat (burgers, smoothies). We brought a bunch of snacks, but also stocked up at the breakfast buffet every morning- grabbed fruit, cereal boxes, wrapped muffins in a napkin, etc. Pretzels and chip bags were provided in our rooms every day, we also stocked up on those.
Anon says
I don’t think you need to bring anything, but if your kids are picky I would recommend saving some food from the breakfast buffet or dinner leftovers in your room’s mini-fridge so your kid always has food they like available. Also if your kids are anything like mine they’ll fill up on virgin drinks from the swim-up bar and eat a lot less solid food than they normally do.
Anon says
Just catching up on the post from yesterday on online safety, and wanted to share my thoughts on conversations to have with kids starting at a young age.
My 10 year old and 7 year old have my old work phones (without phone lines – basically small iPads). They charge in our living room overnight and are never allowed in bedrooms. The 7 year old has to use hers only next to me or DH so we can still help monitor. The 10 year old is just starting to be able to be in another room, but after several years of discussions on safe behavior and how to deal with inappropriate things. (Basically our rule is freeze and come tell an adult).
We’ve had several talks about the dangers of being online. We have a standing rule that they can ask us or show us anything and they won’t get in trouble, unless they continue to do it once we’ve talked about it. Friends at school bring up topics at recess and we talk through them (like moaning and eggplant emojis and searching for fanfic on Chromebooks) and I think that’s helped them understand that there are weird undertones to a lot of things that they wouldn’t think of on their own. My DH is really good at photoshop, so he doctored a picture of them to look like they were on a beach drinking alcohol, and we talked about how if he posted that online, everyone would believe it and it would never go away. We showed them how we can find the address, job, and how much the house cost or how much the rent is, for all of their friends’ parents just by knowing their name and city. We searched my college aged family member and found inappropriate pictures, and talked about how he’d probably be mortified to know his aunt and uncle had seen those photos, but we could save them and put them on our Christmas cards, and he’d never know the whole family had gotten them in the mail. We’ve talked about the downsides of fame and looked up the scary threats made against their favorite singers. And we’ve talked about s*x since they were in preschool, first just the body parts and working our way up to mechanics and videos online and things like 69 (since a kid at school heard that from an older sibling and they were all guessing at what it was).
It’s scary and hard to have these conversations at such young ages, but it’s out there already. As someone else mentioned, their friends are doing all sorts of stuff unmonitored and they’re hearing about it anyway. You want to be the person they can go to for a real answer, and the person they ask if they are unsure.
Anne-on says
Thank you for sharing this. It is scary and not fun to have these conversations but it’s easier if you treat these topics as something you need to talk about for basic safety – like crossing the street, wearing a seatbelt, etc. and not some scary off limits topic. We also talk a lot about how us adults model what we talk about – we are careful about what we post and rarely put photos online. We also talked about how we were background checked (and what that meant) when we took new jobs and that old bosses of mine did social media checks on candidates and eliminated people based on their social posts.
I laughed at the line in the Glass Onion where Kathryn Hahn’s character says ‘I’m a politician, I never put anything in an email I wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the Times’ because, yup, that’s what I was taught in PR training too!
Anonymous says
+1 at your last sentence. Probably one of the most useful things I learned in law school. One stint as an intern going through emails for a public records request really drove that point home.
Pogo says
I tell my team don’t put anything in an email you don’t want to talk about in a deposition. Because it’s true.
Anon says
One thing that’s especially important in this day and age is talking to your children about how any adult online who encourages them to keep secrets from and/or cut ties with their parents is not to be trusted. I’ve noticed an erosion in that traditional boundary in certain circles – those that pretend to be in the best position to “help” troubled teens who are going through challenges. It’s absolutely not OK, but a lot of progressives in my circles seem to be blind to it.
Anon says
Such a good point. We talk a lot about secrets vs surprises. For it to be a surprise, the person 1) will find out soon and 2) be happy when they do. If it’s not one of those two things, it’s probably a secret and it’s not okay to keep from your parents. We’ve told (and shown) them that if they’re worried it may be a secret, they can tell us about it and they won’t get in trouble.
It’s led to some funny secrets, like “Grandma gave me a sip of juice and told me not to tell you” but we treat those seriously. Grandma got a discussion about secrets and surprises, and asked not to even joke about not telling us something. I agree that many seem to be blind to it, and our family thought we were overreacting, but now that more siblings are having kids they see the point. For a kid, it’s really hard to tell the difference between “Grandma gave me a sip of juice and told me not to tell you” and “Cousin showed me an inappropriate video and told me not to tell you” and “Pastor made me sit on his lap and told me not to tell you”.
Anonymous says
This is our approach. Surprises are great but no secrets.
Goodbyes says
Talk to me about helping your kiddos (and yourself) say goodbye to a beloved nanny or teacher or babysitter who is leaving unexpectedly. I am unreasonably sad and also nervous. I feel like child care is such a house of cards and once one thing goes, it’s really tough and can be a long time before you get a good rhythm again.
Spirograph says
How old are the kids? Every kid is different, but IME you may be worrying about nothing with respect to your kids. We’ve had countless caretaker transitions, a couple teachers left mid-year, etc. They’ll be sad in the moment, but they transition quickly to fond memories and affection for the new teacher/babysitter/nanny. “It’s so great that you got to know and spend so much time with [beloved caretaker], I see you’re sad and I miss her too. But I bet we’ll also have fun with [new person].” Acknowledge the emotion, but don’t dwell and reorient toward the new person.
Now as for *you* having your routine disrupted, especially if the departure changes the logistics of how child care works for you… that’s a whole different ballgame. And you just push through and wait for the new routine to settle in.
OP says
Thanks. Kiddo is 4. This has been his primary caretaker since he was a toddler, and he’s very attached. We don’t have a replacement set up yet, which is making everything feel harder.
anonM says
My youngest gets really attached. What helped when her fav teacher left was letting her help pick out some good-bye/thank you gifts to give the teacher.
Pogo says
Ours was 4 when he transitioned away from his caretaker since he was 5mos. She did have a little ceremony type thing to mark the last day, and he was definitely pretty sad about it. We are in a different position in that she’s still in our life (she watches his little brother now) but could you keep in contact at all – texting, pictures, cards? He will get less attached over time, but ours still loves and talks about his old babysitter. He has still made things that he says are for her (drawings or crafts – we give them to her, but could you mail?) and she still gives him birthday/xmas presents every year.
Anon says
It’s actually going to be disconcerting how quickly the kids adjust. Our nanny of six years left and they were… fine. We sometimes have her babysit again a year later and they’re happy to see her, but I promise, it won’t be that big of a deal. I honestly think it’s been good for them to have had other childcare too – our next nanny was younger and probably a better fit for them energy wise (and treats them as more of big kids since she’s known them that way) although it did take some time to get into a rhythm. It’s good to have different transitions because school is one transition after another so 4’s a good age.
You think kiddo is attached and he probably is, but I’d bet money he’ll be fine within a week, two at the most. Mine are super sentimental too.
We had another nanny in the middle we didn’t like but one of my kids bonded with a lot. I did catch her looking wistfully at a picture of her a few months after she’d gone which made me a little sad, but she never talks about her (she’s 3).
Anonymous says
One of my 23 month old twins gets sick once a month where he has fever for 24 hours but no other symptoms. No one else in my house gets sick and he’s better the next day. He sees a pulmonologist and an ENT, in addition to his pediatrician. They all just say “he’s susceptible to viruses” but I’m wondering if any of you have experience with this? It seems like something is off with him but everyone keeps telling me it’s in my head and I don’t know how to advocate for him better. He also has a lot of trouble sleeping so I have him scheduled for adenoid removal. Hopefully that helps…
Anon says
My middle son is similar. He seems to get a fever with every virus, even minor colds, and sometimes he’ll have just a fever with minor symptoms (my older son is more of a vomit-with-all-the-illnesses kid). The fevers are generally low grade, rarely reaching above 102. And often no one else catches them. He even came down a fever during the early 2020 lock down when he had literally been nowhere outside the house for weeks. The doctor said viruses are weird and we don’t really know how they travel.
He also tends to get weird iterations of illnesses (like vomiting every night for a week but fine during the day), but bounces back quickly. He’s five now and has been like this since he was a toddler.
Anon says
there is something called Periodic Fever Syndrome and PFAPA. There is an article in the Boston Globe “How pandemic isolation helped solve a medical mystery with our preschool” I think a tonsillectomy can help in many cases, but i am definitely not at all an expert. this sounds frustrating and your kiddo is lucky to have you as an advocate.
Anon says
Where do you live and what is your lifestyle? Could tick-borne illness be a concern? There are tick-borne illnesses that can cause relapsing fevers.
Anonymous says
Could it be related to teething?
Anon says
My now 9 y.o had a monthly 24-hour fever with exhaustion the first six months after he had Covid. I assumed it was some kind of long-covid thing that gradually resolved. No medical evidence to back this up … but he was healthy as a horse (never had antibiotics! and he was a daycare kid!) prior to Covid so I assumed they might be related
Anon says
Baby2 recently diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism. Anyone with experience with this? We understand it is very manageable as long as we stay on top of the medication.
Also any tips on successfully feeding a newborn crushed pills mixed with milk? Syringe? Spoon? What to do as they get older and harder to force feed?
Anon says
No advice in dealing with it in children but I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that causes hypothyroidism when I was 18 (I developed it during puberty but wasn’t properly diagnosed until college) and it’s been a non-issue as long as I take my medication and get regular checkups.
I’d talk to your ped and endocrinologist about the best way to get meds in him. I’d probably crush it up and mix it with milk for now, but I know my meds have to be taken on an empty stomach (the most annoying part). It will probably get easier to hide in applesauce, smoothies, yogurt, etc. when he gets older? And when all else fails, there’s always bribery. ;)
Anon says
Syringe for sure – aim for the back of the cheek, it helps ensure swallowing. Ask your pharmacist if they have a suggestion on what to mix it with. I think there are syrup bases out there you could buy and mix. My newborn LOVED her medicine (not for Thyroid) because they added tutti frutti flavor. And newborns don’t get a lot of flavors!
Lise says
My 2-year old has CH. One piece of good news is medication gets so much easier as they get older! We struggled with the crushed pill with milk method when he was a newborn – he spit up a lot, he would get upset there wasn’t a full bottle of milk, etc. etc. The best method we found was the Fridababy medication pacifier, but it was still pretty stressful. But around 7 months, his endo recommended cutting the pills in half and just popping them right into his mouth, and that was so much easier! They’re a little sweet so he actually likes the taste (I will say that there are differences in how pharmacies constitute it – we’ve found that CVS is the best), and now we hand him the pills first thing in the morning and he happily takes them. His endo says that’s a very common experience for his patients.
It IS really manageable, and we’re so thankful that newborn screening has basically made it something that’s a non-issue, as opposed to the really awful impact it could have untreated. My son has only ever had one out-of-range lab result since he started medication (which was easily solved with a small med increase), and has never had any sort of symptoms at all. The toughest part now with a toddler is bloodwork, but learning how to get a tech who’s great with kids and copious bribery help a lot with that.
OP says
Thank you for this encouraging response. We are going to get the fridababy pacifier tonight!
Anon says
Sorry you’re going through this! My youngest refused to take medication via syringe or medicine pacifier, but we had luck via bottle. Use a small, empty bottle and put the liquid in the nipple, keeping the nipple upside down the entire time of course. Then lay the baby back and feed them the bottle. She’d sometimes make faces but she’d keep sucking until she drank it all.
Anon318 says
Book series recommendations for second grade boys? My go-to birthday party gift is the first few books of whatever series my kids are in to plus a card game or consumable art supplies, depending on the birthday kid. We have already gifted Dog Man and Dragon Masters to a soon-to-be birthday boy and need new ideas!
Anonymous says
Cat Kid Comic Club by Dav Pilkey who is also the author of Dog Man is popular in my house at this age.
Anonymous says
Is it any less violent than Dog Man?
Anon says
If he likes Minecraft, my 7yo son is devouring the “Diary of an 8-bit Warrior” series. The only non-graphic novels he reads!
Anonymous says
My second grade boy and his friends are reading Boxcar Children and Encyclopedia Brown. I don’t think the entire class is at that level, because there’s still a big range at this age; he started both those series last year but I’ve noticed a ton of kids reading them now (and he still loves them). May I also recommend the Epic Athletes biography series by Dan Wetzel for strong readers in second grade (or slightly older) who are into sports? Kiddo is looooooving this series.
GCA says
If birthday child is anything like my son, the NatGeo kids almanac will be a tremendous hit – all the weird animal facts they can devour!
This is a slightly more lavish gift but strong readers might also enjoy a subscription to The Week Jr. (My kid picks up all the news from it. We are suddenly inundated with magazines as we also started getting Scout Life this year with Cub Scout dues.)
Anonymous says
Yessssssss almanac!! They also have a series of “weird facts” books we often give as second grade birthday presents.
govtattymom says
Recommendations for regency romance? I read a lot of them in college but can’t remember my favorite authors. I enjoyed the Bridgerton books but would like to branch out a little. Thanks so much!
Anonymous says
My absolute faves for tearjerkers are Tessa Dare, Christi Caldwell, and Courtney Milan. Laura Landon and Grace Burrowes are good, but I only read them when I’m out of material from the first three. Lisa Kleypas and Stephanie Laurens are more classic and I don’t really read them anymore. For something spicier, try Jess Michaels and Grace Callaway.
govtattymom says
Thank you so much!
Anonymous says
I’ve just gone and read pretty much every single Grace Burrowes book over the last year. I enjoy that the various series have overlapping characters.
Anon says
Lynn Messina has written some charming regency romance mysteries. I think the first one in the series is A Brazen Curiosity.
HSAL says
So if you can put aside the VERY troublesome vibes some of the regency romances written in the 80s and early 90s had, I adored Judith McNaught and Jude Deveraux.
Anon says
I just read A Lady for a Duke and LOVED it (far more than I expected – the swoony longing).
Anon says
Stephanie Laurens, especially the Cynster series, which was the original family books back when I was a teen, and then branched off into the children and grandchildren which are new releases and it has been like slipping into a old favorite sweater re-reading them. Good prose, decently developed characters, usually a bit of a mystery in the plot, etc. Very similar feel to the bridgertons in the “family” sense. I love reading new releases that feature characters I first met 15 years ago now in their grandparent matriarch years. Lisa Kleypas is also on my bookshelf with dogeared pages and heavily creased spines. In terms of newer authors I get on my kindle, Amelia Grey, Rebecca Connolly, Vivienne Lorret, Sophie Jordan, Ella Quinn and Caroline Lindon have been repeats; Erica Ridley and Lenora Bell bell were hit or miss.
Anon says
Evie Dunmore’s books are fun, especially Bringing Down the Duke.
I also liked To Have and To Hoax by Martha Waters. I haven’t read the rest of the series but I’m on the hold list with my library.
DLC says
Evie Dunmore is the best new historical author I’ve read recently! I love her heroines.
Also really like Julie Anne Long, Sarah Maclean, and Elizabeth Hoyt, though they aren’t all specifically Regency, and I feel like they aren’t as light as a lot of Julia Quinn. I like romance novels with good writing (hard to define, I know…), smart heroines, heroes who always do the right thing, and maybe a good groveling scene at the end. And not too much plot. I mean I like plot, but not when it becomes so convoluted that it takes over the love story.
An.On. says
I like Amanda Quick and Mary Balogh.
Anonymous says
Joanna Bourne’s books are great. They are set during the Napoleonic wars so maybe not technically regency but truly great.
GCA says
I can only read one or two romances at a time before they start blending into each other, but if you liked Julia Quinn you might enjoy these:
Classic – Lisa Kleypas, Loretta Chase.
More recent – Evie Dunmore (actually late Victorian, not specifically Regency), Courtney Milan and Sarah MacLean
Specifically queer – Olivia Waite (The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics & others in series), Alexis Hall (A Lady for a Duke).
Also late Victorian not Regency, but on my to-read list: Adriana Herrera (A Caribbean Heiress in Paris).
As a s3x-positive nerdy feminist, I am partial to a good bluestocking/ rake trope.