I love Christmas it's my favorite time of year. I found out about Santa really early and it made me really sad. I love giving gifts and the joy of the season. We aren't going to focus on Santa at Christmas but rather the spirt of Santa. We will play pretend and watch Christmas movies but Santa will be a figure rather than a real person.
Doing things for different charities and giving to others who need it is one of my BIG weaknesses. I donate pretty much 100% of the time when I'm in a store and they ask. I do want to pass the giving nature on to my kids. We did caroling at old folks homes and passed out thanksgiving dinners when I was younger. I would like to pick a name off a tree this year.
"Would like like to donate to St. Jude?" - Yep, every single time.
Edit to add: I looked at this after reading it and was like whelp, someone might think I'm just tooting my own effing horn. But, really, it's what I do. My mother is the same way. I don't talk about it. This is the first time I've ever even said this ^ in a public forum.
My friend posted all over social media last year about picking a name off a tree - I thought it was kind of tacky. Nice that she was doing it, but tacky that she was like LOOK AT ME!
I hate hate hate the REPEAT police... It's so not a big deal to make a new thread instead of adding it to Daily symptoms even if it's one of those super repeated topics like "hey I have nausea. Anyone else ?"
In fact the repeat police is more annoying than the moms who go "I swear I just felt my 5 week fetus kick.. I swear I know my body blah blah blah"
I don't particularly like super special snowflakes who come post a pic or a question that is posted over and over and then never come back. That tells me they aren't here often and just want attention.
@sarah9544 That is awesome and a great thing to do! We do a lot of donating and we take Christmas trees & meals to people that can't get them. I always hope that is our kid's biggest take away from the Holidays.
Yes i cant stress enough how its important to give when and what you can (even if its a $1) i want my kids to remember their are a lot of less fortunate people out there and even a friendly conversation can change someones day.
@sarah9544 That is awesome and a great thing to do! We do a lot of donating and we take Christmas trees & meals to people that can't get them. I always hope that is our kid's biggest take away from the Holidays.
Yes i cant stress enough how its important to give when and what you can (even if its a $1) i want my kids to remember their are a lot of less fortunate people out there and even a friendly conversation can change someones day.
We always do the giving tree and take a family to buy for at church. It's one of my favorite parts of Christmas and I hope DD and this baby will be happy to do it too.
I absolutely hate when people ask questions like "does anyone else feel guilty when they...." I love coffee, tea, sushi, lunch meat... The list goes on if I felt guilty I wouldn't do it.... And I really don't care that you feel guilty either. :-@
THIS!!! Goat cheese...check. Jimmy John sandwiches...check. Sushi...check. Coffee EVERY DAMN MORNING...double check. And if I decide to have a glass of wine or beer later into my pregnancy... check! If I felt I was harming my baby by doing any of these things, I wouldn't do them. Rock on all you "rule" breaking mommies!
Yes!!! I was on vacation- feeling like shit and not wanting to eat anything so if a ham and cheese sandwich or a hot dog sounds good, I eat it! My sister in law (also preggers) kept being like "I can't believe you are eating blah".
@sarah9544 That is awesome and a great thing to do! We do a lot of donating and we take Christmas trees & meals to people that can't get them. I always hope that is our kid's biggest take away from the Holidays.
Yes i cant stress enough how its important to give when and what you can (even if its a $1) i want my kids to remember their are a lot of less fortunate people out there and even a friendly conversation can change someones day.
We always do the giving tree and take a family to buy for at church. It's one of my favorite parts of Christmas and I hope DD and this baby will be happy to do it too.
I think im like this cause my father is homeless. He choose alcohol over everything me and my sis try to find him all the time and when we do we bring him home with us but once that urdge to drink comes back hes gone. It kulls me so i help who i can and who needs it (i can tell if someone is really in need or just wants a drink).
@StephPegasus I totally agree. I really don't want my kids to be greedy. Which leads to my UO I guess. I have a friend who makes his 3 kids donate one of their old toys for every new one they get. DH and Iove it and will be doing the same.
I love this! I have friends that do this too. Every year at Christmas they take a trip to the Children's Hospital and the kids donate any old toys that they don't use or want anymore, because they understand that other kids don't get all the things they do, and so they can share, since they know they will get more. I think it's a great way to teach kids to give back.
Christmas is our favourite time of the year, and our kids will believe in Santa until they figure it out. I figured out that Santa and all the rest weren't real at a very young age, it made me feel smart. My parents made me promise not to tell my siblings or other kids my age so that they could keep believing a while longer. To us Christmas is about family, delicious food, and the spirit giving. I love the baking and decorations, especially Christmas lights because winter is so cold and dark. I really don't like mall santas though, they have always given me the creeps.
A) I LOVE leggings. I lived in them for first pregnancy because my daughter would kick at any pants I wore, non stop. Cover that butt.
Harry Potter is the sh*t. Read that first book, you'll get hooked.
C) I'm gonna make out with Jensen Ackles... in my dreams. Love my hot husband, but oh man… Jensen.
D) Christmas is my favorite. We aren't religious and Santa was always a part of our holiday. We also make sure we donate toys and food throughout the holiday season with our daughter. Santa was magical for us when I was little… and my mom still says she's never been Santa (I'm 32).
E) We do the Elf. Finally gave in and the kiddo loves it.
Team Santa all the way. Excuse my language but.... SANTA IS THE SHIT. Of course the holiday isn't just about Santa, but Santa made Christmas magical for me as a child and I miss that magical feeling and I CANNOT wait to give my children that magical feeling!!!
All of this Christmas talk is making me want to fast-forward to December! We will all be some big ole whales by then!
Yes to all of this!! Santa is Christmas magic personified.
My UO: I can't stand the parents who need to take away the magic of Santa because it's "lying". Really?? Letting your kid be a kid and believe in magic and fairies is lying??? It's called being a kid! It's exciting and mysterious and so much fun. I hope my kids believe in Santa forever, it will break my heart when they figure it out. It brings them so much joy, I love re-living that magic thru them during the holidays.
I was raised Jewish, and let me tell you, Santa was like a funny little secret to all of us (being "in the know" about it was like the only fun perk because those 8 nights of gifts were really like 8 boxes of pencils followed by a lot of guilt and greasy latkes lol).
Having said that, my DH still gets it up for Santa. He obviously knows Santa isn't real but Christmas is seriously his most favorite day of the year, and he was raised with no religion. Santa was just a chubby old dude in a robe that brought him presents and convinced his parents to make him a kick-ass dinner.
Whew just got through all of this! Thursday's are my crazy day and I'm always sad to miss out on the early fun of UO.
- Santa over everything. Except I freaking hate elves. My dad told us elves were demons with sharp teeth and that they spied on us, so my brothers and I always kept a lookout outside... Wtf was up with that? Thanks dad...
- I've always felt weird about leggings... I want to like them and feel like I should but why have those when I can have skinny yoga pants? (They may be virtually the same thing now that I think about it)
- Queen of the nerds over here. I LOVE HP, GOT, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. Its my shit. Also board games like Catan... I can't even express all my love for that game.
I also grew up Jewish and did not find it a big deal to not believe in Santa or be getting gifts from him.
We did the Tooth Fairy thing, but I always knew it was my mother but I kind of just went along with it. She was so excited about it.
I kind if feel like Santa when I laugh because of the way pregnancy makes my belly jiggle. I think I need to film it.
I guess my UO is that I don't really think it matters whether you tell your kids Santa is real or not. They will be happy to be getting the gifts.
On the other hand, the Jimmy Kimmel parents eating the Halloween candy I think is just so awful. Though, I think it would be a fascinating study to track these kids into adulthood and see if the different responses has any indication on success.
We do Santa but it's not a huge huge deal. Santa brings one gift and the rest are from us. I'm not letting that guy take all the credit! I do think being younger and the magic of Santa brings a lot of fun at Christmas. When I was older and starting to "figure" out Santa my mom gave me a book that talked about the original Santa and why he no longer can do it all but parents still spread the magic of Christmas. I never felt like I was lied to. The only thing I disagree with is using Santa to threaten kids all year long and especially close to Christmas. It doesn't seem like a year goes by that I don't hear Mom screaming at her kid in target about being good or Santa is bringing no presents. Really?!?!
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2. I have never watched or wanted to watch Star Wars, Star Trek or Harry Potter. X_X
Me either. No matter how hard I try I can't geek out. My whole family loves all the cool geek shows and movies (BBT, SW, HP, GOT etc) and I just can't do it. I feel so left out
My UO: A lot of moms tell me I will give in and have my baby sleep in bed with me, but I don't think so. Instead, DW is building a sidecar co-sleeper for the first 3-6 months. I would worry too much about hurting them.
We are religious and go to church on Christmas and celebrate Jesus, but that doesn't mean we can't also do Santa. I love Santa! ...also I HATE elf on the shelf, we will not be doing that.
My UO: A lot of moms tell me I will give in and have my baby sleep in bed with me, but I don't think so. Instead, DW is building a sidecar co-sleeper for the first 3-6 months. I would worry to much about hurting them.
I said I would never do this too and DD has maybe slept in our bed 5 times total. (There are times when I just give in because I want to sleep) my babysitter and her wife has a 2 year old and he sleeps in their bed every night. She complains to me daily about how she didn't sleep well because he was all over the place.
My UO: A lot of moms tell me I will give in and have my baby sleep in bed with me, but I don't think so. Instead, DW is building a sidecar co-sleeper for the first 3-6 months. I would worry to much about hurting them.
I said I would never do this too and DD has maybe slept in our bed 5 times total. (There are times when I just give in because I want to sleep) my babysitter and her wife has a 2 year old and he sleeps in their bed every night. She complains to me daily about how she didn't sleep well because he was all over the place.
The only time I've ever had to bed share with DD is when we've gone camping and it is awful. Every time she moves I wake up.
@claireloSC we are planning doing the same type of thing with a cosleeper crib thing next to the bed. I never thought the baby would sleep in the same bed as us for many reasons but this in between solution makes a lot of sense especially for breastfeeding, because who wants to get out of bed in the middle of the night?
Just throwing it out there, I do a lot of things I said I'd never do with my kid. Like, a lot. I know when I was a FTM I rolled my eyes when people said that to me so go ahead but... Yeah.
pregnancy #1 :: daughter lost to chromosomal abnormality at 18 weeks
@je&moeder Oh totally, I'm well aware there are tons of things I'll give in on, but this is my firmest one. Like I'm sure I will buy my kid a barbie or whatever if they really want one, but I'm not going to risk hurting my kid if I can help it. I feel like the co-sleeper is a good option to not get out of bed but also be safe, like StephPegasus agrees!
Married DW 08.2013; AI 2x; IUI 6x; IUI #7 05.2015; DD born 2.2016 ; Reciprocal IVF FET #1 on 11.18.2020
This being my first pregnancy during the fall (where I'm really pregnant) I plan on wearing those and maternity skinny jeans with long tunics and sweaters ALL the time. But butt covering is a must!
Me too! As long as the butt is covered, I think outfits with leggings are adorable. And I plan on being comfortable, dammit. That's why I was so excited about those ON tunic tees I found.
Another UO: I used to hate Christmas- that is, until I had children. I was never a horrible scrooge but I just couldn't get into it. I remember enjoying I when I was about 7 or 8, but my father died when I was almost 9 in October and my mother went completely overboard with Christmas that year because of all the insurance money she got. I'm talking like 20 (expensive, unnecessary) gifts+ for each my 5 siblings, their SO's and at the time, 3 nieces. I think it just ruined it all for me. We literally spent from like 6 am to 6pm opening gifts and taking breaks. I knew already that Santa wasn't "real" by then, but that didn't make a difference. We have always told our oldest that the spirit of Santa is real and he left it at that. What did anger me, was an older child on the bus telling everyone that Santa wasn't real and that Christmas is a crock. There are tasteful ways to not engage in Santa...excluding the fact that others may believe and to respect that, isn't one of them.
As for the Elf, I can't stand the damn thing. My husband on the other hand, goes nuts. He's constantly holding the elf hostage with our imaginext Joker, hiding him, hanging him from our ceiling fan as it whips around. I love seeing how silly my son thinks it is, but every night is a bit much. Over it!
I hate Elf on a Shelf. All the teachers at my school seem to do it and my kids always ask "Why don't we have an elf?" And I say because they are all so good Santa doesn't need to send a spy(LIES). But seriously, that elf creeps me the f out. And it seems like some sort of competition on Facebook...who can be the most creative with their disturbing elf? No thank you.
I also loathe Elf on a Shelf.
My UO: I don't feel right about lying to my children about Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, etc. So, I don't think we are going to do any of that stuff. I was so traumatized when I found out that my parents had lied to me about it all. I'm worried that it teaches children that you will deceive them. Maybe that viewpoint is a little extreme, but I remember that it really broke my heart when I realized that my parents could lie to me.
That trauma is exactly why my parents never lied to me and why I'm not lying to our kid. There are plenty of things that are fun/magical/whatever about being a kid that don't involve the two most trusted adults in your life lying to you.
I also hate the "just you waits". I got them as a first time mom all the time, and honestly if you keep realistic expectations things can go how you want them to.
I f&@$ing despise country music. When I accidentally scan past a country radio station or find myself in a store playing country music, I feel homicidal. It's like daggers in my ears. I simply do not understand why it exists or how one could enjoy such twangy noises and corny lyrics. If I could shelter my dear baby from only one atrocity, it would be country music.
@aphilli8 as a parent now, do you not agree with Quite a few of the "just you wait's" or at the very least the "I do a lot of things with my child that I said I never would's" ? Like anything in life, you can have a plan, but when in the moment or experience it rarely goes that way. Just asking
I hated the just you waits but it turned out a lot were right I said I would not ever ever have DD in bed with us. It turned out she had severe reflux so for the first 2 months she would only sleep on one of us otherwise she would scream all night long. You do what you gotta do for your sanity and we found a way. Eventually we did find a solution for her to not be in bed with us. Never say never because you don't know what will happen. It's cool to plan and have an idea how you want to do it but it doesn't always go that way
1. I never watched or read Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Twilight
2. My DS loves doing Elf on the Shelf. But I don't understand the people who have the elf doing creepy things. Ours is normal, like the one in the movie. He takes marshmallow bubble baths and makes sugar snowballs and I don't post pictures of it on Facebook.
3. Moe's is better then Chipotle
4. I hardly wear leggings outside the house but if I do my butt is covers and I'm wear thick leggings
5. I love Fall/Winter and can't wait for it.
6. I didn't read 50 shade but I saw the movie. My MIL had a 50 shades party with the IL's and work people, we used to work together. So I saw the movie with my MIL.
7. GIFs
My UO bubblegum is the best ice cream flavor EVER!
------------------- Omg moes is soooooo much better than chipotle! I wish we had a moes here! I need it right now.
I f&@$ing despise country music. When I accidentally scan past a country radio station or find myself in a store playing country music, I feel homicidal. It's like daggers in my ears. I simply do not understand why it exists or how one could enjoy such twangy noises and corny lyrics. If I could shelter my dear baby from only one atrocity, it would be country music.
@aphilli8 as a parent now, do you not agree with Quite a few of the "just you wait's" or at the very least the "I do a lot of things with my child that I said I never would's" ? Like anything in life, you can have a plan, but when in the moment or experience it rarely goes that way. Just asking
If somebody says they absolutely will only have a medfree vaginal birth, a "just you wait", although still obnoxious, is appropriate. Because sometimes there are medical reasons that necessitate otherwise.
To just you wait somebody on personal parenting decisions? That's just fucking obnoxious. No, we never co-slept. Yes, we didn't allow screen time until a year old. No, my kid isn't eating chicken nuggets at my house.
Sure things don't always go according to plan, but that doesn't mean you should just say to hell with it and never even try.
Before I was a mom I didn't say "I will never do x, y, and z." that often. I'm the type of person that thinks everything in moderation is ok, and I can't judge until I'm there. But, there are a few things that were really important to me (discipline, health issues, etc) that I knew I'd be a stickler on and I still am.
I think the reason moms say "just you wait" is because a lot of people who don't have kids can be super judgmental about stupid things (snacks, any screen time, candy etc).
If you are realistic and know that some of your ideas may change, then I don't think it applies to you. If there is something that is a priority to you, great go for it.
exactly @daphnemoon1 and @aphilli8 like I said, just asking...was induced, didn't have pain meds or an epidural (hell I didn't know I was pregnant with my first until my sister delivered him-which you can keep your comments to yourself) my kids eat chicken nuggets *gasp* the tv is always on (granted they don't just sit in front of it and watch) I didn't bf, didn't cloth diaper, co sleep etc... to each their own. I don't think that's why people say "just wait" to push or defend the way they're raising their child, but rather to say, especially with children, just wait until you're in the situation.
Just throwing it out there, I do a lot of things I said I'd never do with my kid. Like, a lot. I know when I was a FTM I rolled my eyes when people said that to me so go ahead but... Yeah.
I've said parenting is pretty much all eating your words... That said we don't cosleep mostly because my husband puts his foot down.
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Re: UO Thursday
"Would like like to donate to St. Jude?" - Yep, every single time.
Edit to add: I looked at this after reading it and was like whelp, someone might think I'm just tooting my own effing horn. But, really, it's what I do. My mother is the same way. I don't talk about it. This is the first time I've ever even said this ^ in a public forum.
My friend posted all over social media last year about picking a name off a tree - I thought it was kind of tacky. Nice that she was doing it, but tacky that she was like LOOK AT ME!
That tells me they aren't here often and just want attention.
Yes!!! I was on vacation- feeling like shit and not wanting to eat anything so if a ham and cheese sandwich or a hot dog sounds good, I eat it! My sister in law (also preggers) kept being like "I can't believe you are eating blah".
DD - January 2016
My UO: I can't stand the parents who need to take away the magic of Santa because it's "lying". Really?? Letting your kid be a kid and believe in magic and fairies is lying??? It's called being a kid! It's exciting and mysterious and so much fun. I hope my kids believe in Santa forever, it will break my heart when they figure it out. It brings them so much joy, I love re-living that magic thru them during the holidays.
Having said that, my DH still gets it up for Santa. He obviously knows Santa isn't real but Christmas is seriously his most favorite day of the year, and he was raised with no religion. Santa was just a chubby old dude in a robe that brought him presents and convinced his parents to make him a kick-ass dinner.
- Santa over everything. Except I freaking hate elves. My dad told us elves were demons with sharp teeth and that they spied on us, so my brothers and I always kept a lookout outside... Wtf was up with that? Thanks dad...
- I've always felt weird about leggings... I want to like them and feel like I should but why have those when I can have skinny yoga pants? (They may be virtually the same thing now that I think about it)
- Queen of the nerds over here. I LOVE HP, GOT, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. Its my shit. Also board games like Catan... I can't even express all my love for that game.
I also grew up Jewish and did not find it a big deal to not believe in Santa or be getting gifts from him.
We did the Tooth Fairy thing, but I always knew it was my mother but I kind of just went along with it. She was so excited about it.
I kind if feel like Santa when I laugh because of the way pregnancy makes my belly jiggle. I think I need to film it.
I guess my UO is that I don't really think it matters whether you tell your kids Santa is real or not. They will be happy to be getting the gifts.
On the other hand, the Jimmy Kimmel parents eating the Halloween candy I think is just so awful. Though, I think it would be a fascinating study to track these kids into adulthood and see if the different responses has any indication on success.
I do think being younger and the magic of Santa brings a lot of fun at Christmas.
When I was older and starting to "figure" out Santa my mom gave me a book that talked about the original Santa and why he no longer can do it all but parents still spread the magic of Christmas. I never felt like I was lied to.
The only thing I disagree with is using Santa to threaten kids all year long and especially close to Christmas. It doesn't seem like a year goes by that I don't hear Mom screaming at her kid in target about being good or Santa is bringing no presents. Really?!?!
We are religious and go to church on Christmas and celebrate Jesus, but that doesn't mean we can't also do Santa. I love Santa! ...also I HATE elf on the shelf, we will not be doing that.
Another UO: I used to hate Christmas- that is, until I had children. I was never a horrible scrooge but I just couldn't get into it. I remember enjoying I when I was about 7 or 8, but my father died when I was almost 9 in October and my mother went completely overboard with Christmas that year because of all the insurance money she got. I'm talking like 20 (expensive, unnecessary) gifts+ for each my 5 siblings, their SO's and at the time, 3 nieces. I think it just ruined it all for me. We literally spent from like 6 am to 6pm opening gifts and taking breaks. I knew already that Santa wasn't "real" by then, but that didn't make a difference. We have always told our oldest that the spirit of Santa is real and he left it at that. What did anger me, was an older child on the bus telling everyone that Santa wasn't real and that Christmas is a crock. There are tasteful ways to not engage in Santa...excluding the fact that others may believe and to respect that, isn't one of them.
As for the Elf, I can't stand the damn thing. My husband on the other hand, goes nuts. He's constantly holding the elf hostage with our imaginext Joker, hiding him, hanging him from our ceiling fan as it whips around. I love seeing how silly my son thinks it is, but every night is a bit much. Over it!
My UO: I don't feel right about lying to my children about Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, etc. So, I don't think we are going to do any of that stuff. I was so traumatized when I found out that my parents had lied to me about it all. I'm worried that it teaches children that you will deceive them. Maybe that viewpoint is a little extreme, but I remember that it really broke my heart when I realized that my parents could lie to me.
That trauma is exactly why my parents never lied to me and why I'm not lying to our kid. There are plenty of things that are fun/magical/whatever about being a kid that don't involve the two most trusted adults in your life lying to you.
I said I would not ever ever have DD in bed with us. It turned out she had severe reflux so for the first 2 months she would only sleep on one of us otherwise she would scream all night long. You do what you gotta do for your sanity and we found a way.
Eventually we did find a solution for her to not be in bed with us.
Never say never because you don't know what will happen. It's cool to plan and have an idea how you want to do it but it doesn't always go that way
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Omg moes is soooooo much better than chipotle! I wish we had a moes here! I need it right now.
To just you wait somebody on personal parenting decisions? That's just fucking obnoxious. No, we never co-slept. Yes, we didn't allow screen time until a year old. No, my kid isn't eating chicken nuggets at my house.
Sure things don't always go according to plan, but that doesn't mean you should just say to hell with it and never even try.
I think the reason moms say "just you wait" is because a lot of people who don't have kids can be super judgmental about stupid things (snacks, any screen time, candy etc).
If you are realistic and know that some of your ideas may change, then I don't think it applies to you. If there is something that is a priority to you, great go for it.