UO Thursday 11.2

babybison

Is no one feeling unpopular or is it still too early in the day?

babybison

Organic fabrics. I'm not an expert, but I've worked with textiles for over 20 years, and I even took classes in college about it. Organic fabric, to me, is so stupid. Unless you care about the environmental effect of fabric production, organic fabrics and clothes are just buzzwords to make people pay more for an item. Fabrics and garments for kids have to adhere to standards, which includes chemical processes. And then you take them home and wash them in more chemicals anyway. 

It just really annoys me when people (aka MIL) talk about organic baby clothes like it means something. To me, you're just virtue signaling that you're better than other people, when really you're just wasting your money. 
Except for the environmental impact, which is a different ballgame. 

mdcd44127

babybison said:

...To me, you're just virtue signaling that you're better than other people, when really you're just wasting your money...

skc040512

@babybison fun fact: in the UK, to be laneed organic cotton, it has to be hand picked and carded. Idk why...maybe to justify higher prices? lol not worth it to me. DH is a textile major from the #2 textile school in the world, so he like a to give me random facts like that. Only thing I will say is that Burts Bees has an organic clothing line and the clothes are ahhhmazing. I got some as a gift for DD and they were some of my favorite pieces. I'd never pay for them myself unless they were on massive sale, but omg I loved them.

peachy13

Milk is amazing and I think it's weird when people don't like it and don't give it to their kids (unless it's for allergy reasons).

skc040512

@peachy13 I hate milk, and won't even eat it on cereal. But I was allergic as a kid (got hella bad ear and sinus infections). Now, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc...I can eat that all day.

anewadventure

I LOOOOOVE MILK

also, this stupid app / website / whatever keeps logging me out and not letting me comment. STAHP IT. 

balletnerd

Yuck. Milk makes me gag. Never liked the flavor or texture... or the thought of drinking something made to feed a different species babies. 

kyrwyn

I really miss milk!  I stopped drinking it in the morning due to the GD breakfast rules (and I normally don't have it later in the day) and I miss it.

failuretofly

MMMMMM milk! For some reason I crave it in pregnancy, was the same with DS. Every morning when I fill DS's bottle I take a huge swig straight from the jug hahaha shhhh don't tell DH


I don't get why some people get SO PISSED OFF when others start celebrating Christmas early - I can't wait to get all my Christmas going and some people get literally ragey about it. 

elcd458

@peachy13 I drank about a gallon of Ovaltine for breakfast every morning growing up and I think it somehow turned me off of drinking milk in adulthood.  I can handle it in cereal, love other dairy products (although ice cream does not love me back), but I can't STAND just drinking a glass of milk.  I really want to make sure my children don't consume too much sugar via drinks (since I was basically weaned on Pepsi, something I didn't include on the Parenting thread, LOL) but the thought of making them drink a glass of milk several times a day is definitely going to be a struggle for me.

@failuretofly  I wonder the same thing about those people.  I don't do Halloween-specific fall decorations, more generic leaves and pumpkins stuff, so I can leave it out until Thanksgiving, but if you are a Halloween-specific decorator I just really don't think it's worth the hassle to decorate specifically for Thanksgiving, THEN for Christmas.

Although TBH, normally I am all about Christmas, but since this year Christmas = baby, I am FREAKING THE HELL OUT and ignoring the fact the holidays are approaching.  Every time I see a commercial on TV I panic.

elvenchick92686

I usually can only have milk with cereal/oreos/ strawberry or chocolate mix. However i can drink a whole plain big ol glass during pregnancy. SO thinks i am sooooo weird that i dont like straight milk when im not prego. 

Also, weird fact, i can eat plain nuggets without dipping sauce only while im prego. Other times i have to have dipping sauce lol

failuretofly

@elcd458 haha I am the opposite - I'm like OMG MUST GET ALL THE CHRISTMAS GOING ASAP BECAUSE BABY

Amber_Waves

Thanksgiving is the best holiday and should never be skipped or forgotten.

TigerCakes

@Skcobb Did you just outgrow the milk allergy? DS is 2 and he’s allergic to dairy and I feel so bad for him! He seems so sad when there’s something he can’t eat. 

flowerpower5838

Yesssss to the milk. I've never known myself to drink straight from the jug...unless I am pregnant. Yum yum yum. 

AFM - my UO is that while I love Thanksgiving and it's one of the only times a year we get to see ALL of our close family at the same time, let's be real. It's just a warm up dinner to Christmas. Bring on the jingle bells. I am ready to rock around the Christmas tree. 

skc040512

@TigerCakes For the most part, yeah I just outgrew it. I was allergic to a ton of stuff  (dust, dander, animal fur, pollen, and literally every grass, tree and flowering plant that grows in the south), so I got allergy shots starting around 8 or 9 and had them until I was 12. I can't remember if I got a shot for dairy or not, but that's what helped me the most with getting over allergies (in addition to just getting older).

KayLee77

I love both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Both my boys are Thanksgiving babies and they always request to put the tree up before Thanksgiving because they love looking at it, and I have no problem with it.  We never really decorated for Thanksgiving before the boys were born so its not like we are skipping over it at all.  We still make sure Thanksgiving is an important holiday, and because we decorate for Christmas early doesn't mean we are skipping over it.  I love sitting at night with the tree on, its just so cozy!

MJDsquared

This is how my decorating usually goes:
September 1st - fall
October 1st - add Halloween (leaving fall decor out)
November 1stish - take down Halloween, leave fall, put out my one tiny Thanksgiving sign
After Thanksgiving - CHRISTMAS

I'm feeling putting up Christmas earlier this year though. I just feel like the bigger I get the harder it'll be. Also, Christmas decorations will probably be up until like February unless DH wants to put them away (HA, fat chance of that).

TigerCakes

@Skcobb Yea DS is allergic to a lot of things you listed as well.  I got allergy shots for dust, cats/dogs, and seasonal stuff about 10 years ago and I’ve had no problems since.  I’m really hoping he grows out of the dairy allergy at least but I’ll have to see if allergy shots are an option once he gets a little older.  Thanks!

Marley629

kyrwyn said:

I really miss milk!  I stopped drinking it in the morning due to the GD breakfast rules (and I normally don't have it later in the day) and I miss it.

Same. Before GD diagnosis I was pretty much going through a gallon every 2-3 days on my own. 

Marley629

@MJDsquared thats my usual time timeline as well but this year I feel compelled to start celebrating  Christmas now.  I feel like things will be a bit of a blur once LO is here on 12/7 and I won't be focused on the holidays so I wanna get my fair share in now.  

kyrwyn

+1 to early holiday decorations.  DH wants me to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Xmas. Guess what's not gonna happen.    

babybison

Is everyone going to ignore that @elvenchick92686 eats her nuggets naked? 
They're like delicious meat (in my case soy) spoons for condiments! I just can't imagine going without. 

The best place I can think of is Disney World in December. Alllll the Xmas decoration magic. 

elvenchick92686

@babybison thats what i was thinking!!!! I thought maybe i wasnt as weird after all lol. Its the only sure fire way i know im pregnant cause i cant do it any other time. I have to have bbq or sweet and sour sauce for dipping any other time. I always try to remember dipping sauce but im perfectly fine without it too lmao. 

whiska

@MJDsquared That's my usual timeline too!  I'm making an exception this year though because of our edd.  Basically I've decided to put Christmas decorations up 11/12-11/18 and start wrapping because I just can't wait to be cuddling our newborn at home next to the tree, and without the pressure of still getting everything together.  At that point all I want to have to worry about is birth announcements/Christmas cards.

When I was growing up we wouldn't put the tree up until about one to two weeks before Christmas (we always bought a fresh one).  One year it was 3 days before Christmas.  Anyone else?

MJDsquared

@whiska We usually put the tree up a week or two before Christmas growing up too. When you use a real tree, they die so fast! My mom has a fake one now and so do we.

It always drives me insane in Christmas movies when they get the tree on Christmas Eve! Does anyone actually do that?!

whiska

@MJDsquared Yeah, we have a fake one now too!  My brother is the only one of us three siblings who carried on the fresh tree tradition lol.  I feel like it used to be so common to put up trees really late, even making it a Christmas Eve activity -- but yeah, that is just not realistic for how most families decorate now.

On the flip side we keep our decorations up through Epiphany, tree up through January, and (indoor) lights up for longer.  They're nice and cozy to have during the cold dark months.  Just like I can't get in the heads of people who jump to Christmas on November 1, I can't understand tearing it all down January 1 either.  But whatever makes you happy I guess!

Amber_Waves

We used to get a tree on Dec 17, the day after my little brother's birthday.

now, DH and I get a tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving at a local charity's fundraiser...every tree is $40 and cut the previous day. We usually get a big one and so long as we take care with watering it lasts until Jan 2nd...at which point we feed it to our goats. Lol. We also give the goats about a dozen trees that neighbors and friends drop off--they love the needles and bark.
 

failuretofly

@MJDsquared if you cut your own (or get fresh cut like @Amber_Waves) they actually last SO long! One year mine lasted from dec1 to sometime in February (DH was working out of town and I didn't care to take it down) and it was still so fresh it started budding!!  

splsmama2016

Growing up Jewish, so we didn't get to decorate and celebrate like most of our neighbors, so as an adult married to a Catholic, you betcha I get a real tree and decorate like a crazy woman! Last year we got a tiny tree (think potted plant size lol) because we were flying out to Texas for christmas. We put up ONE string of lights on the porch and that was it. BORING!! Not sure we will get more than that up this year though for obvious reasons, plus Toddler.

UO: Why do people care so damn much about the red cups at Starbucks?! Its a friggin cup thats going to end up in the trash! The fact that so many people get soooo upset over the design not being about christmas is really annoying. Do you see Jewish customers complaining about not being included on the cups? NOPE! But we do get some pretty neat designs on the gift cards. 

Tennis11785

I love real trees. Growing up, we always had a fake one and I hated it. So we've had a real one for the last decade or so.

But I gotta say, I'm debating getting a fake one this year. Just cause I'm planning on decorating earlier than normal this year and my guess is take down later than normal... 

wabash15

@whiska in my family sometimes it was christmas eve before the tree went up or the weekend before christmas....and then it stayed up for a while. My record is having my tree up till mid april!

my UO: I hate fake trees, it must be a real one.

elev2017

@splsmama2016 Jewish here too. We're planning to raise our kids Jewish (husband was raised Catholic, but is now agnostic), so we won't be doing Christmas decorations, but when I was in first grade I was SOOO excited that I got chosen to hang ornaments on the tree in our school production of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and I also got to help pull our principal who was dressed as the "roast beast" out in a little red wagon at the end of the play lol. And I agree, the Starbucks cup controversy is the dumbest thing imaginable.

breezybee

Fake trees aren’t Christmas’s trees. They HAVE TO BE REAL!!!!!
We cut ours down the day after Thanksgiving every year. I can’t freaking WAIT!

skc040512

Team fake tree here. 1. No cleaning up fallen needles. 2. Lasts for a few years so it's sooo much cheaper. 3. I'm allergic to the real ones lol

MJDsquared

I love real trees, but last year we got one and it was just so much work. I don't know what to do with them when Christmas is over... I seriously sawed off all the branches I could and shoved them in our yard waste bin...but the trunk has been sitting off to the side of our yard since last year... So yeah, I ordered a fake tree last year and not gonna look back lol.

whiska

@MJDsquared I'm cracking up at your description, like you're trying to get rid of a body

We bought a fake one (on sale for $35 at Target!) the year we got married and are still using it 10 years later.  It's looking a bit rough for wear lol.  If we didn't have all these other expenses this year I would be getting a new one.  I love the smell and look of real trees but I cannot with all the needles.

babybison

oh no @Skcobb you poor thing. Allergic to xmas trees. 
I try and get those smelly sticks you can hang in the fake ones to pretend they're more real. 

@MJDsquared We had a forest in the back we tossed ours in so I always wondered how people got rid of their trees... didn't know it was that sketchy.  

The ones you can plant are neat. I wonder if I could convince DH we need more trees. Woah, just looked it up. Too complicated. 

abcola

@leilagphillips and @splsmama2016 another MOT here! I love Christmas time because of how festive it is and everyone seems to enjoy the season so much. Plus I love all the warm drinks and parties. We dont decorate much more than a Happy Hanukkah banner which DH insists only goes up during the holiday, no more no less.... #grinch. I might start to decorate a bit more now with a LO, but that will probably wait until next year. If only it would get colder here in TX so I can enjoy some hot Sbux... 

elev2017

@abcola We've held a couple of Hanukkah parties, so I've decorated for those, but generally I just put out my menorah. I also like making snowflakes when I find the time, so I'm sure I'll do that with the kiddos once they're old enough. I enjoy the holiday season too and am especially bummed that I most likely won't be able to make it to the annual management work party my company throws at the Marriott. DH is a supervisor, so we get an invite every year and the food is always great!