@coldlife2 yeah our budget is also going to be a lot tighter now. Even if you don’t buy from the dealer, you can still test drive through them to narrow down what you want. I think we will do that, then buy something lightly used. I haven’t car shopped in a very long time, so I want to try out a few options before we commit to anything.
@coldlife2 Aside from just wanting to be healthy, the whole financial aspect of this is crushing. I hope your husband gets a few things lined up and it’s not as tight as you’re thinking it might be. I’ve been in total budget/save/cut all spending mode just in case things go south for us. Being on one income is terrifying right now. I feel helpless.
@roo_baby, we actually were looking last fall, so we more or less know what we'd like. Ideally, a Toyota 4Runner. But toyotas are expensive!
@tyrion_, ugh, yea. I've been trying to budget tighter, but we really don't have much we can cut. We don't have a lot of extraneous stuff. It's annoying because there's always blogs or articles about "cutting your $5/day coffee will save you x in a month! Reduce your streaming services will save you x." Umm, we already do that! I don't drink coffee, and H makes it at home. A coffee shop is a once or twice a month thing for him. We don't have any streaming services and never have. And we don't do much paid entertainment. The last time we went to a movie was a few weeks before D1 was born, and she's almost 3. I don't really impulse buy. In fact, my H frequently tells me he wishes I would spend more on clothes because he likes it when I dress up and wear nice things. We don't have any debt right now, thankfully. We have the smallest and cheapest internet package that is available. The only thing I think we can possibly reduce is our phone bill. We are looking into switching, but even if we do, that's probably not going to be a huge savings in the grand scheme of things. Maybe $50/month (I don't know yet. Quite likely less).
Yes, I feel pretty useless. My industry pre-kids was not high-paying to begin with. We both place a very high value on me being a SAHM, but even if I did go to work, childcare is expensive and would take a significant portion of my salary.
Update on the PG: I put in the request on Monday and got an auto response that “We are experiencing high email volume and will respond at our earliest convenience.” So, it might not show up until well after everyone’s Old Navy orders arrive. When it’s finally open I will start a new post letting y’all know how to find it.
DS 18m has started
putting things up his nose at mealtimes . Look in the spoiler for the piece of
carrot I had to retrieve the other day. It was actually the morning after and
he came up to me to tell me about his nose, so I’m so glad he was able to communicate
that something was wrong. Today it was soggy mushed up toast at breakfast. I really
don’t want to have to take him to A&E over the next few weeks to get a pea
or something else removed .
@roo_baby Do they do
ex lease cars as an option in the US? We’ve had two and we got good deals on
them. Essentially you get a car that is 12-18 months old that has previously
been on a lease agreement , the dealers take it back in give it a service and
you sometimes can get finance packages and free servicing etc. that you would
get on a new car.
@coldlife2 I have a lot of guilt because my career brought in good money, even when I was part time. But my husband and I agree that I’m most valuable at home with our kids at this point in our (and their) life.
@cornichonmam yes I think that’s an option here! My car is pretty old though so I’m very out of touch with the whole car buying process. The car I have now was pre-owned but very low mileage so it was practically new, and given how long it’s held up that worked out well. It’s just gonna suck to have a car payment again.
Can't breathe thanks to spring trying to kill me. This is for the birds. I'm so miserable. I hate allergies.
On the plus side ds2 got the all clear from his GI yesterday via a televisit. He doesn't have to go back unless his weight doesn't do what's is supposed to or his reflux gets severe again. I'm so excited, as he's dealt with this since 4 months and now at 18 mo, he is finally thriving!
@wildrainbow so glad he's doing better and you can do the televisit!
In other toddler news, my 18mo is climbing out of the pnp. 🤦 I sort of saw this coming, but now I feel like an idiot bc she's been throwing her leg over the edge for a couple weeks now. We've been talking about rearranging the whole downstairs to make it more toddler friendly, but I guess now the gig is up. It sounds like DH is on board, too, thank goodness, because no way I could move around all our furniture by myself. I just hope he doesn't fight me too much on like, floor coverings, book displays, shelving etc. Because the whole point is to have a really nice (large-dog free) living room / playroom set up, plus I need her to have a little table and chairs she can sit at by herself, and I'd love for her to have a play kitchen, too! If we can find a good spot for it. Our main room just has such a challenging layout, but anyway. That'll be a fun project.... :/
I've been a bundle of useless tears the past 36 hours or so... I'm hoping soon maybe we can order some baby things and that will cheer me up.. or if my daughter's new toy box/book shelf arrives in 10 days like it's supposed do we can get that together and start moving things around in the apartment and preparing for baby stuff to come in. I just want some baby related joy I think.. or just some random fun/joy. I was all set to order some yarn for curb side pick-up and they had all the colors I needed to start crocheting this baby a blanket but one.. and I just can't bring myself to alter my vision. I know if I give in to a color swap I won't have my heart on the project and I won't finish it..
So my husband and I decided if they don't get it in stock in a week we can look on etsy and order a nice one that someone has made. It'll support a small business and be a blanket at least picked with love. It feels dumb but I had a HUGE meltdown over how DD had 2 different handmade blankets and how honestly, this one probably won't get one unless I make it myself or buy one for her. I don't want to use the ones that are DD's because those are hers.. and they are special to her.. and honestly I had to do some significant repairs on them and I want her to be able to have those when she grows up for either her own children, or just to have special in her life. I don't want this to be a thing they share. Clothes and toys, no big deal.. baby blankets though.. evidently that upsets me.
Fwiw, my Carter's order just shipped. If anyone is interested in how long it's taking, it's been 8 full business days (not including today) since I ordered.
After so many days of beautiful spring like weather over the last few weeks, it's been dreary, snowy, and cold all week. A bit of a bummer. Tomorrow and next week should be in the 50s! It's crazy how much the weather affects my mood. It helps so much to get outside.
Spring break was last week but online school has been back in session this week and that has keeping me busy. Sometimes too busy.. I have set up a bunch of video chats with my kiddos for next week, so that should be fun.
Anyone else finding that they are doing a little too much shopping online these days! I need something to get excited about! Haha
@riatortillaxo We are definitely experiencing the same dreary weather... It's so depressive. If I had the sun and warmth we had a few weeks ago, my attitude would be much better.
I recorded the Disney sing-a-long on ABC last night. DD woke up and we watched it together this morning. I was literally bawling at points in the show (namely, High School Musical's "We're all in this together"). I haven't even seen that movie but the lyrics hit home, I guess? Hormones or low-spirits... it's one of the two.
@riatortillaxo@kgrgreen the weather significantly affects my mood! When it was nice I was like ok we could do this quarantine thing forever, no big deal! Now that it is snowing and cold I already have no idea if i can survive the day when its only 7AM haha
@riatortillaxo the weather is so obnoxious right now! Last week it was 70, this week I woke up to frost on the ground... being at home is more enjoyable when you can at least sit in the backyard for a while! I’ve been pretty good about limiting online shopping but definitely doing more than normal. I think we’re going to pull the trigger on some baby furniture here soon and then I’m sure I’ll start ordering alllllll the baby things
@riatortillaxo I have been doing SO much online shopping lately though thankfully not pulling the trigger yet. Once I give in, though, it's going to be a blood bath because we are one button push away from bye-bye money on several different sites. We're REALLY trying to support small shops right now and avoid amazon, but it's dangerous that I've convinced myself spending money at certain places is quasi-virtuous.
My Carter’s order shipped last week and it’s still not here so I looked up tracking... shipping is taking 12 days! That’s in addition to the 10 days it took from when I placed the order. My kid is going to outgrow these clothes by the time they get here. And I don’t even remember what I ordered anymore lol.
We did some curb side pick-up tonight. We'd not had any form of take-out since the first weekend in March. Honestly watching DD's face light up to get french fries made today a better day. I ate way more than I should but it tasted good and it was nice not to cook and it had been so long since I'd just had a good cheeseburger. 10/10 will probably do this again in a couple of weeks. It's made today kind of feel like what you think of when you think Friday.
@RedBaramid it's amazing how just some takeout can make things feel a little more normal. We're trying to get takeout once a week or every other week. And there are certain things you just can't recreate at home and are far more delicious when someone else makes them.
We may go get lunch from my favorite bagel place tomorrow. Dd has been asking to go if would make her day I’m sure. She hasn’t left the house in over 2 weeks.
I ordered a video monitor this week. I’ve been trying to think about the big purchases that we will have between now and August. Hoping to get a good deal on a Chicco keyfit within the next few months. My goal is 100 but that may be wishful thinking! I’ve seen one for 130 with a coupon from BBB.
@RedBaramid a burger and fries sounds so good right now. I keep getting emails about delivery from Red Robin and I want it so badly, but we aren’t in their delivery zone. It’s such a tease.
Hi! Happy weekend to you all! I’ve had a semi productive morning trying to motivate myself to dust and vacuum upstairs but that may not happen. I’ve got ripe bananas thawing for banana bread.
@WishesSheCouldCook You're putting me to shame. I managed to vacuum, tidy downstairs, fold/put away laundry yesterday, but so far today hasn't been as productive. Banana bread sounds yummy. I've been thinking about doing some baking as well. Anyone have any no fuss cookie recipes? My go-to is usually snickerdoodles.
The highlight of my days around here has been driving around the corner to watch some baby foxes. The other day, we found where a momma and her four kits are living. I just love driving by to see if I can catch a glimpse of them playing. ☺️
I found a fairly high-fuss cookie recipe :/ it would have been fine except there was the extra step of blanching the hazelnuts, and the recipe didn't actually call for hazelnuts, so they sort of got a bit overloaded. And they are CRAZY sweet.
So anyway, while I'm busy doing that, DH comes in to tell me I'm basically neglecting my daughter and doesn't she need to go down for a nap? Which of course *I* need to put her down for the nap. And finish the second round of cookies. And peel potatoes and get them and the cabbage added to his corned beef he wanted so badly. And do laundry. ....all while he sleeps on the couch and gets crabby with me that why did I wake him up and can I just "handle it.". Sure. I'll handle it. While you nap.
We are supposed to still be doing the reading and watching a broadcast of the Mass, praying together as a family etc. Since we can't go to Mass. But of course, we were watching cartoons and browsing Zillow this morning instead. 🙄 But I guarantee you that will be my fault too, that she will wake up and we haven't done Mass yet. Because priorities. :/
@businesswife I’d probably lose my shit and just leave. I’ve done it once or twice in the past 5 weeks. I just go out driving. H can figure out everything 🤷♀️
TTC1: May 2015
Primary IF May 2016; Failed HSG; Scheduled Lap Sept. 2016
@BusinessWife Yiiiiiiikes. That just made me cringe. How on earth does he not see that you have a ton on your plate today!? I'm sorry you're having to deal with a bad attitude. Hopefully he'll come around and realize how silly he's being and give you a hand! ❤️
@BusinessWife omg I would be livid if I were in your shoes. I hope your H gets off the couch and does his part sooner than later!
@lachnessmomster The baby foxes sound so precious! We have foxes in my area but I’ve never been lucky enough to see any babies.
@RedBaramid Glad you enjoyed your take out! It’s so nice to occasionally treat yourself to something “normal” these days. I had a midwife appointment on Thursday and went through the drive thru at Starbucks after (wearing a mask and gloves of course). I almost cried because it felt so good to enjoy one of the treats I took for granted in my pre-lockdown days.
Is this an attitude you come across on occasion or out of character for him? Either way, not ok and I think he just lost cookie privileges, among other things.
Well luckily she slept long enough to let us get through the first part of Mass anyway, and he is going up to change her diaper and bring her down for the rest... He had a couple cookies with me and possibly a sugar crash? So I mean it's possible that's why not napping was not an option. :/. It sucks, but at least he was appreciative that the food was coming along when he woke up.
ETA thanks for letting me vent. Really it's fine, I'm just exhausted. And I never nap when she naps, and I keep saying I should, but I always feel like there's too much to do. :/
A friend told me she had some clothes to give me and this is what she turned up with
It's amazing! And so much! I'm going through it now deciding what to keep and what to pass on (it feels like perhaps too much?). At this point I don't really NEED much more, but I'd still like to get a few things that feel more like me.
Also, how many socks do babies actually need. There are maybe 50 pairs or more in this stash, and everything I read seems like baby socks are pointless 🤷♀️
@gomillis They are giving me LIFE right now. We went for a walk yesterday and got to see FIVE of them out playing! Previously, there have only been four. 😭 I was able to get this photo of a couple little fluffs.
@lachnessmomster OMG they are so adorable!!! That would be the highlight of my day!
@BusinessWife Glad YH came around bc I would have been so close to strangling him as he naps lol
@rivercitynik Wow, that is so amazing!! I have no input on how much of anything is needed but love that your friend gave you so much for your baby boy!
I had a productive weekend... sewed a few face masks and just waiting on receiving more elastic which should arrive this week. Also, yesterday cleaned both bathrooms and vacuumed/steam mopped all the floors. My back was killing all the rest of the night. This morning I stubbed my pinky toe so hard that it's bleeding. Send a wambulance please.
Me: 33 DH: 36 Dating 4/2008 Married 6/2016 TTC #1 9/2019 BFP 12/13/2019! EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
Ugh, I'm so annoyed. I found out yesterday that a relative who is newly expecting her first was planning an OOH birth but got nervous because people started telling her horror stories about births gone wrong. So now she's planning a hospital birth (and has already had one negative experience at her first appointment!) Which, fine, if that's what you want. But I am so annoyed at people who do that sort of thing. Scaring pregnant women with horror stories is not ok. Trashing OOH births, which are just as safe as hospital births for low-risk women, is not ok.
Goodness knows I could tell horror stories of births gone wrong in a hospital and people nearly dying because of their doctor's ineptitude, but I won't.
I've met these particular people and they seem nice, but they better not pull that crap with me because I WILL push back if they start going on about how "unsafe" OOH births are.
I'm just so angry and can't stop thinking about it since I found out.
Re: Weekly Randoms 4/13
@tyrion_, ugh, yea. I've been trying to budget tighter, but we really don't have much we can cut. We don't have a lot of extraneous stuff. It's annoying because there's always blogs or articles about "cutting your $5/day coffee will save you x in a month! Reduce your streaming services will save you x." Umm, we already do that! I don't drink coffee, and H makes it at home. A coffee shop is a once or twice a month thing for him. We don't have any streaming services and never have. And we don't do much paid entertainment. The last time we went to a movie was a few weeks before D1 was born, and she's almost 3. I don't really impulse buy. In fact, my H frequently tells me he wishes I would spend more on clothes because he likes it when I dress up and wear nice things. We don't have any debt right now, thankfully. We have the smallest and cheapest internet package that is available. The only thing I think we can possibly reduce is our phone bill. We are looking into switching, but even if we do, that's probably not going to be a huge savings in the grand scheme of things. Maybe $50/month (I don't know yet. Quite likely less).
Yes, I feel pretty useless. My industry pre-kids was not high-paying to begin with. We both place a very high value on me being a SAHM, but even if I did go to work, childcare is expensive and would take a significant portion of my salary.
DS 18m has started putting things up his nose at mealtimes
. Look in the spoiler for the piece of
carrot I had to retrieve the other day. It was actually the morning after and
he came up to me to tell me about his nose, so I’m so glad he was able to communicate
that something was wrong. Today it was soggy mushed up toast at breakfast. I really
don’t want to have to take him to A&E over the next few weeks to get a pea
or something else removed 
.
@roo_baby Do they do ex lease cars as an option in the US? We’ve had two and we got good deals on them. Essentially you get a car that is 12-18 months old that has previously been on a lease agreement , the dealers take it back in give it a service and you sometimes can get finance packages and free servicing etc. that you would get on a new car.
On the plus side ds2 got the all clear from his GI yesterday via a televisit. He doesn't have to go back unless his weight doesn't do what's is supposed to or his reflux gets severe again. I'm so excited, as he's dealt with this since 4 months and now at 18 mo, he is finally thriving!
In other toddler news, my 18mo is climbing out of the pnp. 🤦 I sort of saw this coming, but now I feel like an idiot bc she's been throwing her leg over the edge for a couple weeks now. We've been talking about rearranging the whole downstairs to make it more toddler friendly, but I guess now the gig is up. It sounds like DH is on board, too, thank goodness, because no way I could move around all our furniture by myself. I just hope he doesn't fight me too much on like, floor coverings, book displays, shelving etc. Because the whole point is to have a really nice (large-dog free) living room / playroom set up, plus I need her to have a little table and chairs she can sit at by herself, and I'd love for her to have a play kitchen, too! If we can find a good spot for it. Our main room just has such a challenging layout, but anyway. That'll be a fun project.... :/
Meanwhile, send help.
So my husband and I decided if they don't get it in stock in a week we can look on etsy and order a nice one that someone has made. It'll support a small business and be a blanket at least picked with love. It feels dumb but I had a HUGE meltdown over how DD had 2 different handmade blankets and how honestly, this one probably won't get one unless I make it myself or buy one for her. I don't want to use the ones that are DD's because those are hers.. and they are special to her.. and honestly I had to do some significant repairs on them and I want her to be able to have those when she grows up for either her own children, or just to have special in her life. I don't want this to be a thing they share. Clothes and toys, no big deal.. baby blankets though.. evidently that upsets me.
Spring break was last week but online school has been back in session this week and that has keeping me busy. Sometimes too busy.. I have set up a bunch of video chats with my kiddos for next week, so that should be fun.
Anyone else finding that they are doing a little too much shopping online these days! I need something to get excited about! Haha
I recorded the Disney sing-a-long on ABC last night. DD woke up and we watched it together this morning. I was literally bawling at points in the show (namely, High School Musical's "We're all in this together"). I haven't even seen that movie but the lyrics hit home, I guess? Hormones or low-spirits... it's one of the two.
Craft Blog
Craft Blog
I found a fairly high-fuss cookie recipe :/ it would have been fine except there was the extra step of blanching the hazelnuts, and the recipe didn't actually call for hazelnuts, so they sort of got a bit overloaded. And they are CRAZY sweet.
So anyway, while I'm busy doing that, DH comes in to tell me I'm basically neglecting my daughter and doesn't she need to go down for a nap? Which of course *I* need to put her down for the nap. And finish the second round of cookies. And peel potatoes and get them and the cabbage added to his corned beef he wanted so badly. And do laundry. ....all while he sleeps on the couch and gets crabby with me that why did I wake him up and can I just "handle it.". Sure. I'll handle it. While you nap.
We are supposed to still be doing the reading and watching a broadcast of the Mass, praying together as a family etc. Since we can't go to Mass. But of course, we were watching cartoons and browsing Zillow this morning instead. 🙄 But I guarantee you that will be my fault too, that she will wake up and we haven't done Mass yet. Because priorities. :/
Is this an attitude you come across on occasion or out of character for him? Either way, not ok and I think he just lost cookie privileges, among other things.
ETA thanks for letting me vent. Really it's fine, I'm just exhausted. And I never nap when she naps, and I keep saying I should, but I always feel like there's too much to do. :/
It's amazing! And so much! I'm going through it now deciding what to keep and what to pass on (it feels like perhaps too much?). At this point I don't really NEED much more, but I'd still like to get a few things that feel more like me.
Also, how many socks do babies actually need. There are maybe 50 pairs or more in this stash, and everything I read seems like baby socks are pointless 🤷♀️
@BusinessWife Glad YH came around bc I would have been so close to strangling him as he naps lol
@rivercitynik Wow, that is so amazing!! I have no input on how much of anything is needed but love that your friend gave you so much for your baby boy!
I had a productive weekend... sewed a few face masks and just waiting on receiving more elastic which should arrive this week. Also, yesterday cleaned both bathrooms and vacuumed/steam mopped all the floors. My back was killing all the rest of the night. This morning I stubbed my pinky toe so hard that it's bleeding. Send a wambulance please.
Dating 4/2008
Married 6/2016
TTC #1 9/2019
BFP 12/13/2019!
EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
Goodness knows I could tell horror stories of births gone wrong in a hospital and people nearly dying because of their doctor's ineptitude, but I won't.
I've met these particular people and they seem nice, but they better not pull that crap with me because I WILL push back if they start going on about how "unsafe" OOH births are.
I'm just so angry and can't stop thinking about it since I found out.