General chatter while we wait (and commentary on the "pull out method")

[shaescott]

Oh also, turns out you can order walgreens through Instacart until 11 PM, I discovered this at 10:30 and promptly ordered all the cough syrup and cold supplements. Special thanks to the local man who just delivered all this stuff to my sick ass I obviously didn’t want to get him sick so I had him just set them on the doorstep and I grabbed them when he walked away.
I’m trying a whole bunch of supplements to make this cold go away, from zinc to vitamin c to elderberry to a homeopathic blend. I’ve never used a homeopathic blend before and I won’t lie, I’m a little suspicious, but I’ll try anything right now to not be sick in 5 days.

 

[WinterBub]

We cut cable a few years ago too! We now have Hulu for live TV. Not bad overall- and we have some package that includes HBO Max and Disney+. The cable was insanely expensive by the end. We called threatening to leave and expecting an offer for a new deal, and they were just like "ok! Bye!"

Where do I get a ticker/how do I do that?

What is COLA? The other expensive we underestimated was property tax. That adds a lot to our monthly costs, and is more than I had ever thought it would be! I agree that two baths would be ideal. Or at least a separate toilet. But also agree that a separate bath to shower solves a lot of that dilemma. We have that, and LO uses the bath, we use the shower. Our bathrooms are very dated, though- think seashell shaped sinks. renovating them is a definite thing we'd love to do, just don't have the money! We're in the south- thus no snow. Though I've lived in lots of different places (before I met OH, and as a kid we moved a few times for my Dad's job). So I have lived with it before!

Hope that your COVID symptoms are gone in time for the shower The only thing to bear in mind is if you'll be contagious, even if you feel better. Not sure how you gauge that, though. I am pretty sure I already had COVID #2 before my OH tested positive.

They're having a petting zoo come to preschool today. LO was thrilled. He has a little girl who is his best friend, and he can't wait to "ride horses with her!"

 

[gigglebox]

oh no shae!! solidarity!! I still feel like I have a cold and it's driving me bonkers. I don't have the body aches like I did, although I am getting these, like, leg cramps like the kind you'd call "growing pains"; not cramps as such, just like a dull ache...and my oldest kiddo has that too. Not sure if this is a covid thing or coincidence.
Anyway I hope you feel better in time for the shower! Do you have a back up plan if you don't? and they thousands of years of homeopathic remedies can't all be useless! I personally swear by colloidal silver and elderberry syrup, however I make my own syrup. The silver is helpful (to me anyway) if taken right at the onset of things, like right when your throat starts to get scratchy.

Agreed on the house thing, however if you could realistically get up to 900k and only looking at 300k houses, I'm sure you're fine. Especially factoring in SO's contribution. Also, don't worry about baby too much, I'm sure y'all could save up for those few weeks you'd be on maternity leave....unless you plan on being off longer?

Winter this is what I liked when I did the ticker thing: Babysizer Pregnancy & Baby Tracker
I enjoyed having a visual reference to how big baby was getting. That sort of thing helped my limited imagination, haha.
I like your short list of names! I am really, really digging Juniper though, I hate to say it!

Awww a petting zoo?! How fun!! What kind of animals did they get to see?? We brought ducklings to ds1's school ages ago; it was adorable!! The kids LOVED it, and they actually named the ducks. I only remember "Spike", which was hilarious to me. I don't remember the other name but it was something predictable like "Fluffy" or "Daisy" or something.

 

[gigglebox]

oh forgot to mention about disc golf; it's very entertaining to watch for a player, but I bet it'd be ball-golf level of entertainment if you don't play it. I feel like you have to actually have thrown a disc once to appreciate how difficult it is to do, and appreciate the shots, if that makes sense? We just watch on YouTube. There is a channel, Jomez Pro, that does professional recordings of tournaments. There is a professional "Disc Golf Network" that records all the tournaments, but JoMez is vastly superior. It's entertaining, and the narrators are occasionally funny, not just all business all the time (which is what I don't like about DGN).

 

[DobbyForever]

Aw Shae glad you got medicine. I Doordashed a pregnancy test the other day talk about 21st century lol. I hope you feel better! I just got a letter from HR saying we can go back to work on Day 6 even if we’re still positive! How times have changed lol.

Things will work out financially. I agree, do you know how long you hope to take off? And childcare is huge if you can find low cost or get family. My friend paid like what I paid in a week for the whole month lol.

Winter right?! My frustration is they’ll lower it barely and then before you know it it’s back up or higher. So I just got sick of it esp since I rarely watch tv live with A now anyway.

I agree I love babysizer!

COLA is cost of living. Like I paid $4.70 gal for gas. My Ohio brother says the difference is huge with eating out. Like a casual brunch out for 1 person here I guess is a fancy brunch for 2 there. Everything is just stupid expensive. Like even McD’s I spent $15 at a trip there for two happy meals and an iced coffee.

Right?! You do learn to live with stuff. Do you have plans to remodel? My coworker just redid her kitchen. She said it’s been bothering her for 30 years! She was so excited to design her dream kitchen and finally do it as her b-day present to herself.

Awww how was the petting zoo! So fun!

Gigs omg that amazing that you took ducks! You’re not a regular mom, you’re a cool mom.

AFM another storm. I hydroplaned on the freeway. Scary s*. Almost wrecked into two cars and the wall. Miracle I didn’t end up hitting anything or anyone

 

[DobbyForever]

As it turns out, I had to take my car in for a recall issue and evidently my tires ALL failed the thread check. So. Oops.

 

[DobbyForever]

Oh Shae random and dk if it came up but reminds me of the cross. I was scrolling Instagram and cost_n_mayor had story about their fav wedding planning advice being that if you know you’re going to move soon after the wedding or gets house/have your own space, but decor for your wedding that you can repurpose to your house! Cute idea

 

[shaescott]

Winter omg at seashell shaped sinks! That’s so funny. Though honestly if they’re painted some awful outdated color I feel like you could make the whole room look less outdated just by painting the sink bright white and glazing it so it’s shiny. Not sure of the exact method you’d need to do that, but it seems worlds cheaper than renovating the bathroom at least as a temporary solution.

Ah, the south. I grew up in New England so I’ve never known a winter without snow. While I feel like I’d enjoy the religious community in the south, I can’t handle the heat, and it would be way too far from family.

I’ll be a full 5 days out from start of symptoms on the day of the shower and allowed to return to work so I figure if I can go back to work I can go to my shower lol. I do hope I don’t get anyone sick. I’m already feeling a bit better today but if that doesn’t continue I’ll have to reschedule it. Yesterday was super rough, like sudden chills that had me hugging a heating pad under 2 blankets (despite no fever). So far today just standard cold stuff. This darn sore throat just won’t let up. I’m pacing myself a bit and sitting in between short tasks because if I don’t I start to get a little lightheaded.

Gigs I’m not so much suscipicious of elderberry, more so the homeopathic stuff like belladonna etc. Couldn’t tell you if it’s helping because of the sheer amount of supplements I’m taking. I do not have a backup plan for the shower, just rescheduling if need be.
That’s so cute that you brought ducks once, that’s so much fun!

Dobs oh wow that’s scary. I’m so glad you’re okay!

 

[WinterBub]

I love Juniper too! And I like June as a beautiful nickname that fits it so well. But alas, that is one OH will likely veto!

That's so lovely that you brought the ducks into school! I bet your son absolutely loved it. The petting zoo was a huge hit. I saw Llamas, and he said there were chickens, a goat and a "baby piggy". They also did pony rides. Wish I had seen that, as he apparently kept getting off and going to the back of the line to go again

That makes total sense about disc golf being fun to watch when you know what it takes to make the shots etc. That actually finally explains why my Dad liked to watch regular golf so much

Super scary about the car, Dobby and driving in rain like that is the absolute worst. Glad that you're ok!!!! And sorry about the tires- they sure ain't cheap. We paid $5 at the absolute height of gas prices last summer. I don't actually remember what it is now, but well below that. How you afford to live there is mind boggling. Maybe you can all sell up and stay in California, but trade up in real estate etc. How far away would you have to move for the cost of living to drop to something reasonable?

Yeah, the seashell sinks are a choice. it's one of those things we hated initially, but then you sort of turn blind to over time. They're also actually quite practical as they have a little shelf for soap built into them . Yes, we want to remodel... But we'll see. There's a few bigger projects we'd like to do, and if you add the cost of those up, maybe we'd be better off moving.

Hope your recovery keeps on in time for the shower, Shae! It will be ok if you have to reschedule, but really, really hope that it doesn't come to that! Wish I had a remedy or something to offer. Just rest as much as you can

AFM- told a friend yesterday about the baby (she's the one with the daughter the same age as my LO and a newborn). I went into the whole scan scare etc and she totally got what it was like and how I'm feeling now. It was so nice! Aaaaaaand in bad news- took LO out to lunch today, and when we left, we saw someone smashing windows and stealing stuff in the car park. it was my favorite restaurant and now I feel like I won't ever go back. The person never approached us, but I just felt so vulnerable being there with him, and trying to shove him in the car etc to leave. I called the police and the restaurant, but is this just what society is now????

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Hey Ladies. Long time, no talk.

I honestly don't have a good excuse for my absence. It probably just started as procrastination that turned into the daunting task of trying to catch myself up on everything I've missed. But I'm here now and gonna do better going forward.

How is everyone? I read back a little bit. Congrats to you, Winter. There seems to be only girls names being mentioned. Do you already know what gender you're having? Can't believe you're wedding is already coming up so soon, Shae. Exciting! I also can't believe you're still dealing with drama at A's school, Dobby. So frustrating.

Re: Gender sway timing. We DTD a little under 4 days before I O'd.

 

[DobbyForever]

Hey Pretty! Good to see you drop in! How are you doing?

Shae hope you’re party ready and can enjoy your shower!

Winter awww so nice to share with a friend! yikes sorry about the guy! That’s awful. Honestly I had to uninstall Nextdoor because all the crime postings made me uncomfortable. Hopefully in time you can feel comfortable going there again. Glad it wasn’t your car but car break ins are pretty common around here in the downtown areas or up in Berkeley. Usually because something valuable was left in sight. I’ve had my purse stolen but nothing out of my car. Probably because my car is just full of trash and dirt but still super violating.

Thats a pretty lit petting zoo!!! How big is his class? I’m surprised they managed pony rides.

The only issue with staying in state is that only the major metropolitan areas (SF and LA) are liberal and my level of safe lol. That’s why they’re so expensive. There was a time that moving East out to Sacramento area was affordable, but now so many people are moving out that way that the houses have doubled/tripled and the school districts pay is crap. I don’t mind this duplex. I have a yard, we each have our own room, and it’s a lot quieter and safer than it was ten years ago. Right when I left, a few tech companies set up headquarters and it gentrified quick lol.

yeah the car situation was not good. I really was nervous about putting A in the car after, but luckily got the tires handled. The last time I bought tires, I cried when they told me how much. It’s so funny because I was living here! Newly in my teaching career. Things have changed so much in this area but also in mg life since I was here. Anyway set me back $1200. My grandmother said she might try to help me, but 1200 feels like nothing compared to the monthly bills i get from my attorney.

A has an independent eval today and tomorrow. It’s 1-1.5h each way and no idea how long. I’m tired. So glad I’m not doing summer school though the pay os crazy high. It’s like 6k for one month (with days off for 7/4) and it’s only reaching half day. But my mom said I’m too tired and shouldn’t work. She’ll loan me the money.

Supposedly seeing OA next weekend. I’ll believe it when I see him lol

 

[PrettyInInk42]

I'm good. Still on mat leave and coming to the end of my BFing journey. Been on a Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle supplement since Zoey was born and started taking Domperidone like a month and a half ago, but supply is definitely tanking again. C'est la vie. I'm also at my highest weight ever, so when I'm done with pumping, back to keto and IF. Also, have diastasis recti, which is fun. But overall, things could be worse.

Zoey - Just turned 10 months. Been pulling to standing since 6m, fast crawler, cruising for a while now, and started to do some unassisted standing. 19lbs 13oz, 27.5in, 8 teeth, and super smiley.

Alex - In SK. Doing soccer and swimming. No loose teeth yet. Starting to get into video games and just being a sweet big bro to Zoey.

Matthew - Going to daycare 3 days a week. Also in soccer and swimming. Picky eater and kind of a butthead. He and Alex fight hard, but they love hard too. lol

SO - Had an A1C of 11.1 as of January. Currently on Metformin and Ozempic. Like, legit. Not just to lose weight the lazy way. Trying to make gradual changes for the better. And just had a sleep study done this passed Monday, so we'll see if he actually has sleep apnea.

 

[DobbyForever]

They have the best eyes!!! I love how similar they look but yet unique. So crazy you're still on maternity leave! I love that! My coworker just had her baby at Nov and she got a pretty lengthy leave, she's coming back in two weeks. Unpaid except for all the sick pay she saved up the last 11 years. Yay America! And to think teachers have it pretty good in terms of mat leaves. Sad. Only.

Love the updates! What's a A1C?

 

[DobbyForever]

AFM had our first part of the eval today though she's thinking she wants 3 sessions over 2. Found a cute little park near her office. Looked up homes nearby for fun, 1.8-2.2 million Bigger than what you'd get for the same price here but still way out of my price range haha. He got about half the first test done. She seemed happy with it, but I don't really know how he did. It was a nonverbal test, so he just has to sort of infer the directions a lot. Back at it tomorrow. Might head out a little earlier and do the park for a bit longer but we'll see. Just depends on when we wake up. She was pretty smitten with him though. Said he's highly functional and gorgeous.

 

[Flueky88]

Winter our boy name was Samuel with middlebame James. And of course that is Murphy's law, not having the gender that you have a name picked for.

There is nothing wrong with a long list of names so don't feel bad. You have plenty of time to narrow it down. Lots of beautiful names on there.

The petting zoo sounds lovely. I'm so glad he enjoyed it

Oh goodness that would be frightening to witness a car break in. I'm glad you weren't harmed during that.

Dobby yes the 3rd rack is a game changer. I believe I first saw commercials for them in 2020 or 2021. I wasn't fully sold, but I am now. We haven't had to run our dishwasher 3 times in one day yet. We even used to occasionally run 4 times in one day. Bahaha about laundry. DH does about half the laundry each week. He is better about putting stuff up than me. Although if it's the girl's clothes he will only fold it. He won't put away as he doesn't know what goes with what lol

We just went to Pigeon Forge. Very touristy but so many options of things to do.

When I started reading Quinn and FF connection. I was like, hmmm maybe she played an earlier one that I didn't lol. Loved Quistis, she was my favorite female character in the game.

Glad that you and A were alright and found out soon after you needed new tires. It's so scary losing control of a vehicle.

Gigs, yes the quietness is nice. No more turning the TV up when it's running.Also don't be hard on yourself for returning the puppy. I love dogs but our families come first. the bird is cute and so glad it wasn't a mouse or rat.

Agree with the others you are a cool mom. Now if I recall correctly, you had made a new mom friend but you were worries she might move. Have you been able to do anything together?

Pretty welcome back. I wouldn't say caring for 3 children with one being an infant lazy. It's a lot to keep up with that. Love the pics!

Sorry your breastfeeding journey is coming to an end. It sounds like Zoey is doing really well though and so are Matthew and Alex. I hope that SO's A1C comes down.

Shae oops on accidentally getting a pre-approval. Maybe just getting an ideal will give you motivation to save up a nice down payment so you can either be in debt less or pay a bit more to get what you need. 2 bath minimum would be a must for me. Honestly with 5 of us, 3 bathrooms is a necessity.


AFM E and S have been sick this week. S has been the worst with it. She is slowly getting better, I think. Just exhausted between sick kids and work.

 

[WinterBub]

Hi pretty! So nice to hear from you The kids looks great! And that's amazing that you've had all this time off. Glad to hear that all is going well. Sorry that breastfeeding is coming to an end earlier than you'd hoped. I got to one, but it was such a struggle from 9m or so. I think once he started to eat a lot, it was just all naturally tapering off. You've done a great job getting her this far- quite amazing what our bodies can do.

And thank you for the congratulations! Did IVF September-Jan with a break in there. Am about to be 15w with a girl. We did know the sex before the gender, and have since confirmed with the NIPT too.

What will you be using the assessment for, Dobby? Did you pursue it or is it part of what the school wants? He definitely is gorgeous! World's best hair for a start! Glad that it went well. And ugh on the tire cost i can see the temptation to do summer school, though I'm sure you will really enjoy a good break. If you see OA... In what capacity would that be?

There's only 12 kids in LO's class. But they have a 2yo class (x3) and at least three preschool classes around that size. Not sure how many classes got to go to the petting zoo. They said they used to do a field trip, but this made better sense. I can definitely see that for 2/3/4 yos.

Im so jealous of the new dishwasher, Flueky. that third rack sounds lik such a dream set up! We run ours twice a day most days. Sometimes three. Hope everyone is feeling better shortly. SO and LO both have some horrible cold. I'm sure I'm next in line LO's eyes are all snotty/goopy. until I had him, I didnt know that was a cold related thing that even happens. Pigeon Forge sounds fun!

Shae- hope you're fully recovered, and the shower could go ahead.

And hope you're having a good weekend, Giggle!

AFM- early anatomy scan on Friday, and I'm excited but nervous. So just trying to keep busy until then. Still bummed about the car break in. Just such a crappy thing to have to be worried and suspicious everywhere. Oh well, rather a car incident than anyone getting hurt. I'm sure the car owner was upset when they found out. I also have zero valuables in my car, mostly due to having next to zero valuables generally

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Dobby - Ya, America's mat leave allowance leaves much to be desired. :/
The A1C test—also known as the hemoglobin A1C or HbA1c test—is a simple blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months. I believe anything above 7 is considered diabetic.

Flueky - Sorry to hear a couple of the girls are under the weather. Is it just colds?

Winter - Aww, that's great. Congrats again.

 

[Flueky88]

Winter E had goopy crusty eyes the week that V was sick. OMG one morning they were nearly matted shut. I was worried she might be getting pink eye or something but it cleared up.

So excited for your scan Friday

Pretty, V was sick the week before. Her pediatrician said her throat looked like strep but it and all other tests were negative. She finished her antibiotics up Fridat night. Pretty much the same with E and S. The doctor said S had ear infection in both ears and E he said she had so much ear wax he couldn't see it well enough. He was assuming the same for her though. Getting the antibiotics in them is almost impossible. Doing the best we can. E is pretty much better. S is still sick but slowly getting better. Her fevers are getting lower and her appetite is improving. She isn't back to her usual activity level though and still mostly sitting on couch. S had awful diarrhea too. ‍ E had some but not as bad. So more than a cold but not for sure on what it is exactly. I'm thinking it might be adenovirus. One of their cousins and his mom had it. They haven't been around them but it's going around.

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Oh no. Poor things. Here's hoping S continues to improve and everyone is back to normal soon.
Matthew has some daycare-itis and a bit of a perma cough. We'll just put on the humidifier overnight as needed. And Zoey's already had 3 stuffed/runny noses since she's been born. :/

 

[DobbyForever]

Oh my! 4x in a day?! That’s quite a lot. I run mine like 2x a week but A still eats out of small plates, and I don’t tend to use a lot of dishes since most days I’m only home for dinner. Glad the new one is working out well! So sorry to hear that the girls aren’t feeling well. Thank goodness the eye situation healed quickly. Hopefully they’re feeling a lot better now.

Winter I feel you lol. Like if anyone broke into my house there’d be two angry dogs and nothing to steal. So exciting for the scan Friday! Anatomy scan is so fun! I get the worry though. Does hubby get to go with?

Pretty oh . Sorry about the level. I second Fluek and hope it comes down.

AFM stormed the board last night for my second Leslie Knope moment. It was last minute so I think it sucked but my stepdad (he went with) said it was fine.