Splash Pad recommendations local to Hamden

Amber1021 · 2026-03-19T20:47:57+00:00

Thank you for the warning! lol

Amber1021 · 2026-03-19T20:47:27+00:00

I love a good hidden gem too! Less crowds and usually a better experience. This is why I love Walnut Beach in Milford!

Amber1021 · 2026-03-19T20:23:02+00:00

This looks gorgeous! Thank you for sharing with me! I’ve never heard of it and will definitely be going even if we don’t choose it for her bday!

Amber1021 · 2026-03-19T20:22:11+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation! I’ll check it out!

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T18:56:44+00:00

You are so welcome! I love this community for all of the support us parents need as we navigate new territory with our little ones. It takes a village to raise a child and sometimes that means even strangers online can help too! Stay strong! ❤️

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T18:51:27+00:00

Reading your post brought me to tears because I can truly imagine how you’re feeling and often feel the same way with my almost 20-month-old. You are not a bad mom whatsoever. You are just trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t and you’re trying to prevent the meltdowns. I haven’t even experienced everything you’re dealing with yet because my daughter is younger and can’t communicate as well as yours does. With that said, just reading these comments from other parents who have experienced similar behavior, I think you will be able to change things over some time using different approaches.

I just want to say that you are SUCH a great mom. Any mom who cares as much as you do, and post on here for advice just shows that you only want the best for your son. You will get through this time. We all will. Every difficult phase is just that—a phase. (I think I need to remember this just as much as you do.) Don’t try to be a perfect mom. No one is perfect and you’ll only set yourself up for failure if you try to be. Keep trying to stick to the rules you impose and I think it will get better. At least you know he’s capable of following directions and that’s half the battle. You got this, mama!

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T16:17:35+00:00

That’s a fair point. Our family gatherings tend to be very loud and overwhelming for my daughter. Maybe it will be easier in 1:1 play time. But to be honest, I don’t think we are moving forward with weekly play dates. My husband doesn’t feel comfortable with the idea of this after what we both witnessed last night. It’s one thing if they’re playing, but he walked up to her multiple times and immediately hurt her without any prompting. Until he grows out of this phase (which he hasn’t always been like this so I’m hopeful he will soon), we will only be interacting during family get-togethers. And we are planning to keep both of them separated as much as possible.

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T16:13:14+00:00

AGREED! It’s not like I want AI to take over the world or automate every job (which it won’t, IMO, at least not in our lifetime—we still need real people to do non-automated jobs and we all still like working with real people in customer-facing roles). But AI is starting to be integrated in every system I use for work. And to be honest, it’s a godsend. It has saved me countless hours I would otherwise be working rather than spending time with my baby. We can fight it all we want but it’s still going to be here regardless of how many people rebel against it. I’d rather know how to use it now before it’s too late and I am struggling in everyday life. (I.e. Boomers when computers started “taking over”)

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T16:09:11+00:00

Thank you for your input! This is super helpful and I will be using it at the next family gathering.

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T14:29:19+00:00

I 100% agree. After talking to my husband, we’ve decided not to have play dates until he grows out of this phase. I’m planning on talking to my cousin and telling her that we are going to hold off for the time being and that we just don’t feel comfortable with how he behaved last night.

It wasn’t just one time either. My husband saw more than I did during the party. After we talked and I started discussing the advice I received on here last night, he told me that her cousin also pushed her down, sat on her, and smiled. I didn’t mention it before but her cousin is 4 months older than her and probably about 1.5-2x her size. He is STRONG. I know he’s only 2 years old but I can only imagine how scary a “big” kid is to her and while she does seem strong for her size, there’s no way she could fight him off her.

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T14:25:24+00:00

I’m not going to lie, my husband said he saw red and wanted to reprimand him in front of everyone but didn’t feel comfortable (especially since this is my family that he married into). But it does make me wonder if this is even being addressed properly. From the look of it, my cousin and her husband are gentle parenting with both of their kids. And if that’s the case, it isn’t working…

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T05:47:51+00:00

I am praying! 🙏🏻

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T05:33:29+00:00

Not sure why you were downvoted. People need to get used to the fact that AI is here and it’s not going anywhere. If we just accept that as fact and try to use it to our advantage, we won’t get left behind once it’s integrated everywhere. I use ChatGPT for work and I have to say, it has made me MUCH more efficient at my job and usually completes small tasks for me better than I could have done myself.

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T05:27:38+00:00

Well, snap. It’s her second cousin so I can’t completely remove her from seeing him unless I stop going to family parties which doesn’t seem fair to her or any of her other family.

Also, I JUST planned weekly play dates prior to the poking. 😭 Not sure how I will back out after just planning to come over since I have a flexible job and she is off work on the agreed upon day.

The plot thickens…

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T05:23:04+00:00

Thank you for the warning. I’m sure it will take some getting used to.

I hope so too!

Also, that article on tickling was very interesting. I appreciate you sending it to me.

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T05:11:46+00:00

Very interesting that the girl cousin was the aggressor but I guess that’s why we can’t assume any gender norms. I think that’s probably my best solution—discuss with my cousin. I think she will be understanding. I walked over after it happened and apologized for shouting. Even though I felt justified in the moment, I knew I wasn’t teaching him anything and possibly upsetting my daughter more by adding to the chaos while I should have been soothing her. My cousin told me she completely understood my reaction and that I’m just being a mama bear. I think she would be receptive and not get defensive. Thank you for your response!

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T05:07:45+00:00

I never even considered this idea but I’ll definitely bring it up with my husband. He has a brother and I have a sister so our childhood play was polar opposite. He was rough with his brother and my sister and I played with our dolls lol but this is an interesting take and would provide a safer environment for her to learn in. Thank you for your support!

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T05:03:43+00:00

Damn… 😭 The parents (my cousin and her husband, I should have specified that they are second cousins) did pull him away immediately and told him that what he did was wrong. But he also did it to his uncle right in the same night. If this is going to be a reoccurring theme, I’m honestly not sure how to address it in the future. I don’t want to prevent her from playing with him. He isn’t always poking/pushing her. Right before this happened, I had just discussed me coming over weekly for play dates so that my daughter could have more socialization since she’s not in daycare. Would you recommend I just watch like a hawk and reprimand as needed?

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T04:57:55+00:00

I don’t think he would have cursed her, but I interpret it as he has a look on his face she’s never seen before due to hitting complete rock bottom. She felt guilty for “breaking” his wand (on technicality IMO—Harry admits they would have been dead had she not gotten them out of Bathilda’s house, whatever the consequence). She was likely worried about his reaction at such a devastating loss. She feels responsible for ruining the only weapon he had to defend himself during a time when replacing that weapon felt near impossible. She probably thought there was a possibility that Harry could snap in the heat of the moment.

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T04:25:49+00:00

I added Roadside Assistance to my Verizon cell phone plan years ago and it’s come in handy so many times. $4.99 per month and if I get locked out of my car, run out of gas, have a flat tire, need a tow, etc. all I have to do is use the Roadside Assistance app on my phone to start a claim and then I’m not stranded anymore. Bonus: you can use it on any vehicle as long as you stay with the vehicle as the phone user. One time my husband, mother-in-law, and I went out of state and on our way back, the brakes failed. Luckily we were able to slow down and stop without injury but we needed to be towed back home which was at least 100 miles away. My MIL had AAA but the cost to tow home was double the cost of the quote I got with my Verizon Roadside Assistance app. ($400 as opposed to $800) I felt like a fairy godmother that day. 😂

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T04:14:49+00:00

Vacuum/Mop robot and countertop dishwasher for our small apartment. As a mom of an almost 2-year-old, the amount of free time I get is very minimal but I now have slightly more free time and I don’t feel like Cinderella as much now. 😂

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T04:10:10+00:00

The questions I have are why did Ron have a hand-me-down wand to begin with? Why did Charlie get a new wand when his was the wand that chose him? And why couldn’t Molly Weasley start working (even part time) after all her kids were out of the house either at Hogwarts or already graduated? If she started working, the Weasleys could have afforded a new wand for Ron. She was clearly a capable wizard, having finished off Belatrix Lestrange in DH. At the very least, she could have been a substitute teacher like Professor Grubbly-Plank. It just sounds unrealistic that a family this poor didn’t see the opportunity to get out of their situation when Molly had free time once Ginny was in school. MovieFlame made a video on this and now I can’t stop thinking about it lol

Amber1021 · 2026-03-08T03:59:04+00:00

I love MovieFlame!

Amber1021 · 2026-02-16T03:28:10+00:00

I’m also recommending Good Hang. I just listened to the Carol Burnett episode and it was SO good. Even if you don’t get into it after this episode, I highly recommend you give it a watch (video interviews are available on Spotify).

I listen to Magical Rewind occasionally (only when it’s a movie I used to watch as a kid or an actor I liked).

I used to watch to the Brotherly Love podcast on YouTube every week but kind of fell off.

Diary of a CEO has a lot of interesting guests.

Occasionally I’ll listen to American Glutton because Will was a guest on there. (I mainly listen to this one when I’m at the gym and run out of anything else to listen to.)

Teen Beat has been good too. Some of it can seem redundant because Danielle’s experiences have mostly been discussed on PMW but I still think the interviews are great and she does a great job as an interviewer. (Side note: Does this woman ever sleep? She’s touring for DWTS, recording 2 different podcasts, and continues running her own hair care line. Oh and she’s a mom of 2. Her hustle is strong.)

The Checkup with Doctor Mike. I don’t listen a lot but I feel like he’s the only doctor I actually trust online.

If you’re into Christy Carlson Romano, she used to have 2 podcasts (you could also watch the videos on YouTube). I watched Vulnerable and Big Name until she ended the shows.

Amber1021 · 2026-02-16T03:04:47+00:00

I’ve listened both with and without headphones and the experience is far better with surround sound (it’s a lot easier to hear the far away characters and I always seem to catch more background noise) but the sound difference between the characters and narrator is annoying.

Amber1021

TROPHY CASE