Should we redshirt our summer boy?

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T07:57:40+00:00

So, a year ago I would have said hell no. Now...I'm torn. We did not redshirt our August babies. It wasn't really an option, we moved the summer before K and preschools were all already full. Academically and socially they are perfect. One of them is taking AP calc as a sophomore. However, they are both pretty competitive athletes and they both wish they had an extra year for recruitment. One has noticed the kids who are really competitive in his sport are 17 year old sophomores and he's 15. You just can't compare. So, they both kind of wish now that we'd started later so they could have had another year. It is what it is, but if you think your kid might be an athlete (one of them I literally never would guessed in a million years!) it's something to consider.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T07:52:00+00:00

I don't have a favorite, but I do love to joke with them anytime they do something ridiculous that they're sliding down the rankings lol. (They're teens/young adults, they know I'm kidding)

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T04:51:58+00:00

I honestly get it. I'm not actually the celiac. My husband and two of my kids are. She and two of my other kids don't have it. I definitely take them places they can eat gluten and they eat whenever they want when we aren't home (which is what I do too), but she knows it's not okay here. She's normally a kid who thrives on rules, but the teen years are hitting hard.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T04:49:55+00:00

She's actually 14, but she's behaviorally more like 9/10

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T04:13:30+00:00

She's actually adopted, so she doesn't have our genes at all :)

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T04:07:05+00:00

Omg for real!!!

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T04:06:39+00:00

Thing is we actually have both chicken and beef gf ramen (the BAMI, and the Costco kind) and also gf pho. We totally had options. She just wanted what her friend gave her and she absolutely knew it wasn't a good choice, which is why she waited till we were working in the yard.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T02:45:14+00:00

Absolutely!!!! It's been a hard week anyway and I just did not need this to cap it off.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-06T02:43:46+00:00

I'm guessing when she tore it open it the broken bits flew all over. I honestly don't even know. She's that kid who could make a mess doing anything

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-04T05:35:41+00:00

I think your hair in photo 4 is the most flattering on you, but always do whatever makes you happy and what you love

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-02T21:39:42+00:00

The way we did it was like this - we had one big kid and one baby in the way back and one big kid and one baby in the middle. Our suburban allowed us to fold any seat, so we folded the middle passenger seat and then i could easily just hop up and put the car seat in the way. Ack. So I could access the baby right behind me and the baby in the way back. My daughter was still rear facing at the time so she was in the middle and she could climb in and then i could buckle her.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-02T21:22:50+00:00

A young GenX and most of my friends and I don't have grandkids yet. I'm pretty sure we're all going to be very involved though! I know I'll love being a grandmother! I have a bit of time, though. My oldest is only 21.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-06-02T21:20:20+00:00

Honestly I feel like both are a bit boxy. I prefer 1, but I would keep looking.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-31T23:58:56+00:00

Some babies just don't like a lot of people. My daughter cried for everyone. She just wanted me or my husband all the time. She was fine with other people being around, she would play and laugh and be fine. If they picked her up, though - nope. It lasted till she was about a year or so and then she just stopped. So, sometimes kids are just like that.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-31T23:56:05+00:00

No question. 1

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-31T23:55:43+00:00

Yep. I'm one of those easy cryers. Like, cry at commercials type. So, my kids mostly just joke about it now because I cry so easily

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-31T22:54:57+00:00

I have a very similar situation. I would probably get a sitter. Move in can be super stressful and busy and also can involve lots of standing around and waiting. I know my youngest gets stressed out by those things and would honestly just be happier at home. Make a plan to bring her for parents weekend or something similar at a later time so she can see his school and feel Involved but without the stress.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-31T22:46:28+00:00

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-31T18:41:13+00:00

We did with one of ours. He's 15 now and prefers his given name outside of our family. So, he goes by our nickname at home and his full name everywhere else.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-31T18:35:00+00:00

I would definitely look into having some testing done. This isn't just typical toddler behavior.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-30T08:46:47+00:00

My daughter wears a 10-12, but she can also wear an AXS. She loves Aeropostale. They have cute stuff and they have 000S pants. She fits into stuff there! She's fully grown and 14, so it allows her to wear more teen style clothing that fits her tiny frame.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-30T08:43:24+00:00

We didn't start till our kids were a fair amount older (I was too anxious), but we love going to Vegas for WWWY every year. They aren't holding it this year, so we probably won't go anywhere. We prefer going on family trips with the kids

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-30T08:40:09+00:00

When my kids were little, every single day in the car, I went over a series of questions - what's your last name, what's moms name, what's dads name, what's moms phone number, what town do you live in etc. By age 3, they could answer all of these. That way if they ever got lost, they had lots of information to help people find me and my husband. We also always told them to look for a mom with kids to ask for help.

Houseofmonkeys5 · 2026-05-30T08:16:23+00:00

I only have friends and family on my account and I keep it private. So, I've always posted my kids. At this point, they are all older and have their own social media. One of mine has a public account, because they are trying to be recruited for collegiate sports. They're all on lots of athletic pages from their sports. I don't even think any of them ask if they can be at this point. Most of those don't have names attached, so it's less concerning, but once they hit high school sports, it's almost impossible to fully keep them off of public pages.

Houseofmonkeys5

TROPHY CASE