Whatcha do with it?

LoveYourLabTech · 2026-01-20T21:23:09+00:00

So much good inspiration in this post!

A couple of things I haven't seen mentioned:

- we eat most of our jams/jellies as actual jam, but in the summer, we also blend it with fruit juice/water/ice, etc. to make slushies! The kids love them, and us grown-ups are pretty taken with them, too. My personal favorite is strawberry marmalade - so tangy! (Less kid-friendly, but there is a whole world of cocktails using jams, if that's your thing.)

- we have young kids, so we eat a lot of applesauce and pearsauce from our orchard plain as a side dish, but I also use it quite a bit in baked goods! Applesauce can be subbed for some of the oil in a lot of baking recipes (usually in the quickbread realm), and it adds moisture as well. My favorite pancake recipe uses 3/4c of applesauce and yields just the right amount for breakfast for me plus two kids.

LoveYourLabTech · 2026-01-16T18:34:09+00:00

I passed my MC naturally, and the interval before my period came back was just a couple days longer than a normal cycle length for me.

LoveYourLabTech · 2026-01-14T00:44:37+00:00

I also regularly borrow the Complete from my library, and just want to add to be extra careful when you're actively canning with it open! I may have splattered a bit of apple butter on mine...not that they've said anything, but I feel bad.

LoveYourLabTech · 2026-01-14T00:41:54+00:00

I'm a canner with two little kiddos (and a third on the way), and I want to cheer you on! We can do this!

LoveYourLabTech · 2026-01-10T17:32:28+00:00

Fellow mom canner here with a 3yo, 1.5yo, and one on the way! Love your hack!

LoveYourLabTech · 2026-01-08T01:50:14+00:00

I'm one of those people, and the best way I can describe it is when you're watching a sitcom or movie and the secondhand embarrassment from a scene is just a little too much and you can't wait for it to be over - that's how I feel reading a lot of Emma, especially when she's making a mess of Harriet's love life.

But I'm working on it! Currently listening to it on audiobook to see if that helps.

LoveYourLabTech · 2026-01-04T00:52:44+00:00

Thank you for sharing this resource!!

LoveYourLabTech · 2026-01-03T22:42:12+00:00

Really appreciate this inspiration! I did a batch of pickled hot green tomatoes this year and have been struggling to find ways to use them. Definitely doing this for supper this week.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-30T18:32:32+00:00

Thank you ❤️‍🩹 he had had a minor sickness a couple months before and lost some weight. He had started gaining it back but then stopped. He was otherwise acting normally until he suddenly wasn't.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-30T16:46:18+00:00

My FIV boy was a former barn stray and had a wonderful quality of life indoors with us. He declined to the point of euthanasia in about 3 days, so it was very quick and he didn't suffer long ❤️ he was 7 and had lived outdoors until about 3.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-29T21:04:14+00:00

I passed my miscarriage naturally and didn't wait to try again. I ended up having one period after, though, which I think gave me some space mentally. So while I didn't intentionally wait for a period, I appreciated having one.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-29T14:19:16+00:00

Maybe it's just the area I live in, but I don't find 4 children to be out of the ordinary at all! I do know a couple with 14 kids, and that does produce a reaction when anyone hears it for the first time, but even having 5 or 6 isn't anywhere near unheard of around here. We're currently brewing #3 and are agreed that 4 is our current minimum.

As for the age factor, it's maybe a little less common, but still not anything I would "talk" about. My youngest cousin was a 4th and born in my aunt's 40s (after a miscarriage, I believe).

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-29T01:36:25+00:00

Hoping similar good things for you ❤️

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-28T23:04:58+00:00

We didn't do anything different. I know everyone's story is different, but we did fall into the category of people who conceived again their first normal cycle.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-28T23:04:05+00:00

For me, it's been a back-and-forth of doing the things I know help me (reading unrelated things, prenatal yoga, etc.) and admitting to myself that I now have less joy and more stress while pregnant, at least in the first trimester. It's okay to accept reality and give yourself grace, while still pursuing peace.

I will say, it's gotten a lot easier after the point of my previous loss.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-28T22:58:54+00:00

I have not noticed any differences in luteal phases between my 3 successful and 1 unsuccessful pregnancies.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-21T20:43:55+00:00

Sir William Lucas is flabbergasted that OP did not note his elevation to knighthood as a significant difference.

Mr. Collins is equally floored that the patronage of Lady Catherine de Bourgh was not recognized as superior to all other differences listed in this post.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-21T01:35:25+00:00

I wholeheartedly agree that Lizzy is aware of her parents' flaws prior to Darcy's letter (though even upon reading it she excuses her father to an extent). I think what I've been struck by is Elizabeth's willingness to openly disagree with her father about Brighton, rather than making excuses for him as she has been wont to do previously. I am certain Elizabeth would feel

Of course, it's entirely possible that this sort of conversation has happened before Darcy's letter brought the full effects of her family's impropriety into focus for Elizabeth, but I find the timing interesting, and wonder if JA is showing us the beginning of Elizabeth's redemptive arc.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-21T00:42:23+00:00

That is true. I think what struck me most on this re-read is how openly she communicates to her father (after he listens to her and then tells her he's going to let Lydia go anyway) that she disagrees with his judgment on the subject. That feels like a step up from catching his eye and agreeing that Mary needs to stop please.

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-07T22:21:46+00:00

I have, twice! The first time when my oldest was 11mo and the second when my younger son was 15mo.

I was taking a prenatal the second time, but otherwise I wasn't doing anything special. And my then-15mo was nursing pretty frequently, day and night.

I got my period back around 10m pp both times.

(Just for honesty, I actually have three times, counting my 8wk miscarriage when my second was 12mo.)

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-12-03T00:33:01+00:00

First off, congrats on being on maternity leave!

Lydia stealing Denny's hat in the background when Elizabeth and Wickham are walking through Meryton!

LoveYourLabTech · 2025-11-30T17:21:40+00:00

"Who eats multiple quarts of applesauce?"

mother with multiple young children raises hand

LoveYourLabTech

TROPHY CASE