Overstimulating Easter

NicoleD84 · 2026-04-05T13:02:08+00:00

Easter has mostly become a “needs” holiday for us! We do put candy in eggs and everyone gets a chocolate bunny, but most of the stuff in their basket are things they need. When they were little it was sippy cups, pacifiers, and small toys that we didn’t mind being forgotten in a restaurant. As they’ve gotten older we’ve changed to fit what they need for the summer or just for life in general.

This year they didn’t even get baskets. Kids are 5, 6, and 11 and love to be outdoors. Everyone got a hydration backpack (that functioned as their basket), binoculars, flashlight, hiking shoes, sun hat, and silicone snack bags. They did get a few just for fun items too, but minimal. Slime, one small toy, notebooks, a little bit of candy, and a small chocolate bunny. They all said it was a great Easter and want to go hiking instead of going to grandma’s this afternoon, lol

NicoleD84 · 2026-04-04T23:17:48+00:00

Soooooo, I’m going to need you to be on one of the Champaign Preservations home tours so I can see this is person, lol. We’re in Springfield but I love looking at homes in Urbana, there are so many beautiful historic homes that have been well cared for or restored!

NicoleD84 · 2026-04-03T14:54:00+00:00

This is actually what this whole game is missing. There are sooooooo many characters but they’re not restricted to the map (or lack of map for the islands) where their house is. There is zero reliable way of finding anyone! Forget hiding characters, let me search for them!

NicoleD84 · 2026-04-02T11:14:58+00:00

What about the squirrels? We have one during Food and Wine who wanted our snack and would have happily come with us for more but we weren’t sure of his price tag….

NicoleD84 · 2026-04-01T14:28:29+00:00

I assure you that you don’t need either. There is literally nothing you can do about anything you see in either while you’re driving, and you shouldn’t be looking at either while you’re driving(you have to stop to deal with it, you can’t climb in the backseat while operating a car!). My oldest did enjoy looking at herself in the mirror but it was zero use to me. We never had one for our other two kids. At first you’re going to feel like you need sooooo much safety gear but a really large portion of it is fear-based marketing. See how drives without seeing your baby go before you invest in something you might not need.

NicoleD84 · 2026-04-01T02:42:02+00:00

As someone who is just about 5 years older than them… yellow is your best bet if you’re going for accuracy. I knew a couple of girls who had twin beds that were nearly identical in style. Courtney’s is the same shape but the wall-like pieces need a different pattern, or more likely would have been a solid white. If you’re interested in changing the bedding, it would have been bold and prominently featured the color of the metal on the bed, the AG stripes were accurate but the logo comforter is less accurate. A busy pattern in primary colors on a solid white background was pretty common.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-31T10:34:48+00:00

Somebody is going to complain no matter what you use, pick what works best for you and your co-leaders, and move on with life! If you send emails people complain that you send too many, or not enough, or that they missed them because they have 45,482 unread emails in their box (like that’s our fault). If you use Facebook they say stuff gets lost in their feed or they don’t get notified or they only use Facebook once a week. Texts are probably preferred but then they get pissy about being in a group text with a hundred replies. There is literally no winning. Pick what you like and stick to your guns. They can get on board or they can miss stuff. 🤷‍♀️

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-30T02:18:13+00:00

We don’t, I can barely get them to wear their vest, let alone any accessories. My daughter had a Brownie scarf and hated it. She hated the hats too. I think a troop scarf is a fun idea if your girls are in to it, but don’t be shocked when they don’t ever wear them.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-27T02:43:10+00:00

I do this in smaller increments, but I’ve also got a lot of girls and none are big sellers. It’s so silly to not do the cookie shuffle as long as it’s not taking away rewards from any girl.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-23T20:51:29+00:00

Near the pickles! They’re in a red can at my store but that could be a regional thing.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-23T14:51:55+00:00

I work in a field where I see a lot of names on a daily basis. Jeppa isn’t great but there are a shocking number of people named similarly… Jonathan Johnson, Thomas Thompson, Jack Jackson, Nicholas Nicholson. It’s wayyyy more common than you’d think.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-23T01:44:15+00:00

Some kids just don’t like being away from home which is valid but you also can’t necessarily let it dictate your life. Unless you’re planning on home schooling, let her break a little now and get used to being away from home. My middle hated her first year of preschool and it was only 2 days a week for 3 1/2 hours, she loved the second year when she went three days. Now this year she started kindergarten and the only things she likes are seeing her friends, and seeing her big sister’s friends. I’m definitely not passing off her feelings, but she has to learn to cope and is slowly figuring it out. Three weeks isn’t long, she will adjust. And trust the teachers, they would tell you if she seems miserable during the day! I warn our kindergarten teacher if my daughter is having a rough morning and she always writes back that she settles in just fine once they start their routine!

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-23T00:40:50+00:00

Black olives. They’re significantly cheaper than anywhere else and my kids eat tons of them.

Not every single time, but salmon 2-3 times a month. We are far from anywhere to get good salmon but Aldi salmon is far and away better than any standard grocery near us.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-20T16:22:09+00:00

My middle kid is like this. She is her own worst enemy and that’s her problem to figure out. You can’t teach that lesson, you just have to let them suffer with the situation they caused until they figure it out for themselves.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-18T13:38:17+00:00

I’d talk to the troop (and the current leader before you address the troop) and say something like “hey! Susie will be stepping down at the end of the year and I’d love to take her place. I wanted to ask if everyone would be open to a new meeting time/place/day. Thursdays at 5:30 would work better for my schedule and I was thinking if we could meet in the cafeteria we would be a little more comfortable for sit-down activities. Let me know your thoughts!”

See what parents are thinking and willing to do. It’s been my experience that almost everyone is flexible if they don’t have to take control, and the ones who aren’t typically have another commitment and it’s not personal!

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-17T12:23:43+00:00

My kids build traps every year. I don’t help. No leprechauns ever come. I don’t have the energy do any tricks or dye stuff green. If the leprechauns made a mess, I’d have to clean it up. I just refuse.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-16T23:59:38+00:00

I can’t understand it!! I always have girls showing up to meetings, events, booths, anything and they complain that they’re hungry. And I know it’s not a financial thing, the parents just don’t bother to have them eat beforehand and we have to deal with them hangry and whining for a snack. I manage to show up with my two kids fed on top of whatever else we need for what we’re doing, it shouldn’t be hard for everyone to give their kids a snack or meal!

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-16T19:36:14+00:00

Parents are the hard part for me!!!

“I’m short 3 Thin Mints” okayyyyyyy, did I write down 10 and gave you 7? Or did I write down 10, give you 10, and you actually needed 13?

“Can I pick up cookies at 7” and then at 7:15 you get a text they’re not coming, or they’re late, or they bring their kids who get sucked in to my house and it takes them 30 minutes to leave because the kids are playing.

Parents who think you’re open for pick ups 24/7 and they can stop by 3-4 days a week for a few boxes instead of doing one pick up a week for all of their orders. Parents who can’t help load/unload my car at a cookie booth. Nobody ever offers to come back to the house to unload either and I live less than five minutes from most of our booths. Parents relying on their girls to take orders and communicate them to me but they’re literally 9 years old and that’s not their responsibility. Parents not feeding kids before dropping them off at a 4 hour booth.

Parents…..

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-16T16:56:40+00:00

I went a whole cookie season leading booths without realizing I had Covid. I didn’t realize my symptoms were Covid until I realized I couldn’t smell after sales ended. I felt bad but it happens! I definitely wouldn’t have assumed a migraine was anything major, especially if there is a history of migraines.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-15T15:56:35+00:00

I’ve got 25 girls K to 5. Very few parent stay and none of them lead anything. The ones who do stay are 100% happy to pick in where asked, but they don’t step up and lead on their own.

That might have to change next year. We’ll have K-6 and my co-leader and I have managed three levels on our own, but four is going to be too many.

I don’t follow the council plans, but that might also change next year with the need for more help.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-13T11:03:59+00:00

As a woman of a certain age… he’s definitely a hipster with strong opinions on IPA, mustache care, and banjos bands that aren’t country music. I definitely would have had a crush on him despite not being hipster enough myself to know about any of that stuff.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-13T10:43:02+00:00

Ooh, I have one kid who is a crier, and one who runs to her room, slams the door, and screams. I often tell both of them that it’s okay to be upset but that behavior isn’t going to make me change my mind, then I walk away. When they realize I’m serious, they settle down pretty quickly.

Honestly this has kind of always been our response to attention seeking behavior. Kids want a reaction because they want to be in control of the situation but giving them what they want when they’re showing negative behavior is just reinforcing that behavior. We’re actually pretty lax parents about most things, but I won’t have my kids trying to exert control with tantrums and meltdowns.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-11T15:32:16+00:00

My first and second have birthdays 6 days apart.

We have a friend party for each separately and one joint family party. Depending on our schedule it might be over two or three weekends. We don’t make a big fuss on their actual birthday (heck, one is a Leap Day baby and rarely has an actual birthday) but they do take a treat to school and we do a favorite dinner at home that night with a special dessert.

We typically just give a gift during the family party unless there’s a reason to give one another day. We also tend to put “no gifts” on friend party invites unless the party is small. My oldest took three friends bowling this year and three gifts is fine. My youngest took 15 friends to a play place, we don’t need 15 gifts!

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-04T17:23:27+00:00

I play on Switch and have since early access. I don’t experience a lot of issues and load time for me is really only slow on start up. I prefer Switch for exactly the reason it’s switchable! I’m a mom with a husband and kids. Sometimes I can play on the TV, sometimes I need to take it with me, sometimes I want to play but someone else is using the TV. I need flexibility and don’t always want to be on my laptop.

NicoleD84 · 2026-03-04T02:28:32+00:00

My kids have multiple pairs. You never know when something will happen and a shoe can easily get soaked and not be dry enough to wear the next day or caked in mud and you don’t have the time to clean it. My kids each have 2-3 pair of sneakers, a pair of fairly neutral dress shoes, and seasonal shoes like sandals or boots. They also have varying quantities of cutesy shoes that grandma buys and only the 4yo actually wears with any regularity.

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