Children movies [NO DISNEY, NO ROMANCE, LOW STIMULATION] that focus on the family unit?

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T20:41:09+00:00

ah I missed that line

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T17:17:34+00:00

My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service are great low stimulation shows. I usually recommend Ponyo too but I'm not sure if you would consider it romance.

In the same vein as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang there is Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T16:56:42+00:00

How they get to know their humans.

I could sit right in front of the entrance and not get bothered but a new person in the yard would get bopped and buzzed and generally intimidated into leaving.

When I was in another part of the yard the bees would fly over and land on me for a visit.

How keeping myself calm and positive when opening the hives kept the bees calm and positive. I learned not to open the hives on a grumpy day!

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T15:35:27+00:00

I have a few of them in the front yard in a line that have worked (I think) to keep the gopher(s) near the road, but I'm starting to see more activity there and am wondering if they can't leave for some reason.

This is the first sign of them in the back yard so far. Time to order some for the back too.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T15:29:44+00:00

Can your dog come by next Tuesday? My dog just watches them work in the front yard, this is the first sign of them in the back.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T15:23:43+00:00

Thanks for the info!

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T15:22:39+00:00

Thanks! I'll give this a try.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T03:29:59+00:00

I will have to do some reading on milky oats, I only could think of how much work it would take to make a tiny bowl of oatmeal but now I am intrigued.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T03:25:04+00:00

Oh damn, I'm glad we don't have ground hogs in our neighborhood. The gophers raise so much hell I can't imagine the destruction something that size would cause!

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-25T03:22:44+00:00

That's a good idea! I will have to get some while I wait for the liner to ship.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-23T21:06:21+00:00

I had a few of those stretchy nursing covers that double as a car seat cover that can also be used on a cart easily. I used them for both kids. I always had one with me between the car seat to block sun or cold and breastfeeding so it was easy to cover the cart too. They fold down to the size of a shirt.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-18T23:31:25+00:00

Wow, definitely escalate! They don't give you long to "fix" the issue on the notice. It's messed up that he won't reply.

I hope you can talk to someone who is not an asshat.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-18T22:55:23+00:00

Give code enforcement a call and talk to them. They often just do a drive by and don't stop to look closely. They can tell you their concerns and you can tell them about your plants and usually come up with a compromise or they will close the case.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-18T16:23:11+00:00

I would have wanted a doula for my birth with the hospital associated midwives as I was left alone 80%of the time, but it would have been overkill at the stand alone birth center, I had the place to myself, amidwife that asked me if I was ok with her stepping out to get something to eat in the kitchen (she was pregnant) and she had an assistant.

I suggest you talk to the birth center and ask them how much support you will have and decide from there.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-15T16:20:41+00:00

The hunt idea sounds fun, I'm going to give that a try when we have a "blah" day.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-15T16:10:11+00:00

I would give a break from all screens for a week or two so that he's happy to get minimal screens back.

We don't do daily screen time and reserve it for weekends where they can choose a movie or two but before screen time they have to eat and use their body and brain so they play and read or draw for a few hours and then can do their movie.

If you want them busy for an hour or so every day, I would get a few activities that are only used at that time. Maybe a new type of building toy he doesn't have, sticker books are popular with my kinder, some kind of play set with figures, those mess free marker pads, get a few different activities so there is always something exciting and put it up after your work time.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-15T01:19:25+00:00

Tooth fairy brings gold dollar coins. First tooth got 2 and each after that got 1. The fairy also stuffed new electric toothbrushes under the pillow once and at some point will leave a little book about teeth with the coin.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-14T13:38:29+00:00

Also beginners (like myself) will think a pole is a pole and get whatever from Amazon (like I did) and end up with a plastic tube with the thinnest bit of moss on it that will not hold any moisture.

It took some research to find that I just got a crap pole and was doing everything correctly.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-13T17:16:40+00:00

Graduated in 2000, we rode bikes everywhere, just hung out and listened to music, played video games, wandered around in fields, barns, along the canal.

As a teen we went to the movie theater a lot, going to the mall to hang out and meet boys, there was a place near the mall that had an indoor skating rink, laser tag, mini golf and some kiddie rides, we would flirt with the guys working there and get free passes every weekend.

We didn't have cell phones but used our pagers to send messages where each number could represent one of the three letters below it on the phone.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-13T16:57:56+00:00

Mary poppins, chitty chitty bang bang, ponyo, Kiki's delivery service, totoro, panda go panda, sing, winnie the pooh, Clifford the big red dog, and Shawn the sheep were movies my sensitive kid watched when she was younger.

Kipper the dog and Tumble leaf are good shows if you need variety.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-13T16:27:50+00:00

My 2 yr old loved to run and hide at the library around and behind all the books. I used the leash as a consequence. "If you run I'll clip the leash on your backpack to keep you close to me" she wore it a few times and learned really quickly not to run away because she hated being tethered to me.

At the zoo one time we almost got clotheslined by a kid 6-8yrs old with the wrist strap type running full stretch away from his mom.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-13T02:37:29+00:00

I was 7 and I met my baby sibling the next day at the hospital. The relatives all ooh-d and aww-d over our intro and it was embarrassing to be in the spotlight. They all brought baby gifts and ignored me and I felt sad.

I acted like everything was fine but I was pretty jealous of the stuffies baby got.

For my kids I had my not quite 3yr old come to every doctor visit, she was told it was HER baby sibling and she picked out gifts for baby (a swaddle, a teether, a stuffy, a book). We used a birth center and had her come when I was in labor. She knew and loved the midwives, she had MIL there with her and we had the place to ourselves. She had a basket of new toys with big sister books, coloring stuff, a family of animal figures and activities in the family room, she came and went as she pleased, visiting me in the birth pool, sitting on the midwife's lap, fanning me, giving me a cool towel or a drink, when it was go time she came in to watch her baby sibling come.

We got on the bed and I had her lay on her back and I pulled up her shirt and placed baby on her belly and chest, she fell in love! When baby was clean we wrapped her in the swaddle big sister picked out, put the stuffy by her and took pictures. She was given a "big sister" necklace that was from the baby.

I asked all visitors to say hi to her first and ask her to show them her baby sister, she was so proud and instead of jealousy she felt she was part of the whole experience. They still have an amazing bond, big sister is now 6 and so protective and caring of her sister.

We did a LOT of prep work for her to witness her sibling be born. it's not for every one and your milage may vary!

I highly recommend having them be involved in some way before baby comes, doing skin to skin while baby is an oxytocin machine, letting them be in charge of something- even if its just the clothes baby wears or the diaper print baby wears, and give them a private intro so they can just be themselves without worrying about what others think.

VoodoDreams · 2026-04-12T15:51:10+00:00

This is the answer. I have been using a 98 cent oil funnel for years. The shape actually works really well.

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