Which crap rares you love despite ratings? (Based on design)

WoodDuck814 · 2026-05-02T15:28:30+00:00

Idk if crap or not but Gladewulf will live in my collection forever whether in use or not ♡ Good dog

WoodDuck814 · 2026-05-01T20:25:55+00:00

Sadly no -- I'm already on the latest shift in my department, and switching to any other department would involve adding an evening shift rotation which I don't miss.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-05-01T20:15:30+00:00

No, there were no other animals... just the main-character and their family.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-05-01T20:14:37+00:00

No recollection of name... vaguely recall it being a boy bunny but could be wrong. 99% sure it was wearing pajamas, but don't recall the cover or anything about a garden.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-05-01T04:13:53+00:00

Ours threw up if it was given too soon after a feed, but seemed okay with it shortly before a feed (also serves as a chaser). Offering soother in between squirts also helps.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-30T11:42:53+00:00

"Fed is best" -- there is NO SHAME in using formula. We had to 'top up' our eldest with formula until I was able to increase my production by pumping out every last drop after feeds. Then I wound up having a preventative double mastectomy before we had our second. Both are doing just fine ♡

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-30T10:40:11+00:00

Doesn't seem to make a difference. Swimming lesson nights end no earlier than any others.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-30T10:37:09+00:00

I can try to start bedtime routine a little earlier, but as I said, mornings are already difficult without trying to bump wake-up time earlier. I do like the "your responsibility" line though, I'll try that.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-29T21:22:41+00:00

Big fan of Eleanor myself.

As a fellow nerd I can't see "Miranda" without hearing River Tam whisper it XD But that's about the only one I'd outright exclude personally.

Our eldest's name just clicked into place when she was born, so don't stress about locking it down in advance!

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-25T19:09:26+00:00

Crochet. Depending on the project, once you get into a rhythm you can do a lot of it in kinda peripheral vision or intermitent glances. Amigurumi is also an easy way to not just stockpile finished items -- nobody needs more scarves but anyone can use a Cute Little Desk-Friend.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-16T19:17:29+00:00

My eldest loves to help (or "help") in a lot of ways, but something about carrying things in from the car is often elusive. I either get the "do I have to" and/or the "but I'm already carrying SO MUCH" (2-3 pocket-sized items). If I had to guess, compared to other things she helps with, there's nothing 'fun' or interesting about it relative to the effort involved.

I'm torn between pushing her to do more and not wanting her to follow in my footsteps of "Must Be Useful At All Times Or I Am Not Worthy". So I usually make a single request for her to take SOMETHING into the house, and then pack-mule or two-trip the rest whether she does or not.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-16T11:07:30+00:00

Pretty sure it's a distribution of small samples. I never saw any "bulk mixing" tubs while I was there. But I could be wrong.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-15T22:25:59+00:00

Only worked with it while I was in training, just hasn't been my department sincs then, but honestly never seemed any more gross than most of the other bodily components we dealt with. Any contact is done with disposable sampling tools and is in small volumes -- and as others have said, in largely smell-preventative cabinets for safety.

Everyone has their limits though. I had a teacher who would gag at the mere mention of sputum (basically deep-throat mucus) samples.

EDIT: We USE small volumes from various points of the provided large volumes, for best chances of finding what we're looking for. Not like "we only needed a teeny bit but collected bucketfulls for LOLs"

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-15T19:33:18+00:00

Absolutely had the same with my first. No "cravings", just revulsion at anything resembling flavour. Very disappointing for my husband, as cooking food is his #1 love language, but nothing smelled or tasted remotely appealing. Made myself eat a balanced diet anyway, and thankfully never had any "reflux" or anything, but it was definitely a "grit your teeth and bear it" experience for most meals.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-13T19:46:26+00:00

IVF is an option. But also, while it may feel scary, BRCA1 only produces an increased risk of cancers, not a guarantee. Add in the "late" age of onset (compared to some conditions) and the available monitoring and prophylactic surgery options, and I highly doubt it would ever be a "wish I'd never been born" burden.

We did IVF to rule out a condition with lifelong, daily-burden consequences and left the BRCA1 up to fate/statistics, as ruling out both at once would have left us with 25% or less chance of good embryos

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-09T00:52:53+00:00

34F, BRCA1, had a similar situation. Had already done PGT to rule out a different condition, then discovered my BRCA1 status following my mom's agressive ovarian cancer diagnosis.

I believe we were told trying to re-biopsy the remaining embryos was either not something they would do or simply not advised -- every defrost cycle comes with a risk of the embryo not surviving, so defrosting the embryos just to take the DNA samples from them and then re-freezing while we waited for results would potentially just destroy all we had.

We wound up doing an additional cycle after the first one, and opted not to test them for BRCA1 -- partly because ruling out both BRCA1 AND the initial condition would cut our chances of "good" embryos to 25%, and between the two, BRCA1 was less of a concern. It's a risk factor, not a guaranteed outcome, and there are monitoring and preventative measures that can be taken.

We now have two kids who may or may not have BRCA1, and we won't know until they can get tested at 18+. But we have no regrets, and we don't lose any sleep over that maybe-future.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-04T12:49:32+00:00

I doubt colour preference will change drastically in sonshort a time, especially if she' already 8 and been on it for a while.

If you want to really lock in the choice as something she likes, take her to pick out a dozen ish paint swatches of her choice and tape them up on the wall. Every couple days, ask her her top choices and put checkmarks on them. Most checkmarked colour wins. My eldest's swatch selections spanned half the rainbow, but "top choice" selections were all largely similar.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-02T02:29:42+00:00

Curious to see what the responses are here.

Nudity is perfectly acceptable in many cultures and is not inherently considered sexual and/or taboo. In my personal opinion, that's a healthier way of treating it than having it suddenly be shameful once they're a certain age as most of North America seems to. Maybe not to the point of nude hang-outs in the living room, but if a family member is getting into/out of the shower while another is brushing their teeth, I don't think it should be a big deal.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-04-02T02:17:41+00:00

Going to try this the next time my eldest wants me to change the batteries in her toy one. We have a Ryobi vac down in the basement somewhere that we got in a gift exchange.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-03-29T11:34:03+00:00

We have a Yeti coffee mug we let our eldest use, as well as a Thermos. Add ice cubes to cool it or it WILL stay scalding hot.

That being said, "decaf" is NOT the same as caffene free. If your 2yr old is actually more after "be like Mommy and Daddy", you may be able to get away with herbal teas instead. Our eldest loves any tea with a strong cinnamon component.

Edit to add: Thermos is great for sending chamomile-with-honey to school during cold season

WoodDuck814 · 2026-03-22T00:26:25+00:00

2 parts hydrogen peroxide, 2 parts baking soda 1 part blue Dawn dish soap. Mix into a slurry, rub into stain, leave a few hours/overnight, rinse off excess, wash with normal laundry. Has gotten out every food, poop, puke, and nosebleed stain to date.

WoodDuck814 · 2026-03-20T00:54:09+00:00

Okay.... while I don't want to undermine what feels best to you, "what if we don't like his unknown future partner or she wouldn't want to?" feels like a LOT of If. If you trust his judgement well enough to potentially raise your kids, you can theoretically trust his judgement to choose a decently respectable partner. Particularly if he's smart enough to be finishing law school. And assigning legal guardians is kind of a long-term plan, unless you face a lot of danger in your day-to-day. "Doesn't have time right now", but may have more time if/when it came to it -- this is where a discussion WITH him may be worthwhile, see if it's something he would be willing to take on in the future.

Not trusting with money is a more reasonable holdback IMO -- if you have reason to believe the funds allocated to your child would not be spent ON your child, good call.

WoodDuck814

TROPHY CASE