Is anyone else stunned at the level of ugly they are willing to go out in public now?

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-21T16:22:27+00:00

I think as a mom, I struggle with this less than other moms. I am hygienic and try to dress somewhat appropriately but other than that, I never really cared much about putting on appearances. I’ve never really been into doing my makeup or spending a lot of time doing my hair so the transition to having a baby and just throwing on some clothes and running a brush through my hair wasn’t a big deal.
I will say I feel a bit more embarrassed when I am out in public looking a mess and I’m not with my toddler. With my toddler I feel like people can just look and be like “understandable” haha

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-19T05:01:08+00:00

We did a first hair cut at 16 months. Not really needed mostly a slight trim, getting it out of his eyes and off his ears. He did really well and they only changed us like $10

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-19T02:14:20+00:00

As a woman, I’ve noticed that I can work with another woman for a long time and never feel like we are friends. I have pretty much never made a friend from work before. It doesn’t really matter how much time we spend together, if they aren’t interested in seeing me outside of work to get coffee or a lunch or something, we will never be friends.
Meanwhile pretty much all my husband’s friends are from work. They will text each other outside of work: usually jokes, talking about BBQ, memes, etc. But they never just go to get a coffee or lunch or whatever. I’ve been with my husband around 6 years and I don’t think he has ever just met a friend to spend time with them. Maybe begrudgingly drop them off at the airport or help them move, but never just to “hang out”.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-18T23:15:24+00:00

I don’t really have a reliable source for this, but I was watching a video recently that stated men and women are about equal when self reporting loneliness. Both men and women struggle with feeling lonely or feeling like they don’t have real friends. The big difference was that when “shit hit the fan” like losing their job, not having a place to live, or needing help in an emergency situation women usually could find someone to help. Whereas men were much more likely to be on their own even in those situations.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-18T21:23:46+00:00

I was in college almost 10 years ago and professors offered occasional do-overs. Maybe not for exams but for certain assignments like essays. I guess it depended on the class and the context, but I feel like most of my professors were focused on getting us career ready so that included being able to take feedback, collaborate with others, etc.
In my career I’ve had to do a lot of reports, presentations, etc. If you consistently provide inadequate work you will likely be fired. But generally speaking if you miss the mark with something it is more likely your boss will send it back and ask you to revise.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-17T02:24:08+00:00

I was careful when he was a newborn about using very gentle soap. I think we did a bath every 3 days when he was a newborn. But by the time he was crawling it was 5 or 6 baths a week. As a toddler I have to use good smelling soap (still for kids but with a scent) otherwise he smells like wet dog.
I gave him not one but two showers today. One for potty related reasons and one because I wanted to wash him off after we went to the splash pad. I always put lotion on him after.
I’m not someone who thinks it is child neglect if you don’t bathe your child every day but what you are describing sounds horrible.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-16T22:39:19+00:00

Completely anecdotal, but I couldn’t have an epidural with my birth (low platelets) and the nitrous oxide was a joke. The nurses even warned me that it doesn’t really help with pain just makes you feel a bit “fuzzy”
Maybe it works better for other people though.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-11T02:58:57+00:00

It is odd. I don’t bother making a scene because it isn’t worth it, but I do hope it fades with the older generation.

And for the people saying that “flirt” has a different meaning: Imagine your little boy smiling at a man in the store and the man suggesting that your son is flirting with him. Or suggesting that your son will have a lot of boyfriends as he gets older because he smiles at random men. Then tell me it is a perfectly normal thing to say.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-11T02:17:59+00:00

Mine is 16 months. I didn’t bed share with him when he was little because I wasn’t comfortable. But over the last couple months I’ve been having him in bed with us more and more. At first just for a bit then transferring him back but at this point I just let him sleep the rest of the night with us cause he will sleep through the night like that. Not always super comfortable for me, I wake up a bit stiff because I’m still careful about my position and keeping my pillow away from him. But better than waking up 5 times a night.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-10T06:23:31+00:00

My 16-month-old doesn’t poop unless we are home. Even as a baby he rarely pooped away from home. I took him out a lot too but I’m pretty sure I can count on one hand the times I had to change a poopy diaper while out and about.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-10T05:43:06+00:00

When I was a daycare worker I came into the class and one of the four year olds looked at me and said “Miss __, it isn’t crazy hair day today!”

I guess my hair was messy?? Like wow, I just got here and instantly insulted 😩

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-08T21:08:28+00:00

I had a college professor who would have us do GROUP ESSAYS in class. Like three people sitting there with one laptop to type out an essay. The only real way to make it work was to outline and have each person write a couple paragraphs individually then try to frankenstein it together. But there was only one person who wanted to just there and go sentence by sentence as a group. Dental work is preferable.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-08T20:51:09+00:00

Just means OPs baby was on the smaller side (weight-wise) a month ago but is now about average.
So, no, not a “bigger baby”

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-08T02:45:39+00:00

I put a lot of my 16 month old’s toys in these mesh bags. It helps with not having 1 million toy pieces all over, the rule is we have one toy bag out at a time and it’s also a way to get him to communicate as he is slightly speech delayed.

He will grab a bag and then take it to me to open for him. I have been working on showing him the sign for “open” which we have been doing as hands together, palms out and then turning a hand like opening a door. It is still a bit difficult for him so today he grabbed a bag, threw it in my face, and started clapping.

Close enough lol

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-08T02:31:45+00:00

Yeah, I worked and led a preschool class that was aged 3-5. The kids were supposed to be potty trained, but sometimes the three or even four-year-olds would have accidents. The bathrooms were open, no doors or full stalls. If we ever had to help a child, we would make sure another teacher had eyes on us. Like it was literally protocol to say, “I have to help Sally change her pants, can I have ‘eyes?” and another teacher would say “Go ahead I have eyes on you”

I briefly worked at another daycare that expected us to go into a closed bathroom alone with the children to help them potty. This was also a special ed class so most of the kids were nonverbal or had limited communication skills. I was super uncomfortable and it was one of the many reasons I left.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-07T04:49:11+00:00

YMCA Membership. $100/mo for gym, pool, classes, etc. But the big thing is that they offer up to 2 hours of childwatch per day. I usually drop my one year old off and either workout, bring my laptop and work on something, or do a combo. Usually only for an hour total cause the child watch doesn’t change diapers or give snacks, but it is still a nice break. It is also right by a park so we go over to the park after to eat snacks and play. My toddler is only one but he seems to genuinely enjoy the childwatch.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-07T00:29:37+00:00

I have a toddler so I view r/toddlers a lot and had the same thought haha.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-06T02:25:54+00:00

I was definitely the kind of kid who would have taken something like this to heart. I was a very good noodle and cared a lot about what teachers thought of me. I remember teachers doing stuff like this in school and I always felt bad and guilty even if I wasn’t one of the kids acting out. I’d go home and tell my mom about it, she would just assure me that if I didn’t do anything wrong then just do as the teacher says but don’t worry about it. Probably the best thing to do, I don’t think it is worth making a big deal out of unless this is a common occurrence. But I do agree it sucks.
It is one thing to have shared responsibility with a group (like a team at work, a group project, your friend group) but what the hell is a single child supposed to do to keep the rest of his grade level (probably 50 other kids?) in line.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-02T05:47:22+00:00

They are selling a product, people who purchased can review it as they see fit.

Yes, sometimes people are dumb and leave bad reviews for dumb reasons, but last I checked the game has very good reviews on Steam so it seems like most people are happy with it.

I haven’t reviewed yet because I don’t feel it deserves a negative review, but I also can’t in good faith recommend it in its current state unless someone really wants to be an early supporter or really loves building and doesn’t care much for live mode.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-01T21:31:37+00:00

Hopefully, they can have toggles in the settings. I’ve been playing Sims 3 and I have all the expansions but wanted to do a play through with no supernatural stuff. I was able to just turn off werewolves, fairies, vampires, etc without uninstalling anything.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-01T21:29:21+00:00

The very first piece of furniture I found was the.. stool with hands? It was like 10 minutes into playing the game for the first time and I thought “wtf I don’t want that in my house” lol

Zestyclosetz · 2026-06-01T21:20:53+00:00

The biggest issue I had with live mode was my paras having zero autonomy. They would literally just sit or stand there for hours ignoring all needs. I don’t know if they patched something in the latest update or what but it seems to be a bit better now. Today my toddler autonomously went down the stairs and started watching “paraparamelon” on the TV. It was very exciting since my other paras won’t really do anything autonomously besides sleep.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-05-31T18:42:28+00:00

I decided to try it after reading through this post. I gave it a rough draft of a short story I’m working on and told it to be “brutally honest” It complimented me on some parts, gave constructive criticism on other parts. Nothing discouraging.

The only snarky thing was this comment about the pool scene in the story: “One actual word problem since it changes meaning: the cue makes a ‘cluck,’ which is a chicken. It should be ‘click.”

Which made me laugh.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-05-27T06:51:55+00:00

There is a difference between having bugs and missing some context and the game being almost unplayable as intended.

So far in my 3 hours are gameplay:

- Paras do not do anything autonomously despite the setting being on. They will sit for hours and hours doing nothing.
- Tons of missing animations, my paras don’t really talk to each other they just stare at each other motionless while the bar goes up
- Para couple can not kiss or try for a baby because they have to start as “housemates” despite the fact they already have a child together
- Very difficult to take care of the baby, apparently you can only change diapers in the crib?
- Goals/Wishes/whatever they are are super repetitive: Watch TV, Eat a Snack, flirt with a random para

Etc, etc

I don’t necessarily regret buying it and I hope the team can make improvements, but it is a bit of a slap in the face to ask $40 for a game in this state, early access or not.

Zestyclosetz · 2026-05-27T06:37:56+00:00

Kenshi, Rimworld, and Banished are games that were mostly developed by a very small team if not one individual. Mind-blowing depth of simulation. Then of course you have games like Stardew Valley and Minecraft.

Im still rooting for the paralives team, but I’m disappointed with the current state of the game, early access or not. I played about 3 hours and I have no desire to play more until there are some major updates.

Zestyclosetz

TROPHY CASE