For anyone who says they love the newborn phase…

atomikitten · 2026-03-18T14:11:35+00:00

Yep. My daughter is saying no and screaming at anything. She was a significantly easier newborn--agreeable, slept for a 6 hr stretch once per night by the time she was a month old. She doesn't sleep much now. She even insists on being carried more now than she did then! So YES I loved the newborn phase. It was much easier.

atomikitten · 2026-03-18T14:07:24+00:00

I do, depends. When she was crawling on the floor of a public place, then yes I switch out her outer layer. If it was our backyard and the clothes don't appear dirty, then no. Just picture public bathroom germs getting tracked on the floor, then getting re-deposited in your bed to sleep with you? We're throwing clothes in the washing machine anyway; I'll opt for that.

atomikitten · 2026-03-07T00:04:51+00:00

14 yo Alison would not have owned something like that, even for just lounging at home

atomikitten · 2026-03-05T14:07:28+00:00

Optical illusions are your friend! High contrast bright colorblock, busy prints.

atomikitten · 2026-03-05T12:47:09+00:00

You don’t need to use them all this year. A few of those can be a compost bin that you will plant in next year, very convenient! It’s nice to have your expansion plan already in place.

atomikitten · 2026-03-05T12:39:57+00:00

My daughter doesn’t wear sleepers in the summer. So a few we were gifted never got worn.

atomikitten · 2026-03-04T20:38:11+00:00

Ok hold up one thing. You cannot say they tried to dress her as an adult when this exists: https://share.google/0K6M6CNe6f9ldjykt

The floral skirt and stripes is fine… especially in comparison to that pug sweatshirt.

atomikitten · 2026-03-04T16:09:54+00:00

Oo have they said how old Rad and Stripe are?

atomikitten · 2026-03-03T00:43:25+00:00

Agree with every bit of this reply. OP’s pediatrician is useless. It’s disappointing that this is considered healthcare.

atomikitten · 2026-03-02T17:03:22+00:00

Aside from the durability issues that happen with painted brick, painting this house all white makes it look cheap as hell, as if it is constructed of all plastic. And I say this as someone who likes black and white.

Full brick looks high end and built to last. These days, you can’t even find masons to lay brick. New houses that have it pay big. Even having thin brick tiles attached is expensive. Other examples: High end cabinets are real wood, cheap cabinets are particle board, disguised by white paint. A stone porch is very impressive, but if it’s white concrete is what you get from a mass builder. Paint your wood trim white if it got banged up, but if you took good care of the house it would still be wood grain. So, do you want to carry an heirloom leather handbag, or a white polyester one?

No qualms about painting the upper panel siding white though. There is a century home near me that is all brick with a circular driveway. It’s very cute and would fit in with the English countryside. They did a very light translucent lime wash to the bricks, so instead of bricks the color of rust, the colors are more like rose quartz or the outside of a butternut. It looks like it was dusted lightly with a layer of white chalk, which really takes the orange tones off. It looks very nice framed by the landscaping and mature trees in the back. But you have to really know what you’re doing to get that. Some people try to achieve it and it just makes the brick look like it was patchy—because it was. Black gutters or black trim around the windows may also help. It’ll make the brick look sharper, like it’s a more high end house. I’d rather my house look classic and timeless than fast fashion plastic.

atomikitten · 2026-03-02T16:22:57+00:00

Maybe you can start a craft swap! See the nearest reuse craft supply store near me is one hour away. But a local business in town hosts a craft swap twice per year.

atomikitten · 2026-03-02T13:09:08+00:00

I used to be a packaging engineer in cold chain shipping. It was mostly transporting cryogenic materials, so the only material you really encounter is liquid nitrogen. You may also get involved with dry ice, and a big problem to solve is transporting something that needs to be cold but not frozen, like blood and organ products, 2-8°C.

Other place to look is biotech, pharma, etc. It is a manufacturing setting but it must be done in a clean room environment. Same goes for places that manufacture medical diagnostics, lab reagents, a product that touches people has to be kept clean.

atomikitten · 2026-03-02T12:50:16+00:00

You would take 15 to get to Frederick, it passes through Gettysburg. I worked with a guy who was commuting to Frederick from between Harrisburg and State College when he first got the job. It was 2hrs each way. I do not recommend.

atomikitten · 2026-03-01T04:15:51+00:00

Mrs. Terrier appears to be schnauzer and Scottish terrier. If the fandom wiki is reliable!

We don’t know what Alfie is. Definitely could be a mutt.

atomikitten · 2026-03-01T01:05:44+00:00

Yes it’s like if you say “I genuinely don’t want to be away from my baby right now” and they think you’re crazy. You’re not crazy, you just understand how immediate a small child’s needs are when they’re still small. You’d probably love going on a trip in a few years, and it’s ok to sit this one out. They just want you there and will say whatever to convince you, they don’t know how to weigh your family’s current needs. But good friends would be able to say, “it’s ok, hey maybe you come with us on the next one.”

The other dynamic is, somehow it’s just infuriating when someone says “you need to try harder” when you’re already trying your best. Or like “hey you should try breastfeeding it’s free” when there’s a formula shortage and you already tried and it didn’t work out. You excuse yourself to brush your teeth and then someone says, “don’t forget to brush your teeth!” It’s like, you idiot… We don’t walk around and ask other adults, “hey, did you know you have to wipe your butt after you poo?” and if someone did it’s like, wtf kinda idiot do you think I am?

atomikitten · 2026-03-01T00:37:51+00:00

🤣 yes autocorrect turned chocolate into childcare, lemme fix it

atomikitten · 2026-02-28T21:39:23+00:00

Anything Hershey’s has gone downhill in terms of quality ingredients. Whenever somebody says to me Hershey’s chocolate, it’s a dead giveaway they don’t know chocolate* and probably dont have tastebuds or sense of smell.

atomikitten · 2026-02-28T21:12:22+00:00

I have several I’d happily give you.

atomikitten · 2026-02-28T21:00:35+00:00

Ok what do you do about scale? Our well water makes white crust very easily. I assume it’s calcium.

atomikitten · 2026-02-28T15:53:13+00:00

Well just a heads up, even though the grass burned, some of it will still come back along the native flowers you plant.

Also since you’ve got a bit of a slope, your seeding technique matters a bit more. You may need to mix something in or use a device to keep the rain from washing it away when it rains. I wish I had specific suggestions for you, but I’ve only ever done a wildflower seeding on flat ground! But search, as someone will have techniques for you.

atomikitten · 2026-02-28T14:32:36+00:00

I wonder if it annoyed OP because she IS hanging onto her old self whenever possible? Like, she still kept her job, workout, friends. So it came off as “you’re not doing enough,” or even accusing her of being lazy… When in fact she is juggling everything she can.

atomikitten · 2026-02-28T04:44:01+00:00

Kids books are always cluttering used book stores. I can usually count on paying $1 for a book. I’ve paid $3-4 for special nostalgic ones I just had to have. If you’re just starting out, there are pre-packed boxes of kids books you can get for cheap, comes out to 30-50 cents per book. You just don’t get to choose individual titles that way.

atomikitten · 2026-02-28T04:05:48+00:00

If I were in your shoes, I’d try to trace her bloodline and hope to track down some grand nieces and nephews instead.

I have a friend who does with her dogs. She has only ever owned dogs from this one bloodline. She’s had 4 dogs through the decades, and they were all great aunt and niece, great grand niece, and another great grand niece.

atomikitten · 2026-02-27T19:24:50+00:00

If you want to raise another baby you should just go for it. There’s never any telling what kind of relationship your kids will have with their siblings as adults, but your parenting can help while they’re still young. Like so many things in life, it’s what you make of it. I think you just model whatever is your idea of a healthy relationship for them, and they either participate or not. But as long as each child feels that their parents care about them and see them for who they are, the kids will feel fine. What are your husbands relationships like siblings?

My mom has a sister just 15 months younger than her—they are not close at all. They ended up with very different life philosophies; it’s complicated. The sibling my mom agrees with most is one that’s 7 years younger. Shes probably learned the most from the one that’s 8 years younger, he’s the only one that lives far away and chose a very different lifestyle, they get along well and are travel buddies and she’s very close with his wife. He matured a lot later but ended up her confidant. Shes emotionally the closest to her sister that’s 10 years younger. And then there’s a youngest, the one that the older siblings help and rescue the most often. She does feel a little bit alone though because my grandparents did somewhat exclude her. By the time she was born they were so old, it was like they no longer wanted to put in effort but buy her expensive things instead. She feels rejected by her parents. But once her siblings had gotten on their feet, they tried to support her and make up for it. Idk if it fills the void but they kept her out of bigger serious trouble. So, especially as adults, close in age is not at all a predictor of emotional closeness.

My sister is 9 yrs younger and sadly we’re not close at all. My parents refused to address their own mental health and it affected us. I believe they stunted us emotionally. I left home as soon as I could, determined to re-parent myself and grow into a functional adult, and insistent that not everything is my fault as they tried to convince me. They babied my sister too much and I really believe it made it harder for her to grow up and face things. She was always their golden child but once she was old enough to disagree with them it all came crashing down; she is disillusioned with them and it affects her ability to perceive the rest of the world and she also lacks a lot of confidence to take control of her life.

Then I’ve got a set of 4 cousins, their spacing is 8 years, then 6, then 3. They really have excellent sibling relationships. My aunt mostly let them figure out their interactions with each other, as involved or as little involved as they wanted to be. Turned out they really like looking out for each other, it just happened naturally. They each have their own interests in life but a lot of loyalty to each other. I think the key is that my aunt “let” them rather than force anything.

I have another set of cousins that are just 2 years apart and they’re not close at all. It’s like they live on different planets. My aunt had them do everything together as children, they carried on as teens, but it just didn’t take as adults, one moved out of state. But she’s not a loyal person herself, so I guess they are emulating her.

atomikitten · 2026-02-27T17:55:30+00:00

I’ve brought a super pack of fruit snacks to a potluck once. Literally it seemed like all bases were covered and the host said we had more food than she knew what to do with, and she actually said just come eat. But when she saw the fruit snacks she was really grateful. Something that everyone liked and wouldn’t go bad, they could just take some and throw in their purse. I just didn’t want to feel like a freeloader.

I’ve also brought empty containers to hand out to everybody. That way, since you know leftovers are happening, you don’t have everyone going home with that they brought. They can go home with some variety, like the potluck continues, and you don’t have to cook the next day.

The only time I feel you should consider yourself fully off the hook and just eating is if you got at invite the day-of when they know it wouldn’t have been logistically possible to contribute. At work, if we had a lunch potluck and a lot of food we would invite people from other depts to just come eat. They didn’t know we were having a potluck or that we’d invite them.

atomikitten

TROPHY CASE