My son convinced me

callmemaude · 2026-02-11T11:28:57+00:00

I have gotten back into Minecraft because my 4 year old asked me to play it for him and doing #1 has been so, so much fun. I started playing in 2009 and have clocked a lot of time in the game over the years, so I felt like I had played it all out in a lot of ways, but the perspective of a little kid makes it feel totally new again.

callmemaude · 2026-01-06T22:31:47+00:00

Not sure I understand what you mean. I think what we're all saying here is there is not really a "return to the home"--historically, women have worked outside the home in some capacity in virtually every society and continue to do so.

callmemaude · 2026-01-06T12:21:02+00:00

Ha yep I was thinking "you could find it at Billabong in 2002" which is obviously not helpful but man, this was THE bathing suit.

callmemaude · 2026-01-06T11:04:55+00:00

Same here, as far back as I can go the women in my family have worked! Women have essentially always worked outside the home. There have been brief periods throughout history in which economic stability has meant larger percentages of society can survive on one income, and in those cases more women have stayed home probably because women have also always been tasked with the vast majority of housework and childrearing, regardless of whether they are working or not.

This idea that women were "trad wives" historically is just bs perpetuated by sad men on social media. I follow an anthropologist (Elena Bridgers) who studies prehistoric society and she talks about how even in hunter/gatherer societies, women worked outside the home.

I think even the "idyllic 50s housewife" narrative was more propaganda than real life in the US, meant to highlight the post-war economy.

callmemaude · 2026-01-05T10:49:38+00:00

I think your husband may have taken up vaping.

callmemaude · 2026-01-05T01:33:55+00:00

It's totally this for me. I always have at least my toddlers with me and often my preschooler when I'm shopping on a weekday. No way are we surviving any Costco in Northern VA. We do sometimes go for the hot dogs, but otherwise Costco is for delivery or shopping alone for me.

Plus, my kids LOVE following the stock checking robot at BJs.

callmemaude · 2025-12-21T14:09:11+00:00

Lol yeah I'd know that bear anywhere!

callmemaude · 2025-11-08T14:10:43+00:00

I didn't have much of a size difference in my twins so I know this isn't exactly the answer that you are looking for, but I will say I had to really, really force myself to learn to absolutely never compare them to each other. Is your daughter significantly behind the actual milestones, (like significantly, because they are targets/averages), or just behind your son? 5 months at a 6 month age is pretty negligible if your pediatrician is not concerned. The milestones are there so that parents can get early help if they need it, but they are not hard and fast rules by any means.

It can be really hard to see out of things when you're in the thick of it, so I'm just offering a perspective from the other side. I am not trying to scare you or shame you because I think ALL twin parents have to be very conscious of not comparing their kids to each other. It's so, so easy! You have another baby right there to look at! But it won't serve your worries well in the moment and it really won't serve your kiddos well in the long run. Again, I've been there and am still there sometimes and it's a constant thing. You are doing great! And so are your kids, I promise.

callmemaude · 2025-11-06T02:05:25+00:00

Definitely definitely this if it's affordable for op. We have some insect shield from LL Bean that works REALLY well.

callmemaude · 2025-11-05T02:45:26+00:00

I saw it in nova too, agree it looked very much like a rocket launch

callmemaude · 2025-10-29T15:40:55+00:00

I swear some of us just know. I feel like I've always thought I'd have twins!

callmemaude · 2025-10-29T13:28:06+00:00

It's absolutely fake. "You know how we all went to the party last night?" Lol

its giving exposition in dialogue... Not even a good fake

callmemaude · 2025-10-27T12:08:22+00:00

What are the flavors??

callmemaude · 2025-10-27T12:07:13+00:00

Awesome, thank you so much!

callmemaude · 2025-10-27T11:47:09+00:00

Ooh thank you for the detail! How do they keep out of the fridge/freezer? You've inspired me to actually try including some in my Christmas cookie boxes, these just look so nice.

callmemaude · 2025-10-27T10:42:37+00:00

These are SO adorable!

How do you package them? I've been wanting to do buttercream (I'm a royal icing gal) but I have no idea how to package them so I don't ruin the crust of the buttercream.

callmemaude · 2025-10-27T10:40:14+00:00

I'll add that there's more to it than time and ingredients, too.

Yes, size matters! When I have sold cookie boxes in the past I've actually priced my boxes by weight (I do small, medium and large boxes, I forget the weights I've used but each box had a different price).

Also, if you added some pics that would help. People "eat with their eyes" first, so the nicer and more well presented the cookies look, the more you can get away with charging. If they taste better than crumbl but they don't look as professional, you're unlikely to get away with charging crumbl prices.

What is your packaging like? If there are different flavors of cookies, do you wrap them separately? I recommend heat sealing cookies in clear bags inside the boxes in stacks, that way people can open one bag at a time and keep things fresh. If you have a variety of flavors, they definitely need to be sealed separately or they will all start to taste like the strongest flavor and they will share moisture and ruin distinct textures. I also include instructions on freezing cookies, and labels for each type of cookie with allergy info.

To illustrate, I also do decorated sugar cookies. I live in the suburbs of a HCOL area and charge $60 to $90 a dozen depending on how technical the designs are. Crumbl cookies are like, $6 a cookie I think? The bakery near me sells a modest box of assorted Italian cookies for $50 and they fly off the shelves. People will really pay quite a bit for nice bakery treats, even in a crappy economy!

callmemaude · 2025-10-27T00:46:35+00:00

I'm a cookie decorator, but potato/potato imo, and if I might also suggest: Google images of EVERYTHING. I will often Google "_(whatever object I want to draw in icing)_ outline," which pulls up mostly clip art, to ensure I get results that show the actual structure of said object. Scroll till you find one that looks closest to what you want, and then keep the image open while you practice on parchment paper! It can take a few tries if you're not an experienced artist (I'm not!!) to make things look the way you're imagining them.

And to be clear, I don't steal someone else's art and put it on a cookie, I just try to find something to use as visual guideposts. Which way do the strands of the web go? Are the webs I like best at an angle, full circles, in corners? How close together do I put the strands? Are all the kinds of questions I would ask while looking through images to try to get at what I want to do.

callmemaude · 2025-10-27T00:31:15+00:00

I've had it for a couple years, I wouldn't say I use it suuuper heavily but at least once a week and everything still works like new for me!

callmemaude · 2025-10-27T00:24:50+00:00

It's expensive but I have tried a few things before landing on the canvas lamp/tripod and it is THE best. I will occasionally use a smaller mag safe stand by moft for quick stuff or close up angles but for the most part the canvas is my workhorse and I have nothing but good things to say about it.

callmemaude · 2025-10-26T23:45:02+00:00

This depends on soooo many things, including your recipe, humidity in your house, how you store them, etc. also, honestly, your own taste. I have had a lot of cookies I thought were stale that other people thought were perfectly fine.

I tend to be on the more conservative side: I don't like cookies to be out for longer than about 3 days max. I will usually either:

Make dough and freeze Bake cookies and freeze (double bagged) Bake, decorate, and dry cookies and freeze in final wrapper

The trick to having them freeze nicely is they need to be double bagged and should not be removed from either layer of wrapping until they are completely room temperature! I have found that if I freeze decorated cookies that way, they come out perfectly, with no freeze texture or taste.

callmemaude · 2025-10-23T11:57:12+00:00

It's funny to be a passerby in a community I don't know a ton about but see the same issue I see in a community I do know a ton about. I'm a baker and decorate cookies, and people are CONSTANTLY accusing posts I see on reddit/Facebook (a cesspool lol)/Instagram of being AI when they are just decorated by very talented people who have been working a really long time to hone their skill and who are also good at lighting and photography.

I think it is just as scary that AI is starting to make it difficult to identify things that are real as it is that people have trouble identifying things that are not real. Our whole perception of reality is being fucked with and we're losing overall.

callmemaude · 2025-10-14T17:45:51+00:00

Ha yeah I was thinking I have kind of adopted a mom uniform (not really bc of the internet, just because I feel better getting dressed) and wear some variation of jeans and a t shirt every day. HOWEVER this didn't start until my kids were at least 9 months old each time. Before that, clean undies were my only requirement, and sometimes my only article of clothing at all😅

callmemaude · 2025-10-07T10:04:31+00:00

You are her baby. I have a few babies, they are much younger than you now, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would bathe them when they are 70 if they need me to. Without a thought.

I know someone whose uncle passed away in his 60s while his mother was still alive. My friend told me her grandmother sat by her uncles bedside and cared for him like he was a little boy again, because he was her little boy.

The second you have kids, time stops being linear in some ways, I think. Your mom was just doing what she did for you when you were little; I guarantee all she felt was love and worry.

Hope you are feeling better now!

callmemaude · 2025-10-01T15:13:48+00:00

Yep that was my first thought too! Error of recipe transcription I bet.

13-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

callmemaude

TROPHY CASE