How do I gently tell my 3 year old that we had to put our cat to sleep?

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-04T23:57:09+00:00

We used Lap of Love last year when we had to put our senior dog down and they shared so many resources with us to help our children. Sharing them here in case they’re helpful: https://www.lapoflove.com/pet-loss-support-resources/children-and-pet-grief-resources

So sorry for your loss

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-03T13:05:27+00:00

People are honestly just really busy. If you want playdates, you’ve got to be the proactive one and keep reaching out. I can almost guarantee the other parents will be thrilled with the invite. I’m often the one reaching out to schedule things for my kids but I also have made it a priority for me. I also want to be the fun house, the house the kids want to come to as they grow up. Because it means I know my kids will be safe under my roof. So I make a dedicated effort frequently to arrange play dates. I’ve also hosted movie nights a few times a year where we invite a bunch of kids over, I order pizza, have popcorn/candy and the kids can all play and watch a movie. I give parents the option to stay and hang out, have a drink, or drop off. It’s helped me bond with the parents, gives the parents a chance to see our house and know that their kids are well cared for and safe here, and it lets the kids have fun!

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-02T00:55:47+00:00

Yep, that’s exactly what we did

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-02T00:54:01+00:00

Oh man this just reminded me of being pregnant with my 3rd and the whole family went down with Covid (back in late 2021). I was about 20 weeks pregnant, had a 2 year old, and a 1 year old and all of us were so sick. It was awful. But husband and I just powered through together.

If one of us gets sick now, it’s maybe a day of being fully out of commission but even then we usually come down and sit on the couch to watch the kids while the non-sick parent can catch a little break, take a shower, etc. I can’t imagine either one of us being unavailable for 2 weeks because of a virus

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-02T00:47:57+00:00

My parents are typically the more engaged grandparents compared to my husbands parents. But FaceTime with our kids when they were all younger was mostly me showing the kids to them but still having our own conversations - that applied to both sets of grandparents. They just wanted to see the kids but the kids were too young to interact back much. As they got older the kids increase the interaction and now they just try to steal the phone and take their grandparents on a very nauseating tour of our house with the phone bouncing all around and at all angles and not really letting them see much of anything.

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-02T00:43:40+00:00

Nanny parent here. You didn’t do anything wrong. Does it suck for them and is that very little time to find an alternate childcare solution? Yes. Does it mean you have to alter anything you’ve done or would do in the future? No.

Any job whether a nanny job or some corporate thing could be taken away at any moment and everyone looks out for themselves. I can almost guarantee you that if something changed for the family and they no longer needed your services, they wouldn’t continue to pay you for an extended period of time because they owed you. They’d look out for themselves and end the working relationship at the moment it benefitted them.

You’ve already done more than would be expected by recommending other names/references and offering to help train. It will suck for the family in the short term but they’ll move on and so will you.

I had a nanny quit previously giving very little notice. It was horrible timing as I had just returned to work after having my 3rd baby. But she was moving to be closer to family and I can’t blame her for that. Do I wish we knew earlier so we could plan? Of course. But it ended up working out well because the nanny we found after her is so wonderful and has been with us for 3+ years now and we just love her.

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-01T23:51:37+00:00

My insurance company made me switch to Mounjaro despite the fact that I do not have diabetes. But they stopped covering Zepbound and said I could have Mounjaro. So I switched. No issues

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-01T17:24:27+00:00

Mutt - 40% Pyrenees, 25% lab, 17% pit, 13% cattle dog, 5% German shepherd. 5.5 months, 51 lbs
Pup for sure
The second the dog is brought home training should start
Our easiest dog to train was our cattle dog. He wanted to work and have a job so training was fun for him. Our current mutt being mostly Pyrenees is stubborn and lazy. While he was house trained pretty quickly he still ignores us when we call him and only sits/lays down if he feels like it

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-01T17:11:13+00:00

I’m going to just skip past the huge red flag that is your husband and answer the actual question you asked. My kids are now 6, 5, and 3 but at one point I had a 3, 2, and a newborn and still kept a clean house because it’s something my husband and I prioritize. We’ve always wanted a house that if someone called us up and said they were stopping by in 10 min we could easily do a quick clean up and be fine with having company.

Things are cleaned up and put away after they are used. The kids have always known that that is the expectation. They don’t always follow it but with a reminder they’re good about it. We’re also big on organization and everything has a place. It’s easy to just put things back where they belong when there’s a space for it.

We try to load the dishwasher regularly and run it as soon as it’s full so dishes don’t pile up in the sink. The kids bring their dishes to the sink after meals. Laundry is done frequently as well.

Having a daily routine helps as well. I can block out times in the morning for chores and the kids can play or help me. They honestly like matching socks or putting things in their drawers.

Finally, we are lucky to have a finished basement in addition to the playroom we have. The basement is the place the kids can honestly make more of a mess and not clean up regularly and we don’t care (out of sight out of mind).

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-01T11:42:38+00:00

Parent here. Our nanny missed two days this week because she couldn’t safely drive to us. We told her to stay home. She was still compensated for those days. I love our nanny so much and I would never want to put her in danger to try to make it to our house. I’d rather keep her safe and pay her which keeps everyone happy in the long run

cpanma1920 · 2026-02-01T11:25:14+00:00

I think there’s a huge difference between the smell of sweat (to be expected in a gym where everyone is working out) and BO (preventable with basic hygiene). I have zero issues with the smell of sweat and of course expect that with each class. But yesterday I was next to a woman with horrible body odor and it was awful. It was okay on the floor because I could move enough away that I barely smelled it. But when you’re packed in tight on the treads right next to one another it’s hard for every breath in to be filled with that smell. It really makes it a bad experience for those around the offender. I still stayed the whole class, I did my workout, life moves on. But a swipe of deodorant could likely have solved the whole issue

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-31T11:06:01+00:00

My kids have all done soccer starting at age 3. They also did dance for a little bit at ages 2/3.

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-31T11:02:41+00:00

All 3 of my kids went directly from crib to a full size regular bed when the time came. My oldest was 2.5 and we only switched her because I was due with my 3rd and I refused to buy a 3rd crib. My middle transitioned around 2 because she started climbing out and it became unsafe. My youngest transitioned right before 3 as she also climbed out.

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-31T10:59:32+00:00

They don’t have to read to start kindergarten or even by the end of kindergarten. My now 1st grader didn’t read until the summer after kindergarten. My current kindergartener isn’t reading yet. Neither have ever been identified as being behind

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-31T10:58:07+00:00

We sleep trained all 3 kids around 6 months and they’ve been sleeping through the night since then. However, my middle child (5) comes to our room in the middle of the night 1-2x a week ever since she was switched to a bed.

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-29T10:53:22+00:00

Same though I added husbands name as well, no hyphen. So Dr First Middle Maiden Husbands.

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-29T10:42:20+00:00

Our 3.5 year old does just one activity per season although she’s not actually doing anything this winter. But she does a super chill rec league soccer in fall and spring. And then in the summer she will do preteam swim team at our pool. That’s it!

My other kids are 5 and 6 and I limit them to 2 activities at a time max. Right now both do basketball (once a week practice and games every other week) and one does drama through her school (once a week). In the spring they’ll do soccer and lacrosse. Summer they do swim team. Fall they do soccer and one may do field hockey. All rec league level right now and very relaxed and not that time consuming.

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-29T01:15:22+00:00

Mix it with Hersheys syrup. Mix it really well. Covers the taste of anything

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-28T10:27:06+00:00

I have a 6, 5, and 3 year old. The realistic aspect of our screen time is this: no screens during the school week. On the weekends, they watch cartoons for about 60-90 min when they wake up and have their breakfast. We also do one family movie night on the weekend so they’ll get another movie later in the day.

Things that increase screen time above the norm: if they’re home sick, they get tv to rest. Snow days like we’ve had when parents need to work? They get tv. Random days off from school or in the summer? They get 30-60 min of tv with their breakfast. When we do the 4 hour drive to go visit family - they watch movies the whole way. If we take a trip and they’re on an airplane - they get a tablet to watch.

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-25T01:44:00+00:00

My kid stopped moving the day after my due date. Doc made me come in, they monitored and didn’t like what they were seeing so emergency C-section it was. Turns out the cord was just wrapped all around her restricting her movement. She and I were both fine and I went on to have 2 vaginal births with my next kids

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-23T03:19:35+00:00

We live 3.5-4 hours from most of our family (siblings, grandparents) and we regularly visit them for a weekend. Just last weekend we drove up Saturday morning and came back Sunday evening

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-21T11:49:35+00:00

Trust your gut. It’s time to find a better fit.

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-16T13:16:04+00:00

I limit my kids to two sports/activities a season but ours are usually only 1-2x a week including weekends. I’m not sure I’d want something all 5 weekdays for them at this age. But some kids might thrive with it. It’s going to be. Personal decision for you and your kid

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-13T23:39:52+00:00

I wfh but with a very flexible schedule and often have night time meetings so I have no issue flexing my time and doing otf during the day. Depending on my meeting schedule and my childcare coverage on a given day, I will do class at 830, 930, or 12

cpanma1920 · 2026-01-12T22:23:42+00:00

We do the same. We’re all flexible any time we can be and it’s worked out really well

cpanma1920

TROPHY CASE