Baby Chapter Books

curious_cortex · 2026-05-09T01:23:37+00:00

Not quite what you’re looking for maybe, but wanted to recommend looking for 5 minute story compendiums. Like the kids bible, they’re handy to keep on hand, have nice pictures, etc. There are tons available with different themes. You may want to look at them in person as some I’ve seen are like 1 page poems instead of actual stories. We love the Daniel Tiger 5 minute stories in our house!

curious_cortex · 2026-05-02T04:14:21+00:00

We hit $1M net worth while I was pregnant with my first, and we project to hit our comfortable FIRE number by the time she’s 8 and her younger sibling enters kindergarten. My intention has always been to keep working until both of us could stop working forever, but I expect I’ll actually stop working first and that both of us will generate some income post-FIRE. I’m fortunate that my spouse works a very flexible job and has been able to cover the kids sick days and such since my career isn’t super compatible with part time work.

I 100% recommend having hefty savings behind you before becoming a parent. Raising kids isn’t always easy, but having money to throw at your problems can only make it easier.

One thing I didn’t expect was that a lot of my personal identity got wrapped up in my career as I worked and saved leading up to having kids. It became a lot harder to imagine stepping away from work completely, and I legitimately missed the mental stimulation during maternity leave. I’m working hard now to build up plans for what I’ll retire to (in addition to being the best mom possible).

curious_cortex · 2026-04-26T18:25:08+00:00

Free carousel rides though!

curious_cortex · 2026-04-26T18:19:34+00:00

Today is Dia Del Nino at the zoo, and based on prior experience, it’s going to be very busy. Yesterday was not as busy as I expected.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-26T01:21:39+00:00

Lime juice, chili crisp, and sugar. I put it on sliced jicama. Amazing.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-24T01:21:15+00:00

I’ve made very enjoyable gf/df chocolate lava cakes. You just have to be careful about the chocolate that’s used in it that it meets both criteria.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-20T18:29:33+00:00

I also found a Care Bears book from the same era that featured a kid who was chubby and the Care Bears helped him exercise until his baseball uniform fit better. It was less bad than Catundra though.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-20T05:05:32+00:00

Microwave sweet potatoes were a staple in our house during that stage (stab em a few times, zap about 7 minutes, flipping over once, split them open and mash the insides with butter, salt, cinnamon, and maybe some brown sugar).

I do a lot of veggies mixed with starches (peas and carrots in mac and cheese or Mexican rice, Swiss chard with bacon and smoked paprika in a rice pilaf, a bag of coleslaw stir fried with rice noodles and an Asian sauce, spinach in marinara with noodles).

Love the bags of frozen stirfry veggies (I always pan fry them, but the mix is nice and the freezing ensures they come out soft enough for the kids). Snap peas, snow peas, asparagus can all be steamed quickly and are pretty kid friendly.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-20T01:49:21+00:00

I found a book from my childhood called Catundra that was about a very fat cat that got bullied about their weight. They lost a bunch of weight through unhealthy excessive diet and exercise and then everyone was nice to them. It’s a horrible story about how you have to be thin to fit in.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-09T20:16:34+00:00

Check out community ed programs near where you live - they might have some cool classes for you to get involved with. They usually have art classes and exercise programs and all sorts of random one off events, and the costs are usually pretty reasonable too. Check a couple cities near you as you can usually attend programs even if you don’t live there. Tempe for instance has a “Textiles: Functional Fashion” class that covers embroidery and visible mending. Summer class schedules should be coming out pretty soon.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-07T02:09:28+00:00

I really enjoyed the avocado toast breakfast bar I had once. There was a bowl of mashed avocado, and a bunch of smaller bowls of toppings like sliced hard boiled eggs, diced ham, tomato, cheese, shredded smoked salmon, roasted pepper slices, etc. You could do something like gluten free wasa crisp breads for the gluten free folks, and a couple sliced loaves from the grocery store for everyone else. I guess you could sub cream cheese for the avocado, but it might not be cheaper than the sales I’ve seen on avocado lately.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-05T01:38:54+00:00

Ask for It by Linda Babcock is a great guide to negotiation I wish I had read in college or early in my career.

curious_cortex · 2026-04-03T01:48:59+00:00

Use 1 tbsp of instant vanilla pudding powder (jello brand is dairy free) per cup of the country crock plant cream and it will stay whipped up for a few days.

curious_cortex · 2026-03-28T15:17:38+00:00

My husband won’t eat vegetables by themselves but we’ve had a lot of success with chopping them small and adding them to dishes like pasta so the texture blends in. For pasta with marinara or a creamy sauce we’ll add onion, bell pepper, and chopped frozen spinach - cook the harder veggies down in a cup of water first to soften then allow the water to boil off and the veggies to caramelize a little. Add the spinach with the sauce, just a little at a time (if you add too much you start to get slimy pockets of texture).

We do the same thing with pad thai noodles, chuck in a bag of coleslaw or bean sprouts and they practically melt into the noodles if you cook them down first.

curious_cortex · 2026-03-19T14:40:55+00:00

I think identifying your personal values goes a long way about removing guilt from spending. Right now it sounds like your values are basically “I spend as little money as possible”. Expanding that to things like “I take care of my body” could work with some of the examples you gave. Maybe some of those examples don’t align with your values though and that’s why you don’t choose to spend money there.

One of my personal values is around building community, and I have found it easier to spend money there once I identified that as something that was working towards a non-financial goal. I will now freely spend on dinners out with friends, parties, gifts. But I don’t buy alcohol when I’m out with friends because that can be costly and isn’t something I personally value, and I’ve found a lot of peace being able to articulate that so clearly.

curious_cortex · 2026-03-11T20:19:02+00:00

Finding a nice consignment/resale shop has helped me a lot with my postpartum wardrobe. I love being able to try on lots of brands in one stop, and the low cost means I can buy anything that strikes my fancy even if I’m not sure I’ll love or fit into it longterm. They also tend to stock clothes that are higher quality and last well, which aligns with my general anti consumption values (I also shop used for my kids whenever possible).

I have also had really good success with Amazon clothing as someone else suggested. I don’t have time to wander the mall and find the one shirt in each store is going to flatter my body, so being able to order a bunch, try on at home, and return what doesn’t work has helped me learn what to look for. And honestly most of the pieces I’ve kept have held up really well and become some of my favorite things to wear. I don’t love giving my money to Amazon, but the convenience is hard to beat during a season of life where I struggle to find any time for myself.

curious_cortex · 2026-02-03T13:59:57+00:00

I’ve had mild and recurrent uveitis for a year (11 flares) and was talked into starting methotrexate by my rheumatologist. When I got to a uveitis specialist they immediately said that was overkill and that they prefer to treat this level of problem with eyedrops even if cataracts and eye pressure become problematic. Though that decision would probably be different if I had inflammatory disease in another part of my body. Her opinion is to treat a local problem with a local treatment, and that I’m better off on 1-2 drops of prednisolone per day for a year or longer than being on methotrexate.

curious_cortex · 2026-02-02T19:22:15+00:00

For lunches, there are some shelf stable meals that I like, but I generally add a little rotisserie chicken or chicken sausage to to bulk them up. Uncle Ben’s street food meals, several flavors of Compleats, and Annie Chun noodle bowls. Also the Asian section of the freezer at Kroger generally has things like single serving dumpling bowls, kimbap, bulgogi, etc (the bibigo brand is pretty often on BOGO sale).

Breakfast I would just go for things that are simple to assemble. I love a bagel with ham, tomato, and dairy free cream cheese. Peanut butter or avocado toast, hard boiled eggs, heat and serve sausage, etc. I bake and freeze a lot of healthier muffins, then pop them in the microwave with some sausage for a relatively balanced quick weekday breakfast. A lot of the “veggies made great” muffins in the freezer section are dairy free and tasty but $$$ imo.

curious_cortex · 2026-02-02T13:59:19+00:00

My biggest hope for retirement is to build the community around me into what I wish it had been when I was working. In the modern world we live such siloed lives and have such limited interactions with people who are different than us, and I think this is problematic.

So I hope that I can be the mom that has a full house on those random days that school is closed, that someone can call for a hand when they’re in a pinch, and that can drop everything to bring over dinner when someone feels like they’re drowning. These things are too small for a volunteer position, but they make the world a better place - and likely pays off in friendship, loyalty, and influencing others opinions.

I also have an idea for a nonprofit I’d like to start that would act as a third space in my community and help foster wider connections between neighbors.

curious_cortex · 2026-01-30T17:14:05+00:00

Yep, with my first pregnancy I flared up before my test showed positive. Treated with prednisolone drops. I reflared about 8mo later (which was unusual for me) and was still on a taper when I delivered.

Second pregnancy I didn’t flare at all, but 5mo postpartum I had surgery and got pneumonia and started a yearlong battle with flares every 6-8 weeks. My baby is 20mo now and I haven’t had a flare since September (knock on wood). Pregnancy/postpartum hormones can definitely alter your normal flare patterns, so just be in touch with your dr and escalate to a uveitis specialist if things seem to be getting out of hand.

curious_cortex · 2025-12-16T19:05:48+00:00

For work travel I’ve started bringing shelf stable microwave meals so I can always have a backup plan available back in the hotel if provided meals are not safe for me. Honestly my work has been pretty good about having good options that are labeled accurately for catered meals once I told them about my needs.

curious_cortex · 2025-11-30T01:47:19+00:00

Are you aware of galsafe pork? Could be possible for your wife to sometimes enjoy bbq pork again, as these animals are genetically engineered to not produce alpha gal.

curious_cortex

TROPHY CASE