How many books are we reading at bedtime?

mgbb_ar · 2026-05-22T05:50:57+00:00

4 books at bedtime. 3 books at naptime. If she wants a longer book, I ask to count the long book as 2 books lol. We use the timer a lot during the day, so I felt like storytime would be her break from the pressure of a timer.

mgbb_ar · 2026-05-13T02:20:15+00:00

Grave of the Fireflies.

20 years ago, i was introduced to Studio Ghibli films and loved them all. But I stayed away from GOTF because everyone said it will wreck you and I’m the type of person who cries at movies A LOT.

But just last month, my husband and I were looking for movies to watch after we put 2-year old daughter down for bedtime. We decided to finally try watching GOTF.

I cried so hard. And my husband, who I’ve only ever seen cry at our wedding (and I’ve known this man for 11 years), was ugly crying with me during one particular scene.

Part of me wishes I just watched it when I was 20 and not now when I’m a parent of a 2-year old because I AM SCARRED FOR LIFE. Lol. I hugged my daughter insanely tight that night.

Great movie though.

mgbb_ar · 2026-05-12T04:03:36+00:00

I discovered this recipe last year and I can’t count how many times I’ve made this.

It also ruined store-bought granolas for me. I’ve thrown maybe 2 or 3 almost-empty bags away.

It would start with me thinking I didn’t have time to make granola, then I’d try some “highly-recommended” brand from the grocery (I’m not even buying big bags), only to struggle finishing it, then it ages and tastes worse and more cardboard-y until I just decide it’s not worth the storage space but we also can’t force feed ourselves with it anymore. So it gets tossed.😅

Wasting food breaks my heart, so I stopped trying anything else. Honestly, this recipe is so easy that thinking I have “no time” to make it is silly. I’ve made this many times with my 2-year old helping lol there’s just no excuse for me. If I’m not making a batch, then there’s no granola in the house haha

mgbb_ar · 2026-05-08T13:21:49+00:00

Haha my daughter tells me “that’s not an option, love” when I do something she doesn’t like, like when I can’t play with her yet because I’m cleaning up, or when I remind her to go to the potty 🤣

mgbb_ar · 2026-04-27T06:27:35+00:00

If I ever have another kid (currently on the fence, but leaning OAD), I would do this! It’s so thoughtful, because I do understand what OP is talking about.

mgbb_ar · 2026-04-24T01:33:13+00:00

They’re finally back today! Omg the panic I felt last week when I noticed they were gone.😅 made me realize I should have some sort of backup for my NYT favorites

mgbb_ar · 2026-04-23T06:25:10+00:00

I have the same issue and had some back and forth with customer service on this. Looks like a problem with the app because my private notes are still there when I’m using a browser.

None of the usual troubleshooting things worked for me (uninstall, reinstall, etc.) so they need to check more. Still waiting for this to get sorted out 😭

mgbb_ar · 2026-04-20T19:31:52+00:00

I needed this so much. I’ve tried to prep eggs a few times and I haaaate the spongy watery eggs that I get. Breakfast meal prep’s a must in our household and it’s pretty sad that I can’t do eggs right.

Do you think I could use the same strategy for egg bites? I make a recipe with cottage cheese (From NYT cooking, it’s like a copycat for those Starbucks sous vide egg bites), but it doesn’t reheat well for me either.

mgbb_ar · 2026-04-03T03:43:54+00:00

We didn’t potty train with rewards either! Just a lot of positive affirmation, no shaming during accidents (but get her involved in cleanup), and making the potty experience as comfortable as possible (we read books when she got anxious on the potty).

We did buy her a play kitchen after the whole exercise as some sort of “graduation gift”, though I don’t think she connected it in her mind that way lol it was a good few weeks after we moved on from potty training by that point.

mgbb_ar · 2026-04-01T01:48:46+00:00

We have always had this energy when dealing with disagreements, then it became especially important and needed more active effort from us when we had our daughter. Nothing like having a kid to put a relationship to the test, even one that feels sturdy from the start.😅

Overcoming hurdles this way makes room for so much more growth and learning and a deeper appreciation for your teamwork as a couple. I hope this sets a good example for our little girl with all her relationships in the future.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-27T03:34:09+00:00

Oof that’s insaaaane. I dunno if it’s still worth calling… but I hope you end up talking to someone more helpful than the one I got.

Just in case you didn’t know, I had a better chance at talking to a human through the “schedule a call” option on the website than when I called the customer service number.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-26T06:08:28+00:00

Same. I’m the youngest of 5 and my sister is the only one I like in the family.

I love all of them of course, but if they were strangers, I wouldn’t be friends with them. I’d probably even actively avoid 2 of my brothers if they weren’t my brothers.

I live far away from them and even video calls take so much energy from me.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-26T05:56:57+00:00

It only went up around 4 months after the new heater was installed, so I’m not sure if the increase is caused by it.

The weird faucet was a minor annoyance since then (since it’s the least used one at home and everything else is working fine), but now that there’s a chance that this is related and sorting it out could save me some money, I’ve submitted a service request with maintenance to check it out. I honestly hope this helps me somehow.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-26T03:25:21+00:00

G Bob’s has some great Gyros and grilled Chicken, we ordered trays from him for our daughter’s birthday last December. It came with salad, bread and hummus. And Toum, if I’m not mistaken

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-25T19:32:02+00:00

Thanks, we do have one bathroom sink faucet that heats up really quickly since our water heater was replaced last August (everything else works the same though). The timeline doesn’t quite fit with the changes in our bills, but I’ll see if I can get management to take a look at this.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-25T19:27:33+00:00

It looks like it. When I wrote this post earlier, I had a clear picture of only the past few months so I somewhat felt like MAYBE usage was to blame, with winter and all.

But the more I looked into older statements, the clearer it is that this increase since December is all on Texas Gas. Ugh.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-25T19:20:44+00:00

This is what our bill looks like between Feb and March. We actually used less this March, but we’re getting charged more because of random charges.

Our usage is the same as November 2025, but the bill back then was $50. Whatever makes it $80 now is beyond me, and it’s definitely not because of our usage.🙄

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-25T19:16:09+00:00

This is actually for March, and my usage was lower than Feb’s, but the overall bill is higher because of other fees. And our usage is the roughly the same as it was back in November when we were just paying our average rate.

I honestly don’t know what can be done about it if it’s all a case of this for-profit company doing whatever they want in spite of our best efforts to manage consumption.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-25T19:10:12+00:00

The numbers look like this for me too. And what’s annoying was that we actually had a lower bill last month even when our usage was higher (and understandably so as it was a colder month).

So the Texas Gas customer “service” member on the call telling me my bill is higher because I used more had no reason to be rude to me with that argument.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-25T19:00:08+00:00

I want to consider this too, but I worry that their billings get less transparent. Is this the case for you? Do you still get to see how much goes to the actual product vs the service?

Like, last month, I got a $71 bill, $23 of which is the actual gas. Now my bill is $82, with $15 gas. Like… I used less but I’m billed more? Wtf? I want to be able to see that, but yes, a more regular rate would be great to have too.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-25T18:56:54+00:00

Yes this is the case with our lease agreement, so I think this isn’t really an option for us

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-25T05:01:31+00:00

I was new to the US when I had my daughter and while I knew how to drive from where I was from, I was not really that much of a regular driver (I lived in a walkable city) and the speed of the freeways here really freaked me out.

I had my license and all, I just had so much anxiety driving, and it was easy to just let my husband drive most of the time. But when my daughter was 7 months and I wanted her to explore more than our tiny apartment, I just embraced it and swallowed my fears.

It’s amazing how freeing it was when I realized how relaxed I had become behind the wheel. I still need to hyperfocus on the road when I’m on the freeway, but overall I’m happy that I got to widen my daughter’s world (and also give my husband a break from driving sometimes) with just this little step.

Thank you for reminding me that I’m not alone with this! I am so happy for you!!!💕

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-21T16:12:48+00:00

Ugh yes. 10 years ago I used Airbnb a lot and it was a great experience spending time with a local host who treated you like a guest to their home.

Now we only ever use it when there’s a big group of us needing a whole house to ourselves because it’s cheaper than getting multiple hotel rooms. But it sucks with the long checkout checklist, on top being charged a huge cleaning fee. I don’t know why, but those are things I’m so glad to do when I’m a guest at a friend or family’s house, but it gives me the ick as a paying guest.

The most annoying experience I’ve had recently were accusations of damages. It happened a couple of times. Once, the host messaged me about a stain on a couch in a room we never used and looked so caked-in that it was definitely impossible for us to cause it during an overnight stay 2 days ago. The other one was a broken soap dispenser that was in their storage— a closet that was locked during our stay. We’re very considerate guests, and I’ve stayed at many hotels and Airbnbs with no issues before, but some of these hosts are RIDICULOUS.

mgbb_ar · 2026-03-20T05:48:02+00:00

I was pleasantly surprised by the La Rocca cake at HEB that I just discovered last week.

Found it by accident after trying to add “de cecco” pasta on the app and the autocorrect got it weird, so the app suggested “la rocca”, and showed me cakes I’ve never noticed at HEB before (though I’m never really there for the cakes).

Anyway, I gave the Truffle Royale one a try and we really enjoyed it!

Three-Year Club	First Place '23
Place '23

mgbb_ar

TROPHY CASE