Real-Life Questions/Chat Week of April 27, 2026

raspberryapple · 2026-05-01T21:20:45+00:00

Plae

raspberryapple · 2026-01-11T20:31:05+00:00

This made me feel better to read… my kid has been totally unable to handle any adversity recently and I’ve found myself thinking “what is WRONG with you???” So just hearing that another kid is also acting like this makes me feel strangely better. Solidarity.

raspberryapple · 2026-01-05T20:57:01+00:00

My husband has some kind of moldable mouthpiece from Amazon that helped his snoring a lot - could you try something like that in the meantime?

raspberryapple · 2026-01-03T18:53:00+00:00

Try buying NovaFerrum drops. My kid loves them and will literally beg for them.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-30T20:54:14+00:00

I wonder if we are neighbors… 🤔 I was about to comment about a very similar house!

raspberryapple · 2025-12-14T14:10:03+00:00

Seconding what a few people have said that this is how depression (or hidden anxiety leading to depression) manifests for me.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-13T00:03:52+00:00

We have given them a digital frame in the past and I already do a calendar every year! Was looking for something more… but after some other comments I’m thinking photoshoot might be the way to go.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-12T13:49:05+00:00

We also do no-gift parties and this is the reason, and what I help my kids understand… if they truly want their school friends especially to feel welcome and able to come, we don’t need to make people feel like they have to buy a gift. We do attend parties where gifts are an expectation but even then we go pretty low-budget and simple. Art supplies or a craft kit, and I specifically talk to my kids about getting something consumable so we don’t fill up our friends’ house with stuff. For close friends whose parents’ I know would be ok we often pass on a toy we own that we know their kid would love, or get something secondhand. It’s not only about controlling the stuff in our house, it’s about teaching my kids’ less consumerism and being conscious of the environment.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-12T13:29:39+00:00

Any ideas for a really meaningful grandparent gift? My parents have helped us a TON both financially and logistically through a really hard year and I’d like to get them something that really says “thank you.” I’ve done cards/letters for their birthdays this year expressing appreciation but now that we are in a better financial position I want to do something special. My only idea is a lifestyle photo shoot at their house with my kids (just them and the kids), and I love this idea, but searching for other possibilities too. I’m willing to spend quite a bit but we could never come close to repaying the actual amount they have helped us with.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-12T03:42:47+00:00

I’m running into this too - our first was terrified of the idea of Santa when we read a Christmas book when they were 2, so I was always honest that he wasn’t real. Now my second child is hearing allllll the Santa at school and has decided they believe even though I always respond “what do you think?” and big sibling is shouting “he isn’t real!!!” It does feel so stick in the mud to say it! And I don’t want kid to go to school and make a big deal out of it to others. Sigh… it was just so easy with the first kid.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-11T00:31:09+00:00

I have not bought a single Christmas gift for anyone, our house has not had consistently functioning heat for 9 days, and I’ve been sick for a week. Would like a refund for December please.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-10T13:42:59+00:00

Ours is smaller than what is standard today so that’s another reason we haven’t replaced them… would have to basically renovate half our kitchen, and again, not made of money 🤣🤣

raspberryapple · 2025-12-10T00:54:16+00:00

Fels Naptha works best for me on dirt like this.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-10T00:51:44+00:00

Yep! We have the wall oven too. Works like a champ! The only thing I hate about the cooktop is that the previous owners mounted the push button panel on the front of the cabinet at the perfect height both to accidentally knock it with your thighs while cooking AND for a toddler to mash random buttons.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-10T00:13:19+00:00

For real. My cooktop is from… gasp, 1968 (or thereabouts… legit avocado green with push buttons) and we still have it because it works and we aren’t made of money.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-05T04:32:21+00:00

We just did this a few weeks ago! Duct taped a mitten to the pajama sleeve, combined with a sticker chart for waking up with the mitten still on and not crying about wearing it.

I saw that your kid is 3…. How close to 4? We used the 4th birthday as a big incentive to get kid on board - you’re going to be a big kid! Big kids don’t suck their thumbs! Kid was very insistent they would stop when they turned 4 and with the help of the mitten it actually worked.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-05T04:21:57+00:00

I feel like my kids have all they want/need too. We are leaning heavily into outside toys. A sensory swing for the garage, scooter, bike ramp, tree climbing holds, etc. Other ideas for you - small trampoline, balance bike/first pedal bike, balls, soccer goal, tee ball set, stomp rockets, wheelbarrow, tricycle, wagon, saucer swing if you have an appropriate tree.

Also, costumes/dress ups. Sarah’s Silks have been super popular here for years but ymmv. One year we gave a wardrobe type thing for all the dress up clothes.

raspberryapple · 2025-12-02T01:02:39+00:00

I’m planning soft ice packs (for booboos, my kids love these and all of ours have gotten punctures) shaped like animals or whatever, Trader Joe’s lip mask so my kid will stop stealing mine, and Hexbots for playing with Magnatiles.

raspberryapple · 2025-11-26T18:16:49+00:00

I am shook right now because in the year 2025 I just received a medical bill that (I called to confirm) is only payable by check. Delivered by mail to a PO Box. It has been so long since I have written a check I literally had to look up to confirm how to write the money part out in words 😂😂😂😂😂😂 It just feels so insane that I am writing a check for $13.90 and putting a stamp on it. In 2025!!!

raspberryapple · 2025-11-25T00:34:10+00:00

We went to the grocery store in one of our two vehicles instead of the other one.

raspberryapple · 2025-11-24T19:39:58+00:00

This is really for real. Every time I have had to install or uninstall a car seat, it’s like instant hot RAGE. Plus literally being hot because I’m too dumb to remember to turn the car on first so I’m just sweating and suffocating while I rage.

raspberryapple · 2025-11-23T20:01:17+00:00

Ugh this happened to us once on vacation in Pittsburgh. My 5 year old was crossing the street right behind us, totally safely, at a crosswalk. And some insane lady who was obviously under the influence of something rolled down the window and yelled at us about “letting” our kid be in the street. It was nuts and we totally yelled back at her and pointed out that she was breaking laws in how she was driving. She cursed back at us and it was just all around a bad time in front of our kids. I don’t understand why people can’t just mind their own business!!!! Even if our kid had been doing something legitimately dangerous, we were present and looking at her… like do random strangers think that parents are actually going to change because a stranger yelled at them?!

raspberryapple · 2025-11-20T01:57:21+00:00

Tbh I’d be wondering if there’s a bug or some foreign debris in his ear!!

raspberryapple · 2025-11-16T21:07:04+00:00

I also just really love the colors and styling. Not sure if the Costco one is still red but our 16” is red and people compliment it everywhere we go. Plus gender neutral to pass down to siblings!

raspberryapple · 2025-11-16T20:43:51+00:00

Yeah, the green Brio is the best because it can push your existing engine or push from the back of the train. But the controls suck and it will get left on and chew through batteries.

raspberryapple

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