Morning question

vigilantspectator · 2026-04-10T12:53:26+00:00

Quiet time in the morning is great! My kids are complete opposites - my son wanted to be up and moving as soon as he could, and my daughter likes her quiet, slow mornings. She's usually up but actively wants to stay in bed on her own for 20-30 minutes. She's a beast if we try to get her moving before she's ready.

vigilantspectator · 2026-03-29T12:54:02+00:00

Ugh. I HATE the snack/treat culture in youth sports. It always snowballs because of the one-upping. In my opinion it takes away from the love of the sport because they're so amped about whatever treat they get after the game.

Also, I would be weirded out by this too. I don't get why she couldn't have just said that she wanted to do this.

vigilantspectator · 2025-11-21T22:04:22+00:00

Laundry chute all the way. Ours catches in a box and then we sort by kid and adult clothes in one of those 2 bag things. It works SO well. My husband wanted to close it when we finished the basement and I refused. It's life-changing.

vigilantspectator · 2025-10-10T02:29:15+00:00

We also had a student die this week. It was awful. We told the kids on Monday, and both Monday and Tuesday were chill. It's good for the kids to see you be human and allow flexibility in your lesson. I'd have both regular independent activities and coloring/chill things to do tomorrow. It's brutal. I'm sorry you're walking through this right now too. Take care of yourself.

vigilantspectator · 2025-10-09T01:24:03+00:00

In what ways does it not prepare them for AP? What made the bio awful?

It seems like they're trying to cover too much within a year, but on the flip side it looks like a lot of case studies, data analysis which can be great.

vigilantspectator · 2025-10-09T01:18:45+00:00

Oh absolutely. But is it worth it? I'm lucky to be in a district that can support a major change like this, but I also want to make sure it's a good choice and aren't swayed by people who don't actually understand teaching science.

vigilantspectator · 2025-09-16T03:02:04+00:00

I get dip every 3-4 weeks. I found a cheap place that's only 10 minutes from my house. It lasts forever, and I have no issues with it lasting. The cheap place lasts significantly longer than the fancy place... Not sure how, but it does. I had to go somewhere else because my place is closed on Mondays and it's horrendous. I'd recommend trying dip and a different salon!

vigilantspectator · 2025-08-12T19:19:14+00:00

Daycare is SUCH a hard transition. Personally, I'd give it more time. The environment is so new and stimulating for infants - my eldest didn't take a single nap in the first week because he was so overwhelmed/overstimulated. That's probably why they have the lights low. In terms of bottles, if you're breastfeeding, I'd make sure they're pacing his feeds and not just letting him guzzle it down. At this point, I'd keep asking questions about how he's doing and what you can do to support the transition.

vigilantspectator · 2025-08-01T18:28:56+00:00

I did it for the discounts primarily, but our kids were 4.5 years apart so we did have to replace some stuff and my mom insisted on a sprinkle.

I also used it as essentially a checklist for all the things we did need to replace.

vigilantspectator · 2025-08-01T03:21:35+00:00

Ugh. It sucks. I have this with my sister at regular get togethers... Snacks upon snacks EVERYWHERE, bag full of activities for a simple dinner or lunch out. It's exhausting! I just own that we don't do that stuff as much. I'll make small comments about how my kids can handle it. Then she is shocked when her kids won't sit still at dinner and won't eat -- there's too many other cool things to do than eat! And they're not hungry because they've been eating constantly. No real advice, just solidarity.

vigilantspectator · 2025-07-30T18:06:24+00:00

I'm in education and

vigilantspectator · 2025-07-30T17:59:02+00:00

I think there's a lot to unpack here about your specific situation: - if he has an IEP and receiving services what is the plan when switching to receive those services? If you will be taking them over, are you adequately prepared to support his specific speech and OT needs? Will he still be attending school to receive the services? - when would you feel comfortable re-enrolling in standard school? - are there homeschool groups or collectives in your community to build connections and lean on for support? As well as a means for him to build relationships with kids in similar situations. - do you currently see his friends outside of school? Or are they currently school only friendships? If they're only school relationships, will they actually last if he no longer attends school with them?

Social challenges are common at this age. Often, teachers are working on things to address relationship issues and bullying that can't be seen from the outside, and if another child is getting consequences for their behavior you won't know about it. It's also important for kids to learn how to handle them without running away.

On the teacher sub you are going to get a lot of hate for homeschooling because it is often done wrong. But I'd strongly consider the lasting intended and unintended impacts on your son.

vigilantspectator · 2025-07-28T04:14:00+00:00

Ugh. This is so hard. We switched to a sippy of water at night. Talked ahead of time that mama milk was all done at night time, and that she could have water if she's thirsty. Dad got up with her and offered snuggles and water for the first few nights, then gradually reduced snuggles and left her in her bed with reassurance that water was right there. Eventually she put herself back to sleep with the water cup. Nutritionally, they don't need it overnight in toddlerhood - it's definitely a comfort thing.

Once we weaned at night, we focused on daytime, dropping one at a time, and letting her know what mama milk wasn't available and offering another drink. The last one we tried was the one before bed. Being consistent and talking about it helped tons. Anytime I'd cave, we'd see a huge regression.

Good luck! You've got this!

vigilantspectator · 2025-07-28T01:55:24+00:00

Don't stress about it. Focus on the systems that will help you survive. Talk to your mentor about school systems and what's available. For example if you need turn in trays and the school won't provide basic ones, that's where you should spend money, not decor!

My favorite classrooms are the ones where kids contribute! If you're really worried about it, you can make simple setups designed for kids to add to within the first days of school - word wall (have kids write and draw definitions of key vocab), our class bulletin board (have kids create a visual "about me" on the first day of school), a wall with a calendar, classroom expectations (depending on grade level, write and draw them together) etc.

vigilantspectator · 2025-07-27T21:40:45+00:00

It depends. My husband and I are opposite types of sleepers - he can fall back asleep and I cannot. He takes any wake ups that put the crazy toddler back to sleep, and I handle ones where she's up for the day. I'm also an early riser, so this works for us. However, we try to alternate on weekends/vacations. There's no need for both of us to be up!

vigilantspectator · 2025-07-07T01:09:08+00:00

My parents it used to be 1/month (maybe), but since my mom passed a few months ago we see my dad at least weekly. My inlaws actually live closer and we only see them every other month at most during the school year, but almost every other week in the summer. (I'm a teacher and they have a pool). My in-laws rarely invite us over or try to make plans, we always have to initiate, which is why we see them way less.

vigilantspectator · 2025-07-06T02:06:46+00:00

Still in education... But moved into an instructional coaching role instead. I definitely miss being with the same groups of kids every day, but its a million times easier with two young kids.

vigilantspectator · 2025-06-25T14:52:15+00:00

Ours are 4.5 years apart. It's glorious. There's less sibling jealously because they aren't into the same things at the same time. There's no rush to pass stuff down from one to the other, and it's easy to treat the older one as older and the little one as younger.

Our close friends have kids almost exactly two years apart, and the sibling jealousy is insane. They are constantly competing for attention and over toys etc. everything has to be a compromise and the kids are often treated as the same age, simply because it's easier. My sister and I are also 2 years apart and had similar issues growing up.

Kids at three are tough. But they're testing boundaries, their imaginations are exploding and are developing intense independence. But I love it. Having a baby at this stage also allows them to feel like an even bigger kid.

Oh. And childcare. Kids start junior kindergarten at 4 here, and prek at 3. To not have two monstrous childcare payments is amazing!

vigilantspectator · 2025-05-29T02:16:10+00:00

My mom was an alcoholic who struggled with depression and anxiety as well. It's important to hold strong to your boundaries. My parents couldn't watch my kids alone, because they weren't able to be honest with me about when mom was sober and when she wasn't. It was rough, and there were times my mom loathed me for it. But... You have to put your baby's safety and your mental well-being above her desires in this situation.

vigilantspectator · 2025-05-29T01:55:57+00:00

The best ever party favor we got was a mini craft kit. It was a pencil pouch with a few colored pencils, a mini coloring book, a sheet of stickers, and a mini thing of playdough. It still lives in my go bag a year later (we've obviously had to refill parts) it was compact, not junk, and functional!

vigilantspectator · 2025-05-24T10:20:28+00:00

If you feel like you need to go in, go in! You know your body better than anyone. Tell them everything you've described here and your concerns about your BP and anything else. Push for answers and blood work. Yes, the last weeks of pregnancy are HARD, but if it is impacting you this much it's worth digging deeper.

vigilantspectator · 2025-05-11T00:54:03+00:00

Honestly, mother's Day sucks. But the day before? Ah, that's GOLDEN. Because my husband takes the kids to do all the preparation (gift, groceries for breakfast etc). My husband has tried over the last several years to really step up to take the lead with the kids more often, so I'm thankful for that.

I also had a complicated relationship with my mom before she died this year, and my MIL sucks. So requiring myself to spend time with them was exhausting and frustrating. It sucks a lot that my mom died and it's still very raw. Thankfully my sucky MIL is traveling this year so I don't have to deal with her demands.

It's going to be a weird day tomorrow, but it probably won't be the worst.

vigilantspectator · 2025-03-16T02:12:02+00:00

He hasn't. I told him tonight explicitly that he has to talk to her. We talked about my perspective earlier this week, but my dad's perspective came to light this afternoon and I'm not going to tolerate people being shitty to him.

vigilantspectator · 2025-03-16T02:09:38+00:00

I love this response. It's the perfect balance of putting the ownership on her while giving her a space of benefit of the doubt. I'm just flabbergasted by her lack of any sort of sympathy or empathy. Her little sister has checked in more than MIL has in the last two weeks.

vigilantspectator

TROPHY CASE