Post by MadamePresident on Mar 3, 2015 15:17:00 GMT -5
Seeing all the clothes that pugz has for G, made me realize just how bad at clothes shopping for my kids I have been. Nods only owns 1 pair of shoes. I'm not a HA shopper like you all. Though their new stuff looks really cute.
Post by countthestars on Mar 3, 2015 15:25:21 GMT -5
Going along with today's Disney theme, my confession is that I like doing laundry because the inside of my washing machine smells like Splash Mountain.
Going along with today's Disney theme, my confession is that I like doing laundry because the inside of my washing machine smells like Splash Mountain.
I don't remember splash mountain smelling particularly good. Lol
I try to keep shoes to a minimum of sneaks + seasonal shoes (boots or water shoes). I do get dress shoes for my older child.
I love shopping for clothing but I can't afford a wardrobe from HA. I'll get maybe 4 or 5 items from there and most of the other stuff will be old navy, children's place and kohl's. I really like their skorts and their tops are cute and don't have sayings like "born to shop" on them.
My child won't wear the adorable clothes I buy her. She went to school today in leggings with a little hole in the knee and a t-shirt that is just a tidge too small. :/
Post by DarcyLongfellow on Mar 3, 2015 15:40:34 GMT -5
I buy the vast majority of my kids' clothes at Target. And I will cry when DD1 outgrows their toddler section. I don't really think that's a confession, though :-)
Now I usually make sure I have one pair of tennis shoes, one pair of sandals, and one pair of dress shoes for each girl. But there were definitely times when DD1 was younger that she only had one pair of shoes -- particularly in the summer when she could wear white sandals with everything.
As for my confession, DD2 has been in a truly awful mood the past two days -- not sleeping, just whining constantly. Well, yesterday all she ate yesterday was cheese sticks, blueberries, and raisins. But, she totally ate a normal VOLUME of food -- but it was all those three things. I considered it a major win when I got her to eat half a cracker right before bed. So far today she's had just kefir and blueberries. And I'm not even trying very hard to convince her to eat anything else. If it keeps her from screaming, she can eat whatever she wants!
My child won't wear the adorable clothes I buy her. She went to school today in leggings with a little hole in the knee and a t-shirt that is just a tidge too small. :/
DD's leggings are all stained at the knees, and she favors two shirts which are on the small side because they are "soft and comfy." Embarrassing, lol.
I'm considering a drop-in DC on the one of days I'm off (T/Th) every other week or so, so I can do grocery shopping and other errands baby-free. Flameful part: I'm considering not telling H. He relishes time with DD, begs me to go out and do stuff alone so he can spend time with her and does not get why I am completely overwhelmed.
I love cute baby clothes, but it totally stirs up a weird anxiety in me to spend a lot on them since they will only be worn such a short time. I have tons of thin cotton things, but hardly any warm winter clothes. I had to run out to Kohls today to get him a couple more winter outfits because it was just getting ridiculous how close I keep coming to not having enough clean clothes to send him to my mom's during the day.
I can guarantee you that my mom has bought the boys 70% of the clothing that they own. I buy a lot of daycare staples, but she just can.not.stop "finding deals". Whatever, I'll take free clothes!
I think y'all are great (I'm in Texas, I'm allowed to say "y'all" but I don't always fit in around here. I think the only stereotypical MMM thing I have is a RnP - I don't care much about clothing (for me or DD), so I have no Target tunics, no HA clothing for DD, etc. I still very much appreciate the community on this board and all of the advice and commiseration, etc. Ok, I guess this is a pretty lame confession, I'll see if I can think of something better.
I have said many time before that I try to buy the least amount of clothing possible for my kids. We are very lucky and get lots of hand-me-downs. And my mom volunteers at our church run thrift store and buys a lot of super cheap clothes (shirts are generally $1, pants/shorts $2) for them as well. She'll also have Kohl's cash to burn and never finds anything for herself, so she'll just buy them a jacket, etc or shoes.
To be fair, I also rarely by clothes for myself. Maybe a few new things every year with money I get for my birthday or Christmas.
DH wears a company provided uniform to work, so he rarely buys/has many personal clothes either.
I can guarantee you that my mom has bought the boys 70% of the clothing that they own. I buy a lot of daycare staples, but she just can.not.stop "finding deals". Whatever, I'll take free clothes!
This makes me so jealous.
I've been looking at baby girl clothes and I'm so overwhelmed! Do I like florals? Bright colors or pastels? Tutus? I don't know! So instead I buy more plaid button downs and polos for DS.
Post by oregonpachey on Mar 3, 2015 16:15:04 GMT -5
I am going to bury this here. I am getting a new job. Less than 1 month after having THIS new job. It's a promotion, at same company, same department. My manager is moving on and they are putting me in his role. Everyone tells me I will be great at it, I can do it, blah blah. I have serious doubts. I need to give myself a pep talk.
The confession part is that I am glad that it will allow DH to step up more and be more active as a SAHD. I currently still do everything. He will have to do school drop offs and pick ups. YAS! And probably some housework. YASSSSS!
This is a lie, but I get you about the joy of dressing a little being who just looks smashing in all the things
Related confession: I am one of those parents who thinks my preshious is especially smart and especially beautiful. I try to keep it under wraps, though.
I think DS1 is especially smart. I probably don't keep it under wraps too well. Related confession: I try not to compare DS2 to him, but it can be tough. They have COMPLETELY different personalities, so I shouldn't expect DS2 to be as "academic" but sometimes I wonder if it's because he is the second and doesn't get enough attention/one-on-one time/etc.
Post by hilwithonelary on Mar 3, 2015 16:26:18 GMT -5
I dressed almost exclusively in mix and match colored Hanes t shirts and shorts from approximately age 7-11. I hated tags and they were the only clothing items that didn't have any. In winter I switched it up with sweatsuits. I'm fairly certain all of MMM has better dressed children than that.
ETA: Here's a super flattering pic showing off one of my beloved t shirts.
This is a lie, but I get you about the joy of dressing a little being who just looks smashing in all the things
Related confession: I am one of those parents who thinks my preshious is especially smart and especially beautiful. I try to keep it under wraps, though.
I think DS1 is especially smart. I probably don't keep it under wraps too well. Related confession: I try not to compare DS2 to him, but it can be tough. They have COMPLETELY different personalities, so I shouldn't expect DS2 to be as "academic" but sometimes I wonder if it's because he is the second and doesn't get enough attention/one-on-one time/etc.
Mine are the opposite. DD1 isn't a dullard or anything, but I would say that she is of average intelligence. DD2 (so far) is exceptionally smart--her language skills are nuts, she can count as high as 13 (that I have heard), sing her ABCs and probably a dozen or more other songs, etc. She's insane. I wonder if it's because she is exposed to so much more than DD1 was because she has an older sibling.
My two BFFs also each have a "smart" kid and an "average" one--one had the smart one first, and one had the smart one second.
All anecdotes but I think the answer is probably that kids are who they are. For my part I work really hard to never praise intelligence and focus more on process and hard work. Innate intelligence is great but perseverance and grit are far more important.
Legit confession. I go to Target once a week for "household goods" and sneak in buying clothes for DS (and now DD) that DH doesn't know about. He seems to think my 2-3x a year order from Carter's (once a season give or take) of a few things is "plenty of clothes." Ummm, no. So I sneak more clothes in.
Post by mainelyfoolish on Mar 3, 2015 16:48:00 GMT -5
My DD asked for two HA dresses for Christmas because she liked the way they looked in the catalog. I bought them for her. One of them she's worn two or three times and one of them she's never worn. She now proclaims that she hates all dresses and will not wear them. I want to strangle her with those damn expensive dresses.
Mine are the opposite. DD1 isn't a dullard or anything, but I would say that she is of average intelligence. DD2 (so far) is exceptionally smart--her language skills are nuts, she can count as high as 13 (that I have heard), sing her ABCs and probably a dozen or more other songs, etc. She's insane. I wonder if it's because she is exposed to so much more than DD1 was because she has an older sibling.
My two BFFs also each have a "smart" kid and an "average" one--one had the smart one first, and one had the smart one second.
All anecdotes but I think the answer is probably that kids are who they are. For my part I work really hard to never praise intelligence and focus more on process and hard work. Innate intelligence is great but perseverance and grit are far more important.
Yes, we are very much like this too. My H read something a long time ago about how you should always tell kids they worked hard, vs. telling them they are smart, which is what we try to do.
DS2 is definitely average or maybe even ahead of average on certain things, and I have zero concerns, but then I'll randomly go back and look at a video of DS1 identifying all his letters 2 months prior to where DS2 is now and I'm like ohhhhh. And I don't even think knowing letters means ANYTHING as far as intelligence goes, but I'm like, why did my older kid know his letters with basically zero assistance from us while my younger kid enjoys the finer things in life like headbutting people and spinning around in endless circles? lol.
Mindset by Carol Dweck is a great book on this topic if you're at all interested. I actually should buy it so I can reread it periodically. She talks about how praising intelligence and ability leads to kids having a fixed mindset--believing intelligence is innate and immutable, and things are only worth doing if you're skilled at them from the get go. Kids who receive more specific praise about process, effort, and perseverance tend to have a growth mindset--believing skills and traits like intelligence can be learned, practiced and improved upon over time.
So a kid with a fixed mindset will encounter a tough math problem and say "It's too hard! I can't do this!" whereas the growth mindset kid will say "Oh, a challenge! I can learn something here and get better!" Kids with growth mindset tend to be more successful at life in general.
I am absolutely a recovering fixed mindset person. I would say at this point I have mostly a growth mindset, but I grew up fixed and I have had to work my ass off to change that, and I still sometimes find myself saying "I'm just not good at this" and having to mentally correct myself. My H has a growth mindset and he has been experiencing skyrocketing success in his career in the past few years, due in no small part to the way he approaches problems.
This is kind of a tangent but it's a topic that fascinates me quite a bit.