I use a coin purse or Kate Spade small bifold wallet. Most of the time I use Apple pay and don’t seem to get carded anymore so rarely even pull stuff out of there.
I had the worst weekend and would normally he happy for Monday and school/daycare but both my kids are home sick. My 4 year old spiked a 105 fever so we took him to the er on Saturday, he has adenovirus so I’m sure that will rip through the rest of us soon. My older son has an upset stomach and threw up last night. I also fought with my H all day yesterday, which hardly ever happens and I still feel off about it today.
We had to cancel a bunch of Halloween plans and will probably miss ToT tomorrow. My older son also broke two dinner plates that are no longer made. A big shard went down the sink but we didn’t realize until he ran the disposal and burnt out the motor.
My son is in 4th and has 30 minutes of reading a “just right” book (the teacher was specific that it should not be a graphic novel), and 5-10 minutes of practicing math facts. There are also optional math worksheets, which we don’t do. Nothing is tracked. We actually just had a parent/teacher conference and she said she stopped assigning homework last year and did not see any difference in learning.
I really don't get why people bring alcohol to these things. If you know the entire group well and know that they all drink, ok. If you don't, you could be putting someone in a tight spot. It's not just alcoholics, a lot of people are choosing to be sober in increasingly high numbers. I don't drink, never have. I give the booze away before it gets in my house. It's the same with scratch tickets but I know I'm in the minority for that. Maybe I'm wrong and assume that there are more alcoholics and gambling addicts than there really are 🤷♀️
I totally hear you, but this just shows you can’t win with these exchanges! Lol
Thank you to all the people also horrified at the gift recipients reactions, I don’t know what is wrong with people. The woman who cried?! Get a grip lady! That was a good gift!
In my lady’s case, she was very drunk (not an excuse!) and angry about the gift, she tossed it down and said something like “what the fuck is this, this is stupid, what am I supposed to do with this”, then kept trying to get people to steal it from her. Other than my H and one friend, no one seemed to have much of a reaction. I pretty much only see her at this annual party but assume she was invited back. The hosts, one of whom is my H’s coworker/friend, never said a word to me or my H about it.
Also, I am not proud of this but I did take it back from where she left it on my way out so problem solved for her I guess. I regifted to my dad’s girlfriend and she loved it.
I did not have a single bad or even mediocre meal when I went with my H in June, so I don’t think you can really go wrong. We loved wandering around the French Quarter, a ghost and vampire tour, plantation tour (Whitney Plantation), taking the street car to the garden district and doing a self guided celebrity house tour, and the St Louis Cemetery No. 1 tour.
We also went to the WWII museum which was very well done. My H loved it but I was freezing cold the entire time and not super into it. You could spend an entire day there though, it’s huge!
It was such a great trip, I hope you have a wonderful time too!
After getting awful things in our families white elephant, I started bringing things I really like and want, with the goal to steal it or ask to trade after if the person doesn’t seem to like it. Often it’s been a gift card to Target, Starbucks or Ulta. I like the alcohol idea if most of the people drink, or the scratch tix.
For generic stuff, tech gadgets, $$ water bottles or luxurious throw blankets are nice.
Costco usually has soft side coolers that are like Yeti knockoffs that keep stuff cold for a long time. We have a backpack style and messenger style. For that price point I like 1 useful item.
She was really nasty, it actually hurt my feelings and we skipped the party the next few years to avoid her. Hopefully she won’t be in attendance this year!
I almost bought a barefoot dreams throw from the Rack the other day but second guessed myself, lol. This group is unpredictable and I didn’t want a repeat of the mean girl behavior.
I know it’s early but I feel so much pressure to get something good, lol. I’m going to a holiday party in December and my H and I each need to bring a $40 gift for a dirty Santa type exchange. No white elephant, it has to be something people would actually like. It will be men and women in their 40s mostly but doesn’t necessarily need to be gender neutral. Last time I brought some nail polish stuff I love and it was not well received, the person who got it was actually extremely rude about not liking it (she was very drunk.) So far my ideas are:
-Bottle of champagne and a couple flutes -Sephora or Ulta advent calendar (this is slightly over the price limit though) -balsamic vinegar and olive oil from a local company -Laneige lip mask set and $20 Sephora or Ulta gift card
Do any of these seem ok? Please help me and add your ideas!
Update: I went with the lip masks and $25 Sephora gift card and it was a hit! The person who picked it was happy, and someone stole it from her. Most people brought booze or cash, which were also popular. Thank you all for your input!
My son and I learned to play using the physical game “No Stress Chess”, it starts with drawing cards and moving according to what the card says, then choosing between a bunch of cards, then actual chess. It was fun and easy to learn!
My son used one until he was 3 and we only made him stop because it was impacting his bite. He had a speech delay and the SLP said pacifiers don’t really make a difference.
My mom was so obnoxious about my cousins’ kids using them past babyhood, I shut that down right away when I had kids. I think she just liked to feel superior that my sister and I didn’t take to them or something, and I assume most of the hate for them comes from a similar place. That and bare feet babies were her hot button issues, lol.
Introvert and I hate self check. I feel like 80% of the time something doesn’t work and I have to call over a cashier anyway. Plus I usually have my kids with me and it’s much easier to wrangle them (esp the toddler) when I’m not also scanning stuff.
I watched a couple Secrets of Playboy episodes too and they had one with who I assume are the “mean girls”. They pretty much confirmed what Holly and Bridget said, that they viewed it as a job (totally fair and I would too!), and were mad when Holly came in and their benefits started being reduced. Holly claims that wasn’t because of her but who knows. It’s expected that in a group of ~8 people not everyone will get along or be friends.
There was a kid at my sons preschool who sounds a lot like this. Hitting, slamming doors on hands, he once kicked my son in the groin, etc etc. The teachers redirected as much as possible and did inform the parents each time. Unfortunately the mom seemed checked out and the dad once showed up to my sons bday party drunk so I don’t know how effective that was. They ended up moving away so that resolved it for us, in your friends case I would be insisting the bully be kept away from my kid at all times. No way is “wait it out” an acceptable response from the school, though I do have a great deal of sympathy for everyone involved here.
fernweh It is their podcast! I find Holly pretty annoying, and I agree nothing too surprising has been revealed but I like hearing some of the behind the scenes stuff and their reflections on that time. I was looking at old pics from that time the other day too and I was so so skinny and cute but constantly worried about my looks. I’m not so skinny these days and am glad, but still probably spend way too much time and money on beauty stuff.
I sent in a new patient request to start therapy. Long overdue. But now I'm in limbo waiting to schedule the first appointment. I still havent told my husband about it and I don't know why. Actually I do. I know in my head that he'll be supportive, but there's a part of me that expects him to tell me its not worth it or we cant afford it or otherwise convince me not to. And that probably traces back to my dad, which I really need to unpack in therapy.
I relate to this so much. I did a bunch of therapy in 2021 to address similar issues (and other stuff) and it was so helpful. It’s amazing how much our parents and childhood experiences still impact us as adults. I hope you are able to work through everything too!
I just pre ordered it for the kindle. I’ve always had a soft spot for Britney, JT is trash but I can’t fault him for not wanting to be a parent at 19 and I guess at least he didn’t talk about this earlier. Low bar, lol.
I also saw Crystal Hefner has a memoir coming out in January, I’m listening to a podcast about the Girls Next Door right now and think that whole era is so interesting to look back on. So much misogyny in the media!
I went with my H and our boys, 9 and 3 at the time, last spring break. We stayed at the Holiday Inn at Fisherman’s Wharf and were happy with it. They don’t have a pool but the location was great for touristy stuff, the staff were all super friendly and helpful, they have free breakfast, and I thought the price was reasonable.
We usually have a mother/son night at school around Halloween so i try to dress with my son. He wanted to be a banana so I’m going as a monkey. My daughter wants to be a football player for some reason and has not actually done any work to pick something out
Not sure how old your son is but this is the perfect opportunity for a Motherboy costume.
My H agreed to dress up as skeletons or some marvel characters. I have zero interest in Marvel so bought matching skeleton onesies. If he hadn’t wanted to dress up at all I was probably going to be Barbie with a bright pink sequin dress I already own and a fake blonde pony.
NOLA! We went in June and stayed at the Hotel Monteleone and it was a great location, in the French Quarter and very walkable to the streetcar to other parts of the city. I was surprised at how reasonably priced our room was and we stayed in a pretty newly renovated room which was very nice. They have a fun carousel bar in the lobby too. I have no idea about the weather in December but it was my favorite adults only trip and favorite US city.
I get big packs of pasta, laundry and dishwasher soap, socks, underwear, garbage bags, q tips, allergy meds. We also recently bought a vacuum sealer and will portion out meat to freeze.
$5000 in 2008. My in-laws offered us money for a down payment or wedding costs and we chose to use it for the down payment so paid for 99% of it ourselves. We were young and broke so kept it very simple. My mom and dad split the cost of the cake (her neighbor made it for like $75 lol) and my in-laws paid for the rehearsal dinner. We had an afternoon wedding, no alcohol and just a dessert bar. If I could go back I’d either spend a bit more for an evening wedding with a bar or just elope.
I initially bought a dress from Jessica McClintock for I think $120 after being talked into it by my mom. I really didn’t like it so I went to David’s Bridal on my own and bought another dress for around $800, plus $200 in alterations. I made my own veil and my shoes were like $20 from Payless. We paid for almost everything ourselves and we’re only spent $5000 total so it was a big splurge. 2008
H already bought glasses! We are in the area to see about 95%. We’d have to drive 3-4 hrs to see totality but I hate crowds and I’ve heard of hotels canceling bookings and jacking up the price and I’m not sure it’s worth it. My sister booked an AirBnB in Canada for super cheap and I’m curious if they will end up canceling it.
It’s worth it! Even the different between 99% and full was incredible. Truly one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. My FIL cried he was so moved, lol.