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Chewy necklace that you (mom) wear. If Dad is a big baby holder, I saw a baby friendly tie that I think has a teething toy in it? Nursing cover, love the infinity scarf and wish I had for all the earlier kids. swiffer pads for the crawling baby's tummy :D jk this is the first kid I had a nursing chair with, if you don't have one I'd highly recommend considering it!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Dear Scrap. :grouphug: :grouphug: My grandmother was just taken to the hospital by ambulance this morning. Apparently is now stable. She's been in and out of hospitals the past 6 months, it seems every other week. The kids are sick but my mom insisted on having them today. So other than the baby it is all-quiet here. Taking the opportunity to sit with a coding course I need to learn. I hope that, if Starbucks sounds like good place, you are able to go out and do that later today. I'm half-tempted to join you, lol, but drive-thru's don't quite have that same study-quality ;) And thank you for the refreshments! I'm going to make guac and am willing to share with the Lounge, so long as people can have it with the avocado oil chips :)

Date night! First one in 2 months! Yay! Will probably go to In-n-out to keep it under $15, and the library. The ice cream I bought yesterday will be dessert. Hope to keep it under $15 total.

Sounds normal. My 4yo can't draw a plus sign, he draws an X. He COULD draw a square, but his squares are always running "No! No!" away from the giant squiggly line, so, the corners are dubious at best. He can't pedal a bike, because the bikes we have are too big for him. We got our letters and numbers, but brown and black are issues. He only recognizes his name because of the first letter, not the whole thing. He's not interested in bookish stuff like the older ones, but is well in range for normal and still a bit "ahead" of what they expect for preschool if he was going to start in September. And, you have a young 4yo, so don't worry :)

1. I have a horrible habit of leaving an inch of it in the cup, so can never justify getting a second serving. Doesn't matter how big the cup is, I never seem to finish my coffee. Drives DH crazy, but at least we always know whose mug is whose :)

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Ended up spending $130. Did get some unnecessary items (ice cream), but overall kept to a good amount. Hope it gets us through the week. Yeah, I need to step out more on this. I actually don't like beans much, which seems to be the main thing holding me back, lol. We do lentil soup freezer packs and everyone loves them, but I can only handle a small serving. Cuban black beans I like, but DH is Cuban and this is one of "his" dishes and it comes with picadillo or Cuban cube steak, etc, so doesn't exactly fall into "beans and rice" budget category. I did love refried beans, but they are dangerous for me and I can't stop eating them until they are gone, lol. But, I just need to suck it up and keep trying new things until I find more recipes I enjoy. Thanks for the website, I'll have to look around!

Groceries today. The temptation will be to get Starbucks [with a giftcard] while I do groceries and just generally overspend. I need to get the baby to sleep in the next hour so I can really plan out the meals and try to keep the budget low, and stay away from problem aisles. I need more variations on "rice and beans" besides just rice and beans, lol.

Re life is too short: Sorry about your mom :grouphug: We came to the same realization recently as well. And, the idea that everything happens either by design, or by accident. Weather: warm, overcast but no rain. Maybe later this week? Go bag for bathroom stuff but not clothes. The baby's diaper bag usually has clothes for her and the 4yo, but by the time I ever use them, they are usually too small, lol, so it's better if I pack those when they are needed, not just in case. :)

I'm counting "unplanned" expenses, ie things that I don't need to buy to keep daily operations going. 1/8- 0. Did go into the city, but skipped my extra grocery run to TJ's/Whole Foods I normally do to stock up on stuff. I'm going to try and skip this entirely for January. 1/9 -0 "unplanned", but $16 on pizza. Normally this would be cut on a normal no-spend month, but I'm trying to keep as much normal as possible for the kids since we are moving and it's a Tuesday tradition.

I actually looked for it earlier, totally missed it! I thought that you must be taking a nice long break before the semester :D We started back up yesterday, it's going well. The kids have myseteriously decided they don't like math (???) but are still doing the work happily enough other than their statement to tell me they don't like it. Nothing really exciting. We got sick early December and finally got over it early January. So missed Christmas with family and New Years was pretty low key. Just packing up, and figuring out 2018 plans! Hope you had a good day Scrap, and that the company didn't derail school! And if they did, that you enjoyed your surprise free day ;)

Thanks for the ideas! I've got the kids cleaning out their school box to start the New Year fresh. We'll put together a calendar of important dates. Trying for general "fresh start" activities I guess. Maybe I'll look around for a New Years Resolutions activity online or something, too.

Are pork and sauerkraut, or beans and sausage, traditional "New Years" dishes? These seem similar to me, I'm wondering if there is a tradition behind it, similar to Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham?

We put up on the 24th, take down on the 6th. It's a fake tree though, so I don't have to worry about the tree's personal timeline.

Is anyone doing anything special with kids for New Years? It is feeling like a normal day and I want to mark it somehow, but don't feel like going out or baking or any of my normal "special" day things. What do you do to start the year off?

Thanks for supporting them, even though you have reservations. Supporting them and having them see you as going into this new chapter with them, not against them or undermining them from the start,will make all the difference later. It doesn't have to be overly enthusiastic, and that probably wouldn't see genuine anyway, but you are communicating a whole lot of love and encouragement to your kid by taking this approach, and that is a great basis for the next phase of your relationship with them.

No judgement here, either. We are a family of 6, but two of mine are not really taking up a lot yet. So, our numbers are lower; and I think just out of necessity our numbers will continue to stay lower than what you describe. BUT, if I had the money, lol, I'm sure I could spend it without guilt, so it's more of a reality issue than a reasonability issue, kwim? Since your family is older than mine, I know that we're not comparable on food. We are around $850/month with a lot of organics. Clothing - not budgeted on a monthly basis. Adding up, probably $500-700 a regular year for everyone. We do not have extreme cold here, so I don't need to get heavy coats, I think that makes a big difference. For DH and me, every 4 years or so do a full wardrobe update to the tune of $700/person (Black Friday sales, clearances). 2016 was an update year for both of us. Neither of us need to be in an office setting anymore; when I was, though, it was probably an extra $200/year for us. Gifts - $50 tops for kid birthday months, $150 for parent birthdays (we do a family outing), $100-200 for Christmas depending on the theme. Easter a total of $50. For grandparents, cousins, birthday parties etc., we try to keep presents to $15, so maybe $100 on the year? = $850 for the year. (the one year we did a "real" birthday party with guests it was $200 for that kid, so I guess if you do parties this number goes up up up) School - $300 a month, this is for odds and ends and music lessons. So I think you are doing great in this area, as I know this is just going to continue to go up. "General household" is usually wrapped into groceries, but I would say $75 for that. Makeup is currently nonexistent though :\

Love your first list, some of my favorite shows. Based on it, I can't think of too many to suggest. Sliders is on earth, but has a similar feel to Stargate in terms of exploration so that might work Maybe Eureka? It's on-world, sci-fi in terms of genius scientists, but overall more fun than serious.

My mom had me when she was 40.5. I was her 3rd, and she said I was the easiest pregnancy she had. The other two pregnancies were horrible both with morning sickness and complications and near losses. While I wasn't easy to carry (sorry mom!), she said the difference between her first two while in her early twenties and then me was staggering. Not my story quite how you asked, but still my birth story I guess :D So happy to see the good update, best of luck and congratulations!!

Thanks, some great ideas!! Going with travel pillows, mugs (and hot chocolate ingredients), and considering a camera, if I think they could share. Hmm, we'll see about that, lol :) Thank you!

So, I told my parents that I am moving, first to the city (hour away) while I'm selling my house, then to an yet-to-be-determined location, with some travel in there. It went a bit worse than I had hoped, but I'm not surprised by the reaction. Overall I feel relief and a sense of closure, actually. It's a weird experience when people lie about you to your face. Also hurtful when past actions are twisted to be seen in the worst possible light. (Homeschooling is a farce, and I only do it so I don't have to get up in the morning to take kids to the bus stop, or because I'm afraid my kids will find out "what real parents are like" if they go to school, DH has isolated me from them, etc, etc). But I think I've been through the worst of it already and so all this isn't phasing me as they intend it to. It's a mixed bag of emotions, still, because I do love them, and I know they just are ruled by their own fear and inability to accept anything "other." But I'm "other" now, and so it is what it is. Anyway, idk why I'm posting. Just a vent/sigh of relief, I guess. It's over and done. They said this is just the "first discussion of many", but I've done what I need to. Please don't quote, just in case, thanks.

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Every year we do a theme for the kids' Christmas gifts. This year it's travel, since we plan to do more this coming year (on the road, if that makes a difference). We're getting a Landmass travel tracker map of the US, a toiletry bag for each kid, but I'm drawing a blank otherwise. I saw a mermaid blanket that my daughter would like, and would travel well, but don't know of a boy equivalent I could give her brothers. Any ideas? (It's the type that looks like a mermaid tail when you get into it) What else do you give kids for travel? Anything besides travel games?

http://www.motherhood.com/itzy-ritzy-nursing-scarf/006-90964-05-0.html?mrkgcl=917&mrkgadid=3119495686&rkg_id=h-2947398b7227fa2687bda23dc88e015b_t-1513393110&product_id=006-90964-05-0&adpos=1o2&creative=109814291045&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzoHW0sSN2AIVhKDsCh2BNwhcEAQYAiABEgIOiPD_BwE Favorite thing ever. I have to have another kid just so I can use it longer, lol.