3 Grocery Stores

Sometimes trying to grocery shop can be very frustrating... Especially when there are certain products you are looking for. I have found myself having to go to three different grocery stores to try and keep the family happy. I don;t go to each store all in one week, I spread it out, but it sure makes grocery shopping hard!
The cheapest store is fairly close and they carry the lunchables that my daughter likes, but they aren't the best store for everyday shopping because of what they don't carry. The medium priced store is also the closest to our house and they carry the majority of my everyday groceries, but have a very limited selection of the lunches my husband takes to work most days. The third store I have to visit is both the most expensive and the furthest away from home, but they have the largest selection of lunches. So frustrating! Lately it seems like I am actually at the grocery store more because of going somewhere and the store not having what we need.

Double Standard

How do you handle a blatant double standard parents have for adult children? We recently ran across this with my MIL.... She has one set of rules for her daughter (and family) and a different set for us. It's starting to create a strain on my husband because he feels like our little family is unimportant to his Mom and Dad.

Big Airlines

We flew United for a trip we took recently. Our outbound flight from Chicago O'Hare was fine, but we ran into some terribly rude employees and policies on our way home. Because of the baggage fees charged by the airline, all 3 of us used 1 suitcase. We knew the thing was heavy, but had no problems curb checking it in Chicago. The only fee we had to pay was the $23 bag check fee. Coming home, the same suitcase was suddenly 6 pounds too heavy and the airline wanted a $100 fee ON TOP of the $23 we had already paid. The first attendant was so rude... The second attendant at least tried to help when she saw us removing shoes, etc from the bag. The big airlines have tacked so many fees onto everything, that flying somewhere is a chore!

How Rude is too Rude

This past weekend was my birthday. My husband asked what I wanted to do... I told him brunch. His Mom didn't want to do that, she suggested another place. I looked at the menu and vetoed it because the food just didn't sound good to me... it also didn't sound very healthy... Given that I'm pregnant, the place she suggested may sound great in a few weeks, but not right now. Before hubby could talk to his Mom again, his sister called asking what the plan was. He told her brunch and she OFFERED to have everyone over to her house after brunch so that we could all go to her son's baseball game in the afternoon.
Up to now, nothing too rude....
Well, we get to my birthday. We get to the restaurant right on time and hubby's family is no where to be seen. They finally get there 15 minutes later and the first thing said is "Don't you answer your phone!" The story was that they were waiting for us at sister's house even though that plan was never discussed...
Brunch went fine except for the fact that no one talked to me...
As we are leaving the restaurant, MIL announces that she needs to go shopping. She and SIL go to one store. BIL and the nephews go to another. FIL goes with us back to Sister's house. When everyone else finally gets back we find out they went garage sailing too and have more garage sales to go to. I did get invited to the second round of garage sales, but that's not really my thing. We finally get back to SIL's house and I open presents (gift cards... I guess they get an E for effort) and we have cake. Then it's off to nephew's baseball game.
What does it say about where i fit in my hubby's family that they think it's okay to go shopping in the middle of my birthday celebration? They would be furious if we did the same thing to them...

Leftovers

Dinner last night was leftovers...planned leftovers which are different from regular old leftovers... let me explain.
When I was growing up, I hated leftover night (which didn't happen often) because it was just a jumble of little bits of previously really good food reheated in the microwave. Now that I am the one planning out dinners for a family, I understand how important those leftovers came be in the family budget. So, there are some meals in our family menu that I know make too much. When I make these recipes I make sure there is enough for at least 2 full meals and I freeze half of the results. By freeze half of what I make, I know that we don't have to repeat a meal twice in one week and I know that there is a night in the future where cooking will be easy.
One of the tricks I use for planned leftovers is reheating everything in the oven. That helps insure that everything is heated thoroughly and evenly without increasing our exposure to the chemicals released by reheating plastic. I also try to make sure that only one part of the meal is a leftover. If the main course was a planned leftover, I try to pair it with fresh side dishes so that it feels like a brand new meal instead of feeling like leftover night.

Frustration

Right now, I'm wondering if our little girl was really ready for potty training when we started in late January. I thought she was, she really seemed to get it at first, then we back slid a little. We started a sticker chart and that seemed to help for awhile, but now it seems like we are back sliding again. My friends say to just be patient that she'll get it, but my Mom seems to think we should have it down by now. She is a little biased, she's comparing my daughter to my niece, who she thinks is perfect.
I just don't know what to do....

Too Young for Chores

How old were you when your child was first given chores? Our 2 year old has two responsibilities... she helps unload the dishwasher and feed the dog. She was only given these chores because these are things she wants to do anyway. Having her help, allows her to do what she wants only when I want her to....

My Review of Clearview Stove Knob Covers 5-Pack

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Stove knobs are a real temptation for tots, especially those located in front of the burners, where little ones can easily reach them. The solution? These ultra-secure knob covers — even the cleverest kids can't figure them out! Yet the hinged, locking covers allow you instant access for c...

Clearview Stove Knob Covers 5-Pack

Does the job

By Elizabeth from downers grove, IL on 4/8/2010

 

3out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Easy Use

Cons: Floppy

Best Uses: Kitchen/Bathroom, Toddlers, Accident Prevention

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

We got these because our 2 yr old figured out how to turn the stove on. While the covers were easy to install and do the job with out too much difficulty, they easily spin and flop around over the knob. I wish these had a way to "suction" onto the stove so that the latch to open the cover was always in the same place. Things have nearly boiled over because I couldn't get the cover open fast enough to turn the heat down and pot holders weren't handy to move what was on the stove.

(legalese)

My Review of Tiny Dinerâ„¢ Portable Placemat

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Messy eater? This portable placemat corrals spills and crumbs — and provides your baby gourmet with a clean dining surface, anywhere! We've never seen such a rugged, well-designed placemat! Take it to restaurants, and you know baby's dining off a clean, hygienic surface. Use it at hom...

Tiny Dinerâ„¢ Portable Placemat

helpful, but too playful

By Elizabeth from Downers Grove, IL on 4/8/2010

 

3out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Sturdy Construction

Cons: Difficult to Clean

Best Uses: Toddlers

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

I like the placemat, but I think we could do without the "food catcher. My daughter thinks this is a toy and ends up putting her food in there before eating it.

(legalese)

Dealing with Rudeness

How do you deal with rude in-laws?

We recently had our daughter's second birthday party. We decided to keep things small, just us and my husband's family (my family is out of state.) The original party time was noon, but we moved it back to 2 PM because my SIL and her husband got in from a cruise late on Saturday night. Well, things got off to a rocky start when our party guests decided not to show up until nearly 2:30. There were tons of little things during the afternoon that were just rude...

Hubby's family acts like they are uncomfortable here and they are really guests vs family. They wait to be served and don't think a thing of me or Hubby eating last because we've been waiting on them.

I end up dealing with it by acting like everything is okay while I'm really getting mad. How do you deal with basic rudeness, especially when they are family?

Potty Training Update

We are at the 6 week mark for potty training and things seem to be going better. A sticker chart has helped us keep track of how many success and accidents we've had. Weekdays are good days usually, but we struggle a little bit on the weekends.

Potty Training Frustration

We started Potty Training at the beginning of February and the first week and a half went great. Our little one was telling us when she needed to use the bathroom and we were having 0 to 1 accidents a day. Then something happened.... the last week and half have been confusing. When we are out Little Girl does well and ells us when she needs to go. But, it's a different story at home and we are having lots of accidents. We are getting very frustrated and a thinking about tweaking our approach. Any ideas?

Chest pain

Yesterday morning - while working on the computer - I felt a weird pain in my chest. I tried to dismiss it because it felt better after I burped. But, it nagged at me and the pain came back after I had lunch. Since the pain came back and I could find a logical explanation, I called the doctor and ended up in her office at 6 PM last night. The diagnosis came back as GERD.... a huge relief! Blood pressure, pulse, and heart rhythms were all good, so I was given a prescription to calm the stomach acids. I get to take that for 2 weeks.... If the chest pain symptoms come back in that time, I get to take a trip to the hospital for more tests, but I don't think that will happen.

3 day Potty Training

We decided to try the 3 day potty training method and it has worked so well! Friday was day 1 and didn't go great, but yesterday there were only 3 accidents, and today there were NONE!

We aren't following the method to the letter.... we decided not to potty train for naps and overnight just yet, but while she is awake, little girl is doing great!

One nap vs two

According to friends and family, my daughter was a little unusual... she continued to take 2 naps every day well into her second year. I think a lot of it was that she (and I) were used to the routine and we kept it. While we were on Christmas vacation, she only took one nap a day if we were lucky. I knew she was ready, I just had to bite the bullet and change the routine. Part of me was scared.... I enjoyed the quiet time and that was when I got my housework done.

Once my husband went back to work after New Year's, we made the change and now just do one nap on most days. Usually right after lunch. This seems to work really well 90% of the time... even if there are days were "lunch" is at 10:45....

One of my bigger concerns was not having time to get house work done and still have a little bit of "me" time during the day. That has been a complete non issue and it's actually easier to get everything done. Even though we are down to 1 nap, our little one still sleeps for 2 - 3 hours. Since we are having one long nap instead of 2 short naps, I don't have to rush as much to get all the work done, so I am more relaxed once my little princess wakes up.

When do you start discipline

How old does a child need to be when you start to discipline them? My 21 month old does things that she KNOWS is wrong. Should we punish her?

Currently, we just correct the behavior, but I wonder if we aren't being too easy on her.

Beginning of the terrible two's??

While we were on our Christmas vacation at my parent's house, we had our first taste of the terrible two's from our little girl (who is 21 months old). She was doing something she knew she shouldn't and every time I would correct her she'd scream at me.

Every time, we talked about how that's not how you talk to Mommy, but it didn't seem to make an impression.

Since we've been home, it has happened once or twice, usually when it's time to do something she'd rather not. Are there any suggestions for how to discipline this behavior?