The ONE Thread- September Chit Chat - Page 3

[Abraisme]

I usually make nice, sterling silver earrings for the ladies (these are always a big hit and pretty cheap to make)..  Then I will probably make some infused vodka, infused vinegar, crocheted stuffed animals (for the babies/toddlers), and possibly something else crochet for the adults..  It'll depend how I'm feeling toward the end really..  
 

Originally Posted by jbk21 

We're big on secondhand here as well.  It's so frustrating because no matter how many times we tell our parents (or just talk about it, not so much  "telling", lol) they STILL BUY BRAND NEW.  So obnoxious!  I hate to be so picky about it but it's SO important to us to re-use rather than waste resources on new.  We're not trying to be snobby about it, but it's one of our deeply-held beliefs.  Frustrating that others don't get it.  I think my MIL thinks that shopping at resale shops is like slumming it or something... Whatever!  I love finding treasures in a resale shop!  It's like a game!  What fun is it to go to the store and get EXACTLY what you wanted in the EXACT right size, anyway?    I feel like we can have really nice stuff for a fraction of the cost- which allows us to pay off debt and do more things that we want to do, like go on trips.  Nobody would ever know I shop at the thrift store or buy stuff off craigslist if I didn't tell them.  There is no noticeable difference!  You know?

Oh my, Christmas gifts... I love to do all homemade/handmade stuff (knit, sewn, home-roasted coffee and home-brewed beer) but I don't know if I will be able to get it all done.  Plus I don't feel like any of our family members appreciate it.... Again, I think they feel like homemade stuff is just cheap (in a bad way, lol).  So annoying to go to all that work just for a mediocre response.  

Anyone have any good ideas for Christmas gift-giving this year?  One thing I'm working on is a video from Owen's birth and first year, and another of his second year.  I'll give those to the g-parents.  Since they don't see us much I think they'll like having that keepsake.  

[Paigekitten]

Originally Posted by Abraisme 

I find the fruit at all sorts of places..  The plums came from my good friend's church, they have 4 beautiful plum trees and no one else wanted the fruit! The peaches came from a very small u-pick farm..  and of course blackberries are crazy abundant EVERYWHERE!  Ha ha.  I often just ask people who have trees or people post things on Craigslist. 

Do you work? If you're available during the day, you're welcome to come to the AP Mommies group that I host at my house.  It's every Tuesday from 11:00-2:00.  We do a pot-luck style lunch, the mommies talk and the kids play.  It's fun and nice to be surrounded by other AP moms.
 

Oooh, that would be fun.  I'm home with the girls during the day, I'll just need to steal my car back from DH.

[jbk21]

Totally.  I wish they'd show at least some sort of appreciation for our lifestyle though.  Never have they ever bought anything secondhand.  Or organic, even, for things that we specify.  Argh :-(

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Quote:

I agree, but I wanted to throw out there that in my mother's case, she delights in being able to buy for her grandchildren what she was not able to afford for her own children.  So we end up with gorgeous and outrageously priced Janie and Jack outfits at least once a year.  I have to remind myself that buying these items for my kids is fulfilling to her in a way that I probably cannot ever understand.

[IwannaBanRN]

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Quote:

I agree, but I wanted to throw out there that in my mother's case, she delights in being able to buy for her grandchildren what she was not able to afford for her own children.  So we end up with gorgeous and outrageously priced Janie and Jack outfits at least once a year.  I have to remind myself that buying these items for my kids is fulfilling to her in a way that I probably cannot ever understand.

My mother finds just as much enjoyment in buying nice things 2nd hand for her grandchildren as she would in a department store, only her wallet doesn't empty as fast.
 

[Ajbaby]

I haven't posted here in a while, the last few weeks have been crazy. My ds started kindergarten at the public school on the 22nd. We get there and he was all excited to start school, our neighbor walked with us and everything. Well, the school didn't bother to tell probably over half of the parents who their kid's teachers were. The morning procedure is to line up by class in the gym, then go to the class room. That is nearly impossible when you have somewhere around 90 kindergartners who have never even been to school before who also have no idea who their teachers are. It took them an hour to get ds to his class room, by that time he was begging me not to leave him :( After that he would refuse to go to the gym, then refuse to go in the class room (and this was a kid who barely had time to say bye before going into prek). Oh, and there were 30 kids in his class.

By the end of the week we knew he would not do well in that school. We went crazy trying to find private schools with openings before going with one of the Montessori schools in town. His first day there was today. He met his teacher, put his stuff where she showed him, and came up to me and said "Bye Mommy!". It was such a relief for him to want to go to school, I hope that this school is a good fit for him and he keeps enjoying it.

Oh, and I am totally jealous of the goodwill outlet. I never knew there was such a thing! Our goodwill (the one on the not ghetto side of town anyways) doesn't have that great of prices. They want $2-3 just for onsies.

[jbk21]

Seems they can buy even MORE gifts if they are cheaper, yes?  Isn't that a good feeling?  With my in-laws, though, they are loaded so they don't mind spending tons of cash on my son (he's the only grandchild, well, until DS2 is born :))  And my mom just buys super-clearance stuff (aka, often not very cute!)... sigh.

Originally Posted by IwannaBanRN 

My mother finds just as much enjoyment in buying nice things 2nd hand for her grandchildren as she would in a department store, only her wallet doesn't empty as fast.
 

[Abraisme]

This is how my IL's are as well.  I just accept their gifts and move on.  They love to spoil the grand-kids (reasonably) and the kids love it.  They always buy very thoughtful gifts and quality things.  It's nice to get a few new things sometimes.  :)
 

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Seems they can buy even MORE gifts if they are cheaper, yes?  Isn't that a good feeling?  With my in-laws, though, they are loaded so they don't mind spending tons of cash on my son (he's the only grandchild, well, until DS2 is born :))  And my mom just buys super-clearance stuff (aka, often not very cute!)... sigh.

[jbk21]

Definitely.  I appreciate the generosity (for instance, they all but cleared our limited registry for DS2... it's nice to have all the stuff) but sometimes it's a little outrageous....  My MIL is not-so-reasonable about gifts.  There are always piles and piles and piles and PILES of gifts at holidays/bdays.  I know it's a blessing, but it's also hard to balance that with our very minimalist lifestyle. Maybe this is oversensitive but I often wonder if our sons will wonder why grandma gets them SO many gifts, and we only get them 3 (albeit we buy bigger-ticket items, but still).  We also try to emphasize the importance of other aspects of holidays rather than the consumeristic side.  It's hard to balance that with ALL the gifts.

Originally Posted by Abraisme 

This is how my IL's are as well.  I just accept their gifts and move on.  They love to spoil the grand-kids (reasonably) and the kids love it.  They always buy very thoughtful gifts and quality things.  It's nice to get a few new things sometimes.  :)
 

[justamama]

I'm good with anytime after 36 weeks as long as it's when baby decides to come (all my labors were spontaneous labors between 36w0d and I *think* 37w6d..but I had a couple early EDDs with DD3). Halloween is 36w5d. My best friend laughed at me because I said if baby was born on Halloween and here by Trick-or-Treat time I'm still going! And demanding more chocolate for just having given birth! LOL 

Went to a different chiro today. She does pubis symphysis adjustments. OUCH! She also checked my tailbone with a tuning fork because of my fall last week. It is fractured, and my entire pelvis is rotated. I mentioned the fear that the combination of tailbone and SPD issues could make homebirthing not possible (she had a homebirth with her last and used the same backup Dr we used with DD2)...she said she's pretty sure she can get it all fixed up before then, and it may make it even easier because the rotation has been there probably before having kids in my case.

ETA: Even more exciting than that is the scan she did possibly showed us the source of the wrist pain/finger numbness I've dealt with for SIX YEARS (and had surgery to try and correct last year; it helped with about 30-40% of the pain but none of the numbness, my #1 complaint)!!!!! And, just as I suspected from when I was in massage school, its from the neck, NOT the wrist (where the surgery was done) OR the elbow (which has me wearing an immobilizing brace each night...not possible with little co-sleeping nurslings, really). If we can get that fixed...I cannot explain how excited the possibility is. If I didn't have SPD and a fractured tailbone I'd be jumping around like a kid on Christmas morning. It would mean going back to massage school. Which is HUGE to me. I BAWLED when I had to leave. 

I do my 3 hour GTT on Thursday. I am supposed to carb load for 3 days prior. But as a result of failing the 1 hr, I cut out soda, refined flour and sugar, and white potatoes. So I guess have some WW pasta or brown rice each day? I'm not sure, but I definitely want to pass, and these changes are going to be long term so I don't want to ignore them and go back through caffeine withdrawls (today is day 2 of no soda!), or the urge to stuff my head into a bowl of brownie batter!!!

Edited by justamama - 9/2/11 at 8:56pm

[jbk21]

Hmmm I know different practices have different standards but I didn't have to carb-load before the 3hr.  That seems dangerous to me, only because if you DO have GD then you're keeping your sugars high and that isn't good for baby.  I'm sure they wouldn't recommend it if they thought it would be harmful, but it just worries me :-(  I'm super-sensitive about it though.  I've been checking my sugars after throwing up at my 3hr, and so far 25% are high.  Ugh.

[justamama]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Hmmm I know different practices have different standards but I didn't have to carb-load before the 3hr.  That seems dangerous to me, only because if you DO have GD then you're keeping your sugars high and that isn't good for baby.  I'm sure they wouldn't recommend it if they thought it would be harmful, but it just worries me :-(  I'm super-sensitive about it though.  I've been checking my sugars after throwing up at my 3hr, and so far 25% are high.  Ugh.

They said to eat as many carbs as I wanted the 3 days before the test and then I was to fast after midnight. From reading through the two super long GD threads in the general I'm Pregnant forum it seems to be common to do that. Still, I think I won't restrict carbs, but I'll just stick with whole, unrefined carbs from whole grains and fruits (green smoothies FTW!). No sugary stuff. And if I pass the 3 hr (which I really think I will...I'm pretty sure it was soda the night before AND a ton of PB right before I left to my appointment that did me in since he said I barely failed), I'll stop eliminating everything and just be reasonable and moderate in my treats. Which is how I normally eat, but the hyperemesis left my tastebuds all kinds of messed up since I could only keep junk down for WEEKS. 

[jbk21]

Ah.  Yeah, that sounds reasonable to eat whole grains and smoothies (yay!).  
 

Originally Posted by justamama 

They said to eat as many carbs as I wanted the 3 days before the test and then I was to fast after midnight. From reading through the two super long GD threads in the general I'm Pregnant forum it seems to be common to do that. Still, I think I won't restrict carbs, but I'll just stick with whole, unrefined carbs from whole grains and fruits (green smoothies FTW!). No sugary stuff. And if I pass the 3 hr (which I really think I will...I'm pretty sure it was soda the night before AND a ton of PB right before I left to my appointment that did me in since he said I barely failed), I'll stop eliminating everything and just be reasonable and moderate in my treats. Which is how I normally eat, but the hyperemesis left my tastebuds all kinds of messed up since I could only keep junk down for WEEKS. 

[MrsKatie]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Definitely.  I appreciate the generosity (for instance, they all but cleared our limited registry for DS2... it's nice to have all the stuff) but sometimes it's a little outrageous....  My MIL is not-so-reasonable about gifts.  There are always piles and piles and piles and PILES of gifts at holidays/bdays.  I know it's a blessing, but it's also hard to balance that with our very minimalist lifestyle. Maybe this is oversensitive but I often wonder if our sons will wonder why grandma gets them SO many gifts, and we only get them 3 (albeit we buy bigger-ticket items, but still).  We also try to emphasize the importance of other aspects of holidays rather than the consumeristic side.  It's hard to balance that with ALL the gifts.

I think about this kind of thing a lot.

DH and I have ONLY bought at secondhand or consignment stores for this baby.  A few days after I got the positive test, we went to the goodwill and got a few onesies that were all 50 cents and under.  And they all look barely used.  I was like, we are never buying anything new for this baby (unless it's a safety standard issue).

But my dad is always buying copious amounts of stuff for baby.  We grew up with insane loads of Christmas presents, and I know that he will spoil the heck outta this kid.  This is the first grandchild on both sides, so we're in for it!  It brings my dad such incredible joy, but I think he could be persuaded to buy used... it would take a LOT of persuasion, though.

As for my husband's parents, they don't buy much; they recently gave us all my husband's old clothes (and his brothers').  But my MIL and FIL had 3 sons, no girls, and my MIL warned me that if this baby is a girl, she's going nuts with pink frilly stuff.  What can I say?  She's someone who will head to goodwill for that, though, so I'm not as worried :) .

[IwannaBanRN]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Seems they can buy even MORE gifts if they are cheaper, yes?  Isn't that a good feeling?  With my in-laws, though, they are loaded so they don't mind spending tons of cash on my son (he's the only grandchild, well, until DS2 is born :))  And my mom just buys super-clearance stuff (aka, often not very cute!)... sigh.

How does one actually find room to PUT all this stuff? lol My son got so many toys the last 2 years at Christmas and birthday that I didn't know what to do with all the other crap he has. lol So when I helped DH move to this apartment, we donated toys him and Casey weren't playing with anymore. My son is staying with my mom until the 6th and she keeps saying "well how will I know what to pack to send home with him so you don't throw it all away?"  They don't need a THOUSAND TOYS!!! If we had kept all of the toys AND brought home all of the crap mom wants to send here, both bedroom and the living room floors would be COVERED in toys.
 

[justamama]

Originally Posted by IwannaBanRN 

How does one actually find room to PUT all this stuff? lol My son got so many toys the last 2 years at Christmas and birthday that I didn't know what to do with all the other crap he has. lol So when I helped DH move to this apartment, we donated toys him and Casey weren't playing with anymore. My son is staying with my mom until the 6th and she keeps saying "well how will I know what to pack to send home with him so you don't throw it all away?"  They don't need a THOUSAND TOYS!!! If we had kept all of the toys AND brought home all of the crap mom wants to send here, both bedroom and the living room floors would be COVERED in toys.
 

I asked my mom to buy experiences (renew our museum or zoo memberships, pay for a month of dance lessons or swim lessons, take them out to a movie, etc) rather than toys this year and if she can't stick to that all toys bought will be kept at her house or she'll be making her grandkids pick what toys they already have get thrown away because we've started a one in, one out policy and that would be mean of her. ;)

Our parents have fallen into a "buy lots of stuff so I can give lots of presents, even if I'm giving crap quality!" mentality that I hate! My parents were able to lavish me with expensive gifts as a kid because a)they were together, and b) I was an only child. Neither of those conditions exist anymore. So where it wasn't uncommon for me to get 30+ quality gifts, it would be a huge strain to give each of our 3 kids even 10 quality gifts. And they don't need that many! But my parents neither one can get past the "more gifts equal more love" train of thought. So we wind up with a ton of toys that are horrible quality (MIL is the same) or just plain don't appeal to the girls, aren't appropriate for age categories, etc. Last year it wasn't two weeks into the New Year before every single toy a grandparent had bought was broken, cast aside for the toys they already had, or thrown away because the baby was choking on small parts/parts were lost, etc. 
 

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by justamama 

They said to eat as many carbs as I wanted the 3 days before the test and then I was to fast after midnight. From reading through the two super long GD threads in the general I'm Pregnant forum it seems to be common to do that. 

Isn't some of the logic behind the idea of carb loading prior to the test to not shock your body as much with the test?  Because if you were sugar-free for instance and then downed that 100g of glucose I imagine you could send your body into immediate shock.  If your body is used to processing some sugar and maybe even a bit more than usual then perhaps you would get a more accurate reading?  If you do have GD obviously this would not be great for your body, but the test would show an accurate failed result as opposed to an ambiguous skewed one.   At least that was always my thought on that idea.  Not that I support this particular test... I still strongly feel a new standard should be made that involves real food.

[dashley111]

AJBaby- so glad you found DS a school he can enjoy!  My daughter starts Kindergarten next week- she always loved preschool, but this is on a much bigger scale. 

[jbk21]

We honestly get rid of some of the stuff (super-religiousy books from my ILs, the plastic stuff with all the lights and sounds (we prefer wooden toys and stuff where Owen has to do the work, not just the press-a-button-and-BAM stuff)  Sometimes we let him play with it for a bit and then sneak it out, especially if he is really excited about it. He never notices.  He might catch on some day though.... We also rotate toys- so we'll put some up in the closet and rotate them out for older ones later so that things are always "fresh" and exciting.  That works really well for us.  

Originally Posted by IwannaBanRN 

How does one actually find room to PUT all this stuff? lol My son got so many toys the last 2 years at Christmas and birthday that I didn't know what to do with all the other crap he has. lol So when I helped DH move to this apartment, we donated toys him and Casey weren't playing with anymore. My son is staying with my mom until the 6th and she keeps saying "well how will I know what to pack to send home with him so you don't throw it all away?"  They don't need a THOUSAND TOYS!!! If we had kept all of the toys AND brought home all of the crap mom wants to send here, both bedroom and the living room floors would be COVERED in toys.
 

[Abraisme]

So far, my kids (oldest is 7yo) have not noticed that other people buy them more than we do.  They already have so much stuff, that I often can't imagine buying more just for the sake of a holiday.  I highly doubt that it will ever be an issue.  Kids like presents, they don't care where they come from  :)  I also like the idea of buying experiences.  I've often asked for memberships or help paying for violin lessons.

Also, I clear out and donate toys several times a year.  I hate feeling over-run with crappy toys that end up in a box all broken together.  I will often get rid of bags and bags of stuff just before Christmas.  I have a lot of friends with kids, so I'll often just re-gift things. 
 

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Definitely.  I appreciate the generosity (for instance, they all but cleared our limited registry for DS2... it's nice to have all the stuff) but sometimes it's a little outrageous....  My MIL is not-so-reasonable about gifts.  There are always piles and piles and piles and PILES of gifts at holidays/bdays.  I know it's a blessing, but it's also hard to balance that with our very minimalist lifestyle. Maybe this is oversensitive but I often wonder if our sons will wonder why grandma gets them SO many gifts, and we only get them 3 (albeit we buy bigger-ticket items, but still).  We also try to emphasize the importance of other aspects of holidays rather than the consumeristic side.  It's hard to balance that with ALL the gifts.

[jbk21]

I think that definitely is the logic behind it, it just makes me worry because of the "if you do have GD" part.  I'm just really sensitive about it because I think I do (still testing, argh) so I feel bad flooding baby with glucose if that's the case. 

Yes, a new standard would be amazing.  Sigh.
 

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Isn't some of the logic behind the idea of carb loading prior to the test to not shock your body as much with the test?  Because if you were sugar-free for instance and then downed that 100g of glucose I imagine you could send your body into immediate shock.  If your body is used to processing some sugar and maybe even a bit more than usual then perhaps you would get a more accurate reading?  If you do have GD obviously this would not be great for your body, but the test would show an accurate failed result as opposed to an ambiguous skewed one.   At least that was always my thought on that idea.  Not that I support this particular test... I still strongly feel a new standard should be made that involves real food.