Monday!

short+sassy

@mrsconn23, I wish I could teleport some of that doughnut cake over to my desk right now, lol

@cupcait927, good luck to you, your H, and your coworker with Whole30!

@MissKittyDanger, sorry to hear about the pumpkin pie Easter casualty!  But it does sound like a funny story.  I'm intrigued at the description of a llama piggy bank.  It does sound cute and fun!

@sparklepants41, your all's dinner on Sat. sounds fantastic!  I'm going to have to try throwing some garlic and parmesan on roasted green beans.  Because garlic and parmesan is a good addition to almost anything, lol.

@6fsn, is a beer hunt like an Easter Egg hunt?  But for adults and with cans/bottles of beer hidden?  Because now I'm wondering why, in my entire life, I have never thought of something so brilliant, lol.

@charlotte989875, I'm sorry to hear your dad is being so difficult and wanting to go against medical advice.

My weekend was great!  But a LOT of work.  We still need to sign a lease...though the specific move-in date is still a little in the air...but my new tenant brought me the security deposit on Friday, so it is an almost done deal and I am very excited.  I think it will be great.  He wants extra work done to the place, including some upgrades, but he is going to chip in with both labor and expense for the upgrades.  I'm actually a bit surprised at how much he wants to do on his own dime.  But he seems very particular about the space he wants to live in (albeit p/t) and also wants it to be a showplace for when he AirBnBs it.  So far, we've loved everything he's wanted to do and are on-board.

So, Fri. and Sat., my H and I did a good bit of work to that unit.  Easter Sun., we had a marathon trip to both Home Depot and Winn Dixie (grocery store).  The whole thing took a few hours and we were exhausted when we got home.  My H is continuing with the laundry list for that unit today.  I'm at work but feeling horrible.  Ugh.  I went to bed too late and then randomly woke-up at 5AM.  So, I'm exhausted.  Plus it is that "time of the month".  I took two Naproxen Sodiums at 5AM and usually that works great.  But this time around they might as well have been sugar pills.  My backache and cramps have not abated in the slightest.  Super rare for me, but I think I'm going to peace out at lunch.  I just can't hang today with a double whammy of tiredness and pain.

MissKittyDanger

@TrixieJess M is off for 4 weeks after she's born, and I may take a page from your book - let him do his thing. I feel like it won't be easy, but 100% necessary

MissKittyDanger

@short+sassy  I will post a photo soon. I thought it was a sheep at first {didn't see it in the bag properly} then I pulled it out and realized it was a llama :') 

TrixieJess

MissKittyDanger said:

@TrixieJess M is off for 4 weeks after she's born, and I may take a page from your book - let him do his thing. I feel like it won't be easy, but 100% necessary

FI would take DS from me and I would shower, sleep, eat with both hands, trust me, it will be awesome for all of you. I would come out of the bedroom and there would be a movie on and they would be asleep together on the couch or baby would be in the bassinet and daddy on couch. It was great. 

MissKittyDanger

TrixieJess said:

MissKittyDanger said:

@TrixieJess M is off for 4 weeks after she's born, and I may take a page from your book - let him do his thing. I feel like it won't be easy, but 100% necessary

FI would take DS from me and I would shower, sleep, eat with both hands, trust me, it will be awesome for all of you. I would come out of the bedroom and there would be a movie on and they would be asleep together on the couch or baby would be in the bassinet and daddy on couch. It was great. 

I would probably cry if I saw that.
I've seen M fall asleep with Angel curled up by him and got emotional lol

short+sassy

Jen4948 said:

Almost didn't get my paycheck. Caught a nasty cold and my bank cleared items in the wrong order, causing an overdraft. Have to eat Passover food the rest of this week.

Aside from that, doing just fine.

Just as a shout-out to everyone, most banks put largest debit items first for charges that come in on the same business day.  So, if it happens on a day with a "user error" , and the account is going to OD, the bank will charge an NSF fee for EVERYTHING that comes through that day...instead of just the ONE large item that ODs the account.

I had a really bad experience with that a number of years ago and it totally changed the way I do my banking.  It was on a day where I was running around doing a bunch of errands.  Just swiping my debit card for everything.  $5, $10...all these small and dumb little purchases.  With one large purchase done at the end of the day.  I'd screwed up my accounting and was short $40 (something like that).  The bank paid everything, but charged me EIGHT NSF fees, when it was really just the one large purchase that OD'd me.  They reimbursed half of them, but still.

Ever since then, I rarely use my debit card to make any purchases.  Since I can't change the order in which they run my stuff through, I also always demand a note on my account that, if something comes in and I'm short, bounce it.  Do NOT pay it as a "courtesy".  Because I don't appreciate "courtesies" that cost me hundreds of dollars in fees.

MissKittyDanger

short+sassy said:

Jen4948 said:

Almost didn't get my paycheck. Caught a nasty cold and my bank cleared items in the wrong order, causing an overdraft. Have to eat Passover food the rest of this week.

Aside from that, doing just fine.

Just as a shout-out to everyone, most banks put largest debit items first for charges that come in on the same business day.  So, if it happens on a day with a "user error" , and the account is going to OD, the bank will charge an NSF fee for EVERYTHING that comes through that day...instead of just the ONE large item that ODs the account.

I had a really bad experience with that a number of years ago and it totally changed the way I do my banking.  It was on a day where I was running around doing a bunch of errands.  Just swiping my debit card for everything.  $5, $10...all these small and dumb little purchases.  With one large purchase done at the end of the day.  I'd screwed up my accounting and was short $40 (something like that).  The bank paid everything, but charged me EIGHT NSF fees, when it was really just the one large purchase that OD'd me.  They reimbursed half of them, but still.

Ever since then, I rarely use my debit card to make any purchases.  Since I can't change the order in which they run my stuff through, I also always demand a note on my account that, if something comes in and I'm short, bounce it.  Do NOT pay it as a "courtesy".  Because I don't appreciate "courtesies" that cost me hundreds of dollars in fees.

Wtf that's insane!!

6fsn

MissKittyDanger said:

@TrixieJess M is off for 4 weeks after she's born, and I may take a page from your book - let him do his thing. I feel like it won't be easy, but 100% necessary

YES!  Let him figure it out!!  Leave him alone and let him do things his way.  It may not be YOUR way, but that's ok.  I promise it will be so much better for everyone if you let it go.

banana468

@OliveOilsMom does your daycare or pedi's office have a requirement of when kiddo can return to daycare?  

Our pedi generally says kiddo stops being contagious after the fever breaks.   The rash sucks but it's such a pain in the ass (possibly literally) if they say that you can't return until the blisters heal because well - that's a long freaking time. 

Kiddo illnesses suck - especially those you can't vaccinate for like HFM. 

kvruns

banana468 said:

@OliveOilsMom does your daycare or pedi's office have a requirement of when kiddo can return to daycare?  

Our pedi generally says kiddo stops being contagious after the fever breaks.   The rash sucks but it's such a pain in the ass (possibly literally) if they say that you can't return until the blisters heal because well - that's a long freaking time. 

Kiddo illnesses suck - especially those you can't vaccinate for like HFM. 

good point. My Dr office said they aren't contagious when fever breaks (which I'm not sure I believed since B's fever was over on Monday and I didn't show any signs until Saturday) but daycare said if there were weeping blisters they couldn't return since that also makes it contagious. I know I probably could have brought B back sooner since his weren't weeping but I was nervous he'd get sent home

OliveOilsMom

@Banana468 - Pedi office says she can go back after no fever for 24 hours.  Daycare wants her gone for 7-10 days since they are technically contagious the whole time.  Since it was a Friday, it will be 10 days next Monday.  Thankfully we have understanding jobs.  H was already off today and will be home the next 2 days.  I will stay home Thur & Fri to WFH and take care of DD. 

Good news is that H called daycare this morning and they are letting us use this week as one of the vacation weeks they give.  So we won't have to pay for this week.  We only have one other vacation scheduled for the year where we will need the other week, so it will work out fine.  With Hawaii potentially scheduled for Jan 2019, we won't be taking a larger vacation in the fall this year.

Now I'm more worried I may catch it!  My little baby bird always comes up to try things I am eating.  We often share my fork too.  I did it on Friday night, not even realizing it.  I am keeping an extra utensil nearby for when I eat so she can still taste things.  Sometimes we all eat together and the same things, so its NBD.  But sometimes we give her a little Gerber meal prior to our dinner.  And even though she ate a lot of her dinner, she still wants to try our meal.

banana468

OliveOilsMom said:

@Banana468 - Pedi office says she can go back after no fever for 24 hours.  Daycare wants her gone for 7-10 days since they are technically contagious the whole time.  Since it was a Friday, it will be 10 days next Monday.  Thankfully we have understanding jobs.  H was already off today and will be home the next 2 days.  I will stay home Thur & Fri to WFH and take care of DD. 

Good news is that H called daycare this morning and they are letting us use this week as one of the vacation weeks they give.  So we won't have to pay for this week.  We only have one other vacation scheduled for the year where we will need the other week, so it will work out fine.  With Hawaii potentially scheduled for Jan 2019, we won't be taking a larger vacation in the fall this year.

Now I'm more worried I may catch it!  My little baby bird always comes up to try things I am eating.  We often share my fork too.  I did it on Friday night, not even realizing it.  I am keeping an extra utensil nearby for when I eat so she can still taste things.  Sometimes we all eat together and the same things, so its NBD.  But sometimes we give her a little Gerber meal prior to our dinner.  And even though she ate a lot of her dinner, she still wants to try our meal.

Ugh - that's honestly a pain in the ass policy so thankfully they do give you the option to take that as an unpaid week.   I would be SO VOCAL if they did that at ours.   I'm not a fan of sending a sick kid to school but 7-10 days is nearly two weeks!   That's insane.   My daughter had HFM last year.   No fever and ONE sore in the mouth.   Ugh.

TrixieJess

banana468 said:

OliveOilsMom said:

@Banana468 - Pedi office says she can go back after no fever for 24 hours.  Daycare wants her gone for 7-10 days since they are technically contagious the whole time.  Since it was a Friday, it will be 10 days next Monday.  Thankfully we have understanding jobs.  H was already off today and will be home the next 2 days.  I will stay home Thur & Fri to WFH and take care of DD. 

Good news is that H called daycare this morning and they are letting us use this week as one of the vacation weeks they give.  So we won't have to pay for this week.  We only have one other vacation scheduled for the year where we will need the other week, so it will work out fine.  With Hawaii potentially scheduled for Jan 2019, we won't be taking a larger vacation in the fall this year.

Now I'm more worried I may catch it!  My little baby bird always comes up to try things I am eating.  We often share my fork too.  I did it on Friday night, not even realizing it.  I am keeping an extra utensil nearby for when I eat so she can still taste things.  Sometimes we all eat together and the same things, so its NBD.  But sometimes we give her a little Gerber meal prior to our dinner.  And even though she ate a lot of her dinner, she still wants to try our meal.

Ugh - that's honestly a pain in the ass policy so thankfully they do give you the option to take that as an unpaid week.   I would be SO VOCAL if they did that at ours.   I'm not a fan of sending a sick kid to school but 7-10 days is nearly two weeks!   That's insane.   My daughter had HFM last year.   No fever and ONE sore in the mouth.   Ugh.

I remember when this went around when my brother was a toddler. Ugh. Thankfully my son has not had it yet (note yet). He did have lice at the beginning of the school year, but from what every teacher and parent told me, it's basically a rite of passage for Kindergarteners. 

ILoveBeachMusic

We had a great weekend. Cousins were in town for DD's baby shower and Easter. The shower was lots of fun with people from different phases of DD's life. I love seeing her high school friends with whom she has stayed in contact. She gots lots of needed things. Oh the cute little clothes!!!  She is doing pretty well - just tired and dealing with swelling feet and ankles.

I feel as if I was cooking all weekend though. Luckily H grilled Saturday evening and fixed the Easter ham on the grill. I did the sides. We went to church and had dinner shortly afterwards so that everyone could get back to their respective homes. I love having a full house but was exhausted last night after cleaning up. My head hit the pillow I didn't budge until 6:00 this morning!

OliveOilsMom

banana468 said:

OliveOilsMom said:

@Banana468 - Pedi office says she can go back after no fever for 24 hours.  Daycare wants her gone for 7-10 days since they are technically contagious the whole time.  Since it was a Friday, it will be 10 days next Monday.  Thankfully we have understanding jobs.  H was already off today and will be home the next 2 days.  I will stay home Thur & Fri to WFH and take care of DD. 

Good news is that H called daycare this morning and they are letting us use this week as one of the vacation weeks they give.  So we won't have to pay for this week.  We only have one other vacation scheduled for the year where we will need the other week, so it will work out fine.  With Hawaii potentially scheduled for Jan 2019, we won't be taking a larger vacation in the fall this year.

Now I'm more worried I may catch it!  My little baby bird always comes up to try things I am eating.  We often share my fork too.  I did it on Friday night, not even realizing it.  I am keeping an extra utensil nearby for when I eat so she can still taste things.  Sometimes we all eat together and the same things, so its NBD.  But sometimes we give her a little Gerber meal prior to our dinner.  And even though she ate a lot of her dinner, she still wants to try our meal.

Ugh - that's honestly a pain in the ass policy so thankfully they do give you the option to take that as an unpaid week.   I would be SO VOCAL if they did that at ours.   I'm not a fan of sending a sick kid to school but 7-10 days is nearly two weeks!   That's insane.   My daughter had HFM last year.   No fever and ONE sore in the mouth.   Ugh.

The 7-10 days is calendar days and not daycare days at least.  But I'm right there with you!

CharmedPam

I'm back from my weekend with the parents.  I gained 3 lbs in 4 days probably from eating the wrong things - not over eating.  Even worked out like mad too!  So yeah, even with weight loss surgery, the struggle is sill real

I stopped using my debit card awhile ago, but mostly because I like the credit card points.  Keeping up cc payments can be difficult at times, I do try to pay them 2x a month though.

@short+sassy, I saw an article on facebook this weekend about walgreens (or maybe cvs) sending info to HIV patients that basically said they were HIV patients from the envelope so now there's a lawsuit.  It reminded me of your diabetes debacle from your health insurance! 

@cupcait927, everyone I know loves whole30.  GL!

levioosa

Ugh. HFMD is the worst. I’m sorry! 

@charlotte989875 I know how you feel. Even when my brother has been sober it’s still the same asshole personality. Addict, just short the substances/alcohol. And god forbid they ever take responsibility for anything. I’m sorry you’re going through that. 

I woke up early and started to look for clinical sites. I drove an hour to be told that the doctor I was trying to see was still out of office, which I suspect to be a lie. The second place I tried said they would take me. I’m so relieved and also so terrified it will fall through again. I feel kind of nauseous and scared to hope. I’m trying really hard to be positive. I’m showing up in person at school tomorrow to get them to process the paperwork so I can start ASAP. They’re closed today which, of course. 

I made it through the weekend. The baby shower was a little rough for me. Last week was seriously awful, and I had no small talk left in me. The shower was all people I haven’t seen in 3-5 years so small talk central. And I was reminded again that I really am not a kid person. Like I was actively uncomfortable being around so many children/babies. 

Yesterday was a cluster at work. But I made it through. My friend asked me to dinner but I just needed to sleep. Of course Jack was an unholy terror last night with his dumb turkey sounds as he repeatedly ran over me in bed. But other than that I’m trying to take deep breaths and relax. Things might work out. 

banana468

Happy Monday!

We had a late-ish night yesterday and didn't get home from Easter until 9:30.   DH told me IN THE CAR RIDE HOME that he was headed to the auto show today.   I don't really care although that's going to be two nights this week I'm on dinner and tuck-in duty without him.   Friday's my birthday and I don't think we're going out but he will be on dinner prep duty since our tradition is that we don't cook on our birthdays.  I always ask him to make me a cake but in the course of our 14 year relationship he hasn't baked anything.  At this point it's more of a dare. 

Starting to put the final touches on DD's First Communion weekend.   After the debacle with BIL at Christmas I'm asking DH to basically draw lines in the sand with his brother on what we are planning.   I have no intention of cooking the night before so I want to lay out now that if they decide to take a tour of Manhattan before showing up at our home that's fine - but I'm not turning a home set up for a party upside down to feed 5 people when we arranged for a family dinner at a local restaurant. 

Now we just need to find a dress!   Chiquita is picky and after trying on dresses Saturday the only one she liked was so sheer I could see her undies.   NOPE NOPE NOPE.   Time to start looking at other places for a dress! 

short+sassy

Y'all.  I freakin' swear.  I just can't win for losing.

Just when everything was looking up, financially, I'm totally screwed over again.

So, as discussed a little earlier, my H has a s**t ton of work to do between our rental unit next door and our Section 8 unit that has the re-inspection next week.

And he just threw his arm out of its socket.  Which is probably going to mean no work today or tomorrow and light work for the next few days.

But, worse than that, it's an ambulance ride.  And an ER visit.

Technically, he has medical insurance through my work.  But they pay absolutely nothing until we've hit our $13K or $16K deductible.  I don't even remember what astronomical number it is.  So this little "incident" is going to cost me 2-4 F**King GRAND out-of-pocket.

I am so upset.  I am so disgusted at how much money this is going to be.  I am so livid...not at him...just at life, in general.

And I'm probably also going to have to waste more money on hiring people to pick up the slack on the repairs we need made over the next week.

I know I don't sound very sympathetic to my H.  Of course, I'm sorry he's in pain.  He's done this before, though it's been over 5 years since the last time.  But, other than it being really painful for the next 1-2 hours.  It isn't a big deal.  It's just stupidly expensive.

I'm going to go crawl back in my corner now (sigh).  I was just about to send a word out to the big boss that I was going home because I didn't feel well.  But now I just feel like sulking, so I might as well get some work done.

Funny enough, it wasn't my H who told me.  I'm not supposed to "know" yet.  It was our friend, who was working over there with him, that called.  He's such a good person.  He assured me he was going to put everything away and that he had already put Izzy (our dog), on our side of the house.   

CharmedPam

short+sassy said:

Y'all.  I freakin' swear.  I just can't win for losing.

Just when everything was looking up, financially, I'm totally screwed over again.

So, as discussed a little earlier, my H has a s**t ton of work to do between our rental unit next door and our Section 8 unit that has the re-inspection next week.

And he just threw his arm out of its socket.  Which is probably going to mean no work today or tomorrow and light work for the next few days.

But, worse than that, it's an ambulance ride.  And an ER visit.

Technically, he has medical insurance through my work.  But they pay absolutely nothing until we've hit our $13K or $16K deductible.  I don't even remember what astronomical number it is.  So this little "incident" is going to cost me 2-4 F**King GRAND out-of-pocket.

I am so upset.  I am so disgusted at how much money this is going to be.  I am so livid...not at him...just at life, in general.

And I'm probably also going to have to waste more money on hiring people to pick up the slack on the repairs we need made over the next week.

I know I don't sound very sympathetic to my H.  Of course, I'm sorry he's in pain.  He's done this before, though it's been over 5 years since the last time.  But, other than it being really painful for the next 1-2 hours.  It isn't a big deal.  It's just stupidly expensive.

I'm going to go crawl back in my corner now (sigh).  I was just about to send a word out to the big boss that I was going home because I didn't feel well.  But now I just feel like sulking, so I might as well get some work done.

Funny enough, it wasn't my H who told me.  I'm not supposed to "know" yet.  It was our friend, who was working over there with him, that called.  He's such a good person.  He assured me he was going to put everything away and that he had already put Izzy (our dog), on our side of the house.   

oh no! sorry to hear that.  i'd be mad too.  But mad at our lousy insurance system.  the deductibles are crazy high.

short+sassy

@CharmedPam, Interesting!  That's EXACTLY what happened to me, except with diabetes.  I should sue United Healthcare for enough to cover my H's soon-to-be coming OOP healthcare expenses.  Haha.  I was already planning to place an order for more of my insulin pens tomorrow.  That's another $1400, OOP, smh.  But at least an expected one.

@levioosa, extra crossing my fingers for you that the clinic you just found will work out!

TrixieJess

short+sassy said:

Y'all.  I freakin' swear.  I just can't win for losing.

Just when everything was looking up, financially, I'm totally screwed over again.

So, as discussed a little earlier, my H has a s**t ton of work to do between our rental unit next door and our Section 8 unit that has the re-inspection next week.

And he just threw his arm out of its socket.  Which is probably going to mean no work today or tomorrow and light work for the next few days.

But, worse than that, it's an ambulance ride.  And an ER visit.

Technically, he has medical insurance through my work.  But they pay absolutely nothing until we've hit our $13K or $16K deductible.  I don't even remember what astronomical number it is.  So this little "incident" is going to cost me 2-4 F**King GRAND out-of-pocket.

I am so upset.  I am so disgusted at how much money this is going to be.  I am so livid...not at him...just at life, in general.

And I'm probably also going to have to waste more money on hiring people to pick up the slack on the repairs we need made over the next week.

I know I don't sound very sympathetic to my H.  Of course, I'm sorry he's in pain.  He's done this before, though it's been over 5 years since the last time.  But, other than it being really painful for the next 1-2 hours.  It isn't a big deal.  It's just stupidly expensive.

I'm going to go crawl back in my corner now (sigh).  I was just about to send a word out to the big boss that I was going home because I didn't feel well.  But now I just feel like sulking, so I might as well get some work done.

Funny enough, it wasn't my H who told me.  I'm not supposed to "know" yet.  It was our friend, who was working over there with him, that called.  He's such a good person.  He assured me he was going to put everything away and that he had already put Izzy (our dog), on our side of the house.   

Holy Shit! We get mad because in Ontario there's an ambulance co-pay, ($45 if medically necessary, $240 if not). The Emerg visit is automatically covered so long as you're a resident. 

@levioosa - I really hope your new placement works out. *fingers crossed*

redwoodoriginal

@short+sassy ouch. Those extra expenses that just pop up are the worst. ESP when they’re bc insurance can be so so shitty. 

@MissKittyDanger so I actually did most of the grocery shopping with N while I was on leave and now we either split it and one of us goes w N on our day off or we go as a family on the weekend. If he was sleeping (or awake as a newbie) in the seat, I’d put the seat in the stroller and use a basket for putting groceries in or in the basket under the stroller. If he was awake I’d put him in our carrier (baby bjorn) and go around the store w him facing out (once he was big enough to forward face) so he’d be looking around and seeing things and push a cart. Nowadays, he’s 7mo and I plop him in the cart seat and he loves grocery shopping bc it’s a new and exciting place with lots of people to stare at. It’s  not that hard, but at times it felt incredibly overwhelming. But once I got out and just did it, I’d be like “phew!” Not so bad!! A few times I’d nurse him in the car before heading home or before going in, if it was close to feeding time, or id always take an extra bottle in his diaper bag just in case. You’ll figure it out.

And seriously- get that drivers license! And get comfortable driving NOW. the sooner the better. 

kvruns

@short+sassy oh no that sounds awful - both for him and financially.  As for Out of Pocket maximums, the ACA limits an individual to $7350, which means even though your family deductible might be $12K, you wouldn't be subject to more than $7350 for his stuff for the year.  I know that is still a ton of money but slightly better than $12K. 

TrixieJess

redwoodoriginal said:

@short+sassy ouch. Those extra expenses that just pop up are the worst. ESP when they’re bc insurance can be so so shitty. 

@MissKittyDanger so I actually did most of the grocery shopping with N while I was on leave and now we either split it and one of us goes w N on our day off or we go as a family on the weekend. If he was sleeping (or awake as a newbie) in the seat, I’d put the seat in the stroller and use a basket for putting groceries in or in the basket under the stroller. If he was awake I’d put him in our carrier (baby bjorn) and go around the store w him facing out (once he was big enough to forward face) so he’d be looking around and seeing things and push a cart. Nowadays, he’s 7mo and I plop him in the cart seat and he loves grocery shopping bc it’s a new and exciting place with lots of people to stare at. It’s  not that hard, but at times it felt incredibly overwhelming. But once I got out and just did it, I’d be like “phew!” Not so bad!! A few times I’d nurse him in the car before heading home or before going in, if it was close to feeding time, or id always take an extra bottle in his diaper bag just in case. You’ll figure it out.

And seriously- get that drivers license! And get comfortable driving NOW. the sooner the better. 

This all depends on how urban of an area you live in. FI nor I have licenses and we don't need them. Everything is within walking distance or a quick bus ride. We can get out of town on trains or planes. 

If you live in a more rural or suburban area then yeah, a car is a must, but urban, not so much. 

STARMOON44

TrixieJess said:

redwoodoriginal said:

@short+sassy ouch. Those extra expenses that just pop up are the worst. ESP when they’re bc insurance can be so so shitty. 

@MissKittyDanger so I actually did most of the grocery shopping with N while I was on leave and now we either split it and one of us goes w N on our day off or we go as a family on the weekend. If he was sleeping (or awake as a newbie) in the seat, I’d put the seat in the stroller and use a basket for putting groceries in or in the basket under the stroller. If he was awake I’d put him in our carrier (baby bjorn) and go around the store w him facing out (once he was big enough to forward face) so he’d be looking around and seeing things and push a cart. Nowadays, he’s 7mo and I plop him in the cart seat and he loves grocery shopping bc it’s a new and exciting place with lots of people to stare at. It’s  not that hard, but at times it felt incredibly overwhelming. But once I got out and just did it, I’d be like “phew!” Not so bad!! A few times I’d nurse him in the car before heading home or before going in, if it was close to feeding time, or id always take an extra bottle in his diaper bag just in case. You’ll figure it out.

And seriously- get that drivers license! And get comfortable driving NOW. the sooner the better. 

This all depends on how urban of an area you live in. FI nor I have licenses and we don't need them. Everything is within walking distance or a quick bus ride. We can get out of town on trains or planes. 

If you live in a more rural or suburban area then yeah, a car is a must, but urban, not so much. 

I’m team drivers license all the way. Even in NYC, you never go anywhere you need a car? Ever? It’s such a fundamental life skill. To me it’s like swimming. Even if you aren’t going to do it every day or even often, it’s valuable to know how. 

TrixieJess

STARMOON44 said:

TrixieJess said:

redwoodoriginal said:

@short+sassy ouch. Those extra expenses that just pop up are the worst. ESP when they’re bc insurance can be so so shitty. 

@MissKittyDanger so I actually did most of the grocery shopping with N while I was on leave and now we either split it and one of us goes w N on our day off or we go as a family on the weekend. If he was sleeping (or awake as a newbie) in the seat, I’d put the seat in the stroller and use a basket for putting groceries in or in the basket under the stroller. If he was awake I’d put him in our carrier (baby bjorn) and go around the store w him facing out (once he was big enough to forward face) so he’d be looking around and seeing things and push a cart. Nowadays, he’s 7mo and I plop him in the cart seat and he loves grocery shopping bc it’s a new and exciting place with lots of people to stare at. It’s  not that hard, but at times it felt incredibly overwhelming. But once I got out and just did it, I’d be like “phew!” Not so bad!! A few times I’d nurse him in the car before heading home or before going in, if it was close to feeding time, or id always take an extra bottle in his diaper bag just in case. You’ll figure it out.

And seriously- get that drivers license! And get comfortable driving NOW. the sooner the better. 

This all depends on how urban of an area you live in. FI nor I have licenses and we don't need them. Everything is within walking distance or a quick bus ride. We can get out of town on trains or planes. 

If you live in a more rural or suburban area then yeah, a car is a must, but urban, not so much. 

I’m team drivers license all the way. Even in NYC, you never go anywhere you need a car? Ever? It’s such a fundamental life skill. To me it’s like swimming. Even if you aren’t going to do it every day or even often, it’s valuable to know how. 

More and more people in my age group and younger are opting to not drive. I'd say 3/5 people I know don't drive. 

STARMOON44

TrixieJess said:

STARMOON44 said:

TrixieJess said:

redwoodoriginal said:

@short+sassy ouch. Those extra expenses that just pop up are the worst. ESP when they’re bc insurance can be so so shitty. 

@MissKittyDanger so I actually did most of the grocery shopping with N while I was on leave and now we either split it and one of us goes w N on our day off or we go as a family on the weekend. If he was sleeping (or awake as a newbie) in the seat, I’d put the seat in the stroller and use a basket for putting groceries in or in the basket under the stroller. If he was awake I’d put him in our carrier (baby bjorn) and go around the store w him facing out (once he was big enough to forward face) so he’d be looking around and seeing things and push a cart. Nowadays, he’s 7mo and I plop him in the cart seat and he loves grocery shopping bc it’s a new and exciting place with lots of people to stare at. It’s  not that hard, but at times it felt incredibly overwhelming. But once I got out and just did it, I’d be like “phew!” Not so bad!! A few times I’d nurse him in the car before heading home or before going in, if it was close to feeding time, or id always take an extra bottle in his diaper bag just in case. You’ll figure it out.

And seriously- get that drivers license! And get comfortable driving NOW. the sooner the better. 

This all depends on how urban of an area you live in. FI nor I have licenses and we don't need them. Everything is within walking distance or a quick bus ride. We can get out of town on trains or planes. 

If you live in a more rural or suburban area then yeah, a car is a must, but urban, not so much. 

I’m team drivers license all the way. Even in NYC, you never go anywhere you need a car? Ever? It’s such a fundamental life skill. To me it’s like swimming. Even if you aren’t going to do it every day or even often, it’s valuable to know how. 

More and more people in my age group and younger are opting to not drive. I'd say 3/5 people I know don't drive. 

How old are you? I have a couple friends who can’t drive and it’s been a real problem when those rare occasions come up! I’m in the US though, I’m sure it’s different other places. 

TrixieJess

STARMOON44 said:

TrixieJess said:

STARMOON44 said:

TrixieJess said:

redwoodoriginal said:

@short+sassy ouch. Those extra expenses that just pop up are the worst. ESP when they’re bc insurance can be so so shitty. 

@MissKittyDanger so I actually did most of the grocery shopping with N while I was on leave and now we either split it and one of us goes w N on our day off or we go as a family on the weekend. If he was sleeping (or awake as a newbie) in the seat, I’d put the seat in the stroller and use a basket for putting groceries in or in the basket under the stroller. If he was awake I’d put him in our carrier (baby bjorn) and go around the store w him facing out (once he was big enough to forward face) so he’d be looking around and seeing things and push a cart. Nowadays, he’s 7mo and I plop him in the cart seat and he loves grocery shopping bc it’s a new and exciting place with lots of people to stare at. It’s  not that hard, but at times it felt incredibly overwhelming. But once I got out and just did it, I’d be like “phew!” Not so bad!! A few times I’d nurse him in the car before heading home or before going in, if it was close to feeding time, or id always take an extra bottle in his diaper bag just in case. You’ll figure it out.

And seriously- get that drivers license! And get comfortable driving NOW. the sooner the better. 

This all depends on how urban of an area you live in. FI nor I have licenses and we don't need them. Everything is within walking distance or a quick bus ride. We can get out of town on trains or planes. 

If you live in a more rural or suburban area then yeah, a car is a must, but urban, not so much. 

I’m team drivers license all the way. Even in NYC, you never go anywhere you need a car? Ever? It’s such a fundamental life skill. To me it’s like swimming. Even if you aren’t going to do it every day or even often, it’s valuable to know how. 

More and more people in my age group and younger are opting to not drive. I'd say 3/5 people I know don't drive. 

How old are you? I have a couple friends who can’t drive and it’s been a real problem when those rare occasions come up!

I'm 40 and my friends all range from 25-40. We live in an area that has an integrated transit system and Uber and taxis are readily available. 

ETA: it takes 2-5 years to be a licensed driver once you turn 16 and a couple of hundred dollars. Most people who I know who have gotten their license haven't started until their twenties because you can't drive on highways by yourself until you are over 19 anyway. 

6fsn

19 to drive on a highway?!