We got tired of the snack question too! For our snacks we created some ‘snack drawers’ that are accessible at all times to the girls (we have a basket in the fridge, a fresh fruit drawer and a cracker/ nuts etc. drawer). And they know that whatever is in the drawers is there to eat whenever they want a snack and they don’t have to ask. Our only rule is that if mom is making breakfast/ lunch/ dinner snack drawer is closed until after the meal, and they have to at least try their food that was cooked for them before they can get back into the snack drawers.
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I filled a snack basket for the fridge a couple days ago (fruit, nuts, some shelling peas), and I told the kids they could have the snacks without asking, any time unless I was cooking a meal. They’ve stopped asking for snacks (yay!) and, interestingly, for the time being they’ve pretty much stopped eating snacks. It probably confirms what I already thought: a lot of the time when they beg for snacks, they’re actually more bored than hungry. We’ll see how it continues to play out. Thanks for the idea, I wish I’d done it sooner!
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[name_f]Glad[/name_f] it worked for you!
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@auroradawn That’s a great idea! I’m glad it worked!
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My son (16 months) is now identifying 8 animals! i’ll say “where is the…” and he will bring me - giraffe, elephant, monkey, tiger, horse, cow, sheep, & pig. He also makes the sounds and (roughly) says the name of the animal! Am I the only one that gets absolutely giddy with excitement at milestones like this?!?! Knowing it was through us reading books about animals (repeating the names and sounds, pointing), playing with his animal figures (repeating the names and sounds, lining them up in a row), and general repetition, that we worked toward this milestone together 
it is the most rewarding thing in the entire world as a SAHM!!! 
Homeschool starts from birth!!!
We love the Learning Resources Jumbo Animals Sets, he has Farm & Jungle. We plan to get him Pets & Forest for Christmas this year! So many educational opportunities!! Can group them by habitat, predators vs prey, warm vs cold blooded, classifications (mammal, bird, fish, etc.), by what they eat (carnivore, omnivore, etc.) If any of you SAHM plan to homeschool like I do 10/10 recommend a quality animal set, as play is a great way to cement ideas and help memorization! Especially for males and kinesthetic learners!!
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@user10 I absolutely get giddy with every single milestone too, and want to show it off to the grandparents etc 
[name_f]My[/name_f] current excitement though is when they’re playing nicely together or reading together though, it’s soooo sweet 
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Same here!! I can’t wait for baby #2 to come, i’m sure i’ll feel the same way
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Well we have it very easy. We have 2 freezers and a pantry. We have a 12 week cooking plan. We eat ceareal or bread for beeakfast with cheese, ham or eag. Lunch normally bread too. Dinner is the warm meal.
One day each Noodles, [name_m]Rice[/name_m], [name_m]Fish[/name_m], Meat, Potatos, Sweet Meal, only vegetables.
I have a lot of vegetables in the freezer.
I shop the fruits and vegetables when the are ripe and are in season and freeze them or boil them down for the rest of the year.
We only shop in organic shops.
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I feel like the last couple of weeks have been so long… my hubby was doing long hours, so I was on my own with bub from rise til bedtime (he was leaving at 6 am and getting home at 10 pm), and now she’s sick and he can’t afford to get sick with a big work load and only two weeks to go until holidays, so I am on baby duty and he’s sleeping in the other room to try and stay germ-free. I’m so excited for [name_m]Christmas[/name_m] holidays and to have both of us home for three weeks. I love being a mum so much, but I don’t think I fully realised how long some days could be when you’re on your own as the stay-at-home-parent.
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Totally random question and not really a big deal (and maybe a little off topic for this forum) but I dont know who to ask without potentially causing hurt feelings, which I don’t want to do. So I was hoping to get some outside opinions here.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] for some background, I am the only daughter in law in our family. And in our house I do the decorating for [name_m]Christmas[/name_m]. I put up the tree and all the decorations etc. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband helps when asked but really has no interest/opinions on it, and that’s fine with me, I enjoy the decorating.
Anyway a few years ago my SIL (who I love) got a specially made [name_m]Christmas[/name_m] ornament featuring my husband and his siblings for my husband for christmas. We hung it on the tree that year and then put it in storage. We have way more ornaments then tree currently (we downsized a bit) and since my husband has no strong attachment to the ornament, and its really not mine, it hasn’t been hung on the tree since.
Recently all of my SIL’s have mentioned how they feature that ornament prominently on their trees. And I wonder if I’m being a little bit of a jerk by not putting it on our tree?
What’s the likelihood of them seeing your tree. I can tell you my parent in laws stop by during the holidays a couple times but Inhave two SILs who haven’t even stepped in our house in the 5 years we’ve lived here. The SIL and BIL who have are not the sentimental type. Maybe put it on when the sentimental people stop by to safe guard yourself from any family feeling getting hurt but if the sentimental people aren’t stopping by ever then I wouldn’t worry ever.
Hubby had ornaments passed down to him from his childhood and a couple of them had the viagra name brand on the side. Him and I both agreed sentiment or not they are remaining in storage and no person who’s visited has said a thing.
We started a tradition with our kids that each [name_m]Christmas[/name_m] their stocking has a new ornament that reflects their personality from the year. So now with our oldest being 8 and 4 kids total (plus an angel baby) our tree is mostly getting overtaken with those and Inwont be apologizing to anyone for that.
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I don’t think you’re being a jerk. If the ornament is your husband’s family and he doesn’t care about it not being on the tree, then they can hardly complain. [name_f]My[/name_f] MIL gave me an ornament, but I don’t really like it, so I hardly use it - I have no bad feelings about it at all. It’s your family tree to decorate as you like, it’s not up to extended family what you do or do not hang on it.
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I don’t think you’re being a jerk, everyone likes to decorate differently! If it were me however, I would display the ornament when they come over so their feelings don’t get hurt. I could see how that could hurt their feelings.
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@Alix2016 @user10 @_thelittlefairywren thank you! Maybe I’ll put it out for future [name_m]Christmas[/name_m], but for right now its not worth digging through the closet again
I know if I made something special like that for my sisters I’d hope they’d display it. But I don’t have any brothers so no sister in laws that way. Which means sometimes I’m a little unsure how that relationship dynamic should work. I was trying to imagine if I did have a brother would I expect my sister in law to hang it on her tree, and I don’t think I would, but I would hope my brother would care enough to want it.
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Hubby and I have been trying to think of ways we can generate more income while I stay home with the babies so we decided to start a family Youtube channel. I know it could take a long time to be monetized but I figured worse case scenario I get to rant about things that interest me I would appreciate your support!
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Does anyone else just have loud children? [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and i are both naturally very quiet, and i know i always have been.
[name_f][/name_f]But my children are loud, [name_f][/name_f] they’re the loudest at the parks, they sing their favorite songs in the middle of the grocery store. When they laugh you can hear them down the block. Is definitely not something I’m complaining about i just don’t know where this trait came from!?
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[name_f]Posy[/name_f] is so loud sometimes 
[name_f][/name_f] She expresses her feelings at the top of her voice haha 
[name_f][/name_f] Sometimes the volume feels so overwhelming!
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I recently became a SAHM due to my job being unable to offer remote work (even though the job could’ve been done remotely IMO) so I’m jumping in here to ask: when did naps/bedtime normalize for you all?
[name_f][/name_f]We had a few blissful nights of 6-8hrs of sleep last week but I have been trying to replicate it in vain since. [name_f]Baby[/name_f] boy is 10.5 weeks now and usually takes shorter naps in the AM (about 40-50mins) and longer naps in the afternoon, still going to bed later around 9-11. He’s sleeping about 4-5hrs at night right now and as far as I know he’s eating/sleeping enough during the day to warrant longer stretches at night but I just wonder if there’s something I’m not doing? I have been reading that before 12 weeks it’s pretty much a game of roulette but wanted some anecdotal input from more experienced parents lol
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@LibelluleClaire
[name_f][/name_f]I have a very loud toddler and a newborn baby (not so great a combination lol) so I definitely understand, it can feel overwhelming, all the noise. Especially as an introvert! I’m naturally quiet too so idk where it comes from! Trying to teach him when it’s acceptable to be loud vs when we need to be quiet but he doesn’t quite get it yet (or doesn’t want to lol)
@cms1512
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Welcome[/name_m] to stay at home mom club! When I was having problems getting my first to sleep on a routine at night (I forget what age, but definitely when he was a baby) my MIL advised us to try putting a little bit of baby rice cereal in the milk before bed. It knocked him out and reduced his spitting up too!!
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@cms1512[name_f][/name_f] [name_f]Baby[/name_f] sleep is very fickle! You aren’t doing anything wrong. [name_f]Posy[/name_f] is 11.5 months and has only regularly started sleeping for really long stretches (7-8 hours without wakes). She still usually wakes once at some point (she sleeps 12-13 hours total overnight). She was still waking 2-3 times a night at 9ish months. At 10 weeks, she was up every 3ish hours (if my memory serves), but sometimes would go 4-5 hours. Baby’s sleep is constantly changing because they are constantly changing. Their growth and learning has a big impact on the sleep, as well as their health, teething, etc, etc. [name_f]My[/name_f] biggest advice is to just accept it for what it is. There’s no magic answer, and just when you think you’ve got it, it changes again! 
[name_f][/name_f] Re naps: we have never had scheduled naps. [name_f]Posy[/name_f] sleeps when she’s tired, [name_f][/name_f] whether that’s at home in bed or out in the pram. I have found this works really well, because it’s very flexible and she’ll sleep anywhere. However, she’s a very low nap needs baby (she might sleep for an hour the whole day), so I understand that this approach might not work for higher sleep needs babies that desperately need multiple set naps during the day. [name_f]Roulette[/name_f] is a great word for the world of baby sleep!