My daughter is 4 months old and I have 12 weeks of parental leave available. Company policy lets me use it anytime in the first year. Wife's suggesting I take it all at once when she goes back at 6 months so she gets breathing room. But I'm thinking about spreading it - like 2 days a week for 6 mont...
Which is great! I'm genuinely proud of her. But also... she's now working 50-55 hour weeks and traveling monthly. We had a pretty even split on kid stuff but that's about to get a lot less even. I'm planning to adjust my schedule but realistically it means less time on my own projects and more dayca...
Found a place near us that does open studio nights. Super cheap, kids just paint pre-made pieces, and they get glazed and fired. My kids go absolutely nuts for it and we get actual finished products to take home. They get displayed proudly and it's honestly less mess than I expected. Has anyone foun...
I'm not even mad, I'm impressed and terrified. He essentially brute-forced his way past Bark because apparently it updates and there was a window where it wasn't configured right. Now I don't know what he's been looking at when I thought he was blocked. Talked to him about why the controls were ther...
Planning a 10-hour drive to visit my parents with kids aged 4, 7, and 10. Last time we did this we stopped like 8 times and I wanted to scream. Looking for actual realistic strategies here - not "just be positive" stuff lol. Downloaded some audiobooks but what else? Are those tablet holders worth it...
So my crew and I used to do PC gaming nights pretty regular, like 2-3 times a week. Now apparently everyone's switching to PS5 because their kids want to play together or whatever. I'm not dropping that money just to play with them occasionally. Guess that era is over. Miss it actually.
Looking into it as an option. Seems like it could be cheaper than our daycare and maybe more flexible? But also kind of nervous about the whole thing. You're basically hiring a random person to watch your kid in someone else's house. Would love to hear if anyone's done this - what should I be asking...
We did this last month with some cedar boards from Home Depot and honestly I was expecting it to fall apart by now. Kid helped measure (badly lol) and hammer nails. It's a little crooked but we've got tomatoes and peppers actually growing in there. She checks on it every single day. Might actually d...
Thought it would be great for family bonding. Brought the kids ages 7, 10, and 12 for a long weekend. No screens, just nature time. Turns out my oldest was BORED and my 7yo got anxious not having his usual wind-down time with screen stuff. We lasted till Sunday afternoon before I caved and let them ...
Got transferred to our Boston office last month and the 90-minute commute each way is absolutely wrecking us. I leave at 7am, don't get home til 6:15pm, kids are already at that weird overstimulated stage. My 8yo cries when I leave in the morning now. I could try to transfer back to the Pittsburgh o...
My wife wants to stay home. We have a 2yo and she's been WFH but wants to fully step back. Sounds amazing - less childcare costs, less stress, one person managing the household. But here's the math: her salary is $78k. Daycare would be $15-18k/year (less than her salary but our high-deductible heal...
OK so I started a dropshipping thing about 8 months ago thinking I'd make some extra cash. It's actually doing OK - maybe $1,200/month profit right now. But guys... I'm spending 10+ hours a week on it on top of my regular job. My wife is rightfully pissed because my 'free time' that used to be spen...
Running this thing in the evenings/weekends for about 4 months now. It's basically nothing money-wise but it's actually working? Selling niche coffee gear to people online. Not delusional about quitting my job over it, but it's kind of cool to have this separate thing that's mine, you know? Like a...
8yo is into nature stuff so looking for apps that teach about animals, ecology, that kind of thing. Not one of those "educational games" that's just math flashcards disguised with cartoony graphics. Something actually engaging where he'll learn without realizing it. Recommendations? He's on iPad so ...
I'm drowning. 50hr weeks, two kids, wife works 40hrs. We're both exhausted. I'm doing the "stress relief" tips (meditation, exercise) but honestly those feel like band-aids on a bullet wound. Maybe the real fix is structural - like reducing hours or changing jobs entirely. But that feels irresponsi...