at the YMCA nursery, you have to apply sunscreen at home

4/1/2014 2:08:16 PM

Our previous daycare would apply it as often as we directed in writing.

Our new daycare requires that we buy (and these were their words) "12-hour sunblock" at the beginning of the day.

I called them to ask where to buy this magical cream. We just put sunblock on him in the morning and hope for the best.

4/1/2014 2:39:46 PM

Childcare question:

We have a great(ish) deal with a family friend- paying 150 a week to watch our 2 year old and 2 month old for just about half the day (12-4ish). We are paying her under the table but that means we can't take exemptions on taxes... does anyone know of something better?

I just get frustrated tax time when it's a 600 dollar swing - but spread out over the year it does offer us savings.

4/9/2014 2:35:07 PM

My last nanny job looked in to doing it by the books and she told me she would have to pay a fee to make it all legal and it just wasn't worth it for the few months I was going to work. Long term you really should but my guess is your sitter's rates will have to go up if she has to pay taxes. If one of you claims and the other doesn't you might get audited.

4/9/2014 2:42:18 PM

^^ If you're paying your nanny more than $1900 a year, she is your employee. You should be paying the employer's share of Medicare, Social Security, and unemployment, as well as withholding the nanny's portion of Medicare and Social Security taxes. The taxes you pay as an employer count as qualifying expenses for the child care credit. You can also pay the nanny's portion of Medicare and Social Security yourself (no withholding) as a qualifying expense. Income tax for the nanny is completely up to her; you don't have to withhold income tax or deal with a W-4.

If you pay the nanny less than $1900 a year, there's no reason for you to not take the credit. You don't need to provide a W-2 and any income tax decisions she makes belong to her.

^ No idea what fee your previous employer was talking about. It costs nothing to get an EIN and file.

4/10/2014 2:16:11 PM

No clue either but here is a decent blog about it
http://iamemilyanne.com/2013/06/05/hiring-a-nanny-what-you-may-need-to-know-for-north-carolina/

4/10/2014 3:00:45 PM

^^^^ More to your point:

The childcare credit is at least 20% of qualified expenses.

Medicare and Social Security taxes are about 15% if you pay the nanny's half.

You're probably losing out by paying the nanny below the table.

4/10/2014 3:01:58 PM

^^ It definitely takes some extra time for record keeping. The only extra money is the employer tax, which is more than offset by the childcare tax credit. Most likely it is cheaper overall to pay the nanny above board. It's also to your advantage as the nanny--that work counts as employment for your Social Security and Medicare benefits.

[Edited on April 10, 2014 at 3:34 PM. Reason : double post Fur Elise]

4/10/2014 3:31:50 PM

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/9-gentle-parenting-hacks-that-really-work.html

4/17/2014 9:20:01 AM

I'm not certain that a raging tantrum is actually a healthy way to deal with your emotions. I discourage them as much as possible and ultra-positively reinforce when my children deal with disappointment calmly.

4/17/2014 3:40:46 PM

We used Breedlove for our Nanny taxes. It was so much more when you figured everything in....

utilities went up significantly
we ended up paying both sides of the taxes
etc.

4/23/2014 11:11:50 PM

Nicknames. This is a (small) pet peeve of mine. Our daughter's name is Madelyn, and this is what we have ALWAYS called her, yet we have certain family members who insist on calling her "Maddie" which we have purposely avoided. Has anyone had this issue? We have bluntly said "yeah, we call her Madelyn and not Maddie" but these people continue calling her this. (mostly peripheral family, not immediate)...

I don't want to be rude, but I also want her to learn and use her real name. ugh.

5/3/2014 11:20:57 PM

I'm not big on nicknames or calling your child something other than their first name. But don't worry about it. She'll learn her name and she'll use it (until she's old enough to make her own choice). What a few peripheral people call her isn't going to matter. It is what you consistently call her at home that will stick--name or nickname. My brother, Charles, was called Chuck by my parents and he has never been able to shake it. Even when he wanted to. My son, Silas, knows that his name is Silas and will now quickly tell anyone that calls him Si (a regular occurrence) that is not his name. A few people calling your kid Maddie isn't going to change her preferred name. The nicest way I've ever heard a parent reaffirm their child's name: "You know, we really haven't thought of calling her Maggie. We just call her Margaret." If you're too bent out of shape about it or let others know it really drives you crazy, some people will think you're uptight. And some will use the nickname just to get to you. We all know how obnoxious family can be about these things.

5/4/2014 1:25:01 AM

I go by my middle name. It kind of sucks. I wish my parents had called me by both names like a real southerner! In fact my mom tried to but my dad's family wouldn't follow suit. We do call our kid Charlie and his given name is Charles, but we considered putting Charlie on the birth certificate. It didn't fit well with the middle name though and we had such a hard time finding a name we both agreed on that we just went with it.

We do use pet names in our house though which probably drives people crazy. Husband is Monkey i am baby cakes Molly (the cat) is kitty or toot and baby is Biscuit.

[Edited on May 4, 2014 at 11:01 AM. Reason : .]

5/4/2014 10:59:55 AM

My son's name is Henry (after my grandfather). Sometimes when he is cranky/upset, we call him Cranky Hanky but for the most part, we call him Henry.

I figure that when he is old enough, he can choose whether or not he wants to be a Hank or a Henry.

5/5/2014 1:48:21 PM

I don't like nicknames, or going by the middle name. I very much agree with name the child whatever you're going to call it. We purposefully chose a name that had little/no nickname options. She's 21 months tomorrow, and some of the little kids in her class call her Park Park, but that's just how little kids that age say things. A couple of the teachers at her daycare will call her by her first & last though. I'm not sure why. There's not another Parker there.

5/5/2014 4:19:46 PM

Hand foot and mouth f'ing sucks.

My wife and I both got it from our 11mo. It is the worse virus I think I've ever had.

5/7/2014 8:54:52 PM

I caught it while working at a daycare. It does suck. So hard.

5/7/2014 9:00:05 PM

Its not like you can just go through a horrible fever and be done with it. Then come the sores. Next thing you know you look like a leper straight out of 12th century Europe. And they hurt. I can't swallow without being in agony.

5/7/2014 9:10:55 PM

Oh yuck! Kid had HFM but we never got it thank goodness. I remember how miserable he was that stinks y'all got it too.

5/7/2014 9:19:55 PM

I didn't think adults could get it, but apparently there's a new strain going around.

5/7/2014 9:21:12 PM

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

5/8/2014 7:21:27 AM

I caught it from my daughter a few years ago. No one else in the family had it. It was bad for me because of the blisters on my feet. Very painful to walk on. Then I lost most of my toe nails from the blisters forming in the nail bed.

5/8/2014 7:33:32 AM

I only got a few sores in my mouth but the weird wonky feeling before the sores was one of the oddest feeling I ever had.

5/8/2014 7:38:57 AM

Oh yea I forgot to mention the ones under my thumbnails...so I'm going to lose my thumbnails now?

5/8/2014 8:39:30 AM

Totally teared up when they gave Biscuit all his 2 month shots today.

5/8/2014 10:44:48 AM

Quote :

"Hand foot and mouth f'ing sucks."

no joke. we are on day 5. fortunately, my wife and i did not get it.

5/8/2014 12:58:48 PM

Our 2 year old has discovered that she has the ability to get herself out of bed and leave her room. gate was installed yesterday, but she is having a hard time staying in bed... for some reason all she wants to do is come upstairs and get in bed with mommy and daddy. Any tips for keeping the kids in their bed?

5/9/2014 1:07:11 PM

Hell, I wish my (just turned) 3 year old would get out of bed instead of sit there crying when he wakes up.

[Edited on May 9, 2014 at 2:01 PM. Reason : clarification]

5/9/2014 1:59:30 PM

Sticker chart if you think she's old enough to understand the concept. Our guy (3 in July) has always been difficult to get to sleep. When we did the toddler bed and big boy bed, he would get out and stand at the baby gate peering down the hallway at us. We would march him back and a few minutes later he'd be back. Wash rinse repeat a few times and finally he would fall asleep. A few times we'd hear him sucking his thumb and he'd be passed out on the floor at the door. (Kind of adorable, really.)

Finally. After months of pulling our hair out and him in tears for more "tents" (he likes the blankets over his head) or other toddler delay attempts (I'm thirsty etc) I made a chart. I added a few other things on there of behavior we wanted to deter. The "stay in bed" column has been a life saver. He actually stays in bed now. And he loves putting the sticker on the chart the next day. Hops around while he waits for his star.

After a week there was a period of "well what happens if I do get out?" and I would make him watch me remove a sticker. That fixed that. We've been doing a chart for about 3 months now and it's been great.

Oh, and there's a reward for filling up the column. Extra story at bedtime. He was pumped.

[Edited on May 10, 2014 at 11:53 AM. Reason : ]

5/10/2014 11:48:21 AM

I love sticker charts! Also did warm fuzzies with some kids. Basically a jar with craft pompoms. Baby food jar and big pompoms for little kids. Bigger jar and smaller pompoms as they get older. Full jar earns a reward. Earn a pompom for completing a task, lose one for not completing.

The Indian family I nannied had night lights in all three kids' rooms that looked like a sun and moon. They had a timer in them and would glow blue during sleep time and when it was time to get up they glowed yellow.

5/16/2014 11:54:00 PM

Biscuit had to have a lip tie and tongue tie cut today. I cried almost as much as he did. But breastfeeding is so much easier now!

7/3/2014 2:09:39 PM

^Did you end up going with cloth diapers?

7/4/2014 9:37:11 AM

Yes. And I've spent so much money at sweetbottoms. Thank you? Lol.

7/5/2014 4:33:39 AM

Don't worry. We still blow money there, and its been almost 14 months.

7/6/2014 11:33:09 AM

We just had a budget talk and my husband said I have to order what I need now, so I stop impulse buying.

7/6/2014 7:02:27 PM

Now my wife is into wraps and slings.

7/7/2014 6:35:22 PM

I'm not very good at wrapping. I have a ring sling and a few soft structured carriers. And a mesh ring sling for the water. Does she go to the baby wearing international meetings? They have a lending library you can use for 30 bucks a year.

7/7/2014 6:57:49 PM

No, we shy away from those meetings. She's just bought like 5 wraps online. Each one apparently has a different use. I don't do wraps - I have to draw the line somehwere. I use an ABC carrier and that's about it.

But Abby seems to really like being carried in a wrap.

Here's one she just got yesterday:

http://www.kokoskaa.com/collections/nexus/products/nexus-clark

7/8/2014 7:12:08 AM

Pretty! I have an ergo, a Boba 4g, and for later a toddler ABC. I want a Tula next, but the one I want is almost 200 dollars.

7/8/2014 8:50:57 AM

I love my Osprey Poco. I don't know how some people use the Ergo-type front carriers as much as they do.

7/9/2014 11:12:36 PM

I love my soft structured carriers, but the ergo itself is on the bottom of my list. It was my first carrier and I begrudgingly liked it if that makes sense. The Boba 4G has made me fall in love. Same concept but so much more comfortable for me and he will stay in it a long time. When he is heavier and it is cooler I am told I will love the ergo again. For around the house or quick trips my ring sling is the best. I think Biscuit prefers to be in that over anything else because he is a little short to see everything in the SSC. Downside is I have not gotten him to fall asleep in that one yet.

I checked out that ^ and I do like that kind of carrier, but I'm worried it is going to put a lot of strain on my shoulder area and neck and possibly aggravate my TMD. My sister has a kelty like that and I might borrow it before I buy one. I know it held my niece until she was 4 which is awesome.

[Edited on July 10, 2014 at 8:23 AM. Reason : .]

7/10/2014 8:18:52 AM

We have an Osprey Poco Plus. The good thing about this brand is that they're designed like their backpacks (like for backpacking, not for books/school), and are way more supportive & comfortable than others. If you've got it on properly, the bulk of the weight is carried on your hips, not your shoulders. Our backpacks are Osprey too, & because we have experience hiking with 30-40lbs in those, we stuck with Osprey. I don't like the soft body carriers or wraps. Parker is wayyyyyy too hot & so am I. She's never wanted to be worn like that, even as a newborn.

[Edited on July 10, 2014 at 8:47 AM. Reason : ]

7/10/2014 8:46:10 AM

Biscuit loves tummy to tummy time and skin to skin and we havent had a problem yet. If the bulk of the weight is on your hips does it still support well if a no hip no ass man wears it? We are still looking for a carrier that Dad is comfy in.

7/10/2014 10:36:17 AM

12 month doctors appointments are the worst. Is it really necessary to do four shots and a finger prick at the same time? Couldn't we just do two today and come back for two next week?

7/10/2014 11:31:14 AM

^^ I'm a no hip ass man and I have no problems wearing it.

[Edited on July 10, 2014 at 11:34 AM. Reason : ^^]

7/10/2014 11:33:44 AM

Thanks. Can you try them on in store?

7/10/2014 1:23:12 PM

The REI near me carries the Osprey and one or two other brands.

I don't live in North Carolina, though.

7/10/2014 2:27:29 PM

You guys should check out the ABC Carrier

7/10/2014 7:52:52 PM

We have a toddler ABC.

7/10/2014 10:58:15 PM