u/ToxiccCookie

I’m a week on the AIP diet because my husband has Hashimoto’s and I’m doing it out of solidarity and an effort to try new things. We’ve been eating a TON of sweet potato’s because it’s easy to make and it keeps you full.

However I have ARFID which makes textures hard to deal with, and I keep getting really disgusted by it. What are your go to fill you up meals? Preferably something you can make in bulk for reheating.

We are IN the terrible twos. We are deep in the awful behavior. I’m trying so hard to keep it together but there’s certain things she’s doing that’s sending me over the edge.

People say if you keep them well fed and rested you can avoid most of the tantrums but she refuses food and refuses to sleep right now which I know is making it worse but I can’t force her to eat/sleep.

It’s gotten to the point where I just don’t want to be around her when she’s acting like this because it’s so miserable. I’m trying to be an authoritative parent (holding firm boundaries but not yelling/threatening) but I’m sliding into authoritarian because she is just constantly pushing me over the edge. I try to self regulate and calm down but as I’m trying she will just continue to find and push buttons.

The behaviors were struggling with:
- telling her to come here are she runs away. I follow her, I lead her over to me. I’m trying to talk to her to get her to help with something. She won’t I get on her level and tell her to look at me. She won’t. I try to make her look at me so we can connect and she wiggles and whines and tantrums
- she wants something. I say no because xyz. She’s upset. I say something like “it’s really frustrating to not get XYZ. I’m sorry but we are not doing that right now” cue screaming and whining and demanding it for the next hour. I don’t give in. I validate her feelings and tell her that’s not how we talk to people.
- just blatant disobedience for no reason and no consequence seems to work. She will do something she knows she shouldn’t and smile while she does it. I will tell her we don’t do that and she will just smile and do it again I will physically make her stop doing it and if possible make her help fix whatever it was. But she will flail and scream and act insane.

Things we are already doing:
- keeping her as well fed/rested as she lets us
- holding boundaries
- redirecting (doesn’t work well she doesn’t like being redirected and knows when we are doing it)
- having lots of natural correlated consequences
- physically making her follow through when we can (gently)
- give her lots of attention and positive reinforcement
- give her lots of options and let her make decisions as much as possible

I’m just at a loss. And to top it off people just keep telling me 3 is worse and I just don’t know how it gets worse from here

I am trying to get my grandma off of her super scammy Facebook style games that are filled with micro transactions, ads, and super laggy gameplay. She is constantly downloading the most ridiculous scams because of these games it’s such a problem but she loves playing them.

I just got her set up on Steam but I’m having trouble finding games for her. What she’s looking for:
- super simple/easy to understand
- games that tell her what to do/what to click
- cozy style games
- no monsters/anything that attacks her
- decorating games

I got her started on Cheeky Chooks but she got lost after placing the first chicken pen and didn’t know what to do. I’m hoping I can give her more tutorialized games.

The problem is the only games I can think of are all mobile/ad based games I don’t know of any normal computer games that provide what she’s looking for. Any help would be great! Thanks!

With it being Amazon Prime day(s?) I finally want to get a smart calendar. I’ve been eyeing them up since I have seen them but haven’t been able to commit to the purchase.

My non-negotiables:
- No subscriptions
- No ads (we had an Alexa echo show and the ads were overwhelming)
- Photo display
- Chore/to-do/reward tracker
- Meal planner/recipe book

2 smart calendars are standing out to me:

15inch Cozyla Plus 2
Pros:
- it’s essentially an android tablet and fully customizable
- can connect to recipe websites and has a beautiful built in recipe book/calendar app
- the UI looks really nice
Cons:
- Even on sale it’s $279
- it’s smaller than my current whiteboard calendar

LOOFII 21” Digital Calendar:
Pros:
- larger than my current calendar and only $170
- has a built in recipe app/calendar but it’s a bit clunky looking
Cons:
- not a tablet not really customizable
- the UI doesn’t look the best
- a lot of the reviews are for a different product?

I’m open to other suggestions but hopefully someone here can give me some advice!

I’ve been working on starting up a local mom’s group in my area. I’m thinking of ways to reach moms locally (we’re already on Facebook/Instagram) and we were just on the local news yesterday.

Anyways I had the idea to make little business cards for it and when I’m out and about and see a toddler mom handing her a card while letting her know I run a group and if she’s interested she should join us sometime. The card would be super simple with just our group name, what it is and a QR code.

Would this be weird? What would your reaction be if that happened to you in public?

I have gotten basically all of my bras from VS since I was a teen. About a year ago after having a kid and losing weight I went there, got measured, they tell me I’m a 36DD, and I buy a bra. I didn’t pay attention when I bought it but the bra is literally glued together. The fabric on the cup is literally glued to the cup instead of stitched. Over the course of the year of owning it the fabric has come unglued and it’s literally hanging on by a thread because I don’t have another bra.

I also noticed with this bra it like swallows my entire boob, there’s gaping at the top of the cup the cup is like super full coverage so it sticks out the top of some shirts.

So I go in last week, get measured and tell the lady what I’m wearing and explain the gaping and she says I’m still a 36DD and shrugs off the gaping. Whatever I grab a 36C that has stitching around the cups and not glue to see if it fits better. The cup fits perfectly. Not full coverage. The girls are plump in their seats. But the band was slightly tight. So I was like no big deal let me grab the 38C which should just increase the band size right?! NOPE! The cups are literally double the size causing the full coverage issue and gaping at the top.

So I left because I just want a bra that fits and feels good. Where do I go now?

Isa Welly is a popular Pilates instructor on YouTube who heavily focuses on beginner workouts with proper form. In the Pilates spaces she’s known for being the first place to start so you don’t injure yourself. She gives a lot of various routines that push you while constantly reminding you to stop if something doesn’t feel right or how to correct if something starts hurting.

I’m looking for the calisthenics/body weight fitness version of that for my husband. The creators he’s following are not emphasizing form and I know he’s going to hurt himself. As well as encouraging to push through all the point and go until complete failure which just isn’t healthy IMO. They are also recommending really advanced moves and saying “just do it” which is just… no.

Any advice is welcome! He’s a complete beginner and a bit out of shape so I want to make sure he’s set on the right path for success.

Essentially the title. For basically a year now my toddler doesn’t sit in the stroller much anymore. We have jeep wagon so she can sit or stand in it. She, like most I’m sure, prefers to walk around herself and cause her own chaos.

However I’ve been working on starting a mom group and I thought a good activity could be walking on a nearby trail together. I used to take my daughter there all the time to walk with my husband but I just don’t know if it’s a possibility anymore. I see other moms talking about walking miles with their toddler in the stroller and I just don’t know how you’re doing it.

ETA: if walks are not working with your toddler what other mom group activities would you recommend doing with or without a toddler?

We are in terrible 2s and I’m starting to go a little crazy. It’s like one day she woke up chose violence and hasn’t stopped. I try to practice gentle/respectful/authoritative parenting. Over the last month I’m getting worn down really bad. I’m exhausted. I can’t take the 24/7 rebellions.

It is every little thing all day and I don’t even have any rules really. I’m so easy going. I let her have autonomy and make decisions etc…

I say “get a bib please” and it’s a huge screaming fit
I say “please pick up toys” and no no no huge screaming fit. (I follow through by making her pick them up)
I say “it’s time for bed” and she’s banging and screaming that she doesn’t want to (she’s been overtired for WEEKS because she refuses to sleep)

I know it’s not manipulative and this is a normal part of development. I’m trying to always hold firm boundaries because I will NOT be a permissive parent. But I’m struggling feeling like I’m being too harsh? But at the same time I’m not belittling her, screaming, being nasty, etc.. (this is how I grew up and is normal for my family) so is a firm strong voice okay?

Please any advice is welcome.

I have a toddler and I don’t have any friends with kids and I’ve been trying to go to library events consistently but still no luck making friends. I’ve joined the Facebook groups but people just don’t show up to play dates.

I recently discovered Pillar Pittsburgh in East Liberty which seems promising but I was wondering if there’s any other hidden groups like that.