what's saving my life (vol. 6)
1) Trader Joe's. prior to this week, I hadn't set foot in a Trader Joe's in years. the closest ones to me are at least a twenty-minute drive (as opposed to Giant Eagle and Aldi which are ten minutes away), and since they don't offer curbside pickup or delivery, I couldn't even peruse their offerings to decide if I wanted to pay a visit. but Greta has been asking me to pick up these PB&J snacks that her friends bring to school, and I keep hearing about amazing products TJ's offers (mostly from the hilarious Girls Next Door podcast -- every show with a TJ's mention is linked here!). for some reason, I was thinking that Trader Joe's price point was even with Whole Foods (or as it is sometimes known, Whole Paycheck), so I wasn't in a big rush to check it out.
finally, last week I had a rare pocket of time after dropping Greta off for a school event close to a TJ's location and decided to take a look around. much to my surprise, the prices were comparable or even lower to my beloved discount Aldi! and they had so many fun and unique products in addition to grocery staples like milk and eggs. I found Greta's snacks plus a few little extras. and the TJ's printed flyer is just as quirky as I remembered. it still probably won't be a weekly stop for me but I definitely will make a point to go there regularly from now on!
 |
| the haul (except for the vase in the background). I couldn't pass up that happy little flower! |
 |
| all this for $31? at the big box grocery store, I think this would have run at least $40 if not more! |
2) stroller runs. I'm sure I've complained before about the whole production of getting ready to hit up the trail with the jogging stroller. inevitably I need to pump up the tires and wipe down the stroller, pack up snacks, water and sunscreen for the babies, make sure I have my own water bottle prepped with Nuun electrolyte powder, etc, etc. sometimes I think I should just stay home and run on the treadmill while the babies nap. but I have hit upon a secret formula which is to plan the run for 11 or 11:30-ish so I can feed the kids a portable lunch (sandwiches or Lunchables, no shame in this game) that keeps them busy for far longer than individual snacks, then stop at a playground afterwards for them to get out their own wigglies, then come home and put them down for naps while I shower and have some uninterrupted quiet time afterwards. and it feels so good to get outside. I feel vindicated in my decision to get on the trails for a run every time the weather is cooperative because so often around here it isn't -- we've had torrential rains this past week, and today is dry but feels like 45 degrees with the windchill (actually perfect running weather, but not so fun for the stroller riders).
 |
| fun in a tunnel! |
3) baby steps to babysitting. Greta is finishing fifth grade at eleven and a half, and as she gets older and Elizabeth and Victoria get older, we are starting to have her watch the whole crew for short periods of time. one crucial piece of this puzzle was setting up a landline so we can easily communicate. prior to this, if she was home by herself or with Cece (which has been happening for the past year or so for up to a few hours at a time), they would use the Alexa to call me if needed. we also are very close (physically and relationally!) with our neighbors and in a true emergency situation, they have lots of help close by. but now it's easy to check in with the landline. we have a cordless handset in the family room and another handset in the upstairs hallway, and we have important phone numbers posted in the kitchen as well as programmed into the phone (they have known my number and Nick's number by heart for years, but they are still written down, along with our nextdoor neighbor and go-to sitter, Poison Control, and 911 just for visual reference!).
this past weekend, none of our usual sitters were available during the day when our friend's brother was getting married. the wedding ceremony was at noon (just before naptime for the younger ones), and it was only twenty minutes away. after discussion with Nick and Greta, we decided that Greta could stay home with the younger ones while we attended the ceremony and then I would come right back to the house until our high school-age sitter arrived later in the afternoon to stay with them during the wedding reception. Greta would feed the little ones PB&J for lunch and then put them down for their naps, so there wouldn't actually be too much hands-on supervision required. I kept my phone on vibrate and we reviewed appropriate reasons to call me. no calls were received, and at the end of the beautiful Byzantine liturgy, I stepped outside the church and called the landline. "everything's fine!" she said. and it was! so much so, that this weekend when Nick and I are invited to an adults-only dinner at our friend's house (less than a mile away), we are having her watch the little ones again. arranging babysitters has been such a frequent life stressor til now. while I still will arrange more experienced sitters for longer stretches of time, I feel like we are just steps away from a new era of parenting. (now watch, she's going to start getting hired out to babysit for other families and I'll be back in the same boat!)
4) the Peloton app. I don't have a fancy Peloton bike or treadmill, but I've been loving their app that has thousands of workouts from outdoor running to treadmill to strength training to meditation/sleep and stretching. the music is always on point (I usually pick running workouts with pop or 2000s music) and the instructors keep things interesting. I also really like the walk + run workouts for stroller running to give me structured intervals for walking breaks instead of my previous method of running until I felt like I was going to die, then walking until I felt like I might live again, then repeating until either I hit my mileage goal or the babies were done, whichever came first. right now I have the basic membership ($12/month) but am thinking of discontinuing my previous Aaptiv subscription and transitioning to the premium membership ($24/month) for unlimited treadmill classes.
 |
| a quick treadmill run |
 |
| loved this workout with 1:1 run/walk intervals progressing from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes! |
5) The Residence show on Netflix. I had seen this show pop up a few times on my Netflix suggestions, but when Colleen mentioned watching it, I knew I needed to give it a try. and oh my goodness, it is hilarious! Uzo Aduba, best known for playing "Crazy Eyes" in Orange is the New Black, stars as an eccentric birdwatching detective brought in to investigate a murder in the White House. the script is full of deadpan one-liners and the music is great (I treat myself by watching while I walk a mile or so on the treadmill and the suspenseful parts definitely put pep in my step). I'm only halfway through the season but I don't want it to end, even though of course I'm curious as to whodunnit.
Your turn: What's saving your life these days? If you have older kids, when did they start staying home by themselves, and when did you entrust them with little ones? Do you have a favourite Trader Joe's product?
I am gobsmacked by your genius with the running. This is brilliant. Also, because they're eating in the stroller, you don't have a messy floor to clean up after. Plus, they're getting fresh air, you're getting a run AND strength training (running with a stroller is no joke). Love this.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had Trader Joe's OR Aldi where I live. At least we have lots of pretty lighthouses...but no quirky, economical grocery stores!
Oh yes, relocating the lunch mess to outside is a huge part of the appeal! An appeal that is even greater to me right now as I just finished cleaning up an entire shaker bottle of Parmesan cheese that a 3-year-old-who-shall-not-be-named just dumped out over her and her sister's lunch *facepalm*
DeleteYou do have so many pretty lighthouses and beaches!!! Maybe one of these days you'll get a TJ's to top it all off!
We probably started leaving some big kids home around 10 or 11- my husband works in town, so he's minutes away in an emergency. Usually there's a few who can keep an eye on each other. We don't have other babysitters , unless a family member is visiting- they'll take the kids out so I can get stuff done at home. Which is weird, as my husband teachers at a college and there are tons of potential sitters there.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Trader Joe's.
That sounds similar to us! Our main babysitter is a phenomenal retired woman who has more energy than the two of us put together, but she travels a lot with her friends and family (she has such a fun life!) so when she's away we are pretty stuck. But we just started having a local high school student sit for us which has been another good option. I feel like so often we are trading off between my husband and I who is going to stay with the kids and who is going to go do something fun (or necessary, like a doctor's appointment!). What is the age range of your kids?
DeleteMy kids go from 11 to 30. I'm an old mom! My oldest daughters were very responsible girls and could handle the younger ones if needed. That set up a paytern forcthe orhers to follow as they grew into the job.. In general, the kids established tag- team babysitting. Right now, my teen boys will each take a shift with my youngest daughter ( she has DS) if they have a day off of school.
DeleteOh,I stopped at a Trader Joe's today returning daughter to college town for her summer job. Very cool and the prices seemed very fair. However, the bagger put some of the treats in my daughter's bag instead, so she's benefiting from the visit the most, and my kids at home have to share just the pretzels.
Wow, a nineteen-year spread! There's a fourteen-year spread in my family between me (the oldest) and my youngest sister. In some ways it feels like two different families just because her experience growing up was so different from mine.
DeleteOops, that's too bad (for your other kids) about the bagging mix-up. But pretzels are pretty delicious, especially with French onion dip! Haha. I'm still in awe over the prices and so delighted that I have another go-to place to shop (although it definitely isn't as close and convenient!)
This is so interesting as we have been having these conversations too about our almost 10 year old oldest. She is not quite ready to be in charge, but in the right setting (with the toddler napping) and her 6 year old brother busy with something engaging, she could do it. We've only left them for 20 minutes at a time to run quick errands. But quickly realized we need a landline. Or a house cell phone. We do have neighbors who are usually home and kind but not the babysitter type. In another year it will be a different story!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! You're so right about the right context and situation making a big difference. She babysat for us again last night while we had dinner at our friend's house (less than half a mile away!), for about 3 hours that did include bedtime for the little ones so it was more involved. She did great but called me from the landline at about 9:30 to report "a guy walking through our yard". We live in a very safe neighborhood and our yard runs right up against an alley so I doubt anything truly nefarious was going on, but she was understandably freaked out (she told me later she plugged in her curling iron to full blast and grabbed the broom ready to "stab him" if need be -- she did have the doors locked too of course). Anyway, when I hung up the phone and told my husband what she said, he leapt up from the table and drove home to check on her -- a benefit of only being a few minutes away. He searched the property and didn't come across anything out of the ordinary, and she seems fine today, but I absolutely do think having a landline or house phone is imperative if they are staying by themselves for more than a hour or so. It gives me peace of mind to call periodically to check in and get real-time updates as to what is happening, and also good for them to be able to call with any concerns or questions!
Delete