Jess Blankshain leaves the Christmas lights up 'til January
Associate professor, mom, triathlete, dog person, Swiftie. US foreign policy, civil-military relations, & bureaucratic politics. Personal views only. Posts before 9/23/23 are imports from the other place.
- For those playing along at home, the solution was to abandon the frozen pipe and reroute through the house creating more radiator. Did require a professional but was done in an hour.
- Sooo anyone have tips for thawing a pipe in an inaccessible crawl space?
- Scotch magic tape is wonderful but Scotch gift-wrap tape is an abomination. Don't make my mistake.
- Pro tip: middle of a Patriot's game is a great time to go to Market Basket
- Toddler figured out how to get a leg over the top of the crib rail send help
- Raise your hand if you drank coffee at 4pm because you knew you'd be up late working and then were wide awake past 1am and now it's the next morning and you just want to go back to bed but you can't because you have kids and a job 🙋🏼♀️
- My experience with getting bangs has made me much less skeptical of people not recognizing Superman with glasses on.
- Kid 1 and Kid 2 figured out how to lift Toddler out of the crib this morning. Unclear whether this will result in more or less sleep for me.
- Shout out to the daycare teachers who send you a photo of your child playing happily ten minutes after they had a meltdown at drop off
- Good news: I remembered to make overnight oats last night. Bad news: I forgot salt, again 🤦🏼♀️
- Nothing says last day of winter break like frantically grading exams while the toddler naps and the big kids play video games in the tent that has taken over the living room
- Not the morning to discover there's no coffee in the house
- TIL tonies still work after a trip through the washing machine
- I have so many questions about how/where one procures these
- If you're ever looking for something to do in Chicago, I highly recommend seeing the U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry. Amazing story and really well done exhibit. taskandpurpose.com/history/germ...
- Kids think I have access to the Santa tracker on my phone because I work for the military and I'm not going to tell them otherwise
- Kid 1: If you're on the naughty list you still get presents on your birthday
- My ongoing effort to teach Kid 1 and Kid 2 to choose and wrap gifts for others severely tested my Christmas spirit today
- PSA fellow parents: night terrors are a thing look it up before your kid creates housewide chaos at 1130pm
- Last week the Main Street trolley drove itself off the shelf to its doom, now I finish Santa's post office only to discover this fresh Lego nightmare 🤦🏼♀️
- *Kid 2 looks at my sweater* Mama is that supposed to be ugly? Me: Yes Kid 2: And it IS ugly!
- Always fun to start the day with your kid crying bc you're "never" home to meet the bus since telework authorization was revoked
- Listening to the annual Poscast Holiday Draft is one of my marriage's foundational holiday traditions. Time to plan a road trip @davidmglick.bsky.social
- Well this is a relief after slipping to top 0.5% last year.
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- That moment when the book is actually real! @lindsaypcohn.bsky.social and I really enjoyed working on our chapter on the future of the Total Force.
- Any recommendations to help a kid with sensory issues stay asleep at night? I'm seeing a bunch of weighted/compression blanket/pod/sheet options but not sure where to start.
- Do we think Robert Irwin would partner with me for a video tutorial on how to change a toddler doing a death roll?
- Wow Anne with an E season 3 is just one gut punch after another
- *Listening to TLOAS with preschooler, who I have been assuming does not pay attention to song lyrics* Him: Mama there aren't keys to the city Me: uhoh
- Eating canned peas (straight from the can, obvi) for an after work snack, as one does
- It has been 0 days since Jess got way too fired up talking about Marbury v Madison
- I regret to inform you that waking up half an hour earlier does make mornings less stressful
- Help I'm "Halloween candy is too sweet" old and I'm not ready for this
- Finally watching K Pop Demon Hunters. The children refused to watch it with me.
- My kids are going to understand that the combination of the time change and this game means they should sleep in tomorrow, right? I assume they can just absorb ambient stress levels in their sleep or something.
- Ok Lego app can we stop with the "prove you're an adult" math because that is not where I am cognitively right now
- Got word I'm back to work on Monday with or without a paycheck. Catching up on @sirenspod.bsky.social to ease back into the foreign policy decision-making headspace.
- Happy "panic ordering a new Halloween costume bc your child changed their mind again" week to all who celebrate
- Being the parent who knows which trash is trash and which trash is NOT trash is a lot of pressure
- The main thing I have learned as the parent of an early elementary school aged child is that I hold a pencil wrong
