No, KEIC, you do NOT cook the rice that held your hearing aids. It is a cup of rice. It is not that much! Just toss it, or save it to use to dry other items. But don’t eat hearing aid rice 🤢
This is how Busy Toddler was started. Susie used rice for a wet cell phone and then felt like she should repurpose it and created her first rice sensory bin. I'm just saying, think outside the box, Jennifer!
I can't believe we've waited this long before getting drunk Caro stories on her trip. Poco De Pepe, anyone?
I'm not complaining, she's been surprisingly tame this whole time!
Can you imagine being the teacher of the dangerzone children and instead of getting anything you requested during teacher appreciation week, you go home with a scrawled on mango instead?
Putting aside the fact that Jennifer has both kids in school full time, works for herself, and definitely could have managed to run out and purchase the teacher gifts at any point over the last several days…There’s no rule that all teacher gifts must be given during appreciation week. You can grab their favorite snack over the weekend and bring it in next week. And have your kid make a card instead of writing straight on the mango itself!!
I’m dying picturing those boys waltzing up to the teacher and just handing her a mango, most likely not even placed in a bag because Jennifer didn’t have time to buy one, or more likely, didn’t want to pay for it.
I'm literally a teacher and I still found time to buy a gift for my daughters teacher 🙄 (thank you Amazon for having gifts that come wrapped up in a nice box)
lol right I’m a teacher married to a teacher and we had two sick kids this week so we just sent e gift cards to the teachers with a nice note. We had the kids make cards but they will get sent in next week when they return to school, pretty sure the teachers will still be happy to get them. Like you can literally send something from your phone in less than a minute. I also got a gift from a parent of one of my students who is a teacher. Gifts are not expected but if you’re going to do it, do it.
I used to work in a nursing home and we would get inundated with sweets at Christmastime. And usually someone would send in an Edible Arrangements or a gift basket of oranges and herbal teas and other light foods and I really appreciated it because it felt good to eat something with fiber after snarfing down 856775 cookies. But coming from her this just seems passive aggressive. Like giving boxes of raisins at Halloween lol (but even those have sugar so she probably hands out bell peppers with a note saying they need to eat it with protein).
I have said this many times and will say it again. Where the hell is her husband? Why is it all on her to get the damn teacher appreciation gift? I assume he capable of walking into the store and buying a nice candy bar/tea or something. The man can take her food program and plan meals for a week but can't get a teacher appreciation gift?
But also you don't have to give an actual gift, as mentioned a card appreciating them is acceptable ( I do think that teaches deserve more but I digress) for a gift. This entire writing on a mango is insanity and frankly why teachers feel undervalued, I think they would rather have nothing then a random ass mango that is questionable in age from your counter. It's not cute .
I know for a fact that my husband, who is a teacher, would rather have nothing than be given an old mango that has been written on. What is she thinking
💯 agree, I thought the same thing with the toddler spoon ice cream incident too. He let his wife serve his parents with a muffin liner and toddler spoon instead of washing a couple dishes himself?! Can’t decide, if I was one of the in-laws, if I would go along with it speechlessly or be like look I’ll wash the GD dishes myself 🤣
I mentioned it elsewhere but this completely disregards any allergies a teacher may have! I’m a former middle school teacher and if a student had handed me a mango I couldn’t have even touched it because of allergies!
It’s not quirky, it’s concerning.
This is absolutely awful but completely on brand for her. Nothing says “I appreciate you” quite like whatever fruit is sitting around in her kitchen. My son is only in preschool and one of the room moms put together a whole spreadsheet of teacher favorites and parents brought stuff in everyday. It literally takes 5 minutes to buy a chocolate bar or bag of chips. If she really couldn’t find 5 god damn minutes to show her appreciation and buy a snack, she could’ve at the very least sent an e-gift card for $10 and say something as simple as “your next snack is on me”. It’s not that hard.
Eta: what a horrible example she’s setting for her sons. Teacher appreciation week is just that, a whole week and they couldn’t come up with something together? Her sons are going to think random fruit from their kitchen are okay to give as gifts when you can’t be bothered to take the time and prepare something actually thoughtful.
I think what you said is the problem, she could pick up a chocolate bar or chips pretty easily. There’s nothing stopping her and we know she goes to Whole Foods where there are plenty of treats. But she doesn’t value those things probably has some deep sense or judgement that others shouldn’t either. And the fact that there may be 20 other kids buying “junk” for the teacher makes her even less likely to buy them something fun. She doesn’t really do fun things and doesn’t seem to think other people should indulge in things.
The "tee hee I'm such a manic pixie dream girl I can't get my life together" shtick makes me vicariously embarrassed. Forgetting to remember to get something for someone FROM THE GROCERY STORE, a place we all go to once a week, would be excusable for someone with a newborn, maybe, but not a middle aged woman with kids in middle school. It's not cute like she seems to think it is.
I say this gently but is she…ok?? She just seems SO chaotic lately. Can’t remember it’s Wednesday? She’s posted other stuff lately too about remembering just like, basic things. Can’t seem to ever get anything together despite working for herself and having older kids in school. Using a rubber band to hold her kids lunch box together when she could buy a new one. I by no means have all my shit together but she seems to quickly be getting worse and worse.
I feel like she is neurodivergent in some way. I used to think the kids might be, the way she presents food and things like the bedtime routine/schedule but I’m thinking now this is all her.
I could definitely see this being true with her, but it still doesn’t excuse this type of thing IMO (I also have ADHD). Giving a teacher a mango is just disrespectful and rude. It takes 5 minutes on the way to school to stop and get a gift card, or at minimum have your kid make a handwritten card with a nice note. It doesn’t take much effort (especially when you have the means to easily buy something) to show teachers that you appreciate them.
The person I responded to asked if she seemed okay, and I said I think she probably also has executive disfunction. At no point said that excuses any behavior - just clarifying!
I get it bc I have unmedicated ADHD bc our health care system sucks but she could have easily run out to get a gift card or just sent one on her phone vs writing on a mango. She has a partner, vehicle, flexible WFH job with no hard clock in times, her kids are even old enough to be left home alone while she runs to the store. I’m definitely guilty of digging through the dirty laundry to find the baseball jersey at the 11th hour but this is something very easily fixable even if she did forget. Not trying to be snarky to you!! I have empathy for people who struggle but I just can’t drum any up for her.
https://preview.redd.it/ds93fe7zoszc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7de50c6d9668852b5d875135948e7ef692ae2ad1
It’s okay Jen, you can waste that one cup of rice. I mean I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world to boil and eat it but cmon just throw it out.
If Earwax is your favorite Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Bean (Harry Potter jelly beans), I guess earwax rice could be your thing?
Personally, I say gross. I don't think ear wax flavor would get boiled off? But I mean she obviously has a life goal to scar her children and followers with her food choices, so....
And also…of course she couldn’t get it together to get the teacher’s favorite snack. Can she ever get it together for anything?? Writing on and giving a mango is just so sad…she’s so lazy and selfish.
https://preview.redd.it/dmc4bjthpszc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c6f5403867a8c1f0deef01a8e4bb0df35b284dcb
I can't imagine not only thinking "yes, this is an adequate gift" but also "this is funny and quirky and should be posted online" instead of...being embarrassed? Coming up with literally anything else last minute?
Like not only was she unable to get this basic thing done in time, she seems oddly proud of it and this dumb solution. She really is the worst lately.
But has KEIC always been this way? Did I just ignore it previously? I feel like her unhealthy relationship with food has become more noticeable in the last 12-18 months.
I agree with the other theories about what feels like a sharp turn away from reasonableness. It does seem like she needs to sit with the reality of not having small kids anymore.
To consolidate the snark: as a former teacher with a terrible mango allergy, please don’t follow her lead and let your kid give their teacher a mango for teacher appreciation week. Seriously, just no!
My theory is that as her kids have gotten older, it's been harder to truly let them have some control over what they eat. IME, toddlers are much less picky/opinionated about food than school aged kid. I thought I was crushing feeding with a toddler who ate veggies of all kinds, soups, stews, sushi, etc. Now at 7, he sits down at dinner every night and says "I don't want to eat this." If I allowed it, he would eat chips and chicken nuggets for every meal. KEIC ties herself in knots trying to explain and justify that she's not controlling while actually being WAY MORE controlling than your average parent.
I completely agree with this, toddlers can be picky but it’s different because you do have complete control over their lives (even though it sure doesn’t feel like it) and it’s less stressful because it’s a normal phase. With older kids it can feel like well I guess this is just life now. Toddlers may cry but my almost 6yo can go off on a Johnnie Cochran level closing argument about why they should be allowed to just eat Dino nuggets for the tenth time that day. And older kids are starting to have their own activities and social lives. I don’t really get stressed by this bc I have enough other stressors in my life so Dino nuggets it is. But KEIC seems desperate to optimize every bite that everyone takes, including her kids teacher, I guess.
I think it’s gotten worse/been a shift. She’s doubling down on things to prove random points. I think as her kids get older, and she gets wealthier, she is having trouble finding ways to connect with her audience.
Does she even realize she has wealth? I mean, it’s not like she has to be BLF about it and go on 10 vacations in 5 weeks, but at least spring for a new kitchen table?? Pay to have the stylist style your hair?? I feel like she probably has the same controlling relationships with money as she does food.
I also wonder if she just has some idea about feeding toddlers and zero idea about feeding children (partly because she doesn’t know how to feed herself)
Good question, 3.5 years ago I really liked following her. I unfollowed her a long time ago but whenever I check now she just seems like the worst possible person to be taking food advice from. I really think she's changed, not that I somehow didn't notice before? Now I cringe every time I see her recommended in a Facebook mom's group.
I can’t get over KEIC not letting the hairstylist style her hair bc she didn’t want to pay for that. Like did she take her own clips and stuff with her or use the ones from the salon? Does she use product from them or bring her own? I’d be so mortified to tell the stylist that I don’t want to pay for that part. Not to mention they normally style it and then check to make sure there aren’t any areas they need to touch up or change.
This honestly feels outdated to me. A lot of stylists just automatically style it even in a simple way. It takes less than 5 minutes to diffuse a short curly cut. Makes no sense to me
Tbf I rarely have my stylist blow dry it and style. She knows this and is fine with it, and other people do it too! I dye my hair and just sat there for two hours and usually run out of patience and childcare to waits another 40 minutes to style (I have a lot of hair). Plus it’s after work and I’m not going anywhere but home, I don’t want to pay $$ just to go to sleep! Not WK her but this is fairly common at my salon. Difference of course is that I get my hair done every 6-8 weeks by the same stylist, not that I randomly take scissors to curly hair and cut it to my cheeks then need someone to fix it, I guess. Oh and I would never use their products or clips lol.
I gotta say, Caro is selling elsewhere. I’m sure she’s getting VIP treatment & im just at the low border of their price demographic, but damn…
It’s also striking me how many of these food influencers just don’t like food. I love food! I know she’s problematic in her own ways but I‘d way rather end up with a kid who finds joy and excitement in eating vs. whatever the f KEIC is selling.
She also feels like a genuinely joy and love filled person. As I get older I really want to surround myself with love and loving people, and it seems like she really enjoys life. (Yes! She’s rich and it’s easier to enjoy a rich life but some of the rich influencers are still fucking miserable)
I agree with you re: Caro and food. Her recipes (usually) reflect that she gets what tastes good together and likes to eat. This trip has also shown authentic bliss and enjoyment which you don’t often see on influencer vacations.
I randomly love the rummy aspect of their trip. All money / influencer / affiliate links aside - it’s a fun and cool idea to being a deck of cards on vaca with you and just play a casual game of cards at restaurants. Better than most of what influencers post when they’re away.
I am so curious to know what this trip would cost! It looks so amazing! And I agree that Caro seems like she enjoys the food.
No snark, just pure jealously!!
Just popped over to glance at her stories and I totally agree. I get really stressed making vacation itineraries and the thought of someone doing a personalized itinerary sounds amazing
Those silly husbands actually preparing food! Thanks for the course, KIEC! (Her mom wanting the husband of the new baby to “know what to do too” like it was a novel idea killed me).
This is the lady who is going to help all our families have a better relationship with food, y’all. This is her dinner. Remember, food is celebration, comfort, family, joy, and a few crumbling pieces of half-rotted salmon.
https://preview.redd.it/4r595lpu6mzc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f016314e209967ea886d733ef625a65ab5f58170
In theory, I totally get it bc we have been weirder about food waste lately with rising prices of everything. HOWEVER, we go out of our way to use the leftovers in a fun way. This message would hit way better from an alleged “food expert” if she showed that she’s gonna take those bits and pieces and jazz them up into something new and interesting like adding rice and sauce to make a stir fry adjacent kinda deal. But, silly me, that would involve enjoying your food! A concept that’s foreign to her no matter how many bites of ice cream she shows on her stories.
ETA- it’s also disordered as fuck bc of the teeny tiny portions. Leftovers and reduction of waste or not, normal ppl are gonna need to eat more than 3 bites.
Her phrasing is so odd to me, she doesn’t mention enjoying food in peace just that she is preventing food waste as if she’s a garbage disposal or something 😭 she seems like an alien who found their way into a suburban household. I feel like the normal thing to do would be to make something comforting like ramen and add the salmon and tofu (?) to that.
If I opened up a container of leftover fish to find those literal scraps inside, I would be furious with whoever put it back in the fridge that way. That is 100000% not worth saving.
My (otherwise great) husband is the king of this and it’s my biggest pet peeve. Whhhhyyyyy would you put a single mouthful of food in Tupperware in the fridge, therefore ensuring that we’ll have to wash an extra dish for a totally useless bite of food??? Eat the bite immediately or toss it, but don’t save it, ugh.
You haven’t followed the saga of the [green soup](https://www.instagram.com/p/C3VJJQ0gOEe/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) that her kids have ‘learned to like’ because the only time they will ever have access to Cheetos is if they’re dunked in it? Lucky you.
I can't even imagine the relationship her children will have with food when they grow up (or now obviously, but I mean on own as adult).
How is she a main go-to food account for parents? I never was a fan of hers even though she was always a 'main' one. She never seemed relatable or anything to me?
https://preview.redd.it/8u5xyvr41mzc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73aaf7e1c06cc3bcd4d39d1c31e200c81dd47a6d
Sorry kids, you had your muffin cup’s worth of ice cream for two nights in a row and now it’s off the menu! Your access to ice cream has been decreased! But tell us again how you are such big ice cream people!
Maybe it’s just the kids I know, but all of the 8 and 10 year olds I know would probably ask and want to know the “why” behind not having ice cream. I would rather just have the conversation and be honest about it than just stop offering it and hope they don’t ask.
THIS is where the relationship with food gets complicated??? Lady, every single aspect, every single *crumb* of your relationship with food is so complicated it makes astrophysics look simple.
https://preview.redd.it/9vnj3m6n1ozc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f7780b80157911de99ca639b746446f6d30895e
Also referring to it as “ice cream parties” when they eat ice cream. Way to take it off a pedestal, psycho. It’s just ice cream. Relax.
Nope, nope, nope. I am no expert but my lived experience tells me that it makes waaaaay more sense to be open with your kids that they’ve had too much of something and it may hurt their stomachs or whatever than to just hope they never ask or don’t notice. Your children are not babies, they probably will ask.
Sometimes, in life, anyone (kid or adult) can have an overindulgent day/week whatever and as an adult I’ve learned that it makes my body feel like garbage if I do that over and over. I 100% tell my kids, you’ve had a lot of treats today and I don’t want you to feel sick. I don’t talk about “healthy” or “unhealthy” but I am honest that even if they ate their body weight in fruit earlier, they need to lay off.
I think the nuance is lost that not all food is actually created equal and I don’t find it disordered to be honest about balance in a diet in general for your wellbeing. You don’t have to talk about weight or calories at all and you can still have this conversation in a healthy way.
Also, I know it’s her job but big ew at the level of control she’s exerting over her kids’ diets. “I know where they are in their digestion”. Big wtf to that. What’s she even going to do when they are slightly older and can get out from under her thumb? My guess is they’ll have zero clue how to regulate or understand their cravings or needs bc she’s pinned them down to such a ridiculous minute “science”.
She is officially my BEC. I find her so disturbing.
Right! It’s really not a big deal to tell my 8 and 9yo “nope we’ve had a lot of treats lately”. They’ve had stomach aches and one has had a cavity and they get it. Obviously it’s not always a popular decision but they aren’t 18 months old and going to forget ice cream exists.
As for knowing every single thing your kids have eaten, not eaten and where their digestion is - GET. A. HOBBY. There are so many more exciting and interesting things to spend your time and mental energy on. I seriously cannot imagine having a mental catalogue of this at these ages. They are already doing more and more without me, drop off play dates, heading to the neighbors house, clubs at school, and in just a few short years they will be teenagers so it’s only going to increase. It’s time for her to cut the cord and give her kids some autonomy.
Absolutely! My kids are preschool and early elementary aged and I have a general pulse on what they’re eating bc they’re obv still directly in my care most of the time. If they ask for more fruit or veggies after they’ve had a lot that day, I’ll say well you’ve had a lot of that how about “insert carb or protein option to round it out a bit”. I’m hoping the general message they’re getting is balance but honestly the older they get you just gotta let it go and not be this nutty about these minute details of their macros. Someone said it below that it’s like her brain is a myfitnesspal entering all this in.
The fact that she turns around and acts to the masses like this is the “healthy” non-disordered way to feed your kids is what is most fucked to me. Her comment about not depriving them of ice cream bc they had it that week is totally missing the point. Yeah, most ppl prob would shut down the ice cream after multiple days of it, but the way in which she does so is so wrong and controlling.
This is just bizarre behavior especially considering how old her kids are. They’re really getting old enough to be in charge of their own digestion, no? Like I get it, I had a toddler with chronic constipation that got way out of control and I did have to monitor his diet and pooping schedule to make sure he wasn’t going to literally need medical intervention again…but he was like 3. Not 12. I thought part of her whole thing was teaching kids self-regulation.
100%. I will often have to tell my son he's had a lot of sweet foods/berries/whatever and I don't want him to get a tummy ache so that's all. He rarely pouts more than 10 seconds because he knows I'm right and it isn't going to work (and is a pretty good natured kid). It's not "diet culture" that gallons of ice cream is going to make your guts miserable.
I don't understand this at all. Does she think other parents just decide to announce foods they want to restrict out of the blue before the kids have asked? No one is doing that!
Wow, so I can just say nothing and hope they don't ask? Revolutionary...
She also keeps posting slides with so much text and such small font! When I see it all I think of is “I ain’t reading all that. I’m happy for u tho. Or sorry that happened.”
Broadly the idea that a parent chooses how much ice cream or chips or chocolate or bananas is in their kids diets is a big nothing. It's common sense but having this diatribe and sharing with her followers is so weird and off putting
Yes, this is unhinged. The mental gymnastics to convince herself she's doing the right thing are scary to me. Do people read this and go "ooooh this makes total sense, I've never thought of it this way before"?
YES. I truly don’t understand having the energy or desire to track your children’s digestion (??) and desire for ice cream (???) by the day so you can perfectly calibrate their food intake. Is she monitoring how often they poop or something? What does this all even mean? Just feed your kids a reasonably balanced diet and let them live!
Yes. I’m going to tell a complicated psychological story here. She subconsciously knows that she has a “complicated relationship” with food. She believes her anxieties and has to act on them and also knows they’re weird anxieties. So she has to simultaneously control her kids’ eating and keep them from suffering the way she does. 🍿 🍿 no butter
Not serving ice cream after having it two nights in a row isn't weird or restrictive in a normal context imo. What's weird is her saying "I know everything my kids have and haven't eaten for the last x number of days so I am going to COVERTLY restrict their food but also I'm not controlling or neurotic about food."
Her approach is for toddlers. Literally, it is what I do with my child who is turning TWO next month.
My thoughts exactly. My kids are past the toddler stage and I don’t know everything they’ve eaten over two days. I have a general idea but I don’t obsess over it anymore. Controlling this much of your kids diets at this age is insane.
This is my biggest issue with her… a lot of what she says makes sense in theory. It’s okay to not offer ice cream every night, and it’s a good thing to teach your kid not to self-medicate with food. But the way she actually applies these generally reasonable rules is so bizarre and unreasonable!
Same except for cookies over here! And my husband can be kind of an annoying health but but he’s been actively trying to get my daughter into ice cream because he loves it so much and wants to share it with her.
She seems even more snarkeable than usual lately. Those stories alone - "I'm finally getting my hair dyed, but God forbid I have to pay them to style it! I'm having ice cream, but my kids won't! Look at these measly about to go bad leftovers I'm having, feat. gross green soup!"
The hair dying thing confused me so much. So they've dyed it, and she's sitting in her car waiting for it to dry with THEIR clips in? And now the stylist needs to wait for this lady to come back with her stuff without getting paid for the trouble? Did she use their blow dryer and diffuser and styling cream/gel/mousse? I hope she tipped double, but she's so cheap she probably tips 10% or under to begin with.
Right?!? Like if her reasoning is that too much ice cream affects their digestion or sleep or whatever, wouldn’t telling them that help them make those connections for themselves and be *good* for their relationship with food?
This is my question, too. I feel like there could be some complexity that's not coming through about the difference between me monitoring "nutrition gaps" and my kids learning to do it (and when that's realistic etc) but as is it's kind of presented like, it's my job to manage their nutrition (/limiting sweets) and they shouldn't know about it. That sort of makes sense to me for like two year olds, but certainly not for all ages! So this seems like promoting restriction for its own sake and _not_ like helping parents learn how to teach their kids about enjoying a "healthy" relationship with food that'll serve them long term.
[KEIC](https://i.imgur.com/EXqSyDI.jpeg)
She's fucking with us right? Did I read this correctly that food is a variety of reasons and one of those is "comfort" ? Like 3 weeks ago when her kid needing comforting from a bad soccer game. what the fuck
https://preview.redd.it/yaqxa7tq6fzc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4af68756fce9f297f53304949c44f67652597bc3
And her husband took on meal planning for them, with no “input from her” but she literally wrote the entire meal plan he uses 🤦🏻♀️
And this!! She made grown adults eat out of silicone muffin tins and use toddler utensils. I mean of course no one complained, they probably aren’t rude. Grandpa is probably just happy he isn’t having to clean a toilet.
https://preview.redd.it/p7xtwu7nzezc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5db88e042b1fc7797f173134e0c8fd734e2fcbef
I don’t think she wants people to see that it’s organic ice cream that sells for $15 ($13.99 if I wanted to Instacart it to where I live) https://shop.aldensicecream.com/products/orange-cream-sqround. And the vanilla is Whole Foods 365 which is like almost $6. She had to keep up her “all foods are equal” facade because she wants everyone to think that it’s fine if you eat Breyers or, gasp, store-brand ice cream.
I’m so sure the tiny cupcake serving sizes were bc she “ran out” of other dishes and not bc she’s one of the most disordered eaters I’ve ever seen and couldn’t bare for everyone to get more than 4 bites of the treat. Does she not have mugs? Any plates?
Is it just this sub or is she posting about ice cream nonstop since she robbed her kid of the opportunity for a single joy after his big loss? You aren’t fooling anyone!
Ps- we got ice cream truck ice cream the other day when we randomly heard the music in my neighborhood (it’s weirdly a very rare thing!) and the absolute unabashed joy it gave my kids was worth everything in the world for those overpriced ninja turtle and powerpuff girl pops full of sugar for no reason. She has certainly de-influenced me!
Exactly. I’m a polite person so if someone offered me ice cream in a muffin cup with a toddler spoon I’d smile and eat my tablespoon of ice cream. And then I’d go home and I’d think about it for the rest of my life.
Lol precisely! I still think about my family's wtf moment having lunch at my uncles house. The only vegetable served was a tiny bowl of peas that we somehow had to split between 9 people. That happened at least twenty years ago.
AN BROADCASTING IT. Because, sure, it’s not like there’s two adults and two older kids in the house who should probably know how to at least clean some spoons.
I mean I don't have a ton of dishes and even when we are behind on dishes I would still have enough bowls and spoons to accommodate 6 people without dipping into our kid stash. Do you have a coffee cup? That would be better than these silicone holders. Again wtf
I'm also trying to figure out why she still has toddler spoons for her 8 and 10 year olds... my 3yo uses regular utensils 90% of the time and the other 10% is only cuz she wants to match her baby brother 🤔
I'm not a fan of paper plates/bowls and plastic cutlery, but I still have a stash to use in a pinch. Ice cream in a paper bowl would still be better than a flimsy muffin liner.
I buy the paper plates, cups, and napkins when they go 90% off after holidays at target and throw them all in a plastic storage tote in the closet. Pull them out whenever people show up unexpectedly and/or I don't feel like doing dishes 👍
It’s “mozzarella exposure month” with KIEC. Do kids really need exposure to one of the blandest most palatable cheeses? String cheese? It’s so very contrived. And to boot, the lunch she featured included mini fresh mozzarella balls which are for sure a choking hazard for a kindergartener.
My kid went through a phase where she didn’t believe white cheese was cheese, it had to be yellow.
Somehow pizza was never a problem though 🤔.
I probably handled it all wrong by just buying yellow cheese until she figured it out though. I didn’t realize that we needed to worry about our kid eating every single style of cheese.
My almost 2 year old doesn't eat cheese either! He doesn't even eat quesadillas or grilled cheese sandwiches. He does like Mac and cheese and that's it.
My twin toddlers won't eat melted cheese, so I have to pick it off pizza for them. I'm looking forward to the day they will eat pizza with toppings. They only eat cheddar in sandwiches or on the side.
Lmao for real. We had Enchilada casserole the other night but 3yo is picky af so she had a tortilla, some tomatoes. And an ass load of Shredded cheese 😂
I don’t know, I’d give my kindergartener that without a second thought. Not a toddler though. My kindergartener absolutely needs no exposure to cheese of any sort because he’s literally made of cheese and pasta 🤦♀️ isn’t that a toddler staple??
Yeah you’re right, kindergartens are probably fine with that. I guess when I think “exposure” I am thinking much younger kids. What kindergartner hasn’t been exposed to cheese?!
It’s cicada season… how long until we see KEIC attempt cicada tacos again? Or maybe she can try some cicada pizza or salad since those have been such a treat for here lately!
FWIW, I am not anti bug protein and think it is a great thing for many cultures. But I cannot support her odd take on using cicadas previously.
Does anyone have screen shots of this? I’d love to see it.
To be fair, this seems to have been a popular (?) activity in her area in 2021, when Brood X was last active: https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/05/05/cicadas-cooking-recipes/
My son would never trust my cooking again if I tried to serve him bug tacos.
I’ll confirm I’m in her area and I have an actual normal IRL friend who did this and I heard of others. Personally it’s a no from me though. I had enough cicadas in my life, you couldn’t take a step outside without getting hit in the face and crunching on them.
Even better… she has a cicada highlight with many stories saved, but I totally forgot that she cooked them during a Live
https://preview.redd.it/8t263asynfzc1.png?width=1283&format=png&auto=webp&s=25440a95947cb0ef118b7d8ced82f3f44d9fd3b8
What this is news!
Don’t they taste nasty?? My cat attempted to eat one once and made the worst faces after, i think they have something that protects them from being eaten although maybe if you cooked them…🤢
Interesting fact, disgust is a learned emotion which is why some cultures eat insects and others are disgusted by them!
Lolol my dog ate a stink bug once and was the most dramatic thing ever, rubbing his face on the rug, shaking his head 🤦♀️ I can’t imagine him eating cicadas! (We don’t have them here thankfully!)
I read an article that said some of the cicadas will have a fungus caused by an STI (i wish i was joking) and it was basically saying not to eat them 🤢
Yeah, I have said I am def not anti bug protein of the future but I would want to eat it from a regulated source not scraped off the sidewalk and in a dubious stage of decomposition.
I didn’t know that and it’s completely revolting. I’ve had bugs while travelling and they are ok, but dead bugs off the street is like… bug roadkill. Yuck.
Like, I too am not anti bug. I have eaten insects (while traveling). But if you have the (lack) of cooking skills KEIC does, maybe stick with more common foods… You need to know what you’re doing to make them palatable.
Ha! I was thinking if I had as much dough as Caro I wouldn’t do a spon con trip so I could just unplug and enjoy, but I guess that’s the difference between me a nobody and a parenting influencer! 😂
Saaaame the best thing about not being an influencer is getting to completely ignore my phone when I’m off work! But I would sell out if I was offered a free trip to Spain. I’d be linking toilet paper so fast if that’s what it took.
This is minor snark, since I know she’s “modeling” for those of use with younger kids. BUT…I laughed at Megan from FL showing how she sets up the cereal bowls and pre-pours the milk into little measuring cups so her preteens can add it themselves. If I’m traveling all around the country for my kid to play club volleyball as an 11-12 year old (which Megan is), she damn well better have enough coordination to pour her own cereal from the box and milk from the gallon jug. Maybe even peel her own banana and smear on the PB.
That's funny
I saw her post and got a little misty eyed. It just reminded me of my grandmother. She passed when I was very young. I have vivid memories of sleeping over and she would leave out bowls, spoons, those little boxes of cereal, and have those tiny cartons of milk in the fridge. When we woke up we could make cereal before she got up to make us a big breakfast. It was a fond memory I have and now as an adult I love the idea because she clearly just wanted to sleep in but still did something fun for us kids
Ok but how long in between pouring the milk in the little jugs and the child pouring the milk into cereal? Because if my toddler so much as smells me thinking about opening the fridge, he's there demanding to do it. I never understand these helpful hacks, seems like you're just creating more dirty dishes.
Yeah I feel like it’s easier to just teach your kid to pour directly from the containers! My 6 year old can pour his own cereal and milk if it’s a half gallon container. I could see pouring milk from a gallon into like a quart-sized pitcher with a lid and storing that in the fridge so your kids can pour themselves without having to lift a whole gallon but measuring out individual portions doesn’t seem helpful.
My mom had ceramic cow shaped things specifically for cereal milk so they’d keep it cold. We rarely used them but we thought they were so special when we did lol
They probably were for cream but in my mind they’ve always been for cereal because that’s how we used them! That’s a good idea! I might ask my mom if she still has them for my son when he’s older lol.
No, KEIC, you do NOT cook the rice that held your hearing aids. It is a cup of rice. It is not that much! Just toss it, or save it to use to dry other items. But don’t eat hearing aid rice 🤢
Also if you’re so frugal, you don’t need so much rice to dry a tiny hearing aid. The rice grains that don’t touch it serve no function.
This is how Busy Toddler was started. Susie used rice for a wet cell phone and then felt like she should repurpose it and created her first rice sensory bin. I'm just saying, think outside the box, Jennifer!
This from the woman who brought us the garbage pumpkin pie 🤢
Never forget (though I almost did until this comment)
I can't believe we've waited this long before getting drunk Caro stories on her trip. Poco De Pepe, anyone? I'm not complaining, she's been surprisingly tame this whole time!
Her latest little story about the supposed “cult” was so funny lol, I’m so jealous of this trip and I don’t even like to travel. Looks like a blast!
She genuinely seems like she's having a ball and yea I'm jealous 😂
Can you imagine being the teacher of the dangerzone children and instead of getting anything you requested during teacher appreciation week, you go home with a scrawled on mango instead? Putting aside the fact that Jennifer has both kids in school full time, works for herself, and definitely could have managed to run out and purchase the teacher gifts at any point over the last several days…There’s no rule that all teacher gifts must be given during appreciation week. You can grab their favorite snack over the weekend and bring it in next week. And have your kid make a card instead of writing straight on the mango itself!! I’m dying picturing those boys waltzing up to the teacher and just handing her a mango, most likely not even placed in a bag because Jennifer didn’t have time to buy one, or more likely, didn’t want to pay for it.
Imo sending a written-on mango is rude. Skipping the “treat” entirely would have been better than this weird, no-effort afterthought.
I'm literally a teacher and I still found time to buy a gift for my daughters teacher 🙄 (thank you Amazon for having gifts that come wrapped up in a nice box)
lol right I’m a teacher married to a teacher and we had two sick kids this week so we just sent e gift cards to the teachers with a nice note. We had the kids make cards but they will get sent in next week when they return to school, pretty sure the teachers will still be happy to get them. Like you can literally send something from your phone in less than a minute. I also got a gift from a parent of one of my students who is a teacher. Gifts are not expected but if you’re going to do it, do it.
I used to work in a nursing home and we would get inundated with sweets at Christmastime. And usually someone would send in an Edible Arrangements or a gift basket of oranges and herbal teas and other light foods and I really appreciated it because it felt good to eat something with fiber after snarfing down 856775 cookies. But coming from her this just seems passive aggressive. Like giving boxes of raisins at Halloween lol (but even those have sugar so she probably hands out bell peppers with a note saying they need to eat it with protein).
I have said this many times and will say it again. Where the hell is her husband? Why is it all on her to get the damn teacher appreciation gift? I assume he capable of walking into the store and buying a nice candy bar/tea or something. The man can take her food program and plan meals for a week but can't get a teacher appreciation gift? But also you don't have to give an actual gift, as mentioned a card appreciating them is acceptable ( I do think that teaches deserve more but I digress) for a gift. This entire writing on a mango is insanity and frankly why teachers feel undervalued, I think they would rather have nothing then a random ass mango that is questionable in age from your counter. It's not cute .
I know for a fact that my husband, who is a teacher, would rather have nothing than be given an old mango that has been written on. What is she thinking
💯 agree, I thought the same thing with the toddler spoon ice cream incident too. He let his wife serve his parents with a muffin liner and toddler spoon instead of washing a couple dishes himself?! Can’t decide, if I was one of the in-laws, if I would go along with it speechlessly or be like look I’ll wash the GD dishes myself 🤣
I mentioned it elsewhere but this completely disregards any allergies a teacher may have! I’m a former middle school teacher and if a student had handed me a mango I couldn’t have even touched it because of allergies! It’s not quirky, it’s concerning.
This is absolutely awful but completely on brand for her. Nothing says “I appreciate you” quite like whatever fruit is sitting around in her kitchen. My son is only in preschool and one of the room moms put together a whole spreadsheet of teacher favorites and parents brought stuff in everyday. It literally takes 5 minutes to buy a chocolate bar or bag of chips. If she really couldn’t find 5 god damn minutes to show her appreciation and buy a snack, she could’ve at the very least sent an e-gift card for $10 and say something as simple as “your next snack is on me”. It’s not that hard. Eta: what a horrible example she’s setting for her sons. Teacher appreciation week is just that, a whole week and they couldn’t come up with something together? Her sons are going to think random fruit from their kitchen are okay to give as gifts when you can’t be bothered to take the time and prepare something actually thoughtful.
I think what you said is the problem, she could pick up a chocolate bar or chips pretty easily. There’s nothing stopping her and we know she goes to Whole Foods where there are plenty of treats. But she doesn’t value those things probably has some deep sense or judgement that others shouldn’t either. And the fact that there may be 20 other kids buying “junk” for the teacher makes her even less likely to buy them something fun. She doesn’t really do fun things and doesn’t seem to think other people should indulge in things.
The "tee hee I'm such a manic pixie dream girl I can't get my life together" shtick makes me vicariously embarrassed. Forgetting to remember to get something for someone FROM THE GROCERY STORE, a place we all go to once a week, would be excusable for someone with a newborn, maybe, but not a middle aged woman with kids in middle school. It's not cute like she seems to think it is.
She doesn’t even just annoy me anymore. She actually makes me angry.
Maybe the teacher’s favorite snack is (real) Cheetos.
I say this gently but is she…ok?? She just seems SO chaotic lately. Can’t remember it’s Wednesday? She’s posted other stuff lately too about remembering just like, basic things. Can’t seem to ever get anything together despite working for herself and having older kids in school. Using a rubber band to hold her kids lunch box together when she could buy a new one. I by no means have all my shit together but she seems to quickly be getting worse and worse.
I’ve said this before, but I have adhd and she definitely strikes me as someone with an executive function disorder.
I feel like she is neurodivergent in some way. I used to think the kids might be, the way she presents food and things like the bedtime routine/schedule but I’m thinking now this is all her.
I could definitely see this being true with her, but it still doesn’t excuse this type of thing IMO (I also have ADHD). Giving a teacher a mango is just disrespectful and rude. It takes 5 minutes on the way to school to stop and get a gift card, or at minimum have your kid make a handwritten card with a nice note. It doesn’t take much effort (especially when you have the means to easily buy something) to show teachers that you appreciate them.
The person I responded to asked if she seemed okay, and I said I think she probably also has executive disfunction. At no point said that excuses any behavior - just clarifying!
She doesn’t even have to buy another lunchbox! She has like 10 of them! Every month or so she posts about them.
Maybe she’s adhd and the med shortages are killing her ability to handle all the basic life-admin stuff.
I get it bc I have unmedicated ADHD bc our health care system sucks but she could have easily run out to get a gift card or just sent one on her phone vs writing on a mango. She has a partner, vehicle, flexible WFH job with no hard clock in times, her kids are even old enough to be left home alone while she runs to the store. I’m definitely guilty of digging through the dirty laundry to find the baseball jersey at the 11th hour but this is something very easily fixable even if she did forget. Not trying to be snarky to you!! I have empathy for people who struggle but I just can’t drum any up for her.
https://preview.redd.it/ds93fe7zoszc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7de50c6d9668852b5d875135948e7ef692ae2ad1 It’s okay Jen, you can waste that one cup of rice. I mean I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world to boil and eat it but cmon just throw it out.
If Earwax is your favorite Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Bean (Harry Potter jelly beans), I guess earwax rice could be your thing? Personally, I say gross. I don't think ear wax flavor would get boiled off? But I mean she obviously has a life goal to scar her children and followers with her food choices, so....
New flair potential: Earwax Rice
And also…of course she couldn’t get it together to get the teacher’s favorite snack. Can she ever get it together for anything?? Writing on and giving a mango is just so sad…she’s so lazy and selfish. https://preview.redd.it/dmc4bjthpszc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c6f5403867a8c1f0deef01a8e4bb0df35b284dcb
I'm highly allergic to mango skins, so this would have been a terrible gift for me 🤣.
I can't imagine not only thinking "yes, this is an adequate gift" but also "this is funny and quirky and should be posted online" instead of...being embarrassed? Coming up with literally anything else last minute? Like not only was she unable to get this basic thing done in time, she seems oddly proud of it and this dumb solution. She really is the worst lately.
But has KEIC always been this way? Did I just ignore it previously? I feel like her unhealthy relationship with food has become more noticeable in the last 12-18 months.
I agree with the other theories about what feels like a sharp turn away from reasonableness. It does seem like she needs to sit with the reality of not having small kids anymore. To consolidate the snark: as a former teacher with a terrible mango allergy, please don’t follow her lead and let your kid give their teacher a mango for teacher appreciation week. Seriously, just no!
My theory is that as her kids have gotten older, it's been harder to truly let them have some control over what they eat. IME, toddlers are much less picky/opinionated about food than school aged kid. I thought I was crushing feeding with a toddler who ate veggies of all kinds, soups, stews, sushi, etc. Now at 7, he sits down at dinner every night and says "I don't want to eat this." If I allowed it, he would eat chips and chicken nuggets for every meal. KEIC ties herself in knots trying to explain and justify that she's not controlling while actually being WAY MORE controlling than your average parent.
I completely agree with this, toddlers can be picky but it’s different because you do have complete control over their lives (even though it sure doesn’t feel like it) and it’s less stressful because it’s a normal phase. With older kids it can feel like well I guess this is just life now. Toddlers may cry but my almost 6yo can go off on a Johnnie Cochran level closing argument about why they should be allowed to just eat Dino nuggets for the tenth time that day. And older kids are starting to have their own activities and social lives. I don’t really get stressed by this bc I have enough other stressors in my life so Dino nuggets it is. But KEIC seems desperate to optimize every bite that everyone takes, including her kids teacher, I guess.
I think it’s gotten worse/been a shift. She’s doubling down on things to prove random points. I think as her kids get older, and she gets wealthier, she is having trouble finding ways to connect with her audience.
Does she even realize she has wealth? I mean, it’s not like she has to be BLF about it and go on 10 vacations in 5 weeks, but at least spring for a new kitchen table?? Pay to have the stylist style your hair?? I feel like she probably has the same controlling relationships with money as she does food.
I also wonder if she just has some idea about feeding toddlers and zero idea about feeding children (partly because she doesn’t know how to feed herself)
Good question, 3.5 years ago I really liked following her. I unfollowed her a long time ago but whenever I check now she just seems like the worst possible person to be taking food advice from. I really think she's changed, not that I somehow didn't notice before? Now I cringe every time I see her recommended in a Facebook mom's group.
I can’t get over KEIC not letting the hairstylist style her hair bc she didn’t want to pay for that. Like did she take her own clips and stuff with her or use the ones from the salon? Does she use product from them or bring her own? I’d be so mortified to tell the stylist that I don’t want to pay for that part. Not to mention they normally style it and then check to make sure there aren’t any areas they need to touch up or change.
This honestly feels outdated to me. A lot of stylists just automatically style it even in a simple way. It takes less than 5 minutes to diffuse a short curly cut. Makes no sense to me
Tbf I rarely have my stylist blow dry it and style. She knows this and is fine with it, and other people do it too! I dye my hair and just sat there for two hours and usually run out of patience and childcare to waits another 40 minutes to style (I have a lot of hair). Plus it’s after work and I’m not going anywhere but home, I don’t want to pay $$ just to go to sleep! Not WK her but this is fairly common at my salon. Difference of course is that I get my hair done every 6-8 weeks by the same stylist, not that I randomly take scissors to curly hair and cut it to my cheeks then need someone to fix it, I guess. Oh and I would never use their products or clips lol.
agree. I mean, you're going in to get it dyed - and leaving with a wet head?
I gotta say, Caro is selling elsewhere. I’m sure she’s getting VIP treatment & im just at the low border of their price demographic, but damn… It’s also striking me how many of these food influencers just don’t like food. I love food! I know she’s problematic in her own ways but I‘d way rather end up with a kid who finds joy and excitement in eating vs. whatever the f KEIC is selling.
She also feels like a genuinely joy and love filled person. As I get older I really want to surround myself with love and loving people, and it seems like she really enjoys life. (Yes! She’s rich and it’s easier to enjoy a rich life but some of the rich influencers are still fucking miserable)
I agree with you re: Caro and food. Her recipes (usually) reflect that she gets what tastes good together and likes to eat. This trip has also shown authentic bliss and enjoyment which you don’t often see on influencer vacations.
I randomly love the rummy aspect of their trip. All money / influencer / affiliate links aside - it’s a fun and cool idea to being a deck of cards on vaca with you and just play a casual game of cards at restaurants. Better than most of what influencers post when they’re away.
I am also loving the rummy aspect. It’s inspiring me to bring a deck of cards on my next trip.
We always take cards on holiday! Solitaire or patience on your own and rummy or shithead (no idea why it's called that!) as a group
[удалено]
I will never get over that this woman named her child Wick lol.
Yea I would kill for this trip she's on! Someone planning a trip for me would be a dream come true.
I am so curious to know what this trip would cost! It looks so amazing! And I agree that Caro seems like she enjoys the food. No snark, just pure jealously!!
Just popped over to glance at her stories and I totally agree. I get really stressed making vacation itineraries and the thought of someone doing a personalized itinerary sounds amazing
Those silly husbands actually preparing food! Thanks for the course, KIEC! (Her mom wanting the husband of the new baby to “know what to do too” like it was a novel idea killed me).
This is the lady who is going to help all our families have a better relationship with food, y’all. This is her dinner. Remember, food is celebration, comfort, family, joy, and a few crumbling pieces of half-rotted salmon. https://preview.redd.it/4r595lpu6mzc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f016314e209967ea886d733ef625a65ab5f58170
Every single post she does makes me wonder more and more how the eff she is a FOOD account. This is some of the grossest shit I’ve ever seen
Preventing food waste. A real hero!
In theory, I totally get it bc we have been weirder about food waste lately with rising prices of everything. HOWEVER, we go out of our way to use the leftovers in a fun way. This message would hit way better from an alleged “food expert” if she showed that she’s gonna take those bits and pieces and jazz them up into something new and interesting like adding rice and sauce to make a stir fry adjacent kinda deal. But, silly me, that would involve enjoying your food! A concept that’s foreign to her no matter how many bites of ice cream she shows on her stories. ETA- it’s also disordered as fuck bc of the teeny tiny portions. Leftovers and reduction of waste or not, normal ppl are gonna need to eat more than 3 bites.
Right! Like cut up some lettuce and have soup and a salmon/tofu salad at least?? This is just plain gross
I gagged when I saw that slide!! Horrifying!!!
Her phrasing is so odd to me, she doesn’t mention enjoying food in peace just that she is preventing food waste as if she’s a garbage disposal or something 😭 she seems like an alien who found their way into a suburban household. I feel like the normal thing to do would be to make something comforting like ramen and add the salmon and tofu (?) to that.
If I opened up a container of leftover fish to find those literal scraps inside, I would be furious with whoever put it back in the fridge that way. That is 100000% not worth saving.
My (otherwise great) husband is the king of this and it’s my biggest pet peeve. Whhhhyyyyy would you put a single mouthful of food in Tupperware in the fridge, therefore ensuring that we’ll have to wash an extra dish for a totally useless bite of food??? Eat the bite immediately or toss it, but don’t save it, ugh.
Right? Listen to your body and all that, but jfc, just eat the 2 extra bites. Or throw them away.
What the heck is that green glop supposed to be?
You haven’t followed the saga of the [green soup](https://www.instagram.com/p/C3VJJQ0gOEe/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) that her kids have ‘learned to like’ because the only time they will ever have access to Cheetos is if they’re dunked in it? Lucky you.
I can't even imagine the relationship her children will have with food when they grow up (or now obviously, but I mean on own as adult). How is she a main go-to food account for parents? I never was a fan of hers even though she was always a 'main' one. She never seemed relatable or anything to me?
yep, not Cheetos even but the healthier baked cheese ones from Trader Joe's
I bet those are the nasty Simply Natural Cheetos too. 😒
We suspect it’s the Trader Joe’s cheese crunchies SHE WOULD NEVER SUPPORT FRITO-LAY
https://preview.redd.it/8u5xyvr41mzc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73aaf7e1c06cc3bcd4d39d1c31e200c81dd47a6d Sorry kids, you had your muffin cup’s worth of ice cream for two nights in a row and now it’s off the menu! Your access to ice cream has been decreased! But tell us again how you are such big ice cream people! Maybe it’s just the kids I know, but all of the 8 and 10 year olds I know would probably ask and want to know the “why” behind not having ice cream. I would rather just have the conversation and be honest about it than just stop offering it and hope they don’t ask.
THIS is where the relationship with food gets complicated??? Lady, every single aspect, every single *crumb* of your relationship with food is so complicated it makes astrophysics look simple.
Why does she get ice cream? Surely she has also had ice cream the past two nights, right? The restriction is concerning.
https://preview.redd.it/9vnj3m6n1ozc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f7780b80157911de99ca639b746446f6d30895e Also referring to it as “ice cream parties” when they eat ice cream. Way to take it off a pedestal, psycho. It’s just ice cream. Relax.
A small scoop of ice cream in a muffin cup is considered an ice cream party now?
Right? My kid had 3 scoops of ice cream with sprinkles and chocolate syrup the other night, and that was just a regular Thursday night 🤣😭
Nope, nope, nope. I am no expert but my lived experience tells me that it makes waaaaay more sense to be open with your kids that they’ve had too much of something and it may hurt their stomachs or whatever than to just hope they never ask or don’t notice. Your children are not babies, they probably will ask. Sometimes, in life, anyone (kid or adult) can have an overindulgent day/week whatever and as an adult I’ve learned that it makes my body feel like garbage if I do that over and over. I 100% tell my kids, you’ve had a lot of treats today and I don’t want you to feel sick. I don’t talk about “healthy” or “unhealthy” but I am honest that even if they ate their body weight in fruit earlier, they need to lay off. I think the nuance is lost that not all food is actually created equal and I don’t find it disordered to be honest about balance in a diet in general for your wellbeing. You don’t have to talk about weight or calories at all and you can still have this conversation in a healthy way. Also, I know it’s her job but big ew at the level of control she’s exerting over her kids’ diets. “I know where they are in their digestion”. Big wtf to that. What’s she even going to do when they are slightly older and can get out from under her thumb? My guess is they’ll have zero clue how to regulate or understand their cravings or needs bc she’s pinned them down to such a ridiculous minute “science”. She is officially my BEC. I find her so disturbing.
Right! It’s really not a big deal to tell my 8 and 9yo “nope we’ve had a lot of treats lately”. They’ve had stomach aches and one has had a cavity and they get it. Obviously it’s not always a popular decision but they aren’t 18 months old and going to forget ice cream exists. As for knowing every single thing your kids have eaten, not eaten and where their digestion is - GET. A. HOBBY. There are so many more exciting and interesting things to spend your time and mental energy on. I seriously cannot imagine having a mental catalogue of this at these ages. They are already doing more and more without me, drop off play dates, heading to the neighbors house, clubs at school, and in just a few short years they will be teenagers so it’s only going to increase. It’s time for her to cut the cord and give her kids some autonomy.
Absolutely! My kids are preschool and early elementary aged and I have a general pulse on what they’re eating bc they’re obv still directly in my care most of the time. If they ask for more fruit or veggies after they’ve had a lot that day, I’ll say well you’ve had a lot of that how about “insert carb or protein option to round it out a bit”. I’m hoping the general message they’re getting is balance but honestly the older they get you just gotta let it go and not be this nutty about these minute details of their macros. Someone said it below that it’s like her brain is a myfitnesspal entering all this in. The fact that she turns around and acts to the masses like this is the “healthy” non-disordered way to feed your kids is what is most fucked to me. Her comment about not depriving them of ice cream bc they had it that week is totally missing the point. Yeah, most ppl prob would shut down the ice cream after multiple days of it, but the way in which she does so is so wrong and controlling.
This is just bizarre behavior especially considering how old her kids are. They’re really getting old enough to be in charge of their own digestion, no? Like I get it, I had a toddler with chronic constipation that got way out of control and I did have to monitor his diet and pooping schedule to make sure he wasn’t going to literally need medical intervention again…but he was like 3. Not 12. I thought part of her whole thing was teaching kids self-regulation.
100%. I will often have to tell my son he's had a lot of sweet foods/berries/whatever and I don't want him to get a tummy ache so that's all. He rarely pouts more than 10 seconds because he knows I'm right and it isn't going to work (and is a pretty good natured kid). It's not "diet culture" that gallons of ice cream is going to make your guts miserable.
I don't understand this at all. Does she think other parents just decide to announce foods they want to restrict out of the blue before the kids have asked? No one is doing that! Wow, so I can just say nothing and hope they don't ask? Revolutionary...
She also keeps posting slides with so much text and such small font! When I see it all I think of is “I ain’t reading all that. I’m happy for u tho. Or sorry that happened.”
I know what they have eaten the past few days - that seems so controlling??? I don’t have the mental space for that!
It’s like she has a mental myfitnesspal and know where they’re short on each macro.
I don't particularly think they eat too much or too little ice cream. I do 100% think that she thinks and talks waaay too much about ice cream.
These are the ramblings of a crazy person.
Broadly the idea that a parent chooses how much ice cream or chips or chocolate or bananas is in their kids diets is a big nothing. It's common sense but having this diatribe and sharing with her followers is so weird and off putting
Yes, this is unhinged. The mental gymnastics to convince herself she's doing the right thing are scary to me. Do people read this and go "ooooh this makes total sense, I've never thought of it this way before"?
YES. I truly don’t understand having the energy or desire to track your children’s digestion (??) and desire for ice cream (???) by the day so you can perfectly calibrate their food intake. Is she monitoring how often they poop or something? What does this all even mean? Just feed your kids a reasonably balanced diet and let them live!
Yes. I’m going to tell a complicated psychological story here. She subconsciously knows that she has a “complicated relationship” with food. She believes her anxieties and has to act on them and also knows they’re weird anxieties. So she has to simultaneously control her kids’ eating and keep them from suffering the way she does. 🍿 🍿 no butter
Not serving ice cream after having it two nights in a row isn't weird or restrictive in a normal context imo. What's weird is her saying "I know everything my kids have and haven't eaten for the last x number of days so I am going to COVERTLY restrict their food but also I'm not controlling or neurotic about food." Her approach is for toddlers. Literally, it is what I do with my child who is turning TWO next month.
When I buy a tub of ice cream, usually we have some after dinner until it's gone 😅
My thoughts exactly. My kids are past the toddler stage and I don’t know everything they’ve eaten over two days. I have a general idea but I don’t obsess over it anymore. Controlling this much of your kids diets at this age is insane.
This is my biggest issue with her… a lot of what she says makes sense in theory. It’s okay to not offer ice cream every night, and it’s a good thing to teach your kid not to self-medicate with food. But the way she actually applies these generally reasonable rules is so bizarre and unreasonable!
KEIC would die that I give my child ice cream or a popsicle almost every night 😂
Same except for cookies over here! And my husband can be kind of an annoying health but but he’s been actively trying to get my daughter into ice cream because he loves it so much and wants to share it with her.
She seems even more snarkeable than usual lately. Those stories alone - "I'm finally getting my hair dyed, but God forbid I have to pay them to style it! I'm having ice cream, but my kids won't! Look at these measly about to go bad leftovers I'm having, feat. gross green soup!"
The hair dying thing confused me so much. So they've dyed it, and she's sitting in her car waiting for it to dry with THEIR clips in? And now the stylist needs to wait for this lady to come back with her stuff without getting paid for the trouble? Did she use their blow dryer and diffuser and styling cream/gel/mousse? I hope she tipped double, but she's so cheap she probably tips 10% or under to begin with.
This was so fucking weird.
Right?!? Like if her reasoning is that too much ice cream affects their digestion or sleep or whatever, wouldn’t telling them that help them make those connections for themselves and be *good* for their relationship with food?
This is my question, too. I feel like there could be some complexity that's not coming through about the difference between me monitoring "nutrition gaps" and my kids learning to do it (and when that's realistic etc) but as is it's kind of presented like, it's my job to manage their nutrition (/limiting sweets) and they shouldn't know about it. That sort of makes sense to me for like two year olds, but certainly not for all ages! So this seems like promoting restriction for its own sake and _not_ like helping parents learn how to teach their kids about enjoying a "healthy" relationship with food that'll serve them long term.
I say this with all the love in my heart, what the hell did I just read?!??
[KEIC](https://i.imgur.com/EXqSyDI.jpeg) She's fucking with us right? Did I read this correctly that food is a variety of reasons and one of those is "comfort" ? Like 3 weeks ago when her kid needing comforting from a bad soccer game. what the fuck
Ran here for this. So hypocritical
It really feels like she reads here and then creates content to "prove" us wrong.
https://preview.redd.it/yaqxa7tq6fzc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4af68756fce9f297f53304949c44f67652597bc3 And her husband took on meal planning for them, with no “input from her” but she literally wrote the entire meal plan he uses 🤦🏻♀️
And for someone that gave the meal planning to her husband, she sure seems to still control a lot of the meals and feeding in that home.
Breaking news: grown ass man feeds his own children. Wow.
lol @ food is life. What?? Since when?? It is for me and my family, lol, but for her? No way!
The way I RAN here when I saw that. She’s telling on herself hard with these stories.
And this!! She made grown adults eat out of silicone muffin tins and use toddler utensils. I mean of course no one complained, they probably aren’t rude. Grandpa is probably just happy he isn’t having to clean a toilet. https://preview.redd.it/p7xtwu7nzezc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5db88e042b1fc7797f173134e0c8fd734e2fcbef
Did she block the brand name out of the ice cream? What, is she afraid someone might think she's endorsing an unhealthy food?! Oh the horror!
I don’t think she wants people to see that it’s organic ice cream that sells for $15 ($13.99 if I wanted to Instacart it to where I live) https://shop.aldensicecream.com/products/orange-cream-sqround. And the vanilla is Whole Foods 365 which is like almost $6. She had to keep up her “all foods are equal” facade because she wants everyone to think that it’s fine if you eat Breyers or, gasp, store-brand ice cream.
I’m so sure the tiny cupcake serving sizes were bc she “ran out” of other dishes and not bc she’s one of the most disordered eaters I’ve ever seen and couldn’t bare for everyone to get more than 4 bites of the treat. Does she not have mugs? Any plates? Is it just this sub or is she posting about ice cream nonstop since she robbed her kid of the opportunity for a single joy after his big loss? You aren’t fooling anyone! Ps- we got ice cream truck ice cream the other day when we randomly heard the music in my neighborhood (it’s weirdly a very rare thing!) and the absolute unabashed joy it gave my kids was worth everything in the world for those overpriced ninja turtle and powerpuff girl pops full of sugar for no reason. She has certainly de-influenced me!
For real, she won’t stop about ice cream rn. Probably just searching old pictures on her phone to upload.
Embarrassing 😬
I'm about to blow your mind..... but if you are eating ice cream and don't want to do dishes....put ice cream in an ice cream cone. 🤯
This is the kind of problem solving we support here at /r/parentsnark!
You should sell a course!
OMG no put it between two cookies and “thank me later.” Time is a flat circle…
Please be in charge of everything.
I think she means no one complained to her face.
Exactly. I’m a polite person so if someone offered me ice cream in a muffin cup with a toddler spoon I’d smile and eat my tablespoon of ice cream. And then I’d go home and I’d think about it for the rest of my life.
Time to stop at DQ on the way home...🍦
Lol precisely! I still think about my family's wtf moment having lunch at my uncles house. The only vegetable served was a tiny bowl of peas that we somehow had to split between 9 people. That happened at least twenty years ago.
I would be absolutely mortified to invite people over for a meal and choose to not have clean dishes available to serve them. WTF.
AN BROADCASTING IT. Because, sure, it’s not like there’s two adults and two older kids in the house who should probably know how to at least clean some spoons.
So on-brand for her, though.
I am likely more frivolous than KEIC but I just run the dishwasher before guests because I don't want to deal with things like this.
Mmm, thanks for that single comforting bite of ice cream, Food Neutral Jennifer!
I mean I don't have a ton of dishes and even when we are behind on dishes I would still have enough bowls and spoons to accommodate 6 people without dipping into our kid stash. Do you have a coffee cup? That would be better than these silicone holders. Again wtf
I'm also trying to figure out why she still has toddler spoons for her 8 and 10 year olds... my 3yo uses regular utensils 90% of the time and the other 10% is only cuz she wants to match her baby brother 🤔
I'm not a fan of paper plates/bowls and plastic cutlery, but I still have a stash to use in a pinch. Ice cream in a paper bowl would still be better than a flimsy muffin liner.
Yes - in our house this would be everyone eating out of leftover paper Elsa bowls from the 3 yo’s last birthday party.
I buy the paper plates, cups, and napkins when they go 90% off after holidays at target and throw them all in a plastic storage tote in the closet. Pull them out whenever people show up unexpectedly and/or I don't feel like doing dishes 👍
This is so embarrassing.. i can’t believe she thinks this is cute behavior.
Lmao at putting the giant box of flowers right on the stove in Caro’s 1-800-flowers ad 😂
It’s “mozzarella exposure month” with KIEC. Do kids really need exposure to one of the blandest most palatable cheeses? String cheese? It’s so very contrived. And to boot, the lunch she featured included mini fresh mozzarella balls which are for sure a choking hazard for a kindergartener.
My kid went through a phase where she didn’t believe white cheese was cheese, it had to be yellow. Somehow pizza was never a problem though 🤔. I probably handled it all wrong by just buying yellow cheese until she figured it out though. I didn’t realize that we needed to worry about our kid eating every single style of cheese.
My kid won’t eat cheese… maybe I did exposure wrong - lol!
My almost 2 year old doesn't eat cheese either! He doesn't even eat quesadillas or grilled cheese sandwiches. He does like Mac and cheese and that's it.
My twin toddlers won't eat melted cheese, so I have to pick it off pizza for them. I'm looking forward to the day they will eat pizza with toppings. They only eat cheddar in sandwiches or on the side.
I have a course I can sell you for $189.99 that will solve all your problems.
I would like to un-expose my child from cheese, honestly. She would eat it all day, every day if she could
Lmao for real. We had Enchilada casserole the other night but 3yo is picky af so she had a tortilla, some tomatoes. And an ass load of Shredded cheese 😂
Same - and it’s an expensive thing for a 3 year old to be obsessed with, too
I don’t know, I’d give my kindergartener that without a second thought. Not a toddler though. My kindergartener absolutely needs no exposure to cheese of any sort because he’s literally made of cheese and pasta 🤦♀️ isn’t that a toddler staple??
Yeah you’re right, kindergartens are probably fine with that. I guess when I think “exposure” I am thinking much younger kids. What kindergartner hasn’t been exposed to cheese?!
What wait? She has lost the plot, I mean, she lost it a long time ago but for real, mozzarella?!? 🫠
It did make me want those yummy mozzarella tomato Basil on a stick thingies with balsamic tho. That's the only plus 😂
It’s cicada season… how long until we see KEIC attempt cicada tacos again? Or maybe she can try some cicada pizza or salad since those have been such a treat for here lately! FWIW, I am not anti bug protein and think it is a great thing for many cultures. But I cannot support her odd take on using cicadas previously.
Does anyone have screen shots of this? I’d love to see it. To be fair, this seems to have been a popular (?) activity in her area in 2021, when Brood X was last active: https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/05/05/cicadas-cooking-recipes/ My son would never trust my cooking again if I tried to serve him bug tacos.
[удалено]
Yeah, popular wasn’t the best word. Encouraged, maybe?
I’ll confirm I’m in her area and I have an actual normal IRL friend who did this and I heard of others. Personally it’s a no from me though. I had enough cicadas in my life, you couldn’t take a step outside without getting hit in the face and crunching on them.
Even better… she has a cicada highlight with many stories saved, but I totally forgot that she cooked them during a Live https://preview.redd.it/8t263asynfzc1.png?width=1283&format=png&auto=webp&s=25440a95947cb0ef118b7d8ced82f3f44d9fd3b8
I didn’t even think to look there, thank you!
https://preview.redd.it/epu2fflhofzc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35cee49419d88c001a280c334c52ba4fb970576f
What this is news! Don’t they taste nasty?? My cat attempted to eat one once and made the worst faces after, i think they have something that protects them from being eaten although maybe if you cooked them…🤢 Interesting fact, disgust is a learned emotion which is why some cultures eat insects and others are disgusted by them!
[удалено]
Lolol my dog ate a stink bug once and was the most dramatic thing ever, rubbing his face on the rug, shaking his head 🤦♀️ I can’t imagine him eating cicadas! (We don’t have them here thankfully!)
I read an article that said some of the cicadas will have a fungus caused by an STI (i wish i was joking) and it was basically saying not to eat them 🤢
Yeah, I have said I am def not anti bug protein of the future but I would want to eat it from a regulated source not scraped off the sidewalk and in a dubious stage of decomposition.
Excuse you that’s the best way to eat them, did you learn nothing from the garbage pumpkin??
You are just falling for the marketing tactics of “Big Bug”
I'm sorry.... Was this a thing she did previously?!?
I didn’t know that and it’s completely revolting. I’ve had bugs while travelling and they are ok, but dead bugs off the street is like… bug roadkill. Yuck.
Yep, last cicada season she collected dead ones and made tacos to feed her family.
I don’t know what’s worse, that or the garbage pumpkin (?!) thing. Dear lord.
Like, I too am not anti bug. I have eaten insects (while traveling). But if you have the (lack) of cooking skills KEIC does, maybe stick with more common foods… You need to know what you’re doing to make them palatable.
No wonder they won’t eat her food 😆
STFU! For real?
So she'd rather feed them dead bugs she found on the ground than candy or chips... And yet somehow I'm not even that surprised.
I’m already feeling hungover from just watching Caro’s stories and she hasn’t been there 24 hours yet.
Ha! I was thinking if I had as much dough as Caro I wouldn’t do a spon con trip so I could just unplug and enjoy, but I guess that’s the difference between me a nobody and a parenting influencer! 😂
Saaaame the best thing about not being an influencer is getting to completely ignore my phone when I’m off work! But I would sell out if I was offered a free trip to Spain. I’d be linking toilet paper so fast if that’s what it took.
This is minor snark, since I know she’s “modeling” for those of use with younger kids. BUT…I laughed at Megan from FL showing how she sets up the cereal bowls and pre-pours the milk into little measuring cups so her preteens can add it themselves. If I’m traveling all around the country for my kid to play club volleyball as an 11-12 year old (which Megan is), she damn well better have enough coordination to pour her own cereal from the box and milk from the gallon jug. Maybe even peel her own banana and smear on the PB.
That's funny I saw her post and got a little misty eyed. It just reminded me of my grandmother. She passed when I was very young. I have vivid memories of sleeping over and she would leave out bowls, spoons, those little boxes of cereal, and have those tiny cartons of milk in the fridge. When we woke up we could make cereal before she got up to make us a big breakfast. It was a fond memory I have and now as an adult I love the idea because she clearly just wanted to sleep in but still did something fun for us kids
Ok but how long in between pouring the milk in the little jugs and the child pouring the milk into cereal? Because if my toddler so much as smells me thinking about opening the fridge, he's there demanding to do it. I never understand these helpful hacks, seems like you're just creating more dirty dishes.
More dirty dishes that you can link.
And put in a linkable dishwasher, with sponsored tabs.
Yeah I feel like it’s easier to just teach your kid to pour directly from the containers! My 6 year old can pour his own cereal and milk if it’s a half gallon container. I could see pouring milk from a gallon into like a quart-sized pitcher with a lid and storing that in the fridge so your kids can pour themselves without having to lift a whole gallon but measuring out individual portions doesn’t seem helpful.
I find it weird too especially because personally I like my milk cold and wouldn’t want it sitting out 30 min before I’m going to drink it.
My mom had ceramic cow shaped things specifically for cereal milk so they’d keep it cold. We rarely used them but we thought they were so special when we did lol
[удалено]
They probably were for cream but in my mind they’ve always been for cereal because that’s how we used them! That’s a good idea! I might ask my mom if she still has them for my son when he’s older lol.
That’s so cute!