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Toddlers Today's MomsTalk Archive Hi mommies. Jarin is in playing with his sister right now. Although, what I hear is her saying "no, Jarin. No, Jarin". etc. He loves to get into her stuff. Well, my oldest baby is now 16. We are having our family party tonight. I can't believe it. Jesse caught a touchdown pass at his flag football game yesterday. Yay! Of course, he also threw the ball to the other team again. He is so funny. Jarin is being closer to his normal happy self again. Still waking at night, yuck. But not as much crying anymore. He is just my little sweetheart. **Kahne: Can't wait to see pics of Cat at the wedding and of your lovely red hair. LOL. I was so mad that the pics you sent wouldn't open!!! Yay for Cat getting her first tooth. **Shelly: Welcome to you and Riley! I have two older children too. Jaime is 16 and Jesse is 8, then Jarin just turned one. **LisaB: Ok, LOL at you trying to teach Max to pee standing up. I hope my DH takes over that one too! I thought of you this morning when Jarin was lying in bed with me. He lifted up my shirt and just laid himself on my tummy and started nursing. It was so funny. DH asked him if mommy was a self serve station now. LOL **Michelle: Glad to see you back! =) Happy belated birthday to Riley. Sorry I missed it on the right day. =( That is so great that he is walking everywhere. Isn't it amazing how fast they can get around??? Evan sounds adorable talking about yesterday. I remember when Jesse used to do that. It always cracked me up. **Crystal: Too cute that Darrel is trying to undress himself. Jarin only got his diaper off once and he thought he was pretty cool doing that. heehee. Glad to hear that Darrel's teeth are coming through. That's great that you love your daycare job so much. **Julianne: Hope you enjoy your hotel overnight. That sounds like a lot of fun. Too funny that colton put himself in "jail". LOL. I am so glad he didn't cry when you took him to daycrae. I am living for the day that Jarin finally stops crying! Of course, knowing me, then I'll be complaining that he doesn't miss me enough. LOL **Helen: Sorry to hear about Amanda's cut on her tongue. Hope she is ok. Jarin also loves to get into the refrigerator. He thinks it is the neatest place ever. =) **Joy: Add Jarin to the list of kids with a temper! **Sarah: Glad to hear that you have your sweet baby back and that Hannah is feeling better. =) Also glad to hear that she has a molar through. I wonder if that is what's making Jarin grumpy. LOL at you leaving DH's laundry there. Sounds exactly like something I would've done!!! **Tracey: Jarin is just fine now. He was dehydrated. We spent one day in the hospital. He seems to be getting back to normal now, poor little guy. We had our recheck last week and they said he is ok. I'm glad to hear you have no sickos at your house! =) **Take care everyone. I gave Mary your congratulations. They have named their little boy Zane. He was 8 lbs 11 oz at birth. He is very cute. She sent me a picture. See you all later! Patty and Jarin 12 3/4 months email: tematheny@ct Sunday, September 19, 1999 at 11:01:31 (MDT)) Hi, Romaine here. It's been a loooong time since I have checked in! I had a baby girl 12 days ago-8days past EDD-grr! But she is absolutely beautifula and a joy to behold-unless it is the middle of the night and she does not want to go to sleep! I want to thank- Sarah G- for the points to ponder. Now I feel REALLY old! LOL! Cynthia- for Adam's pics-Cutie! Saba is adjusting quite well to our new addition. We never did get her into a bed, so DD2 is sleeping in a bassinette in our room (which I SWORE I would NEVER do!), but you do what you have to! She has her meltdowns, usually when she is tired. It is a battle to keep a spit blanket close by as she takes them. It does not matter how many I have, she wants them. That is when some of the meltdowns occur-sigh. I am lurking still on pg board and with baby board. I still hope to pop by though! Romaine and Saba 18mos, DD2, 12days email: rrantry@yahoo.ca Sunday, September 19, 1999 at 17:04:02 (MDT)) Crystal here. I don't have much to say right now. However, prayers are greatly needed right now. My husband left Wednesday to flee the hurricane and was supposed to call me back later that night. He never called. So, I called the barracks last night to see if anyone has heard from him. They did on Thursday. He called to say that he won't make it in time to go to work Friday because he's stranded. No one told me where or how he got stranded. No one has heard from him since. I'm ready to file a missing persons report because who knows what could have happened between Thursday and now. He could be in need of medical attention, or worse. And right now, it's so hard for me to quit smoking because of the stress of not knowing whether or not my husband is okay. So, I have to wait until a time when I'm not under so much stress. Otherwise, I'll be a major grouch because smokking is a comfort habit for me. So, please pray as hard as you can that my husband is okay and that I hear from him soon, whether by phone or e-mail. As it is, so many emotions are running through my heart that I don't know what is what. I'm mad at him for fleeing the hurricane, but I'm glad he did. I'm mad at him for not calling, but he probably is okay and didn't want to worry me unnessecarily. I'm mad at my parents for running my life. I feel guilty because I'm not there with my husband, wherever he may be. It's just all too much for me right now. Thank you for your prayers. I know they'll help a lot. Worried Crystal email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Sunday, September 19, 1999 at 20:39:28 (MDT)) Good morning ladies. SARAH here! I HATE MONDAY'S!!!! Plus, I woke up VERY grumpy today! It's rainy and gloomy here this morning, so of course it was so hard to get out of bed. Plus, I didn't fall asleep until midnight, and had to get up at 5am. :( I put HANNAH down at 8:30 last night and she woke back up at 9:45 (I had been in bed about 45 minutes) DH was still up so I didn't have to get up. But, of course I just laid there, wondering what was going on. FINALLY, I got up about 10:30 to see cause she kept crying. DH said she acted scared in her crib. That's the second time that's happened in a week. She stayed up playing until 12:00am. UGH!! I'm sooo tired! Anyway, we had a great weekend together (HANNAH, DH, and I) We spent alot of time together and HANNAH was just a doll. She was in such a GREAT mood this weekend!!! It probably feels so good to her to feel good again!!! Well, on to a few personals: SHELLY - I never welcomed you to the site, so....WELCOME!!!! I take it you're MORIAH's sister? KAHNE - I would love to see pictures!!! Yea for CAT getting her first tooth!! :) TRACEY - Good to hear from you!! Thank you for the get well wishes for HANNAH. She's all better now!!! :) PATTY - LOL at JARIN pulling up your shirt to nurse!! :) ROMAINE - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! :) :) :) CRYSTAL - Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers! Have you happened to hear from him yet? HELEN - So sorry to hear AMANDA hurt herself!! :( Well, that's it for now!! Talk to you all later! Sarah and Hannah (1 year) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Monday, September 20, 1999 at 06:55:43 (MDT)) Hello everyone, Louise here. It's just taken me nearly an hour to catch up with all the post, I'm supposed to be finishing a work project but this was much more interesting! We've just had a few days away, staying with some of my family who live up in the Scottish borders. It was a really relaxing break - James was bit of a nightmare during the (long) car journeys, but wonderful once we got there. It is so beautiful there, and because they have so much more space inside and out that we have, he really appreciated being able to roam around. He's still not really walking - just takes a couple of steps and then sits down with a very surprised look on his face! Lol. DH and I were even able to go out to dinner as we had on-site babysitters - having said that, our choice was limited to one tiny, ancient pub with deer walking around outside! Last time I posted I was comiserating with Lisa B because James has also been really difficult to settle for daytime naps, even though he goes down so well at night. Well I can't remember who suggested keeping to the same routine as you have at night - but whoever it was, thank you! I've always had a night time routine, but I was thinking that I could hardly give him a bath every time he needed to take a nap, and the only other thing that I could think of that I do differently at night is put him in his sleeping bag. I tried it during the day - it works! I can now put him in his cot wide awake at nap time and he goes straight to sleep! It makes me laugh to think that all those times he was fighting sleep he was probably saying 'where's my sleeping bag?!!' It's weird, the associations they place on things, though logical I suppose! He is going to have to join the temper tantrums club though - I can't bear to think what he'll be like when he hits 2, hopefully he'll have got some of it out of his system by then! Thanks for the cake advice - I'm going to have a go at baking one, but will buy a stand-by as well! Over here cakes are kind of associated with 'motherhood' (you wouldn't believe we're nearly in the next millenium, would you!) whereas I guess you guys all bake cookies - we're not really a 'cookie country' - much as I love them, I don't know anyone that bakes them, I'll have to have a go! Incidentally, I think James has been sneaking onto the internet at night and talking to your babies - when he says 'Mama', everyone notices that he says it in an American accent and it comes out as 'Momma'! Enough rambling - couple of personals: Becky - this is probably very out of date by now, but I just wanted to add my voice to your situation with your birth mother - I think that you should trust your gut instinct to do what is best for you all. If you don't want to be put in that situation, then it's your right not to be - on the other hand, it might be worth seeing it as an opportunity, just to meet once and then decide if you want to take it any further? It's great that you are so close to your Mum (adoptive) that she could be there too. Sue - good luck with the Zoloft.I was prescribed this back in February, it made a huge difference to me. My main problem was that I'd completely got out of the habit of sleeping because James was so colicky and was up most of the night, and I was permanently 'wired up' and unable to relax. They really made a difference in a couple of weeks and 'allowed' my body to calm down and relax. I only took them for a few months and I feel great now. Sarah - I'm so glad your Mum had a great time in London! Beth - on the fingernail cutting issue - James also hates it, as others have suggested, try doing it in the bath. I've also tried doing my own in front of him and acting like it was great fun which seemed to help. Moriah - congratulations on Alex clapping! James does the closed hand thing too! Crystal - I hope you'll have good news soon and that your DH is safe and sound, I'm sure he will be. Speak later, Louise & James Monday, September 20, 1999 at 06:56:24 (MDT)) Monday morning come around way too fast. Colton developed a cough last night and kept DH and me up from 2-4 am! I was glad that DH helped again in trying to get him back to sleep. I had a great time with my scrapbooking this weekend. Colton's 1 yr book is finished except for the last page. My vacation book is up to date too. I did the entire ABC book on Saturday. It turned out great. Colton likes to look at it-Yeah! He even said "O" when we were looking at the owl on the "O" page. He has started saying a few more words now. He says "toot-toot" when he sees the train on the Thomas video, if he hears a dog bark he starts saying "wooooof-wooooof", and Dh taught him to howl like a wolf Friday night. DH did a good job watching Colton this weekend and had a good time. The house wasn't near the disaster I thought it would be. Colton gave me a bloody lip Saturday night. He was sitting on my lap and suddenly head-butted me with the back of his head. When I shouted "ouch" and covered my mouth he thought it was funny and tried to hit me in the mouth with his hand. I then realized that I was bleeding. He split both my top and bottom lip! They are still sore today. Kahne: Yeah for Cat's first tooth. Crystal: Great day at work. Keep up the good job. Those kids and parents are lucky to have you working there. I will pray for the safety of your DH & hope you hear from him soon. Patty: When DH watched Colton this weekend and was getting him ready for a shower he heard Colton say "hmmmm" and looked over at him to find him standing up peeing on the bathroom floor. When he set him on the floor after the shower Colton did the same thing! Romaine: Congrats on the birth of your baby daughter. Louise: Glad to hear you had a great get-away. Wow, drinking with the deer! Good luck on your cake. I forgot to tell you all that my friend had her triplets via c-section Friday morning. They weighed 3, 3.6, & 3.12 pounds and ranged from 16-17 inches. By Friday afternoon they were all breathing on their own and did not need to be hooked up to any machines and were even trying to suck. I have not had a chance to talk to her, but I can't wait to see them. Have a great Monday everyone. Julianne & Colton 14 mo email: jjones@batts.com Monday, September 20, 1999 at 08:49:06 (MDT)) Hello ladies it is the long lost Leanne HERE! It has been quit a few weeks since I have posted here and boy has alot changed!! First off Veronica (13months on Sept. 10) is now walking like mad! She beat her sisters by more than a month. Very excited! She is so much fun... As for the POTTY TRAINING ---- ARRRRGGG Cynthia is not doing so well right now she is now 29 months and has gone poop on the toliet twice and pee maybe 3 times! We have had a couple of POOP accidents where she poops and takes her pants off and gets it EVERYWHERE! I never had this problem with Alexis - she was so easy! Anyways I think I will just hold off a month or so and maybe she will get into it again! What do you other potty training mommies thing?????? Alexis (5) started kindergarten last week! I thought I would cry when I dropped her off but it was such a BRUTAL day that I honestly could not wait for her to go! When I picked her up though I cried she looked so grown up! BOO HOO the good news is that she can now take the bus!! As she goes in the after noon and I would have to pick her up at 3:15 and Cynthia and Veronica are usually napping at that time - now I dont have to worry as the bus drops her off infront of our house pretty much so I dont have to wake up the kids!! YEAH!! BIG NEWS!!!!! I am pregnant!! Yes Number!! Needless to say we are alittle surpirsed but very excited! I am due around May 21 and am 5 weeks along. I have to say I am very nervous with this one as I feel that we are pushing our luck with a fourth pregnancie (heathly one) and on the other board I keep on reading all these ladies bleeding and m/c it is so sad.... So I am really trying to stay positive about it all. If you can believe it, my clothes are already startig to get tight around the waist! I knew I would show sooner this time but not this soon. I started wearing Mat. clothes with Veronica at 8 weeks but this one might be sooner! Sorry I did not hve time to post to all you wonderfull ladies yet - but I promise I will be more consistent! I really missed you all. It looks liek there are alot of new ones here so WELCOME!! Talk to you sooon !!:) Leanne Preg. w/#4 3 under 3 (yikes) Monday, September 20, 1999 at 10:18:59 (MDT)) Good morning from Rita. We had a nice weekend. On Saturday Larry & I went to his SIL's BD party without the girls. I was a little worried how Amy would do since she was napping when we left. She did really well, though. It was only the second time that we have left both girls. I remember how we promised that we would take time out for each other. Somehow that seems to fall by the wayside when you have babies... Julianne - Sounds like you had a productive overnight Crop! Did you sleep at all? I can't believe that you got the whole ABC book done! Is it a full-size book or a 5x8? We just got a new color printer yesterday, so I can finally print out enough pictures to get going on the books I plan to do for the grandmas. By the way, Mr. Chips is doing well. I can't believe that I have to clean out his tank already! Romaine - Congratulations on the birth of Mya! Sounds like Saba is doing quite well with the new baby. How is Leanne? Crystal - I will keep Doug in my thoughts and prayers. Patty - Jarin must be sending vibes to Amy. I always BF Amy around 5AM and she usually goes back to sleep for another hour or so on the weekends. When she woke up for the second time, I had her with me on our bed. She made a lunge for me and was slapping my breasts and making fussy sounds. If she could have helped herself, I am sure that she would have. Tracey - The girls are doing well. Mad Maddy is her firecracker self, as always. She is back into the full tantrum phase complete with kicking. I think that we may have a performer on our hands. LOL Kahne - Thanks for the pictures. What a great looking family you guys are. Sarah - Larry wouldn't pick up or fold laundry either. When I met him, he always left his clean laundry in a basket in his closet and never put it away. Since I like my things put away, it falls upon me to do all of the laundry chores in our household. He does his own ironing, though. I do have to draw the line somewhere... Time to get into a project that I have been putting off for long enough. Take care everyone! Rita & Maddy email: ritad@home.com Monday, September 20, 1999 at 10:26:35 (MDT)) Crystal and Darrel here. First of all, I want to thank everyone for their prayers. Doug called first thing this morning and said that he's okay and said that he was sorry that he had me so worried about him. My parents tried to convince me to file the missing persons report Saturday night, when I found out that Doug was stranded and got all kinds of things running through my head, such as the possibility that he could be dead. I wanted to hold off until Sunday to see if I could find anything out. I didn't find much out, but Doug did call this morning. At least I now he's okay. Now I can get on him about being so irresponsible and not calling me sooner or letting me know that he got to Memphis okay. Needless to say, it's a great relief. Doug also got to talk to Darrel. :0) Darrel smiled real big as though he knew the voice. Maybe he still remembers his dad? Well, Doug will be here next Wednesday. I cannot wait until he gets here. I found an apartment. It's a one bedroom with a den. Darrel can sleep in the den no problem. Plus, there are 4 pools, a rec center, a volleyball court, and two tennis courts. It's right across the street from a college, and there's a waterpark nearby. The den has sliding doors going into the living room, so if Darrel's playing in his room and I need to clean house, all I have to do is oopen the doors and put up a child safety gate. Darrel would be able to see me when he needs to see some one, and I'd still be able to kkeep an eye on him. It's perfect for us. Darrel now acts like he's trying to walk but is scared to. If something he can hold onto is just out of reach while he's standing, he tries to reach it anyway. If he can't, he crawls to it. He can walk if he tried, but he seems to be a bit scared to. I try to encourage him to walk without pushing him into it, but it's hard to draw the line between pushing and encouraging. I don't think he'll walk before he's 14 months. But, he's also doing so many new things that have nothing to do with learning to walk. He's developing other skills and expanding his vocabulary so much. He says "nana" for banana now. He also says his name, which comes out as "Dar-Dar". It's so cute. Leanne: congrats on your pregnancy. Romaine: Congrats on your little girl. Tracey: I'll e-mail you as soon as I get time. Hi to anyone else I missed. Okay. Darrel is a sweetheart, but he's also rather disgusting. He learned how to "finger paint" last night. So, I had to change his sheets again (I just put them on Saturday) wash is quilt that his Nana made for him for Christmas, and wash walls. He also had to have a bath and I had to brush his teeth before he even had breakfast. Yes, he had a little midnight snack as well. Has anyone elses toddler had midnight snacks, and can the "snacks" hurt them? I know the finger painnting is normal, but are the "snacks"? Sorry if I grossed anyone out. Bye for now. Crystal and Darrel 13 months Thursday email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Monday, September 20, 1999 at 12:14:02 (MDT)) Hi Mommies & Babies, it's Debbie & Maddie. Sorry about being gone for so long. The movers are here today packing and hopefully we'll be at our new home Wednesday. I'am at my neighbors house, so I just glanced at the posts. Dana - It's so good to hear from you. Happy Birthday to Derek. Please stay in touch. Joy - And it's really good to hear from you too. Hope Josh is doing better soon. Patty - Hope Jarin is well soon. Everyone else, I miss you all so much. I can't wait to get back. ASAP, I'll get our online connected again. Take care, talk to you soon. Debbie & Maddie Monday, September 20, 1999 at 13:15:38 (MDT)) Hi mommies. Jarin is about ready to wake from his nap, so this will have to be quick. I had to let him cry himself to sleep last night as he had been nursing for almost 30 minutes and my boobs couldn't take any more!! He did go to sleep within five minutes, thank heaven. He woke up again around 2AM and I went in and told him it was "night night time". He cried for about 5 more minutes and then slept until 6:30. I hope the letting him cry thing works quickly and he starts sleeping until 6-7 again. He did so well at the sitter today! Yay!! He cried for only about 10 seconds when I left - I heard him stop before I was even out the door. Major happy dances. =) **Romaine: Welcome back to you and Saba and congratulations on your new little one. **Crystal: Glad to hear dh is ok. Your apt sounds great. **Sarah: So you are getting to have a little night owl on your hands, huh? I do the same thing if dh gets up with Jarin - lay there and wonder what he's doing, if Jarin's ok, etc. I'm glad that Hannah is feeling better. Hope she gets over the fear of her crib quickly! **Louise: Good to hear from you again. The pub with the deer outside sounds too neat. I'm glad that the sleeping bag is helping James take naps more easily for you. **Julianne: Sorry to hear about your bloody lips. Jarin head butts me sometimes too and he thinks "ouch" is a hilarious word. I can just hear Colton howling like a wolf. Too cute. I am so happy to hear that your friend's triplets are doing so well. That is good news. LOL at Colton peeing on the floor. I'll have to tell Jarin he has a little buddy doing the same thing. heehee **Leanne; Welcome back to you and congratulations!! You are going to be one very busy woman!!! **Rita: I know what you mean about having a hard time making time for each other. My dh is feeling pretty left out lately (read: no sex). I keep hearing how I don't have time for him. =( That is so cute that Amy wants to have a self service station too. LOL **Debbie: Good luck on your move and thanks for the thoughts on Jarin. He's ok now. I can't wait to see you back here more often. **Take care everyone! Patty and Jarin - 1 year email: tematheny@ctlnet.com Monday, September 20, 1999 at 14:10:02 (MDT)) Hey everyone! Long time, no post! I was beginning to feel like I was missing something. My mom, sister & step-dad flew in for a visit last Thursday morning and just left this morning. We had a really nice visit!! I am suprised that it wasn't as stressful as it usually is. My step-dad is, shall I say, High-Maintenance! Every time we went out to lunch or dinner, something was either wrong with his meal, it took too long or the atmosphere wasn't just right... You get the picture. I mean, I complain when my steak is too done or it's not what I ordered... but I am tactful and don't complain too much. Ugh! It's just so embarrasing to go out to eat w/ my stepdad! Oh well. Other than that, we all had a great time and they all just adored Elizabeth! Elizabeth is still a real joy and as cute as ever! Still not walking yet, the little stinker! She just about took a couple steps tonight, but chickened out and got down on her knees. I quickly skimmed through the posts so, my personals won't go into great detail... Sorry! >>>Leanne, CONGRATS on your pregnancy!! That's great! DH and I have talked about the #4, but we'll see! I told him I may change my mind! >>>Michelle, HI!! I was beginning to wonder about you! >>>Helen, OUCH! Poor Amanda and the spoon! Elizabeth has this fascination w/ the dishwasher and everytime I load or unload it, she races over to it! >>>Joy, Hate to break it to ya, but those screaming fits that Josh had in the park... they don't get too much better! >>>Shelly, Hello and welcome to loony-land! LOL! >>>Tracey, HI! It's so good to hear from you! You are missed!! That is so great to hear that no one in your family is sick! I hope it stays that way for a LONG time! Hope to see you back here soon. >>>Romaine, CONGRATS On your new little blessing!!! I am so happy for you! >>>Louise, HOW CUTE... James has an American accent when he says momma, huh! Good luck on your cake! I am sure it will turn out great! Speaking of cookies... I am baking some snickerdoodles tomorrow! I'll send you some! :) >>>Julianne, Yea for getting your scrapbook near completion! Ouch... I hope your lip begins feeling better! that is so GREAT that your friend and her triplets are doing so well! >>>Rita, I know what you mean about the "couple" time! DH and I haven't had a night out in SO SO long! >>>Crystal, Glad to hear your DH is okay! >>>Patty, It sounds like Jarin is on his way back to sleeping through the nigh, if he's only crying for 5 mins. or so! Well, I better get... DH and I promised each other that we'd start getting to bed earlier. (We usually turn the lights out at midnight and it was kicking our butts- we were becoming zombies during the day!) Well, it's 11pm... that's a start! You all take care and have a great Tuesday! Kelli & Elizabeth, 14 months email: rkncs@aol.com Monday, September 20, 1999 at 22:58:56 (MDT)) I forgot a couple: Beth, How are you and Allison? Hope you are doing okay! SarahM, HI! Glad Hannah is back to 110%! About her being scared in her crib, could it be that she had a really bad dream? Elizabeth awakend a couple times really scared, but usually went right back to sleep. Kelli again email: rkncs@aol.com Monday, September 20, 1999 at 23:04:29 (MDT)) Colton and I both have colds--Yuck. I have a sore throat and stuffed up nose. He has a cough and a nose that runs non-stop. He went through so many tissues yesterday. We let him sleep with us last night since he was sick. Otherwise I get no sleep getting in and out of bed to comfort him because he is coughing. He did really good though--still it's not the best sleep. Both DH and me were tired this morning. He is going in his own crib tonight. Leanne: Yeah for Veronica walking. Congrats on being pg with your 4th. Wow. I will keep you in my prayers. Rita: The ABC book I did was the 5 X 8 size. I stayed up until 2 am Friday night and stopped at 3 pm Saturday. Crystal: I was glad to hear that your DH is safe and coming home next week Wednesday. You must be so excited. It sounds like you found a great apartment. When do you think you can move? Patty: Yeah for Jarin doing good at the sitters. I hope he starts sleeping better for you again. Hello to all the other mommies and babies. Julianne & Colton 14 mo email: jjones@batts.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 06:27:14 (MDT)) Hi, Louise here. Just a quick question - we have just got James his first pair of proper shoes (how cute are they?!!) as he is starting to toddle - but he screams as if I've put hot coals on his feet! He refuses to stand in them. He's always been fine when I've put baby shoes and bootees on him occasionally - any other babies reacted this way? Kelli - please enlighten me - what ON EARTH are snickerdoodles?! They sound great, I'm dying to know! Leanne - congratulations on #4!! You are one brave lady - I find one hard enough! Great news. Patty - I'm glad Jarin seems to be settling better at the sitters. I know there's nothing worse than leaving a sobbing baby. Sounds like he is catching on to what is expected of him at night!! Crystal - glad DH is OK. The appartment sounds great. Louise & James Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 08:10:36 (MDT)) Crystal and Darrel here. Just a quick post to Julieanne, as I have an interview at a new day care shortly. we'll be able to move into the apartment on October 10. We'll have to stay with my parents a little longer, but that gives Doug a few weeks to find a job and it gives us time to save up a little more money. Gotta run. Bye. Crystal and Darrel almost 13 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 08:14:14 (MDT)) Good morning ladies! SARAH here. Not much going on here. The weather is alot nicer today, though. Supposed to be mid 70's-80's the rest of the week.:) HANNAH is doing 2 new things. First off, whenever someone walks away from her, she waves (like an adult does - open handed) and says "See ya later". It's sooo cute. Secondly, she is CONSTANTLY talking. NONSTOP!! :) She'll jabber something and then in the middle say "Dado (doggie) oooh, oooh (barking - real high voice)" then start jabbering again. I usually leave before she gets up in the morning (I leave at 5:30, she gets up about 8:30 or 9:00). But this morning, I was getting ready, and I could hear her in her crib doing her "oooh, oooh" thing. Too cute!!!!! :) LEANNE - CONGRATS!!! I'm glad you're so happy about it. Lately it doesn't seem like anyone's been too happy about their "unplanned" pregnancy! Good luck!! CRYSTAL - Congrats on finding an apartment. PATTY - Thankfully, HANNAH wasn't such a little night owl last night! :) That makes mommy HAPPY! I don't think she's afraid of her crib. She's never had a problem in there before. I think it may have been a bad dream or something. I know what you mean, sometimes it would be better if I just got up too, instead of driving myself crazy laying there wondering what's going on. KELLI - I think you're right. I think it may have been a bad dream. HI to you too. I'm glad you had a good time with your family. I can relate to your step-dad and going out to eat. I used to date a guy that did that. SOOOO EMBARASSING!!!! :( JULIANNE - I hope you and COLTON get to feeling better soon!!! Well, I'll talk to you all later! HI TO EVERYONE ELSE!!!!! :) :) :) Sarah and Hannah (1year) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 09:11:28 (MDT)) Hello from Helen&Amanda!! Its been a busy weekend so I have been missing and trying to catch up on everyone-- SARAH- Glad Hannah is feeling better!! So funny how our little ones walk around talking to themselves and to us as though we can understand-- won't be long now!! SHELLY- I have 2-older kids also-- boy-13 and girl-11 then Amanda- 1. Romaine- Congrats on the baby girl!! PATTY- Amanda is better, but Mommy felt so bad!! :O( JULIANNE- Congrats on your friends healthy triplets!!! LEANNE- Congrats on the pregnancy-- I know what you mean with pushing your luck with another baby and it being healthy- I was so scared with Amanda and hoping everything would be ok!!!! You will be very busy!! Do you work outside the home???? DEBBIE- Good luck on the move! KELLI- YES-OUCH- Amanda still has a cut on her tongue-mouths bleed so much!! It stopped in 5-min or so so I didn't call the doc, they usually can't do anything unless its really serious- I felt so bad. :O( I had to go out last night, DH had a terrible time putting Amanda to bed, so did the kids- she ended up falling to sleep in bed with DH--- He said she is spoiled and if he had to do it more often she would be used to him-- ok-- I'll go out more often! LOL!! Well I probably won't be on here for a day or two and then DH will be gone for the weekend and hopefully I'll get a chance to catch up then-- LATER!!!! Helen&Amanda@13mos(#3) Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 11:09:58 (MDT)) Hello from Rita. For you old-timers: LuCynda posted on the BT board today! She is also expecting another baby. Wow. Julianne - I can commiserate with you. The girls and I are all coming down with a cold or something. They are both coughing at night and I am stuffy. Yuck. We just get over Amy's eye infection and this happens. Leanne - Congratulations on the baby. I think that if my situation were different (ie; I was younger and could stay at home) that I would have had at least one more baby. As it is, I am really savoring Amy's infancy since I know that I will not have another. She seems determined to race toward toddlerhood already. Debbie - I am glad that you checked in with us. I have been wondering how you and the girls were doing with the impending move. I can't wait to have you back with us. Well, work calls as usual. Take care everyone! Rita & Maddy email: ritad@home.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 11:51:54 (MDT)) Hey everyone!! Long time no talk! Glad to see that everyone it doing great! Allison is doing fine. Walking everywhere, into everything, and throwing fits as always!! DH was out of town Thurs - Sun and he usually puts Allison to sleep. Well, she since he wasn't there she didn't want to go to sleep and screamed for 2 HOURS STRAIGHT each night. No exaggeration. Constant screaming that I could not stop no matter what I did. I tried giving her milk, juice, water, food, holding her, putting her down, laying with her, not laying with her, etc etc on and on. Finally she fell asleep each night from sheer exhaustion and I was never far behind her those nights after those episodes. DH was finally home last night and of course the little stinker just lays right down on his chest and falls asleep immediately with no fussing at all!! I told him he wasn't allowed to go out of town anymore as I couldn't take it! LOL! Now a few personals Louise - Allison was into that screaming just a few weeks ago about shoes. I just made her wear them when we would go outside and let her go barefoot or wear slippers inside. I tried to make her wear them for just little while each day to get used to them, but for the longest time she too would refuse to stand or walk in them. Finally, after about 2 weeks of this she stopped and now does great wearing shoes. Kelli - Allison also loves the dishwasher and now tries to "help" unload it. She will hand me stuff while I put it away. Too cute. Leanne - congrats! 4, WOW I'm not even sure I want 2 yet! Romaine - congrats to you as well. What did you name your new little one?? Tracey - good to know all is well with your family. Hope to hear from you again soon. Helen - hope Amanda's lip is better. Allison fell on the concrete last night and has a big huge bump on her head. I felt horrible. LisaB - have a great week off. We'll miss you around here. Judy - glad to hear E is doing better at daycare! Patty - also glad to hear Jarin is doing better at the sitter's! Well, I gotta go. I think I am going to attempt to cut Allison's toenails while she is in the tub tonight. I will let you guys know how it goes tomorrow! Wish me luck! Beth and Allison (almost 16 months) email: bobwite@msn.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 13:14:12 (MDT)) Crystal and Darrel here. Twice in one day. That's become rather unusual for me lately. Well, I find out today whether or not I get the apartment and the job. I hope that I do. Doug's not too happy about the apartment, but that's his problem. I feel that it's the best thing for our family, and I have to do what I think is the best. If I don't then I'm not much of a mother or a wife. Doug hasn't been around to know what I've been going through with my parents, so it has to be my judgement. My decision is that we get out of my parents house as soon as possible. If he doesn't lie it, then he can stay with my parents, and I'll get an apartment. He doesn't lie that idea either. I had to pick the lesser of the two evils- an apartment on the top floor, or staying with my parents longer. We have a waterbed but cannot have it on a top floor. I told Doug that when our lease is up we can see about getting a bottom floor apartment or renting a house if he has a job that pays more. Until then, we cannot be picky, we have to take what we can get. Otherwise, we won't get much. Darrel loves his shoes. But, he's always worn shoes outside and when we go out. at home, he's barefooted. When Darrel first started standing, he'd only stand in his shoes. Now, he stands with or without shoes. The only problems I have is taking them off and getting them on, sometimes. Darrel thinks it's a game putting his shoes on. He kicks, which makes it hard to tie them, and then he laughs because I have a hard time tying them. He's such a silly boy. At least I know he has a sense of humor, even if I don't think it's funny. Otherwise, not much is new here. But yes, I'm very excited about Doug coming home. I no longer will have to sleep with a stuffed rabbit. LOL. It gets lonely at night. And it's terrible without our bedtime routine. And, no, sex isn't apart of it. I'm just looking forward to it so much. But a week seems so far away. But it's also going by pretty fast, most of the time. At other times, it goes by real slow. I'll pst more later. Crystal and Darrel almost 13 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 14:12:56 (MDT)) Leanne Here Hello ALL First off, I want to say thank you all for the wonderfull welcome back and the congratulations! It feels great - I have been trying to post on the pregnancy board but find it alittle tough! I like to talk about my other kids too! Well I had another day off today, yes Grandma is back from Romaine's and she took Cynthia for a sleep over and guess what!!! Yes she pooped on the toilet there!! Very excited for her! Hope it stays that way! Veronica's new things is playing on her toy car! You know the ones with the door? She loves to cliimb in and out of it and turn the wheel around. I have to try and take a nap soon so on to personals! Crysta: Glad dh is ok, he should have called you sooner eh? All that worry. Congrats on finding your new place! I am sure Darrel will love it. Patty: It is good to let them cry sorry it was for so long though. Good for you to still BF - I will try with this one to go a full year! I am so impressed. I went almost 8 months with Veronica and was pretty happy with that considering she only nursed from one side Kelli: GO FOR 4!!! I know, I know,it was a shock but now we are really excited and nervous. I totally understand what you mean by your stepfather and complaining - I hate that! Never happy. Enjoy Elizabeth not walking - Veronica is my first that started walking before 13 months and I will just say that I am glad I knew I was pregnant before that day came or else I would have been crying. They grow up too fast. Jullian: Sorry about your colds - hope you feel better soon. Louise: First shoes are the best!! Could they maybe to small or to stiff? Sarah: Thanks for the congrats and yes we are very thrilled! We see it as a blessing and it was fate for us to have 4 kids! Very excited! So cute that she is talking - I love that she sounds like she can say alot of words. Veronica just says mommy , daddy, makes dog noises and says na na (na night) Helen: I am a SAHM thankfully ! I couuld never do this if I was working too. I started staying at home after my 2nd was born and was going to go back part time but when she was 7 months I got pregnant with Veronica so the decision was made! Very happy about it. It can be tough, but I appreciate it. That is great that DH put Amanada down! I take yoga 1 a week and dh loves having the kids to himself. Rita: I know what you mean about savoring every minute - before we found out we are pregnant - Veronica was growing so fast and we were both depressed about it! She is such a joy! Beth: I hear you about the tantrums. Veronica is pretty good still but I deal with them with Cynthia. Veronica just gets more frustrated than anything. Figures about the sleeping thing eh? Have a great day ladies - talk tomorrow! Leanne and Kiddies & (baby inutro included) Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 14:26:11 (MDT)) A quick hello from Julianne as I have a vacation day tomorrow. Sarah: Don't you wish you knew what Hannah was saying when she jabbers. Colton jabbers alot too, especially when reading his books, playing with his stuffed animals and so forth. Beth: Good luck with cutting Allison's toenails! Sorry to hear you had such a hard time getting her to bed with your DH gone. See Ya! Julianne & Colton email: jjones@batts.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 14:33:53 (MDT)) Did anyone else see Dateline last night. Pain free child birth! Now that's a new concept. For me, anyway. My first was c-section after 12 hours of labor, the second 10 hours , born natural, and the third 8 hours, also natural. I was too scared to even think about an epidural. I could not stand the thought of a needle in my spine, so I had all natural, all pain, births. Rileys went so fast that I thought I was going to split in half. Thank God I'm done. If I had another, it might be born in the truck on the way to the hospital. But seeing how I'm raising three on my own, I don't think more would be good. I would love to have a lot more, but it's just not in the cards. All of you ladies sound very lucky to have good DH's. My ex was not a good hubby, but he was a pretty good dad. But thanks to the girlfriend, he's not even that anymore. Company just arrived, bye for now Shelly and Riley 17months Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 16:59:31 (MDT)) Hello All, Kahne and Cat here. Well Crystal you are not alone. Dh and I are moving this weekend. Two women in one house does not work!! MIL and I both have ideas on how things should be done, and they do not match. Things have gotten pretty ugly around here latley, and it is just the best thing for us to go. PLUS SIL has been saying some pretty ugly things about us "moochers". My Mom and I had it out again. I forget how superficial she can be. We are moving into a little 3 bedroom house. Nice and cozy, and just right for the three of us. AND we got a great deal on it, only $380 a month. I am really excited. This will be the first place of "our own". MIL is throwing a fit about us leaving, she went in our room last night, and cried to DH, please dont go. DH said "I am a 23 year old married man with a child, it's time for us to go". I was so proud of him, ususally he crashes for his mommy. NOT NOW! I have to admit, I love my MIL dearly, but living together DOES NOT WORK. I will be so excited when we open the door of our own place for the first time. I feel like such a grownup, LOL. My mom and I had it out for exactly that reason. I have become serious about going back to work, and it pisses her off. OH WELL huh. I hate to miss posts, but I have TWo big ole tests tomorrow. And I got knocked down to 10 hours, so I have to work that out tomorrow. It effects my financial aid, and that will not do. I wont be on for a few days, with all of the moving. I have to pack all day Thursday. I will be back soon, and Crystal I am with you sister, :o). Kahne and Cat NINE months this week email: skcx2@fnbop.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 17:01:51 (MDT)) Hi mommies. Not much new here. jarin is running a low grade fever, but no diarrhea or vomiting, so that's good. He just has a runny nose, but so do the rest of us! Jarin was so cute watching Wheel of Fortune. Every time they spin the wheel, he claps. (Like he's Vanna, or something!) Way too adorable. **Kelli: Jarin also loves it when I open the dishwasher. All he wants to do is take everything out and throw it on the floor. Your stepdad sounds exactly like my dad! Definitely something he would do. **Julianne; Hope you and Colton's colds are better soon. My DH and Jarin both have them too. **Louise: Jarin also hates his shoes. LOL at him thinking they are hot coals. Jarin acts like he has cement blocks on his feet. **Sarah: Way too cute about Hannah barking in her crib. I'm glad she slept better for you last night. =) **Beth: Yuck - 2 hours of screaming. Sounds like you had your hands full. What a little booger to go to sleep so easily for daddy. Jarin is just the opposite. **Leanne: Yay for Cynthia going on the toilet. We have one of those little cars too. Jarin doesn't get in it yet, but I remember Jesse toddling around in it. Thanks for the bf encouragement. It's nice to hear that sometimes. =) **Shelly: Sorry to hear about your ex. =( I've had the all natural births too. I had Demerol with my first two in the IV, but Jarin came so fast it was no medicine at all. OUCH! **Kahne: Congrats on the house. Good luck with moving and your big exams. **take care everyone. Hug those toddlers! Patty and Jarin - 12 3/4 months email: tematheny@ctlnet.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 19:42:30 (MDT)) I have a two and a half year old boy. He is very active. at meal times he has no time to eat as this interfeers with his play time. If anyone has any ideas on how to get him interested in eating i would love to hear some suggestions. lorena Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 21:04:31 (MDT)) Crystal and Darrel here for the third time today. Pretty amazing, isn't it? LOL. We got the apartment. Therefore, I won't be able to get on again for at least a few weeks until we get our phone and a server. we won't be moving until October 10, so that gives me a little extra time to get on here and feed my "addiction". When it comes time to go, though, I'll miss everyone greatly, but I'll be back. I promise. I still don't know about the job. I won't find out until tomorrow as to whether or not I have it. I don't thin that I got the jjob. If I didn't, there are other jobs I can get. Well, thats' all for now. I'll talk some more tomorrow. It's my bedtime now. Crystal and Darrel 13 months Thursday email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 21:07:40 (MDT)) Hey everyone! Elizabeth stood up alone for almost 40 seconds this evening! She stood a couple times! I am so proud of her! It's only a matter of time until she's going to be my little walker! She's also teething like mad! I just looked in her mouth and I saw 4 new teeth about to come through. That will make 10 total. She seems to get teeth in at the same time. I also think she may be getting some molars. She has had soft stools the past couple days... one symptom she has always has with teething. Julianne, It seems I always post to you first. I guess that's because you are the first to post in the mornings. I sure hope you and Colton feel better and get over those colds! Louise, You are missing out on snickerdoodles! You may have had them and just call them by a different name. They are cinnamon and sugar cookies... and very yummy! Do they sound familiar? Sarah, That is SO, SO CUTE about Hannah saying "See ya Later" and waving! Helen, Have a nice weekend away! I hope Amanda's mouth is better! Rita, I just checked in on the PT board and saw LuCynda there. I remember her posting there at the end of my pregnancy. Man, she's the post queen... she always posted a HUGe novel! Beth, Well... did you get Allison's toe nails cut? Gosh, she's a little stinker for not going to sleep for you! Crystal, The apt. sounds great for you guys! Leanne, Yes, I think 4 kids would be great! I am already getting the baby bug and wouldn't mind getting pregnant again soon... 2 of my friends just had babies. But, we both want to wait until Elizabeth is about 30 months until we have our next child. Let's just say that if I got pregnant tomorrow, I wouldn't be upset. Hey, if you want to stay here and post in place of the PT board... more power to you! I would love to hear about how your pregnancy is going. Then again... that may really get me into the baby bug... or not! LOL! I am just curious: earlier you said that you hope this pregnancy is safe and healthy for both you and baby. Is there any reason why it wouldn't be? Shelly, I saw that episode of Dateline on Mon. Night. I couldn't believe it! I had an epidural because I was having "irregular contractions" and never had a rest period, they just kept going up, up, up! The dr. and nurse ordered the epidural and told me that if I didn't have it, I may not have the energy to push and a c-section could be the only way out. My labor was only 8 hours start to finish. I was shocked that the lady on tv didn't have any medications! That's great! Kahne, $380 a month for a 3 bedroom house?? WHAT A DEAL!!!! Where do you live? I told my dh and we both are shell-shocked! We paid $750/mo. for our 2 bedroom apartment last year! Patty, I hope you and your family get over your colds! Move over Vanna... her comes Jarin!!! :) Well, I need to go give my angel a bath... you all take care! Kelli & Elizabeth, 14 months email: rkncs@aol.com Tuesday, September 21, 1999 at 21:31:17 (MDT)) Crystal and Darrel here. Another day off work. Gee, I'm off work more than I'm at work. It's nice, but it doesn't pay the bills. When I called today, I told the boss to call when she needs me again but warned her that there's a possibility that I may have another job because I'm looking for something a little more reliable than very part-time work. I can't afford to work every few days, especially with me getting an apartment soon. Iorena: Welcome! Have you tried feeding your child in the tub? If he's still in a high chair, try a booster seat or a mini picnic table, and vice versa. If he's eating very little or skips meals, offer snacks. Also, you may want to change the time he eats. Give him breakfast first thing, lunch before a nap, and dinner about 4 or 5 in the evening, with a snack after his nap. I hope you're able to get him eating soon. My son just got through a period of time in which he refused food completely. Rearranging his schedule seemed to help. Shelley: I know you've been on for a little while, but I never did welcome you, so.....Welcome! Glad you could join us. Well, today is the day for me to quit smoking. I'm out and cannot buy anymore. I'll be at a friend's house for most of the day so that I won't think about it so much or be so tempted to buy another pack. Wish me luck. There's as little stress as there can be for the next few weeks, so it's as good of a time to quit as any. I was actually supposed to quit last week, but with the hurricane and not knowing how safe Dh was, I couldn't deal with it. Well, I guess that's it for now. I'll post again later. Crystal and Darrel 13 months tomorrow email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 08:25:33 (MDT)) One more thing real quick. Kelli: Congrats on Elizabeth standing! Darrel's getting a lot better at it now. Sometimes, he'll stand for two or three minutes at a time. He'll be walking soon, too. I think he's waiting for daddy to get home before he starts. I also think that Darrel's afraid to walk alone. He'll do it with his push toys, holding onto furniture, and holding onto fingers, but he seems scared about doing it alone. I know that if Darrel tried, he could do it. As it is, Darrel walks better holding onto just one hand than my friends babies who are just now starting to walk. He's got great balance and excellent hand-eye coordination. Now if only he had more confidence in himself. Oh, Darrel has just figured out stairs. He's good about it, though. He won't go near the stairs in my parents' house unless someone else is with him. It's because he knoows what room he can play in and will not leave that room without permission, such as when I leave to put on my shoes before we go bye-bye. He follows me. In fact, Darrel follows me around like a little puppy-dog. I want to get him a puppy or a kkitten right now, but I can't afford the pet deposit-$400, plus a $10 a month pet rent. I think Darrel can wait until we build our house in a few years. Well, I'm going for real this time. I'll type more later on. Crystal and Darrel again email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 08:38:23 (MDT)) Hello, Everyone. My name is Dawn Fields and it is my first time posting on the Toddler's Today. I have DD by the name of Erica who be 16 months on the 29. I am on the Babies Today board also and a recent graduate of the Pregnancy Today board. I also have DS by the name of Eli who will be 3 month old on the 28. So, needless to say, I'm a pretty busy lady. I wanted to share some exciting news. Erica said her first complete sentence yesterday. She said, "Give me ice." I must inform you that Erica is an avid fan of crushed ice. She will eat it all day if she could. She doesn't seem to like food very much, but ice, now that's different. Normally when she wants ice she just says, "ice." So imagine my surprise when she held her little blue ice cup up to me and announces, "Give me ice." OK, so she's a little demanding, but I haven't taught her how to say PLEASE yet. Dawn & Erica (15 months) Dawn Fields email: fields@ahp.com Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 08:57:08 (MDT)) Good morning ladies! SARAH here. Hope everyone had a nice, peaceful night! :) Another thing HANNAH has started doing is when she's in her highchair eating, she'll eat some, and then when she's done, she takes her food and puts it on her head or throws it behind her. Kind of funny...KIND OF!!! Anyway, on to personals: BETH - Sorry ALLISON fell and bumped her head. Hope she's okay! KELLI - HANNAH loves the dishwasher, too. She ALWAYS knows when I open it cause she's right over there!!! :) Now she tries to climb up on it, but mommy's mean and won't let her! Last year we had to pay $750 for a 1 bedroom apartment!!! RIDICULOUS!!!! HELEN - Thanks for the congrats on HANNAH feeling better!! LEANNE - HANNAH jabbers ALL OF THE TIME!! It's a constant thing with her, but I love it!! :) JULIANNE - Yes, I wish I knew what she was saying. She seems like she's really having a great conversation....with someone! :) SHELLY - I saw Dateline the other night, too. OUCH!!! I had to have an epidural! I can't imagine the hypnosis, and no pain! KAHNE - WOW! $380/month???? That's great!! Like I told KELLI, last year when we were in our 1 bedroom apartment, it was $750!!!! Good luck with your tests today!!! PATTY - I'm sure I've told you this before, but HANNAH is just mesmerized when she watches W of F!!! And she claps when they do! CRYSTAL - Congrats on getting the apartment. We'll miss you when you're away! Good luck with quitting smoking!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!! :) :) :) DAWN - WELCOME!!! HANNAH loves ice, too!!! She freaks out when she sees a cup of ice! :) Well ladies, that's all for now. Talk to you all soon! :) Sarah and Hannah (1year) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 09:11:09 (MDT)) Hello, from shelly and Riley, I can't believe how many words all the kiddos under 18 months say. Riley barely talks. Other then animal sounds, moo, baa, neigh and yeow, he doesn't say much. If he wants something I say "please" and he gives me a kiss. But he won't say the word. He says Mom, TayTay, Nannie(for auntie) and yane(plane). My oldest, soon to be 12, talked very early. I guess I spent way more time with him. Now I have 3 to split my time with. Oh well, in a few months I'll probably wish he was still quiet. The one thing I can say, is Riley understands exactly what I'm saying when I want him to do something. He is better at shutting the screendoor behind him then the other 2. He can go in the other room and get whatever he's asked to. Except diapers. He refuses to bring me his own diaper. Thanks for all those who have welcomed me. I'm slowly learning names. Does anyone have a child who does not have contact with their Father. Riley's dad is married, and his wife refuses to let him see Riley. I'm worried that when Riley gets old enough to realize that his older brothers go visit their dad and he has no dad. Well, I'm just really scared that he'll think that he wasn't good enough for his dad to ever bother with. If any of you have any insight, I'de appreciate it. Well, Riley is walking around with "skunk pants". Bye, Shelly and Riley SHELLY & RILEY 17 months Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 14:01:20 (MDT)) Leanne Here Ok this is the THIRD time I have tried to post this message!!! ARGGGG You ladies are the best! You make me feel so welcomed back and it is great to discuss the kiddies with you. I think I will stick with you and not the pregnancy today (nobody seems to responde to my posts BOO HOO) I am getting ignored! Me? Can you believe it LOL! Anyways, Cynthia had another accident - she peed in her pants but at least she peed on the magazine so there was none to clean up!! Thanks! LOL Still has her panties on though today ! Love those telli tubby panties! Shelly: 3 kids on your own! Congrats to you. I cant wait till dh comes home tohelp out Yes he is wonderfull! I dont know what I would do without him! Escpecially since we are now expecting our 4th! I am sorry things did not work out with your ex but I am hopeing you are much happier now eh? Kane: Glad you got your own place! It is never very pleasant to live with relatives - How rude of your SIL to say moochers Kick her in the BUTT! Patty: Glad Jarin just had a cold and nothing worse! Clapping is so cute! Veronica only claps when we do patty cake - original eh? Lorena; Welcome - sorry I dont really have much advice other than try singing to him and read books to make him eat. GOod luck Kelli: Elizabeth standing !! Great it wont be long now! I think I will post here for sure! Getting ignored at the other one plus it is nice to be able to talk about my other kids too! I will talk all you want about my pregnancy - the URGE is there! You can talk too - HINT HINT get going girl! Nothing is wrong so far with this pregnancy I am only 6 weeks but I feel after 3 great pregnancies and births I feel liek I am pushing my luck a bit! But I am enjoying this extra bonus and blessing! Crystal; Darrel will be up those stairs soon enough! Veronica has been going up them for about 2 months now but not down! Ok by me though that part always scares me! Dawn: Welcome congrats on your new baby! You will be amazed what you can do! My 2nd and 3rd are only 16 months apart and have survived enough to be preg. with another! 4!!! these ones will be 21 months apart which will not be too bad! Sarah: Glad Hannah is such a talking that is so much fun! Veronicas things is to sit infront of the fridge and point and say mommy and dadddy when she is thirsty! FUNNY Have fun girls - Later!!!:) Leanne @ 6weeks w/Veronica 13m Cynthia 29m Alexis 5 Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 14:42:10 (MDT)) Hello from Rita. Not too much happening around here. Maddy surprised me yesterday by asking for help with her clothes so she could sit on the potty. She didn't go, but it was the first time she has done it without my cajoling her into doing it. Maybe we will have some success at home soon. I would love not to be supporting Huggies. Leanne & Romaine - So you are also from a family of women? I have four sisters myself and there are nine granddaughters and only four grandsons. I am happy to have girls myself since I have close ties with my sisters. Shelly - One of my sisters is in a similar situation. Her older DD was from her first marriage and her younger DD was the result of an assualt by someone she knew. He claimed that he had a drunken blackout and didn't remember anything. She decided to have and raise the baby on her own. The father will not acknowledge my niece and has never had anything to do with her. My sister has told my niece her story in parts as she was old enough to understand. It was hard for my niece to realize that her older sister's dad was not also her dad at first, but my sister made sure that there were other adult positive role models for my niece as she grew up. She did go through a period of rebellion two years ago and decided to write her dad. My sister found out about the letter before it was mailed and they had a serious discussion about what might happen (the man is now married and has a family, I believe). My niece decided that she didn't really want to contact him. My sister remarried four years ago and my niece has come to think of her step-dad as her parent, so it has worked out well, after all. Well, it's nearing the time to go...Take care everyone! Rita & Maddy(32 mos) email: ritad@home.com Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 16:36:51 (MDT)) Wow, potty training! I only wish. My son uses the potty as a stalling tactic when it is time for bed. Any other time of the day he could care less . Right not I have alot on my plate so potty training is not something that I am enforcing. Next thursday and friday I have a comprehensive exam that covers the last SIX years of night school. It is a 8 hour exam spread over 2 days. I am also working full time and am a full time mom. My husband also works and goes to school. He is in his last year, so we are looking forward to finishing school and just being parents. We are also trying for #2. I am new to this posting thing I really enjoy reading all the stories that everyone posts. Take care everyone and will sign on again tomorrow. It is time for MORE studying. lorena Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 20:44:33 (MDT)) Hey there, Moms! Are you the parent of a child between the ages of 6 and 9? Would you like to write a weekly online diary about all the things you and your child experience as she grows up? Contact me at tara@iparenting.com and tell me a little about yourself and your dynamic kid! Tara, Toddlers Today Assistant Editor Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 21:18:47 (MDT)) Hey everyone! Not much new happened today. Oh, my wonderful Atlanta Braves beat the Mets yesterday and today! Yippy! They have the best standings in baseball right now! I really hope they make it to the world series. Okay, now that I have bored you to death... on to the personals: Crystal, I wish you much luck trying to quit smoking! I know you can do it! And just think how good it would be for Darrell! SarahM, I lol about Hannah throwing her food and putting it over her head. Luckily, Elizabeth just smears it all over her tray. Dawn, Welcome! Congrats on your new little one! Also congrats on Erica's first sentences! They grow so fast, don't they? Shelly, I really don't have any words of wisdom for you... just know that you have a support group here and we don't talk back... we type back! LOL! No, really... when you need to get something off your chest, here we are! I just don't understand why Riley's father won't see his son... Even if his new wife says no. He can over-rule! Leanne, Too bad Cynthia had a few accidents. She'll be potty-trained before you know it... don't worry! Listen to me... here I am telling you, the experienced mom, not to worry! Ha! Rita, Sounds like Maddy has taken a step in the right directionn by asking you for help in the potty training area! Way to go, Maddy! Well gang... I am wiped out and need to get to bed! Kelli & Elizabeth, 14 mo. email: rkncs@aol.com Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 22:32:17 (MDT)) Heellllllooooooo!!! We're back. Wow did we have a GREAT time. Alex is the best baby ever. I can't believe how much fun we had. The wedding (SIL's) was very nice. Alex was the cutest ring bearer!! Everyone had a great time. I had my 1st sip of alcohol for the 1st time since I learned I was pregnant with Alex (so whats that about 20 months) the taste kind of grossed me out. But I'm sure that wasn't the best wine in the world! Disneyland was the best. Geoff & I love Disneyland anyway but we thought that ALex wouldn't really be that interested. WRONG! He was so in to all the characters. Wait until you see the pics of him with Mickey Mouse. I just can't say enough what a great time it was. Email me if you want to see some pics. I sent some out but I didn't have everyones address. Well no time for personals tonight. I missed you guys though! Chat again tomorrow! Moriah & Alex (almost 1) email: geoffandmoriah@msn.com Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 22:49:59 (MDT)) Hey everyone. For all you who suggested cutting the nails in the tub, THANK-YOU! It worked!! I mean, it still wasn't the most pleasant experience, but at least she didn't scream, kick, scatch and try to bite me. She would get a little annoyed and look at me like, "Do you mind?? I'm trying to play here!" but that was about it. Allison has the crud that it sounds like the rest of your little ones have. Stuffy nose, a bit of a cough, etc. I have been running the humidifier in her room the last 2 nights and she's waking up much clearer because of it in the mornings now. Hopefully this won't lead to another ear infection as we are still on the antibiotics from the last one (took all the first 10 days and it still wasn't clear so now we're taking 10 more days of stronger stuff. Hopefully it will work this time. Anyway, on to the personals. Moriah - glad you had such a good time at Disney. I bet Alex was adorable with Mickey. Please send pictures my way if you haven't already! I would love to see them. Kelli - My DH is upset right now because the Reds are 2 playing the best ball ever right now, but they can't seem to catch the dumb Astro's. Glad the Braves beat the Mets since they have the Wildcard spot right now. Maybe it will help the Reds catch them! Iorena - Welcome. I have a friend with a 3-year-old, and she has always had a terrible time getting him to eat. The Dr. just told her that toddlers don't really need as much as we think and that if they get hungry rest assured they will eat and try not to worry too much. Just keep offering a good variety of foods. I have a picky eater myself so I know it's hard not to worry. I try to offer Allison smaller portions at closer intervals during the day (ie every 2 hours or so). I think this way she ends up eating more. A lot of time I will just put a bowl of dry vitamin enriched cereal or cut up fruit, raisins, etc. on the coffee table and let her get stuff while she's playing. Good luck. Shelly - I don't know your situtation at all, but I think I would have to talk with my ex and his new wife about what impact the current situation will make on Riley at a later time. It may be hard to do, even impossible, but if your ex is Riley's dad (I kinda of got that from your post, but am not sure) and he still sees the older 2 then he needs to see him too. Like I said , I don't know your situation, but put to the new wife in the perspective of what if it was her or her kids and her dad and her kids dad was allowed to see all but her or one of her kids. She may be a total raving bitch and unwilling to listen to reason, but I think you should at least try. Hope I don't offend you in any way. Just putting in my 2 cents worth. Rita - congrats on Maddy asking for help with the potty. Maybe this is the breakthrough you've been waiting for. Leanne - I'm sorry you weren't getting a response on PT. we'll NEVER ignore you over here! I love hearing from an experienced mom who's been there, done that! Sarah - Allison like to drop her food off the side of her tray when she's finished. She knows she's not supposed to, and looks at us and shakes her head no as she's dropping it whenever she does it. I try hard not to laugh, but sometimes its really hard. Dawn - welcome. Good to have you with us. Kahn - $380 A MONTH!!!!! WOW!! What a great deal! I think moving to your own place is probably for the best. I have a much better relationship with my parents' now that I live away from home and don't see them everyday. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder! Patty - I bet Jarin aka "Vanna" is too cute watching the wheel. Allison LOVES the song "Mambo #5" and will just dance away to it. Aren't they just too cute at this age?? Well, I should end my epic novel for the day and get back to work. Hope all is well with everyone. Talk to you later. Kiss the kiddos for me and Allison Beth and Allison (16 months) email: bobwite@msn.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 07:15:35 (MDT)) Good morning, Ladies: Dawn Fields, here. I really am enjoying being a mother. Children are such fun. Erica does some of the funniest things I'm laughing all the time. She likes to pick up the remote to the television (or a calculator, anything with numbers on the face) and pretend she is having a telephone conversation. She "dials" the phone number by pushing the buttons on the remote. Then, she starts walking back and forth with one hand holding the phone, and the other flapping for emphasis, as she babbles away. While still holding the phone, she cracks up laughing at something the "person" on the other end said that was totally hysterical. Also, the other day, I was in the mist of feeding Eli (my three month old son) but had to go to the bathroom. I took the bottle out of his mouth and waited to see if he would cry. He didn't, so I went to the bathroom. I left Erica and Eli, alone, in the bedroom while I went to the bathroom. (Don't worry. The bathroom is directly across from the bedroom. When I leave the bathroom door open I could see the both of them.) Well, Eli starts crying while I am in the mist of taking care of my business. I yell out to him, "Don't cry. I'm coming. Just let Mommy wash her hands" as I turn my back to wash my hands. And all of a sudden he stops crying. This is strange to me because I know he doesn't understand what I just said and that is what made him stop. So, I turn around really fast and Erica had picked up his bottle and was standing on the bed, holding on to his infant seat and feeding him. I ran and got the camera but by the time I came back in the room, she had taken the bottle out of his mouth and was handing it to me. A missed Kodak moment. Thank you Sarah and Leanne for welcoming me to the list. And Leanne, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Mine are 13 months apart. I didn't plan it that way, but that's the way it happened and I'm happy that it did. Actually, it's a funny story how it happened. (Well, not exactly HOW it happened, but how I FOUND OUT I was pregnant.) When I was pregnant with Erica, I had complications because of fibroid tumors. I had to have a scheduled c-section with her because of where the fibriods were located. They were right on the birth canal and they prevented her from descending the natural way. Any who, after she was born, my doctor told me that I could not have any more children until I had my fibriods removed. He scheduled me an appointment 6 months after Erica was born. In December of 1998, I went in to start the process of removing the fibroids. My second appointment called for an ultrasound so that they could take pictures of the fibroids. When the technician started the ultrasound, the same technician who use to do my ultrasounds when I was pregnant with Erica,(I had an ultrasound every month while I was pregnant so they could keep an eye on the growth of the fibroids), she says, "Didn't you have your baby already?" I say, "Yes. She's six months old now." Then she says, "Well, there's another baby in there." I say, "Na-un. That has to be wrong." Well, it turns out I was 9 weeks pregnant and didn't know it. I almost passed out on the table. But I quickly considered it a blessing. But I remember my knees being very wobbly walking from the hospital to the car. I felt God knew that I wanted two children, a girl and a boy, and He knew that if they started messing up in there, I may not have been able to have any more children. So, I thank God for the blessing and I'm very happy with both of them, however close in age. I got to run since this message has turned into a short novel. Have a wonderful day!!! Dawn Fields email: fieldsd@ahp.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 08:04:42 (MDT)) Good morning ladies! SARAH here! Well, I know I'm probably going to jinx it, but HANNAH has slept through the night the past 3 nights!!! :) She'll go down about 9:00pm sleep until 6:00am (then I give her a bottle) and she'll go back to sleep until 9:00-9:30!!!!! PERFECT!!! I'm sure it'll change 100 times!! Oh well! Do any of your little one's like to dance? HANNAH loves it!!! She starts dancing as soon as she hears ANY kind of music!!! :) Can be the radio, commercial, her teletubbie, WHATEVER!! SOOO cute!! And it's funny cause she holds on to something with one hand, and puts the other in the air and just dances away. Sometimes she'll point her finger in the air with the hand that's free. It just cracks us up! And she's SOOOO serious when she does it!! :) LOL On to personals: SHELLY - Boy, I'd NEVER keep my DH away from his child!!! She must be a witch!!! And I'd never let DH keep me away from my child!!! Good luck! Like someone else said, we're here for ya!! :) LEANNE - That's cute about VERONICA sitting in front of the fridge telling you she wants a drink. HANNAH loves to play in the fridge!! LORENA - An 8 hour test???!!! YUCK!!! Good luck, girl! What are you studying? KELLI - At least ELIZABETH keeps it on the tray!!! Big Brave fan, huh? (...I knew that!) Sorry, but I don't like the Braves! Could it be that they always KILL the Rockies?!?!? Well, lately EVERYONE has been killing the Rockies!! MORIAH - I'm glad you had such a good time! I emailed you to send me pictures! 1st drink, huh? I'll never forget the first time I drank after HANNAH! I had 2 glasses of wine and passed out!!LOL BETH - I do the same thing by putting snacks on the coffee table for HANNAH! :) Well, that's all for now!! Talk to you all later! Sarah and Hannah ( 1 year) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 08:21:52 (MDT)) Dawn, I remember you now!! You posted for a while on the Babies Today board a couple of months ago. There is only 4 days difference between Erica and Allison. I remember your story about the fibroids etc. Erica sounds too cute feeding Eli the bottle. Too bad you missed it with your camera. Hope you stick around. We love new mommies on this sight! Beth Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 08:24:28 (MDT)) It's SARAH again! DAWN - We were posting at the same time! I just wanted to tell ya, those 2 stories you just told us are GREAT!! :) Loved them! OK, that's it! Sarah again Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 08:47:51 (MDT)) Okay, where is everyone today. The one day I'm bored at work and nobody is posting when every other day I can hardly keep up with everyone. Just figures it would work out this way I guess. Oh well, I'll check in again later. Beth again Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 11:08:22 (MDT)) OK, it's SARAH again!!! BETH - I hear ya, girl!!! Where is everyone today??? Sarah Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 11:25:12 (MDT)) I almost forgot to post today since I am so busy catching up from my vacation day yesterday. I had lots of fun time with Colton. I took him to the park in the afternoon and he had lots of fun playing and climbing. He prefers to climb the slide than go down it! I caught him emptying a new box of tissues I had just set out on our nightstand in the bedroom. He must be growing taller since he could not reach up there before. He had been quiet for too long while I was in his room putting away his clean clothes. When I said "What are you doing?" in a loud voice he tried to scramble backwards away from the "crime." :) Shelly: Yes, I watched the painless birth story on Dateline also. My DH was watching it and he called me into the room. I gave in to the epidural. Maybe something to think about if I have another. Kahne: I hope everything goes well with your move. It sure is great that your DH stood up to his mother like that. Lorena: My son is 14 months and I have had a very hard time to get him to sit still and eat also. I feed him in the bathtub quite often. He seems to be occupied enough that he will open his mouth and I can some food in. I also keep cereal out where he can snack on it through the day. I just keep trying different things and hope he gets enough of each one to fuel him up! Good luck. Dawn: Great 1st sentence Erica spoke. Sorry you missed the Kodak moment. Too cute her taking over to help feed Eli. Shelly: I think you need to continue to press Riley's dad on the issue until he sees what he is doing is wrong. His new wife needs to see that what she is doing could cause a child to go through an emotional nightmare. Don't give up on this issue. Rita: Good progress on the potty-training for Maddy. Moriah: Sounds like you had a great trip and that Alex really had lots of fun at Disneyland. I would love to see some pictures. Sarah: Colton dances by waving his arms around. He has not learned to use his whole body and feet yet. However, he usually has a great big smile on his face when he dances. I just love it. I am not sure how to say this, so bear with me. If any of you do not want me forwarding you any e-mails please let me know. I would appreciate it if you would e-mail me. I have been meaning to ask this for quite a while, but have either forgot or figured it could wait. Thanks and have a great day. Yeah, tomorrow is Friday. Julianne & Colton 14 mo email: jjones@batts.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 11:33:32 (MDT)) Hi from LisaB. I took Max to the zoo Friday. He loved the chimps - he was fascinated watching them swing back and forth - and the goats in the petting zoo and the fountain in the children zoo (it had water jets and he would stomp on them and then just stood over one where it splashed up on his diaper and tummy - good thing I took along a change of clothes)! We went to a wedding and reception Saturday. DH had to leave with Max about 1/2 way through the ceremony as Max wanted to crawl under the pew and play in the back of the church. He did great at the reception though. Yesterday he crawled all over the sidewalk, gravel driveway (ouch), and front yard as DH and I planted mums and some bulbs. He tore the toes out of his shoes but they were cheapo freebies from our HMO (but the only pair that fit so I guess we'll be going shopping soon). Max has also started "playing with himself". I figure it's just another body part to him and don't make a big deal over it but it's hard to get a diaper on when he's tugging on himself and last night in the bath he was pulling so hard it made ME hurt - LOL! I tried a napping routine during vacation and it seemed to work. I hold Max and walk around with him, telling him it's "quiet time" and singing "Jesus Loves Me". By yesterday he only did a few whimpers and then laid still and drifted off to sleep. I hope to graduate to laying on the bed together and eventually to just laying him in his bed by himself. I skimmed all the posts but will only post a few responses or I'll miss my next meeting (I loved playing SAHM, especially when I get back to work with an overflowing in-box and a ton of e-mails, etc.). MICHELLE: Max has an inside scooter he loves to ride - although he generally only goes backwards. He just started getting on and off it by himself this week. He also has a Little Tikes foot-operated car I got for $7 at a rummage sale that he loves to play in outside. JULIANNE: Max head butted my nose on Saturday when he was fighting sleep. My nose is real tender as I crushed it flat against my face in 8th grade playing basketball (I go next week to see about nasal surgery as the side they rebuilt 20+ years ago has collapsed internally and I can only breathe from one side - on a GOOD day). Anyway, it hurt so bad I immediately started crying and pretty much THREW Max at DH. I'm glad to hear the triplets are doing so well. KAHNE: Thanks for the photos and congrats on the tooth. Max curls up his toes when we put his shoes on plus he has a "thick" foot so it's really hard to find shoes that fit him well that you can actually get on his feet. I lived with MIL during the 9th month of pregnancy and she drove me nuts. I imagine it's even worse with Cat, with her trying to "mother" her. CRYSTAL: The apartment sounds great. My older sister also fingerpainted and ate from her diaper and she seems relatively normal now - LOL! LEANNE: #4? WOW!!!! ROMAINE: Congrats on your baby. BETH: 2 hours of daily torture - you deserve an award for surviving that :-( SHELLY: I didn't realize you are a single Mom - you REALLY are busy, aren't you? Sorry Riley's daddy is being such a poophead. I disagree with some of the others. I wouldn't push his dad too hard or he'll just resent it and spend less time with Riley (or only spend time out of "obligation" which could be more damaging to Riley than no contact). Are their any male relatives near-by that could be "surrogate" daddies? DAWN: Welcome - I remember you from BT. Max also likes ice. SARAH: Max dances - mainly just by moving his head from side to side. You say "dance" and he starts shaking his head - LOL! TRACEY: Max and the 18-month old at daycare got in a "fight" as they both wanted the same toy and neither would let the other one have it! Sorry to everyone I missed but I don't want this post to ramble on FOREVER - LOL! LisaB & Max (almost 13 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 12:04:56 (MDT)) Good afternoon ladies, it's me Tonya:) I haven't had a chance to post lately because my boss has been out of town on buisness and I used my time at work basically to study for school. I would like to thank Moriah, LisaB, Megan, Patty, Crystal, and Tracey for welcoming me back and for the well wishes(support). It meant ALOT to me:) question: Why is it that we wives AND mothers can do more in a couple of hours than our husbands do all day, but yet we're still referred to (in the bible) as the weaker vessel????????????????????? When I came home from work yesterday, there were dishes in the sink, clothes on the floor that needed to be laundered,toys everywhere, the list goes on...However when my husband lays down for rest before going to work(8:00-10:00), I managed to not only do the above things mentioned, BUT also lay the kids clothes out for the next day AND wash the kids and get them ready for bed, all in TWO HOURS!! I think when this third one comes, I'm going to slowly loose alot of my mind, or alot of weight(I like the later:)) Oh well, sorry to explode on you guys, however I know we are in a "sisterhood". Right now I'm soooo excited about this baby, I feel as though it's my first! I've made a list of things that I need to get before he arrives however it seems everytime I budget for a particular item, an unexpected bill(or amount) comes up that slashes a little more of the money set aside for spending on the new one. Oh well, not to worry, I am the queen of manuevering money, in the end he will have everything that I want to get him:) This Saturday, after I come home from work at the hospital, I have the dreaded task of cleaning out R.J. and Raquel's closet to put up their fall and winter outfits! SIL just gave me a tone of cute dresses for Raquel, I can't wait to see her in them! DH told me the funniest thing that Raquel did during breakfast yesterday. R.J. was home because he's been sick the past couple of days with cough and congestion. Anyhoo, Raquel mimics EVERYTHING, and R.J. plays really rough with her at times, he's also pretty domineering at times. Well, Raquel was standing in the spot at the counter where R.J. evidently wanted to be, so he solves his problem by pushing her. Just before she falls she catches herself and once she regains her stability, she reaches out and grabs a handful of his skin(he wasn't wearing his pajama shirt at the time) and proceeds to twists until R.J. yells out for DH to help him. DH says he just stood there for a moment and told R.J. that it served him right for picking on her! On to personals: MORIAH-I want to see Alex at Disneyland. My e-mail is at the bottom. SARAH-Raquel is the same as Hannah, she LOVES music. It took me a while though to realize that bobbing her butt up and down was her idea of dancing:) DAWN-Sorry you missed your Kodak moment. Trust me you'll get more opportunities, maybe even today! Well, I've got to get going, Ryan is stomping on my bladder:) Take care of the little ones and yourselves:) Tonya, w/R.J.,Raquel & Ryan(26wks internally) email: tbyette@aol.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 12:06:42 (MDT)) Hello from Rita Of course Maddy was not interested in repeating her toilet training performance yesterday. DH came home home late and I had a grueling time waiting for him. Maddy will burst into tears everytime I tell her that she must stop something. We probably had about five incidents until Larry came home including her pushing Amy over. This morning she dropped her Pooh Counting Carrots game that she was carrying and said "s@*&!" This is such a delightful phase -NOT! She really wears me out. The funny thing is that she is really well-behaved with others. Lisa B - Welcome back. Sounds like you had a good vacation. Moriah - I am so glad that I checked my e-mail this morning! The pictures are great (what a great scrapbook page they will make). You all look like you were having a good time. We are thinking about going to Disneyland next year. Tonya - I am sure that Amy is going to have to learn similar tactics to deal with Maddy. I can't wait to see what will happen as Amy picks up crawling speed and starts following Maddy and getting into her things. Becky - Give me a call. Well, I am off to a big all-afternoon meeting. Why do I feel like I need to pump all of a sudden when I haven't been doing that for a month? This should be fun. Take care everyone! Rita & Maddy email: ritad@home.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 12:29:30 (MDT)) Hello from Helen&Amanda!! Now I have time to post-- DH's shopping is done for his trip with the guys to Germany to see the F-1 race-- yes- they are so excited!!! All expense paid- just needed spending $$. He is the envy of all DH's at the moment.They actually have $1600.00 seats for this free b/c someone he knows had tickets and offered him one!! So he will be home on Mon. night,( he'll be the one on TV in the crowd smiling and waving like an idiot! LOL!) so I have to do hockey this weekend. Amanda had to get a one-piece snow suit and hat so she won't freeze at the rink. Hard to find- a little early around here for that. I'll need to get everyone else's coats out too-- what box might they be in??????? KELLY--SARAH-- Amanda loves to empty the dishwasher- thats how she had her accident- and helps put laundry in the dryer. KAHNE-- 380/month--wow!! Thats great! CRYSTAL- Congrats on the apartment!! KAHNE/CRYSTAL--having your own place will be so nice!! KELLY- Congrats on Elizabeth standing! LEANNE--Good luck w/the potty training! I am also a SAHM. MORIAH-- Glad Disney was fun and the wedding went well!! BETH-- When DS was little he wouldn't sit still and I would trim his hair in the tub--worked like a charm and he was distracted!! Well-- thats all for now-- check in later!! Helen&Amanda@13mos(#3) Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 12:50:41 (MDT)) Hey everybody, this is Birdie. I guess you could say I am sneeking over. I miss all of you so much. When do I get to come to this side??? Noah is 10 months this saturday but...he stands by himself, drags his feet in an attempt at walking, colors, claps, etc...doesn't that count as a toddler???? I couldn't believe luCynda posted. I've missed her posts. Noah has his first cold. It's breaking my heart. he weaned himself 3 weeks ago and I'm convinced that's why he's sick. Anyway, just wanted to say hello. Birdie and Noah (10 months) email: LJU777@AOL.COM Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 12:55:19 (MDT)) Hello, Mommies: Dawn, again. I guess I could drop the last name. On the other board there were about 5 Dawn's so I used my last name. But so far I haven't seen any other Dawn's on this list so it just may be safe. I just dropped back in before leaving work. SARAH - Erica is like Hannah. She dances all the time. My DH is a Disc Jockey so there is music in my house at all times. Actually, before she was born she was accustomed to the music. One good thing about it, both Erica and Eli (my 3 month old) sleeps through anything because they are so use to loud music. Anyway, she dances all the time. I remember when I was 8 months pregnant, I went to a DJ Seminar with my DH and everytime the music came on, Erica, in uterus, would start kicking. She knows that her dancing makes us laugh. So let me tell you how she tries to use it. Whenever you catch her doing something she has no business doing, she looks at you and starts dancing. She thinks this will make you laugh and forget the bad thing she was doing. And, usually she's right. BETH - I remember you. That's right. Allison's a Gemini. I think her birthday is the same as mine, May 24. Erica's birthday is May 29. Yes, I was on the board for a short period of time because at that time I was on the Pregnancy Today Board and didn't know about the Babies Today Board. But now I am on both Babies Today for Eli and Toddler's Today for Erica. JULIANNE - It's amazing how they manage to get into everything. Erica some how or the other got my pocketbook off the nightstand. She took my lipstick out and got it all over everything; her face, her hands, her clothes. For some reason she loves my lipstick. Not that she ever puts it on her lips, but she puts it on everything else. LISA B - I sing "Jesus Loves Me" to Eli all the time. It always puts him to sleep. Erica loves to hear the Barney song "I Love You." TONYA - Congratulations on your pregnancy. I noticed that all of your children names begin with an R. but your's starts with a T. I notice this because my DH's name is Eric, then there's Erica, and Eli. All E's. And here I come with the letter D. I feel left off. LOL!! Do you? I'm assuming your DH's name starts with the letter R and that's why there's a RJ for R___, Jr. Am I correct? the letter R. Well, Ladies, I must leave you and actually do some work. I've been able to slack off because my boss is out of the office today and will be out tomorrow. I'm leaving here early because today my father's job is throwing him a retirement party today at 4:00 and it's now 3:30 p.m. So, I'm out!! Until later, Ladies. How a Wonderful Evening. Dawn & Erica (16 months) & Eli (3 months) email: fieldsd@ahp.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 13:27:49 (MDT)) Thank you for all the ideas and thoughts on my situation. Beth, you did not offend me, nobody did. But I'm afraid that I may offend you all with what follows. I had an affair with Rileys dad. For a year and a half. I was in a horrible marriage, so was Monte(rileys dad) We met, I knew something was going to happen. I told my hubby, for about the tenth time that year, that I wanted a divorce. I filed for divorce and then Monte and I started our relationship two days later. I am in no way proud of this. But I'm not sorry either. He helped me get out of a mentally abusive marriage and he gave me Riley. I told him when I was 6 weeks prego. His wife, who is in her forties (he's 7 years younger) never wanted children. We kind've cooled it for awhile after I told him in Aug.97. By Nov. he had decided to leave her (but not on my urging and not for me). He told her one night that he was leaving, he had an apartment rented. The next a.m. she got up went into the bathroom and came out with a positive prego test. He showed up at my work and told me one night that she was prego. SHe had an ultrasound and found out that she was 5 1/2 months. 2 weeks further than me. I stopped talking to Monte and we had no more contact until Jan. I called him, chalk it up to hormones, and we started having sex again. Their baby girl was born 3/23, with holes in her heart. Riley was born 4/1 perfectly healthy. Monte and I got together 4 times after that. The last time, he rode his horse over to my house. He was looking at Riley and told me that his DD looked exactly like him and that Riley didn't, therefore Riley was not his child. I sued him for paternity and now I get child support and Riley has insurance. He swears up and down that he will know Riley, but the wife just won't allow it. They have a horrible marriage and people gossip constanly about her being a horrible mother. I have pushed Monte, but he says if he comes to visit, then we will end up having sex. I say noway!! He hurt me very badly, I love him with all my heart and soul. And he left me alone during pregnancy and refused to sign Rileys BC. It says Father unknown. Any way just to clear up any misconceptions, I was never married to this man. Well, this has turned into a novel! Sorry! Shelly & Riley 17 months email: shellyvance@hotmail.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 14:40:16 (MDT)) Does anyone have any suggestions??!???! I have a 2.25 year old who DESPERATELY needs a nap to socially function during the late afternoon/evening. However, I cannot get her to go to sleep!!!!!! The only way that seems to work is to fight with her for 2 hours and then finally physically hold her in bed so she will stop moving for 2 to 5 minutes and finally fall asleep. (She is usually soooooo very exhausted, if I can get her to stop moving for just the 2 to 5 minutes, she falls right to sleep.) However, this ritual has become exhausting - Please help!!!! Michelle email: thescrantons@home.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 14:52:09 (MDT)) It's me again with a few personals. Moriah- those pics are so cute. Mom was here when I got them. Now she's all gong ho on getting e-mail. Leann- When I was prego with my middle son, my sister was prego too, and my best friend. They were further along then I was. I had always heard that one in three pregnancies end in miscarriage. I was scarred to death, that I would have one because there were three of us and I was not very far along. When I passed my 1st trimester, I breathed a huge sigh of release. Iorena- my sister took a nutrition class and according to her instructor, 1 year olds only need about three tablespoons of food. So don't worry too much if your little one is having too much fun to sit and eat alot. Dawn- that's a way cute prego story! Sounds like you will have a good little mothers helper. Sarah- Riley started dancing at about 8 months. My sister is an aerobic instructer, she is always dancing and snapping her fingers. Riley would sway to the music and hold his little hands up and make a clicking noise with his tongue. He thought he was snapping like Auntie.LOL. Now if Auntie winds up her music box, he holds his hands above his head and does ballerina twirls. shelly & Riley 17 months Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 15:01:35 (MDT)) Crystal here in migraine zone. I'm allergic to dairy products, and if I eat too much, I get a bad migraine. Well, I ate too much cheese today. Every once in a while, I start craving cheese so bad that people think I'm pregnant. today is one of those days. It doesn't help, though that Darrel has been screaming his head off since yesterday. He practically never stops screaming the past two days. He acts tired but won't sleep. I try to feed him, but I'm lucky if I can get anything in him. He won't drink much. I think that it's gotta be his teeth since he's got three that are just cutting through, and two of them are molars. It also looks like a fourth and fifth one are trying to cut. That will bring him up to a total of 11 teeth. Poor baby. There's nothing I can do though that helps him. He'll stop crying for about an hour but will cry for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours at a time. Not good on the head. He sleeps at night no problem. It's only during the day that he's been screaming his head off. Nothing seems to work. Gotta go. I'll post more later. Crystal and 13 month Darrel email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 18:03:16 (MDT)) Hi mommies. I am so tired today! I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday. Yay! We did Johnny Appleseed activities at school today. My little Kindergartners wore me out! I can't imagine what I would feel like if I actually had to work all day. LOL. Jarin is in bed, so I should be too. He is just so cute and sweet. He has these bunnies that play music and he figured out how to squeeze their hands to make them work. He did it about 100 times and then he would dance to the music. He moves his whole torso from side to side. So cute!! **Crystal: Congrats on getting the apartment and good luck on quitting smoking. **Kelli: Yay for Elizabeth standing!!! =) **Dawn: Welcome to you and Erica. That is so cute about the "Give me ice". What a neat story about how you found out you were pg with Eli. =) **Sarah: Jarin doesn't throw his food, he just stands up in his high chair. Or when he's REALLY had enough, he just starts spitting it all out at me. So nice. LOL. So we both have little W of F fans, huh? Yay for Hannah sleeping. I hope she continues for you. **Shelly: My DD from my first marriage doesn't see her father very often. He lives in our same town and is remarried to a psycho woman. No joke. He sees my daughter maybe once a month. She has just grown to accept it now. We divorced when she was 3 and she's now 16. It might be easier on Riley than you think - if he never knows any different. What a story you have to tell!!! Feel free to vent to us any time - we all do it here! **Leanne: We won't ignore you. LOL. Jarin LOVES to play patty cake. He claps, then rubs his hands together and then throws them in the air for "throw it in the oven...". It is so cute. **Rita: Hope Maddy gets this potty training thing soon. LOL. Good luck. **Lorena: Good luck on your test. Doesn't sound like much fun. I remember taking the NTE and I think it was about 8 hours too. Yuck. **Moriah: I'm so glad you guys had so much fun. I LOVED the picture with Alex trying to get Mickey's nose! =) A drink? I haven't had one in 22 months! I'm sure I'd pass out after one beer, let alone a drink. heehee **Beth: Yes, they are WAY too cute at this age. Every time I look at Jarin he is doing some new adorable thing. I spend half my life running for the camera. =) **LisaB: Jarin also loves to play with himself. That "special toy" keeps him busy all through his bath. LOL. He also makes me hurt sometimes just watching him. As a matter of fact, sometimes Jesse watches him and goes "ouch, ouch, ouch, how can he do that?" It is pretty hilarious. **Tonya: So our little Raquel is learning to stand up for herself, huh? That is so funny. RJ will learn to be nicer to her. heehee. I know what you mean about doing it all. My DH is pretty helpful, but I am still amazed at how much I can get done in so little time. **Birdie: Hey, girl, get on over here!!! We miss you too! Sorry to hear about Noah's cold. I know it just breaks your heart when they are sick. =( Hope he is better soon. **Take care everyone. My computer is going away for 3-4 days to get some more memory. I will miss you all and you know I will never catch up, so someone email me if anything major develops. Try not to miss me too much or gossip about me while I'm gone. LOL. See you all Monday or Tuesday. Patty and Jarin - almost 13 months email: tematheny@ctlnet.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 21:50:17 (MDT)) HI!!!!! I am one proud mom today! Elizabeth took her first 3 steps tonight! I bawled my eyes out! Okay, okay... I'm a little emotional, alright! She is so proud of herself also! She would look at me like, "I did it mom, I did it!" She didn't do it much though... it's the end of the day and she was worn out. Tomorrow is another day and I am sure we will venture out and walk some more. Anyway, that's my biggest news for the day! Okay, for those of you who's babies are waking up in the middle of the night crying (i.e.: Hannah, Jarin, Colton) Elizabeth woke up at 4:30 last night and didn't get back to sleep until an hour later. I am so, so tired. I tried to nap while she napped today and the phone rang off the hook... then Elizabeth woke up. I have been a walking zombie all day long and Elizabeth chose to get into everything! She had every toy she owned and every book scattered throughout the house along with every plastic bowl and lid in the tupperware cabinet. It looked like a bomb went off. Now, the energizer bunny is in bed and I need to be too... SO I guess I should quit rambling and get on to the personals: MORIAH, I AM SO glad that you guys had such a great time!!! You sound so good... or should I say, you typed so good! Beth, Glad that cutting Allison's nails in the tub worked. I guess I am going to have to try that! SarahM, Yes, the Rockies aren't doing too well, are they! Too bad, so sad! LOL! Elizabeth also LOVES to dance!! It's so adorable to watch isn't it?!! Julianne, Elizabeth enjoys to empty the tissue box too! I think they know that it irritates us mom's! LOL LisaB, I MISSED YOU!!! I am glad you had a good time at home w/ Max! Tonya, I lol about Raquel standing her ground w/ RJ. You won't have to worry to much about her w/ 2 brothers, will you! You sound so excited and happy about Ryan. I am so happy for you! Rita, Of course Maddy is good for everyone else! That's in the Toddler's Creed! LOL! Helen, You have a busy weekend ahead of you! Gosh, your DH BETTER have a good time!! My dh is jealous! :) Birdie, Sneek over anytime! I hope you and Noah are doing well!! Dawn, I think I remember you telling the story about how you found about Eli a long time ago on BT... maybe, I don't remember. That is such a wonderful story! Elizabeth also loves the "I love you" song! Shelly, NO.. you didn't offend us w/ your story! You can come here anytime and vent! Like I am giving you permission! LOL! I still think that Riley's dad is missing out on such a wonderful child!!!! I sure wish he would wake up and smell the coffee! Crystal, Hope your migraine is better! I hate those things! Like I have told someone before, I am totally out of commission when I have them! Patty, What do you mean you can't imagine if you had to work all day?? what do you think you do, come home and sit in from of the sofa w/ a bag of chips and do nothing! LOL! You do work all day, woman! You just have 2 diffent jobs: a teacher and a mother, wife, cook, maid, slave! :) I will miss you while you are without a computer. I'll try not to talk too much about you! lol Okay gang... I really need to hit the sack. I am so tired I can't see straight... so there is my excuse for any typo's! You all take care and have a great Friday! Kelli & the little ElizaBomb, 14 mo. email: rkncs@aol.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 23:03:15 (MDT)) Good Evening Moms and Kiddos! Sarah g here. Wow, I've missed a lot this week!! We've had a nice week, stayed home most days since I accidentally left the lights on in the car last Friday and killed the battery!! Well, dh got a new battery yesterday, but Isaac got sick with a cold (caught it from my mom, she caught it from her first graders...) He's doing better today, now Sofia has a runny nose, luckily it probably won't go beyond that since she's nursing. DH is at school tonight. I'm pretty sleepy, so I'll keep it short. I mostly skimmed, sorry guys. Leanne- Welcome back!! Congratulations!! It's nice to "see" you here again! Kahne- 380?????? Did you say 3 bedrooms?? Got an extra one just like that, for me??? lol We're w/my parents, ... what can I say... Best wishes for your move! Julianne- Glad to hear about the triplet's good weights and progress! I'll keep them in my prayers. Crystal- Sorry to hear about your migraine. I got one after Isaac's 2nd birthday party. (IL's + my family = migraine) They used to be a regular thing for me years ago. Hope your interview went well. Michelle- Welcome! Some of us had been tossing the idea of "bedtime" routines at nap time. It seems to work well for Isaac and I. Wish you all the best! Tonya- Know what you mean about men! At home my dh cannot do 2 things at once, drives me nuts! I know there's more I wanted to post to, but sleep is calling me. Goodnight all! Sarah g and Isaac email: gat_men@hotmail.com Thursday, September 23, 1999 at 23:22:54 (MDT)) Hi from LisaB. Max's new thing is using his pincher grasp to pick stuff up and hand it to DH and me ... however he never actually picks anything up. It's just air and it holds "it" so carefully while giving it to us, like he has a precious toy or something! It's just way TOO funny to watch!!!!! TONYA: DH was home along yesterday with Max and the house looked like a tornado had gone through it when I got home - toys ALL over the livingroom, dining room, and kitchen (sound familar, Kelli?!). Max napped for almost 4 hours and still the ONLY thing DH "accomplished" all day was getting the hose reel that my BIL had borrowed and plugging in the crockpot. I just had to act like he always does and ask "why is the house a mess, didn't you do ANYTHING all day, etc.?" It was the first time he's had Max by himself for several months and I think it really openned his eyes to why I can't manage to take care of Max, clean the house from floor to ceiling, and bake him cookies whenever he leaves the house for a few hours at a time. BIRDIE: Come on over and join us! SHELLY: You filed for divorce before you started the affair which was very responsible. Yes, you had an affair with a married man and that was wrong but we ALL make mistakes. It's obvious that you 2 had a caring relationship and might even be together now if his wife hadn't gotten preggers. Also, you have a great toddler that resulted from the relationship. I can see why Monte's wife doesn't want the 2 of us around each other though. I mean you guys did cool it off and then started back up again so she's probably thinking it could easily happen again. Plus she probably resents that you gave DH a healthy son (as most men strongly want their first born to be a boy) and she had a sickly daughter. Is there anyway that Riley and Monte can meet without you being around? Maybe your mom can meet Monte at a park or somewhere where you and Monte won't see each other? CRYSTAL: I hope your screaming toddler gets those teeth in fast. Max's molars are finally completely in and after about 3 months he'll actually let me LOOK in his mouth ... now that I'm not wanting to look in there and check his "progress" (LOL)! KELLI: Congrats on Elizabeth's first steps. You think she destroys the house now? Just wait until she can RUN up and down the hall and stands more and can reach EVERYTHING. I'm just now learning that that is when the fun (????) REALLY starts - LOL! LisaB & Max (almost 13 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 07:21:25 (MDT)) Good morning, Ladies: Dawn, here. I have Erica with me at work today. I couldn't bring Eli too. They probably would have thrown me out of here. My boss is out of the office so I thought I'd sneak her in. She's pretty loud right now as she is singing. She has already destroyed my office. I have paper and paper clips, pens and pencils everywhere and it's only 10:17 a.m. Needlesstosay, I can't post a long post. I wish everyone a happy weekend and I'll chat again on Monday. Dawn email: fields@ahp.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 08:18:02 (MDT)) Why does it seem that Darrel should be 13 weeks and not 13 months? Time is just going by way too fast. It seems likke yesterday I was holding a practically helpless newborn in my arms, and now I have a toddler who thinks he's a teenager running (or rather crawling and cruising) around the house. Just barely five months ago, I had a toothless wonder on my hands. Now I have a nine teeth rugrat somewhere around here. He was once strictly a mommy's boy, and now he's becoming attached to other people but still a mama's boy. Hey, he's finally saying mama again! Well, Dh should be here in about 5 days. I'm getting rather anxious. At least my parents will be at work when Doug gets here. That will makke things go a lot smoother. Maybe it will even be easier on Darrel to not have his grandfather around when he meets his dad again. It will definitely be easier on DH with my dad not here. Right now, my parents are really trying my patience, even more than usual. They expect me to be the one to clean their house from top to bottom. Now, how in the world am I supposed to pack and get ready to move if I'm trying to take care of my son, clean their house, work, and help my friends out with transportation problems. Makes it kind of hard. I'm just glad we only have a little over two weeks before we have our own place. That will make me so happy. As soon as we get our keys, we'll start moving things in. Darrel will be staying with a friend of mine while we move. He doesn't need to be getting in and out of the car all day. When it starts getting close to his bed time, I'll pic him up and stay at the apartment to start unpacking while Doug brings the rest of our things over. It will be so nice to be together and have our own place again. birdie: You are more than welcome to stay over here on this side. Kahne and Moriah post over here, so there's no reason why we wouldn't want you to. Come on over.. Well, I gotta go now. I'll talk some more later. Crystal and Darrel 13 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 08:47:47 (MDT)) Good morning...HAPPY, HAPPY FRIDAY!! :) SARAH here! Well, HANNAH slept through the night AGAIN!! :) Not really anything new here so I'll get on to personals. DAWN - That's great your kids will sleep through anything. Man, HANNAH wakes up at the drop of a pen. That's because I've always been and had everyone else be REAL quiet when she's sleeping. You know, first time mom stuff! :) That's funny she starts dancing when she knows you guys are mad. Hey, my b-day is May 23rd. SHELLY - Of course your story doesn't offend us!! That's what we're here for. Man, if I had you guys judging me on some of the stuff I've done....we all make mistakes. I just feel sorry for RILEY not having interaction with his dad. RILEY sounds so cute with his dancing. CRYSTAL - How's your head today? Do you think DARREL could have an ear infection?? That's how HANNAH gets when she has one, and she's had 5 of them so far. How's the smoking habit going? PATTY - JARIN sounds so cute with his bunnies!! Give him a kiss from HANNAH and I. BIRDIE - How's NOAH feeling? Feel free to post here anytime! RITA - My 3 year old nephew is the same way. He's got a 10 month old brother, and when anyone has him 1 on 1, he's a doll. But when he's with his mom and brother, he's a PILL!!!! KELLI - Actually, HANNAH's been sleeping through the night the past 4 nights!!! YEA! :) OK, that's all for now. If I don't get back on today, I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!! :) Sarah and Hannah (1 year) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 09:51:58 (MDT)) Rebecca here (sneaking in from the other side!)... Quick question to all you moms. Did any of your babies have a growth spurt around 10-11 months? I think Paige is having one, but I'm not sure. Thanks in advance! Rebecca & Paige 10+ email: burn@canadawired.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 10:27:26 (MDT)) I am so glad it is Friday. I am ready for the weekend. DH and I are going out to eat for lunch and then golfing Saturday afternoon with another couple. Our neighbor is being a good sport and watching Colton for us. Should be lots of fun. I think Colton's seperation anxiety is finally going away. It has been a week now that he has not cried when I have left him with daycare, church nursery or anyone else. Yeah. That was one guilt trip I am glad has come to an end. When I left for daycare this morning Colton started waving at the house and saying Da Da. He knew that DH was still inside and was saying goodbye. I called DH at work to tell him. DH felt bad that he didn't see it. He just loves it when he comes home and I am playing outside with Colton. Colton sees him pull in the driveway and starts waving and calling Da Da. He runs to DH as soon as DH opens the door of his truck. DH says that is the best part of his day, especially on those bad work days. I am still amazed at how wonderful Coltons smiles and grins can make me feel. Moriah: What precious pictures! LisaB: What fun Max had at the zoo. It sounds like you have a much better zoo than ours. Colton loves monkeys and even says "ee,ee, ee" when playing with his stuffed Curious George. Max sure has a great imagination using his "pinchers". Tonya: Good for Raquel sticking up for herself. In no time her brothers will have to watch out. Birdie: Feel free to join this TT board at any time. Sorry to hear about Noah's first cold. Wow, 10 months without a cold--that was some good breast milk! Shelly: Thanks for opening up and sharing. This board is for support and not judging so feel free to share anytime. Sorry to hear about what a tuff situation you are in with Riley's dad. Michelle: You said that you were looking for suggestions to help get your daughter to take better naps: Is there a video she likes to watch that she can cuddle up to you and fall asleep to? Will she fall asleep in the car when you run errands? Have you tried to just put her in her bed and make her stay there, hopefully playing for a little while, but then falling asleep? Let us know if you find anything that does work. Patty: Jarin sounds so cute dancing with the bunnies. Kelly: Yeah for Elizabeth walking. Welcome to Zombieland. Hopefully you only have a short stay! Crystal: Hope your migraine has left your head and that Darrel has stopped screaming for you. Yeah, only 5 more days until your Dh is home. What excitement to plan for. Too bad your parents have to bring you down with their unrealistic expectations. At least there is an end coming up with you moving out. NO SMOKING, Darrel and Doug need you! (just in case you were feeling the urge.) Have a great weekend everyone. Hugs and kisses to all your little ones. Julianne & Colton 14 mo email: jjones@batts.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 10:33:15 (MDT)) Hello Everyone, Lorena here. This board is very addicting!@!! I am at work and can't seem to quit until I have read all of the stories and updates. I could spend alot of time here! I must sign off now and get some work done. Will sign on later this evening after my son is asleep. bye for now. lorena Friday, September 24, 1999 at 11:23:42 (MDT)) Happy Friday everyone. Beth here. I am going shopping this weekend to get Allison some fall/winter clothes. I have few things, but not nearly as much as she needs. DH kept her the other day while we were having a cold snap and I got home from work and she was wearing last winter's jeans (WAY too small!) and a Santa Claus sweatshirt (her grandpa got when she was born that just now fits her). I asked why she had that on. He said, "poor child doesn't have any cold weather clothes. Go out and buy her whatever she needs this weekend." I was shocked as he usually likes to wait and see if my mom or his mom is going to buy anything for us. I guess he figured they would already have given it to us by now and we need to get her something to wear. Should be fun. I love to go shopping esp for Allison. Julianne - glad to hear colton is adjusting so well to daycare. Allison still has some seperation anxiety problems at the church nursery, but has never had any problem with the sitter luckily. Patty - we'll miss you while your computer is being upgraded. Hurry back soon. Kelli - I had to laugh at the Elizabomb sign off. Allison is just like that too. She will pull a toy out of her toy box, look at it for two seconds then throw it on the floor and pull another one out. She does this until the box is empty usually. Congrats on the first steps. It won't be long now! Allison now prefers walking over crawling and can tear up things so much fast now. Sarah - I know what you mean about having a baby that wakes easy. Allison wakes way too easy which I dont understand since the sitter's house is like a carnival and my house is not really all that quiet most of the time either. I cringe if the phone rings while she's napping. Shelly - Thanks for sharing your story. I was under the impression to begin with that all your children had the same father and that he was seeing 2 of them and not Riley. The real situation is actually much different from that. I don't know that I would push the issue now knowing all the details. I like Lisa B's suggestions of using a close male friend or relative as a surrogate father. I wasn't offended at all by your story. As everyone else has said, we all make mistakes. Dawn - you are lucky to be able to bring Erica to work with you. That's not even an option here. I asked once if I could bring Allison in on a Saturday (not a regularly scheduled work day even, I would have been the only one here probably) when I was finishing up some work and they acted like that was a totally ludicrous suggestion and how dare I ask. They are not very supportive of parent's here. No kids are allowed in this office, EVER! Crystal - I agree with Sarah that you should get Darrel checked for an ear infection. Many times kids will not run fevers or pull at their ears. I have known of several children that exhibited no signs except for severe crankiness and when examined had horrible ear infections. Lisa B - Max sounds too cute with his pincher grip. Hopefully he'll never figure out that he can inflict pain with that grip! Sarahg - leaving the lights on is something I used to do on a regular basis. I used to drive 45 min. to work when I was pregnant and it would be dark when I left and light by the time I got there and I would forget to turn them off. I think it was partially due to that forgetfullness that is so common during pregnancy. DH bought me jumper cables to keep in my car because it was so common for me to do this. I am much better now thank goodness! Michelle - try having the same ritual at nap that you do at bedtime that may help her a bit. If that doesn't work you may just have to put her in her bed and walk out of the room. The first few days she will probably cry for a long time, but after she see's it's not working she will get used to it and start to go right to sleep. I was lucky that my sitter trained Allison this way for her naps and I have no problem putting her down anymore. Birdie - please join us over here. We miss you and love hearing about Noah. Well, once again I have written an epic. Time for me to get back to work I guess. I'll try to check in from home over the weekend, I need to get into my e-mail as I haven't checked it for days at home, but if not have a great weekend and I'll talk to you all later Beth and Allison (16months) email: bobwite@msn.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 11:36:51 (MDT)) Hey, Ladies, Dawn here. Someone sent me this via e-mail so I thought it was cute so I thought I'd share. Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to God's kids. After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing He said to them was, "Don't." "Don't what?" Adam replied. "Don't eat the forbidden fruit," God said. "Forbidden fruit? We got forbidden fruit? Hey, Eve...we got forbidden fruit." "No way!" "Yes, WAY!" "Don't eat that fruit!" said God. "Why?" "Because I'm your Father and I said so," said God, wondering wy he hadn't stopped after making the elephants. A few minutes later God saw the kids having an apple break and was angry. "Didn't I tell you not to eat that fruit? the First Parent asked. Uh huh," Adam replied. "Then why did you?" I dunno," Eve answered. "She started it!" Adam said. "Did Not!" "Did so!" Having had it with the two of the, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the patern was set and it has never changed. But there is a reassurance in this story. If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give them wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble handling children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you? Dawn email: fieldsd@ahp.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 12:44:06 (MDT)) HELP!!!! I am so desperate it's not even funny anymore. Thank God I have you guys here. Oh, by the way, it's Michelle (with Riley and Evan). I saw there is another Michelle here with the same problem as me. Maybe it's our name. LOL. Evan is only 2.4 years old and he has decided he doesn't need an afternoon nap anymore, well, that would be fine except that he can't make it to bed time, he falls asleep at 5 or 6 and I can't wake him AT ALL. Then he wakes up at 8 or 9. It's very complicated. Evan If he does have a nap at a decent time he won't sleep at night until 11:00 or so and while he is in his room he screams and hollers and slams the door and is just a terrror. I can hack that - but my dh (not darling husband today) works at 4:30 am and he can't! I feel bad for him and EVERY single night we get in to a huge fight about how to handle this. We're at a loss. HELP! At the moment my dh and I aren't speaking and he slept downstairs last night. We aren't usually like that I hate this. I can't believe that someone so small can cause problems like this. I love the little guy so much but it's so frustrating, I just don't know what to do. Kelli - congrats on the 3 steps. YAY! Give it two weeks and she'll be walking everywhere. Sarah - Happy Very Belated Birthday Hannah! Riley's Birthday was on Sept 2 so they are very close! Julianne - I have to say I'm jealous. That sounds like a wonderful day for you. Enjoy it. Moriah - those pictures are the sweetest! Yikes - Riley has just woken up in a bit of a grump, better go save him! Take care everyone Michelle, Evan and Riley email: mwells@telusplanet.net Friday, September 24, 1999 at 13:20:25 (MDT)) Crystal and Darrel here. Darrel has calmed down this afternoon. He finally ate and is now happy. I think it was hunger that was getting to him, but he would hardly eat the past two days. I looked in his mouth and saw two corners from each of his molars poking out. Ouch. No wonder he's been so cranky. He woke up five times last night, which is very unusual for him. But, he went back to sleep within a few minutes of screaming. I gave him an apple, cut up of course, and some peaches, and he loved it. Darrel loves his fresh fruits. He's not done much screaming since. A friend thinks he may be constipated because he hasn't had a bm the past couple of days. The fruit should help with that if he is, but I don't think he is. Darrel has never had a bm more than two days in a row, except for when he has diarhea. My migraine is doing much better. Thanks for asking. It's still there, but I can function. It's that annoying pain level that can be tolerated but the pain is annoying. At first I thought it could be withdrawal symptoms from smoking, so I bought a pack to see if it would help. Needless to say, it didn't. But it was so bad that anything that had the possibility of helping would be tried. Won't take tylenol or motrin because they never help. Vicadin helps, but I don't have a prescription for it. I got it when I got my wisdom teeth pulled, and I didn't use it because my mouth didn't hurt very much at all. So, I tried for a migraine, and it did wonders, as long as I used it before I got nauseaus. Needless to say, I'm out of it by now. While on birth control, I got migraines pretty much everyday. I rarely get them now, compared to the frequency I used to. Now I only get them once or twice a month and when I have too much dairy. I can't take asprin even though that helps somewhat because Af is here. But I do feel much better today. Well, Darrel had a nasty fall this morning, which didn't help his craniness any. We were outside and he stood up on the sidewalk. He went to help himself down and hit the side of his head on the concrete. He's okay, though, thank God. I heard the impact. He screamed for a while, but I was able to get him calmed down, so that was good. When Darrel is real upset, all I have to do is put him on my lap facing me and let him lean into my chest and bounce my nee gently or rock. That calmed him down in about two or three minutes. His pupils were fine. His coordination was fine. He's sleeping right now, so I'm going to check on him shortly to mae sure he can be easily aroused. However, Darrel has a little bump above his eye and his right cheek is a little scraped up, but niether are tender. He lets me touch both areas, so I'm not worried about him. He's fine, but I feel so bad about it because I shouldn't have let him stand alone on the concrete. After Darrel calmed down, he got right back up and gave me a big smile. Crystal and Darrel almost 13 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 13:52:25 (MDT)) MICHELLE: You might try the new preschooler board and see if you can get any napping advice there. Max is a lot younger so I have no practical experience with your problem but it sounds like Evan KNOWS he has the upper hand and is going to exert whatever power he can. I would start a set routine for naps and bedtime - have a snack, read a book, lie down for "quiet time", etc. Then put Evan in his room and MAKE him stay there for a set amount of time (like 30 minutes at nap time). Tell him he has to stay there until quiet time is over - even if he screams, throws things, gets out of bed and plays, etc. - but that you will come check in every 5-10 minutes. Once he realizes throwing a fit won't work and he's stuck in his room regardless, hopefully he'll calm down and play quietly or maybe (gasp) nod off for a short nap! This is kinda like the "Ferberizing" that is recommended for babies to teach them to sleep on their own and that generally takes 2-4 days (but a toddler is WAY smarter and therefore will likely be more resistant). Best of luck! CRYSTAL: Max was playing on our concrete front porch and sidewalk on Weds. and I kept worrying that he would fall down. The good thing about kids is that they generally bounce back quickly! Everyone have a GREAT weekend and I'll "see" you on Monday! LisaB & Max (almost 13 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 14:19:22 (MDT)) Crystal and Darrel here again. Darrel's still sleeping, and there's still 5 days left for dh to get here. Can't the days go any faster? This day has been so long that it's not even funny. I'd like pictures if anyone has any. I have a couple more pictures if anyone wants to see them. Michelle: I agree with LisaB. Another thing you can try is everyday put him down 15 minutes earlier and get him up 15 minutes earlier for his nap. If he genarally wakes up late in the mornings, try getting him up 15 minutes earlier everyday until he's taing his naps and waking from his nap at a time that's better for you. Also, try putting him down for bed 15 minutes earlier everyday. You can also try no naps during the day and putting hi to bed earlier. Or, you can try quiet time and tell him that he has to sit in his room and play quietly for a little while and that you'll come get him when he can come back out. Maybe he'll go to sleep. Also, don't let him sleep for more than an hour and a half to two hours during his nap. Hope this helps. Crystal and Darrel 13 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 15:45:45 (MDT)) Hey everyone, and Happy Weekend! Yippy! Elizabeth took a couple more steps tonight, but not much at all. I think she's a little scared. I am really looking forward to tomorrow! We are going to Estes Park (or Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park, rather). This weekend is supposed to be PRIME aspen viewing time! DH, Elizabeth and I all love to get out and enjoy the fall colors! Also, the elk are just beginning to rut and it's always fun to watch a bull elk round and protect his harem from other bulls. Okay, I'm starting to sound like a nerd, aren't I? LOL! Anyway, we are taking summer sausage, cheese, crackers, fruit and Hot Chocolate to make it a mini-picnic. I sure hope the weather cooperates! SarahG, Glad Isaac is feeling better and I sure hope Sofia doesn't catch anything! LisaB, Well, do you think DH understood why you can't be June Clever and work out of the house too? Shoot, I stay home and can't live up to June Clever. Yes, I have thought lately that Elizabeth can't possibly get into more than she does now when she begins walking. I may be wrong! SarahM, Yeah for Hannah sleeping throught the night this week. Now, let's hope it continues through the weekends so you can get some good sleep in! Julianne, I hope you have a great time golfing! I think it's great that both a husband and wife do things like that that they both enjoy! My dh and I both enjoy golfing... we just don't have any clubs of our own yet. Crystal, just keep saying to yourself, "I will only be here a couple more weeks!" I know it's hard living w/ parents... believe me!!! I think Beth hit the nail on the head when she said, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder!" My mother also once told me that 2 women should never live under the same roof. LOL! Just think, before long, your family (you, dh & Darrell) will be living as a family and acting as a family. WOn't that be nice?! Rebecca, Gosh, I can't remember if Elizabeth had a growth sprut at 10-11 mo. I am sure if you think Paige is having one, she probably is. I think E just had one about a month ago... Kids just keep growing and growing and growing... I hope you guys are doing great! Beth, You will have SOOO much fun shopping for Allison this weekend! I did my shopping about a month ago and had a blast!! Elizabeth has always worn the size of her age (when she was 12 mo., she wore size 12 mo.) and I bought all 18 months size. Well, she fits into those clothes very well!!! Some are still a little too big, but I just hope they all last her through the our 6 mo. winter!! What size does Allison wear now? HAVE FUN!!!! Well, I need to go and prepare a few things for our outing tomorrow! I am just so excited to get out!!! I plan on taking lots of pictures of Elizabeth w/ golden aspens in the background. You all have a great weekend and I'll chat with you late! Take care & God bless everybody! Kelli & Elizabeth, 14 months email: rkncs@aol.com Friday, September 24, 1999 at 23:42:42 (MDT)) |