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Toddlers Today's MomsTalk Archive Crystal and Darrel here. Not much new is going on here except that Darrel is now able to handle drinking from open cups on his own!!!!I found that out yesterday at work but forgot to mention it in my last post. I was drinking Dr. Pepper from a can, and Darrel walked up to me, grabbed my can and started drinking my Dr. Pepper. He wouldn't let me have it back, so I had to take it by force. I poured some into an open cup and gave it to him, and he drank it all by himself without spilling any of it!!!! So I guess we won't be needing sippy cups for much longer.For a while, I'm going to continue giving him sippy cups, especially in the car and when we're out and about, but at home he can drink from an open cup. I think he's ready to start. No, I'm not trying to rush him. He wants to drink from open cups and is starting to be very careful about how he puts his sippy cups down. He now puts them down gently, except for when they are empty he throws them, and if his sippy cups fall onto the side, he makes a point of picking it up and putting it down right. I have a feeling, though, that if he continues this, by the time he's two, he will refuse sippy cups. He's a smart kid and is very determined to do things. Lately, Darrel has been following me to the bathroom and then trying to flush the toilet when I'm done with my business. I let him. No sense in putting a damper on his interest. The way I see it is it will help when it comes time to start potty training him. Also, when Darrel is wet, he takes his diaper off and grabs the wipes. For those of you potty training your kids, are these signs that Darrel may be ready to start toilet training? Darrel has officially put talking on the back burner. But, seeing as how he's so busy doing so many other things, I can understand why. And there are times when he acts so grown up. It just totally amazes me. Okay, now for the personal. Christi: For my one and two year olds, I bought them bubbles. They love bubbles very much, so I went to the party supply section of a local grocery store and bought a few six pack of bubbles. As for ideas of what the older kids can make for their parents, how about a pen/pencil holder? This is actually something the younger kids can do as well. Just make sure the edges of the can aren't sharp. The kids can decorate construction paper and glue or tape them onto the cans. They can also make Chriistmas cards. They can be persoalized with a picture or even hand and/or foot prints. Hand prints can be made into reindeer as well.Hope these ideas help. Okay, ladies, now that the friend of a friend thing is over, I need some advice. I was going to ask for it a few days ago but then read the post and decided it was not the time to ask. I have taken a few more pg tests since my positive, and they all came out negative. I still have the symptoms of pregnancy and have missed another visit from AF. I'm getting worried now because if I'm not pg, then something else could be wrong. I haven't had any cramps or bleeding that could signal a miscarriage and I know that if I'm it's not ectopic. I don't have symptoms for that, and more than likely if it was ectopic, I'd have known by now because if I am pg, I'm almost 11 weeks. I found this out last Wednesday because I went to a crisis pregnancy center for a urine test. My mom has told me that until she was about 4 months, she couldn't get a positive urine test with me. I've had gas pains, round ligament pain, and sciatic nerve pain but that's the only kind of pain I've had since my last period. I don't have insurance so I can't afford to go to the doctor. Does any have any ideas? Also, another thing that I've thought of, is it possible for HCG hormones to decrease? If so, that may explain why I had a positive and am now getting negatives. Otherwise, I've thought of the possibility that I may not have enough hormones to show up positive. Crystal and Darrel 15 1/2 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Sunday, December 05, 1999 at 12:42:30 (EST)) Hello from Helen&Amanda!!! DH and DS went to their hockey game-- DD went to the X-mas parade with SIL and Amanda is sleeping!! I need to pick up around the house for later today when some of our friends come over for 'wings' and to watch the football game-- so this is a quickie-- THANK YOU ABBI PERETS iPARENTING ASS. EDITOR-- Someone needs to clean up things around here. :O) I missed 'DOUG'S" response and I'm glad I did- its sad that someone has to watch over this board now and delete the offensive posts- how old are we anyway- I think its time for the ones being childish to grow up!! On that note-- I failed to mention the beautiful gift DH gave me for our Anniversary for fear of being attacked or accused of 'bragging' so I will now. He gave me a diamond tennis bracelet!! So suprised. :O) BIRDIE-- Congrats on the diamond earrings!! They must be beautiful!!! STACEY--Yes- DH gets the award- no diaper?? Sorry about the co-workers DD- its terrible the things people will do to children!! :O( MORIAH--HAPPY 6th ANNIVERSARY!! BETH-- Hope Alison's lip is better- I know how you feel! :O( CHRISTI--Sorry about your MOM!! Hope the results come back negative!! We went to our neighbour's housewarming party last night- He bought the movie- KING PIN for us to watch-- the men were roaring!! Such a stupid movie!!! They loved it- watching and re-winding at the 'good' parts!!! Quite a bunch of clowns! Well -- I better get back to cleaning--LATER!! Helen&Amanda@16mos(#3) email: mhim27@hotmail.com Sunday, December 05, 1999 at 15:21:39 (EST)) Hi mommies. Not much new here today. At least it didn't take me 1 1/2 hours to catch up like it did yesterday! Jarin is being his normal monster boy self. We are now having to give him two breathing treatments a day. Last night, he slept much better, so maybe that is the problem after all. He still coughs his head off during his naps though, poor little guy. I had my sister come over today and take some pictures of our family. I got them one-hour developed, so if anyone wants to see us, just let me know and I will email you the latest shots. **Stacey: You must've been posting when I was last night. Sounds like Franchesca is going to be a very sweet big sister. They will probably be very close growing up. **Christi: Our DCP has given the kids Christmas sweatshirts, those personalized story books, and toys. Hope this helps. Hey, what do your parents give you? I thought etiquette said to give your DCP a weeks $$. Do your parents of your kids do that? We always have, but I just wondered if anyone else did. We got our DCP a gift certificate for Kohl's. **Helen: I bet your diamond tennis bracelet is beautiful. Congratulations! DH and I were watching some preview of some new movie the other night and he was cracking up. I said it looked like a "man movie". Must be the same as Kingpin. LOL **Crystal: I don't know how the doctors are there, but here a blood test only cost about$15. It wasn't any more expensive than the urine tests from the drug store. If you are unsure, maybe you could get another test from the Dr. I know you said you couldn't afford it, but I'm sure they aren't anymore than the test kits. **Take care everyone. See you all tomorrow. Patty and Jarin - 15 months email: tematheny@ctlnet.com Sunday, December 05, 1999 at 22:17:10 (EST)) Hi everyone.My name is Tara, Im new to this toddlers board. I have a little girl. She will be 1 year old on the 29th of this month. Her name is Adriana. My hubby is in the Navy. So i live a military life. lol Adriana is almost ready to start walking. She is everywhere with her pooh push toy. She also repeats everything you say. She is one smart cookie. well gotta go Tara and Adriana email: cutipie0279@aol.com Sunday, December 05, 1999 at 22:46:53 (EST)) Hi everyone, from Stacey. It has been a pretty slow weekend on here, huh? Crystal--I know you say you can't afford it, but you really need to try to go to a Dr. right away. I know enough about you to know that if something happened you would never forgive yourself. Early prenatal care is so important. And if it were an ectopic pregnancy you need to know that ASAP. I agree with Patty (I think it was Patty) that a blood test is a good place to start. You need to know for sure if you are pregnant. Can you see someone at Planned Parenthood or some other similar community clinic? And, by the way, I was one of the people who read Doug's post, and I do have one thing to say just in case it turns out you are not pregnant after all. If you decide you want to keep trying, go for it. But if you decide you want to wait because it is not time yet, you might want to consider a more reliable method of BC than withdrawal. Good luck either way, and keep us posted. Uh oh, cranky toddler, I had better run.... Stacey, Franchesca, and Alexa email: stacey.romero@home.com Sunday, December 05, 1999 at 23:17:16 (EST)) Hi all! It's Moriah. Well it turned into a good anniversary after all! Geoff came home. He's home possibly until the 10th but until tomorrow night for sure. :) Bad thing is now he's coming down with the cold so he's pretty whiny! MEN! I of course was totally sick yet was up every hour to check on Alex & dealing with that stress. He's stuck on the couch griping! Can't live with em' can't flush em' down the toilet! Thank you iParenting for deleting that post. The more I thought about it the madder I got! I hope things improve around here. Got my Christmas tree, it's not decorated yet - only the lights. We put it in a weird place this year & I'm not sure I like it. But Geoff doesn't want to have to rearrange all the furniture so it looks like it's staying there. Birdie & Helen - I LOVE diamonds!!!! Last year Geoff surprised me with a anniversary/birthday/Christmas/giving him a son present. A 1 1/2 carat anniversary band. I was so shocked. Plus he did it so cute. It was a couple days before Christmas & I was carrying Alex in from the car (we'd been at the Dr's) anyway I gave him to Geoff & went back to get some stuff. Geoff started to yell at me that there were rocks in Alex's pockets - had I dropped him or something? I of course went running in there feeling all bad & the "rocks" were the diamonds in the ring. One of his cuter moments! Crystal - I'm not totally up on all the TTC stuff but I'm pretty sure of a couple things - #1 If you're 11 weeks along you'd get a + test today (I'm sure tests are way better now than what your mom was dealing with). #2 The only conclusive way to tell is a blood test. #3 if your HCG level is decreasing I think that means a misscarraige. You should ge to the Dr in that case because maybe you'd need a DNC. Also I wholeheartdly agree with Stacey that early prenatal care is very important. So I'd say you should look into programs in your area ASAP if you are pregnant & get going on your care. By 11 weeks the heartbeat can usually be heard. I know at 7 weeks we could see the heartbeat on US & at 10 heard it with a doppler. Also, not to be nosey but did you manage to completely give up cigarettes? I just read that it really increases your risk of miscarraige. Well I wanted to write more but ALex is way fussy! Chat again later! Moriah & Alex (13.9999 months) email: geoffandmoriah@msn.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 01:00:29 (EST)) Hi to all of you. I recieved the strangest mail. An insert from part of this board. What in the world is going on HERE!??? I always valued all of you as my dearest and best freinds. What happened with us? What is all this Friend of a Friend thing and Concerned and Anon? I dont understand at all. The majority of us are christian bleivers and i have had such wonderful hopes for us all. I love each and every one of you! Lets PRAY when all else fails......If anyone of us can say this, its me right now!........ What ever happened to sweet Tracy? She used to send me the sweetest cards, etc, and i never hear from her anymore. Whats up with that? I wont have time to post again, but Email if you would....I sent you an email kahne, cause someone sent me your insert....I am very sorry about this. It makes my heart so very sad that this is what we have come to. I still LOVE you all and i pray for everyone of you every single day! "I will restore what is destroyed, and re-plant what is desolate (dead)...I the Lord have said it, and I will DO IT!" Ezekial 36:36. This is what gets me through every single day, every hour, every minute.....I know God is able ... Keep on keeping on, girls. You ARE the GREATEST! Mimii. email: mimiijim@fuse.net Monday, December 06, 1999 at 03:48:47 (EST)) Hi Ladies, I am new to this board - my name is Lynda. I have an 11 month old daughter called Ella. I started back at work 2 days a week when she was 6 months old and would like to ask your about experiences with Childcare centres. Ella has been sick with various colds, diarrohea, bronchiolitis and other various viruses since she started at childcare. It seems sometimes that she has been kept home more days than she has gone! My husband and I have also seemed to pickup some of the colds she gets and so have been alot sicker this winter than in previous years. I thought that with winter ending and the start of spring (we live in Australia) the colds and viruses would let up but they haven't. I am sick and tired (literally !) of coping with a sick child, juggling work and alternative care arrangements and am thinking of giving up work. Before I do I am trying to work out whether: (a) this sort of experience is normal ? OR (b) it is possibly poor hygiene at the Child care centre (so changing centres might be the best thing) OR (c) Maybe Ella is just more vulnerable to illnesses than other children (I hope to speak to some of the other parents in the centre to try and work this out) OR (d) Maybe a smaller centre might be better - there are around 10-13 babies in the one room on the days that Ella goes. I am very interested in your experiences and any suggestions that you may have as I quite like working the 2 days a week - but not at the expense of my daughter's health. Thanks Lynda Lynda email: ljpjyoung@ozemail.com.au Monday, December 06, 1999 at 06:17:24 (EST)) Good morning ladies! I hope you all had nice weekends. We did. DH worked alot this weekend, so it was pretty much a girl's weekend. Oh, I did have to take HANNAH in to the doctor Saturday...ear infection! :( Now we're all on medication so I hope we all get healthy SOON!! Not much new here so.... MORIAH - I'm so happy for you guys, ALEX off of oxygen! :) :) Thanks for the get well wishes! I'll need to check out your website when I get off of here! Happy belated Anniversary! SHELLY - Your posts are so fun to read. They're always so entertaining. A bit of relief from everything else going on around here!! JENNIFER - I'm sorry about the shots. HANNAH gets hers on the 14th. I KNOW I'll be crying, too! CHRISTI - I'll keep your family in my thoughts and prayers!! KAHNE - Funny poop story. We had to give HANNAH a suppository once, too. Man, it was a blow-out!! I agree with what you said on nursing homes!! SARAH g. - I'm sorry about your grandma's passing!! Happy belated Anniversary and Birthday! HELEN - Don't be embarrassed to post about ANYTHING!!! Believe me, if I got a diamond tennis bracelet, I'd be "bragging" about it! Sounds absolutely beautiful!!! PATTY - I would LOVE pictures!!!!!!!!!!! TARA and ADRIANA - WELCOME!!!!!! LYNDA - WELCOME!!!! Sorry I can't help out with the daycare issue. Well ladies, I guess I missed a disturbing post this weekend. I'm so glad I did!!! This breaks my heart, but if it doesn't get better here soon, I'm afraid I won't be posting anymore. I'll just have to keep up by emailing a couple of you gals. Hope you all have a great Monday! Sarah and Hannah (15 months) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 10:41:08 (EST)) Hi, this is Birdie and Noah. I have a quick question? WHOLE MILK???? Our ped said we should start at one. Okay, so now he's one. I guess it's time. I would like to know when you all started and how you went about it. I was thinking of mixing whole mile and formula and slowly weaning him from the formula. What do you all think? How long should I do this for? Should I do it at all or just go cold turkey? Should I do half and half or maybe start with like 2oz milk, 6 of formula and work up? I'd love to hear your opinions. Thanks. Birdie and one year old Noah email: LJU777@AOL.COM Monday, December 06, 1999 at 10:47:44 (EST)) I had a good weekend since I had lots of playtime w/ Colton. He loves to climb on the couch and jump on my back. Playing horsey is more like bucking bronco at my house. The bad thing is that he will sometimes bite my shirt to hang on & most of the time I get bit too!! Colton learned to drink through a straw when we went out to eat Saturday. He just loves pop. He will shout "pop", grin, and get all excited when I go down the pop isle in the grocery store. He loves watching fish so I gave in and bought him a small fishbowl w/ 2 goldfish this weekend w/ some Christmas money he was sent. Dh has named them Jaws & Shamu! I wanted Fishy & Wishy, but that was not manly enough! I have lots of personals so here goes: Sarah: So cute of Hannah to help w/ her diaper and PJs. Rita: Good ideas for Christmas. Did you have fun seeing all the decorations? Stacey: I sure hope the man at your work gets custody of his daughter. Congrats on DH's job offer and good luck finding a good daycare. You had me LOL about your DH forgetting the diaper. Yeah for a fun night out. Glad the babysitter worked out for you. I would love to see the pictures. Moriah: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (late). It was great of DH to come home, not so great to bring a cold w/ him though! Yeah for Alex feeling better. Beth: Poor DH, you should have given him a kiddie bandaid for his boo-boo on his nipple. Shelly: I agree w/ you on putting your great uncle in a home. Azltheimers is too difficult a disease to deal w/ especially if you are not trained to physically handle such a dependant person. It is not worth her risking her health either. As long as she stays involved it is not like she is abandoning him and people have no right to judge your decisions. Jennifer: Just keep after Adam and he will come to realize that hitting is wrong. Christi: I will keep your mom and family in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you have good news w/ the bone scan today. I too took Colton for a walk since the weather was so nice. I had him in his car that has a handle. In order to keep his feet from getting pulled under I had to set the car back so it was doing a wheelie all the way. I even had the dog on her leash too. I got home and realized I had a spit-up rag hanging in my back pocket. What a sight I must have been!! Kahne: Yeah for Cat's HUGE poop. LOL SaraG: I am glad to see you're back. Sorry to hear about your Grandma. It was nice that you could have a weekend getaway w/o the kids. Hope DH finds a job soon. Crystal: It's great that your job is so fulfilling and that you have a chance to make a difference in children's lives. Too often problem kids are labeled such and never given a chance because nobody takes the time to really find out what is going on with them. Keep up the good work. I think you need to be checked out by a dr or health clinic. My sister was PG and then the ultrasound showed no heartbeat. She never miscarried so they had to do a D&C. Patty: Colton always coughed horribly when sleeping too. Do you elevate his head? We always put in extra pillows to keep his head up and even let him take naps in his stroller. I would love to see your new pictures. Helen: It's great when Dh surprises you with such a gift. I love getting jewelry. Tara: Welcome. Lynda: Welcome. I too started my son in daycare when he was 6 months old. I found that he had colds and was sick much more for about the next 6 months then it got better. I don't know if it was the daycare center or just him developing his immune system. I would check w/ some of the other parents to see if their children are sick all the time too. If so, you might want to consider a different daycare. Have a great Monday everyone. Julianne & Colton 16 mo email: jjones@batts.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 11:40:11 (EST)) Hello, its Christi. Mom's scan is this afternoon, and we will get results Tuesday mid morning, thanks again to all who are praying for her!! Other than that things are going along fine here, our Christmas program at church is this Sunday, and DH is doing all of the backdrops (guess who volunteered him?), and I am directing, lots of work-my house has stuff everywhere, halo's taped to my walls, a stable in Calebs room, paint all over etc. I am ready for it to be over! Anyway, on to personals........ HELEN***Good for you, what a smart DH to give you diamonds! Don't feel as if you are bragging, I live vicariously (sp??) through others :o) PATTY***A week worth of $$????? I am getting jipped! One family (2 boys) gives me nothing (this really bugs me cause I know they have the funds!) One family gives me between $30 & $50 (they are broke, and part time, so this a weeks salary I guess,and I know they appreciate me) and the other family this is the first Christmas. It is nice to be so good to your DCP! Thanks also for the ideas, I love the sweatshirt idea! WELCOME Tara & Adriana, I hope we get to know you better soon! WELCOME Lynda & Ella I am a DCP, I know colds go around, once one gets it it is a while before the house is healthy again. I try to be very careful about keeping sick kids, maybe check into your centers policy concerning sick kids. Good Luck MORIAH*** LOL, a toilet is a good place for men, most of the time :o) JULIANNE*** LOL your walk story, sometimes I am amazed what I don't notice before I leave the house! BIRDIE*** We started milk at 10 1/2 months (early I know), go it SLOW and gradual, good luck! Well, friends, time for me to go, I am here on borrowed time, see you all soon! Christi & Caleb 13 months email: plumbs@coiinc.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 12:22:01 (EST)) Hello from Rita. What a weekend! Maddy has been a real pill. It was really hard to enjoy our trip to SF. She was not listening or minding, so we had to keep her confined to the stroller, which made her very unhappy. I am sure that people went home and told their families about the horrendous family they saw with the screaming toddler. (She has started screaming at the top of her lungs when she doesn't get her way) She kept pushing Amy down at home and did a myriad of other things for which she earned time-outs. Thank goodness we got some time off from her yesterday! Larry's late wife's mom is very close to us and is a surrogate grandma to the girls. She took Maddy out to lunch and to the park yesterday. I took Amy and did some Xmas shopping and Larry took a ride on his motorcycle. Phew! Sarag - Hello. Sorry to hear about your Grandma. I hope that your DH can get a good job soon. I miss hearing about Issac. Please check back in with us! Christi - I 'll keep your family in my thoughts and prayers today. ++++++++++ Lynda - Hello again to you! We had our older DD in a family daycare that had a lot of kids in the after school hours and found that she got several colds and ear infections in her first year from the older kids. When we moved her to a smaller family daycare setting, she improved greatly. Our younger DD is in the same setting and has been very healthy - no ear infections and only one cold in this first year. I think the smaller care groups are better for infants and it's also easier for the care givers in these settings to enforce the policy that sick children should remain at home. Tara - Hey there! Where have you been? How's Adriana? I am looking forward to seeing you over the holidays. I am sure that Amy and Adriana will have a good time, but be prepared - Amy has developed a temper and a big stubborn streak. Must be Maddy's influence. Julianne - Well, the jaunt to SF was hardly relaxing. The decorations were sparser than I remember. I think that we will not go to Union Sqaure again - it's really hard to get strollers through the crowds. We ALL took naps when we got home. I got most of seven pages done on Friday. I just need to add captions and titles. Kahne - We have had to use the suppositories when Maddy was little and even more recently. Ugh! At least you get results from them very quickly. So far Amy has been much better in that department than Maddy. Thank goodness. **I will start a snail mail Christmas card list. If you would like to exchange cards, please e-mail me your address and I will put together a list. I will send out the list to those who have sent me their info. Gotta go. Take care everyone! Rita, Maddy & Amy email: ritad@home.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 13:16:55 (EST)) Hi from LisaB. DH got the new computer so I now have Internet access at home on weekends. Good thing with being gone for almost 5 days - there were TONS of posts to read. I'm officially in my new job and think I might finally have my office organized. DH took Max for his 15-month checkup last Weds. Max is 31 1/2" long and weighs 25 lb 3 oz. The ear infection is cleared up but he still has fluid in his ears. I have to take him back in a month to get that checked out. Of course DH, being a man, didn't ask what happens if he still has fluid then (tubes, etc.). My training went well. We were in downtown Fort Worth, Texas and it was a BEAUTIFUL area. Max was crying all 3 nights when I called home. He would calm down when I talked to him and then start crying as soon as I said bye. I cried when I got off the phone with him Weds. night but did ok the other nights. I kinda felt like a bad Mommy as I missed him but I wasn't obsessed with it. It was nice to have "Lisa time" (i.e., non-Mommy duty). I got home around 10 on Fri. and woke him up. He didn't even wake up enough to acknowledge me but I put him in bed with me and we snuggled for about a hour - he went back to the crib when DH came to bed. Sat. he was grinning ear to ear and giggling when he saw me. He went in his crib Sat. and Sun. but woke up crying hard and came to bed with us. I think he's afraid I'll leave again if I get too far away L. We went to a Christmas parade on Saturday and yesterday he touched his toes for the first time (has a book that says to touch his toes but he never did the action until then … and now he touches them every time you ask!). We put the tree up yesterday and so far Max is doing good - just "gentle" touches (but then he gets on his little scooter, goes backwards, and runs over the tree!). On to the personals … remember I've been gone along time so this will be a HUGE post and some of these are likely outdated (plus I've only read up through Saturday afternoon): LuCYNDIA: I agree 100% with your comments to Crystal and the "friends". You are a very wise lady. I'm busy with 1 kid so I completely understand the delays with Cyber Tots and posting. Don't feel bad - we'll be happy with whatever you have time to do! Thanks again for doing Cyber Tots - it looks great!!!! Too funny on "drunk Cody" toddling around!!!! It sounds like he's so determined to walk that his concentration is preventing him from being more mobile, poor little guy. If you haven't yet - CALL YOUR DOCTOR!!!! Surely a nurse can listen for a heartbeat, just to reassure you (and if, God forbid, there's a problem it can be identified and corrected early). PATTY: I'm sorry Jarin hit your jaw. I'm sure that hurt … it still hurts after 3 weeks when Max bonks my nose. I hope Jarin doesn't have asthma and that he feels better soon! ROMAINE: Saba sounds adorable stealing candy from the gingerbread house! Max also likes to sleep with his little butt stuck up in the air!!! REBECCA: I'm glad you're feeling so much better emotionally. DEBBIE: It's common for little girls to want to marry their dads (and boys wanting to marry their Moms). My sitter's 4-yr. old DD was a flower girl and loved the miniature bridal gown she wore. She kept telling me SHE was getting married - either to her Dad or her 14-year old step-brother!! LuCyndia's "link" didn't work - you have to type the address in. CANDANCE: I'm really conflicted on working vs SAHM. We could afford for me to quit at my old job and I fully intended to after #2 came. Now that I got promoted I hate to quit. It's harder to pass up the income when you're talking $13,000/year more "lost" income. My new job is giving me needed experience and paying for me to get a grants certification - which I plan to use to work out-of-the home once Max starts school to write grant applications, prepare grant reports, etc. (a requirement as I have to find something local as my work is 60 minutes from the school - entirely unacceptable to me as I refuse to tell a school nurse to let my kid continue to vomit for a hour until I can get there to pick him up). BIRDIE: I'm sorry you and Noah were sick - I hope you are better now! Happy belated birthday. I just turned 33 last month but feel much younger. I would allow immediate family to buy presents but ask extended family, friends, etc. to give money or bonds (or something small like a book). I know the grandparents and aunts would be HIGHLY upset if I didn't allow them to spoil Max rotten with assorted gifts! My MIL has parties for DH's and BIL's b-days … just a "special" lunch, cake, and cards (but she generally just gives me a card and money - I don't rate a celebration, I guess!!). DARLEEN: We never wrap presents from Santa - they are laid in/on the stockings. The presents from "real" people are all wrapped. SARAH: I would love to see Hannah's photos. How smart saying bye to the candle!!! Too bad that you didn't get a photo on Hannah swimming. ANOTHER FRIEND: I should just drop this issue but feel a compelling need to respond. As I recall it several people questioned Crystal when she said she was going to TTC. I for one asked her why they were considering TTC when they were having marital problems at the time - and she replied the problems were being worked out and that they wouldn't start TTC for several months. I don't recall anyone, at that point, saying "Yeah, Crystal. Good luck! Get pregnant as soon as possible". The congrats all came AFTER she got pregnant - along with good luck wishes. I agree with your comments on everyone having a right to their opinion … but "friend" posted a personal attack, not just an opinion. I have always said what I think in my posts but I try to not be confrontational … and I always sign my name to my posts. In addition, when I have a personal issue with one person I handle it via e-mail (although in one instance the issue still got drug onto the board by the person I e-mailed). MORIAH: I'll e-mail you my snail mail address! I'm glad Alex is better. It sucks that Geoff is out there with nothing to do. I'm sure it's esp. depressing for him knowing that you and Alex are both feeling less than 100%. I hope Alex is crawling soon! I can't wait to check out your web site!!! I want to give Max a keep-sake stocking also - but I'm still working on the cross-stitched one I started for DH 3 years ago!!! Have you "advertised" on PT for zandy cards? RITA: Maddy and Amy sound so sweet playing together in the play house! I'm sorry work sucks so bad. I like your master snail mail list - I'll e-mail you later! BETH: Thanks for the Cynthia update. Tell her "hi" for me!!! Any news are your overdue promotion? I'm sorry to hear about Allison's fat lip. We've all let a baby roll off the bed, etc. and had that "horrible" Mommy feeling so try not to feel too bad. Too funny about Allison biting DH - did you remind him of how many times she did that to YOU???!!!!! JENNIFER: Like someone else said, use the generic diapers during the day and the heavy-duty ones at night. My Mom got preggers 4 times on the pill - each time was when she started having "female" problems due to the pills she was on and switched pills. All 4 of us kids were perfectly healthy. I would love to see pictures! Young kids are frustrated by their limitations - can't say what they want, etc. - so it'll take time for the "no hitting" message to sink in. Can you try to teach him to hop, etc. when he's frustrated to "work it out"? LEANNE: I've read in mags that you should take the kids straight back to bed, tell them "you need to sleep in your bed" in a monotone voice, and leave the room. If you make it boring it's not worth their while to get up - unlike if Mom gets upset and moans and groans about not getting out of bed, etc. My 6-yr old nephew only wears diapers at night but I think they should at least work on getting him trained overnight. SarahW: Morning sickness is WORSE with #2? In that case I might not want to be TTC, considering how sick I was with Max. STACEY: I hope Franchesca's temper tantrums slow down soon. I feel so bad for your new hire's DD. Too funny (now, at least) about DH forgetting the diaper. I hate to say it but I did the same thing once - but about 5 minutes later realized what I had done, before any "accidents". I would love photos. Yeah for the night out minus the girls - you just need that couple time every once in awhile. It sounds like Franschesca has really turned around - wasn't she hitting Alexa at first? I guess she's discovered the joys of being the oldest! MICHELLE: Welcome! Max cried also at that age (and still does some) as he was getting mobile and hated to lay still. I would give him toys to play with, let him hold a clean diaper, sing a song or recite a favorite story, or play stinky feet (sniff while saying "where's Max's stinky feet?" - he would giggle and wiggle his feet and lay pretty still!). As a last resort, DH would come in and try to juggle toys to entertain Max. KATY: I hope Liam gets those teeth in quick so he'll be happier. JULIANNE: I haven't finished my pregnancy or baby books and haven't even started a scrapbook for Max … so don't feel bad!!!! You're doing MUCH better than me. J CHRISTIE: No more news on the Chicago gathering. DH couldn't be a SAHD - he would go nuts in a matter of days! I'll pray for your Mom - let us know what she fines out. KAHNE: I'm glad you're staying. I'm sorry your period is so awful this month and hope you feel better now. SHELLY: My older sis was on depo for a year or longer. It took her over a year to get pregnant once she quit getting the shot. Other than that she had no side effects. A home is better than living with someone without the emotional or financial means to care for you. My Mom practically lived with my grandparents the last 3 months of my grandfather's life. She really resented the fact that between caring for him and running her own business that she had no free time … plus it's hard emotionally to change your dad's diaper, etc. Mom and G-ma still have a strained relationship due to all Mom went through with G-pa's illness. I now have an Aunt on the other side of the family that is going thru the same thing with my grandfather in California. I'm glad you're tree isn't really pink … you had me worried there for a minute!!!! I've seen people glue little eyes, etc. on the older clothes pins (the ones that slide on the line vs clip) so they look like reindeer. SarahG: I'm so sorry to hear your grandmother passed away. CRYSTAL: I'm also is awe of your maturity and tack in handling the "friends" situation. The baby gate is a great idea - and I just read that idea last night for biting in one of my parenting mags! I remember one of my dad's friends sons. One day Dad asked him (5 years old) if he was ready to start school and he replied, "Hell no - they won't let me drink, chew, or cuss so I f@#$ing don't want to go". It sounds like your little guy is like him - yearning for someone to care enough to set limits for him. ABBIE, EDITOR: I agree with Abbie - let's keep flames off this site. Either e-mail the person or keep your comments to yourself. I think we should all still post our thoughts and opinions, but just acknowledge that none of us think or act the same and that we should always when tact when disagreeing. LisaB & Max (15 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 13:40:42 (EST)) Hello from Helen & Amanda!! We had a few over last night for the football game- I went to be b/f DH did- not a sports fan, our neighbour brought over his leftovers from the night before so I didn't have to make anything! DH did get our tree- had it in the truck for over a day- finally took it out and now its in the garage just standing there and STILL not cut and in water like I wanted to do b/f we bring it in!! OH-- but his DVD player is in and completely hooked up that he brought home yesterday afternoon!!I guess my tree is not on his priority list! LOL! KAHNE- Glad Cat finally had a BM!! I don't have to worryabout Amanda-- EVERY time she is in the tub- she poops!!! Never fails!YUK! PATTY-- Oh-- I bet its the movie about a giggilo?? Is it?? DH was roaring in bed the other night saying we HAVE to see that- what a howl!!! ( King Pin is the one w/Woody Harrelson from Cheers in it- he is a pool player- has a rubber hand etc.. really stupid but does have some funny parts- Your DH would probably like it too.):O) Hope Jarin is feeling better! CHRISTI-- Our sitter one year took polaroids of the kids and framed them-- you could make an ornament 'thingy' out of construction paper- or whatever and have the kids glue beads, or whatever, color on them, glitter them- then insert their photo. Have fun! CRYSTAL-- I agree- you NEED to go for a Dr. visit to at least comfirm whether or not you are PG then go from there. TARA&ADRIANA- WELCOME!! MORIAH-- So glad ALEX is doing so well!!!! Glad Geoff was home for your Ann.!!! MIMII-- Hope all is better with you!! SARAHG--Sorry about your Grandma! LYNDA&ELLA-- WELCOME!! Sorry Ella is so sick-- make sure the day care is following some sort of guidelines as far as clenliness goes- there must be rules for that-- are other kids also getting sick- she could just have a low tolerance for fighting off germs and colds- etc... but that doesn't explain you and DH getting sick also?? Could you anonamously call to have someone do an inspection of the day care?? Also if being a SAHM is an option you could do that until she is a little older or find another sitter??? Good Luck- I'm sure its a hard decision!! BIRDIE-- The ped. told me to start Amanda on whole milk @ 10 mos but she hated it and I had to mix it until she was 12mos and then she would drink it straight- it depends on Noah- he may like it straight or you may have to mix it- if he eats everything and has no problems with gas, BM's, food allergie etc. he should be fine. Should go and get some housework done-later!! Helen&Amanda@16mos(#3) Monday, December 06, 1999 at 14:05:03 (EST)) Hi again from LisaB - catching up with the last of the posts. By the way, "Goodnight Moom and Ohter Sleepytime Tales" is on HBO tonight - 9:30 pm central time. Susan Saradon is reading Goodnight Moon and it's supposed to be antimated or something (like a "living" book). I plan to tape it for Max and just wanted to tell everyone else about it!!!!! Also, I just got some pictures with a photo disk so let me know if anyone would like me to e-mail 2-3 to them. CHRISTI: Last year the sitter gave Max a Winnie the Pooh ornament and some books. She tends to spend a lot of the kids - gave Max a $30 Pluto toy with a remote for his birthday. I just give her a little something - this year I got her a "my favorite babysitter" Christmas ornament. CRYSTAL: Max also likes to drink out of "real" cups but we only let him if we are RIGHT there as he's messy with sitting the cup down (generally turns it upside down - OOPS!). He also tries to flush the toilet but can't do it on his own yet. Congrats on Darrel walking so much!! HELEN: What a nice anniversary present. I hope you're nagging DH about the tree - LOL!! PATTY: Please send me photos. A week's pay to the sitter?! I'm really reluctant to give her that much. It's not that I can't afford it, but the other 3 parents have limited cash and I don't want them to feel bad if they found out I gave her that much (they also do small presents). Plus, I'm the only one not getting a "cut" rate (the other parents were friends of the sitter "pre-baby" and therefore pay about 1/2 what I do). At the same time, I really appreciate the sitter and want it to show. Do you think $20 with a small ornament is enough?! Help me out here, guys! If I give her some $$ I won't tell DH as he already complains that "she's an employee" and that I'm too good of friends with her. TARA: Hi! I remember you from BT - you were moving about the time I started posted to TT. I'm looking forward to hearing from you again! MORIAH: I'm glad Geoff made it hope for your anniversary. LYNDA: Welcome! I have a lady that watches Max and 3 other kids at her house. Max has only been sick a handful of times, but that might just be because I breastfeed him for a year. SARAH: I'm sorry Hannah has an ear infection. BIRDIE: I did 1/5 whole milk and 4/5 breastmilk for 2-3 days, then 2/5 whole and 3/5 breast, etc. so the change was gradual. It went pretty smooth but Max would protest every once in awhile so I would have to up the breast milk again. It took about a month to get him on straight whole milk. JULIANNE: You're more energetic than me to play horsey like that!!! RITA: I'm sorry to hear about Maddy's attitude. Max is getting sooooo good at his little temper tantrums anymore that I'm afraid he's going to be pretty spirited himself. Keep posting here, at Preschoolers, Children, Pre-teenagers Today, etc. so I can get advice from you indefinitely on how to handle him!!!! LisaB & Max (15 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 15:05:56 (EST)) Hello Everyone. Jennifer & Sammy here. I only have an opportunity to post once every 4-5 days, so I have to cram everything in one message and do alot of catch-up reading. I'm in the I/T field and have tons of Y2K stuff to do within the next couple of weeks. My work life has been chaos! Sammy is absolutely into everything and I'm just about 7 months pregnant. Life is interesting! I just love this board though - it's great to see the messages from those with kids around the same age as Sammy and to see that they are doing the same kinds of things! The whining, temper tantrums, mimicking...it's great to know I'm not alone in what I'm thinking. Sammy just loves music - he's constantly dancing. He'll stop dead in his tracks when certain commercials come on with good music, and also for the Friends theme song and reruns of the Fresh Prince of Belair. It's so funny. And he's learned all new "moves" at daycare. The Chicken Dance, Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes, etc. He seems too little to be able to do that kind of stuff, but he does! He spends most of his time with the 18 mo olds and older, so I think he's getting it mostly from them. He's also starting climbing on EVERYTHING. The biggest one lately is the kitchen chairs. Scares me to death... Patti - I loved your story about Jarin imitating you putting on lotion. Sammy just did that recently with chapstick. One had fallen on the floor and he picked it up and started rubbing it on his lips. It was adorable! Also- regarding Jarin's coughing at night. Sammy had a cough that followed an ear infection, for 6 weeks. I took him in to the doctor after 3 or 4 weeks - it was just a dry cough, happening sporadically. They said he was fine. 2 weeks later, it all of a sudden got worse, and it turned out he had a sinus infection. But, it was building that whole time. LuCynda - I'm kind of in the same boat with my second pregnancy. I'm almost 7 months now - so I know I'm definitely pregnant (HA!), but I went months not really feeling like I was. All symptoms have been different than the first time. I've always heard that no two are alike, and they're right! I'm expecting a girl this time - so who knows... Birdie - Regarding switching to whole mile at 1 yr. I just switched right over. I think as long as they like the taste, there's not problem in doing it that way. Watch for diarrhea or constipation when you make the switch...Sammy got constipated, and I guess that's pretty common. Their bodies just need to adjust. Great catching up with all of you. Take care! JenniferW & Sammy (15 1/2 months) Monday, December 06, 1999 at 15:09:11 (EST)) Hi to all!!! Riley is watching Teletubbies. Oh no!! What if he figures out that the purple one has a gay sign on top of his head.LOL I have a cousin who will not let her child watch them at all. Now, all the time that I lived in the Bay Area, and have seen a lot of gay people. I've never seen that shape stand for gay rights or anything else for that matter. The one thing I do despise about religion, is some people, like my cousin, are extremly narrow minded. I feel that I'm a well rounded person and am always open to new things. If one of my children turns out to be gay, I will still love them. Ok, enough ranting. Riley has been sick with a cold. There is another little boy in daycare that is always sick, so I think him and Riley pass germs back and forth. My daycare is very small. There are only 3 boys. Jennifer is licsensed and she follows all the rules to a tee. But, this other little guys Mom is in a bad situation. She can't just stay home when he is sick. Her hubby was sentenced to 30 yrs for molesting their DD and at least one more girl. Whatever he did, it must have been really bad to get so much time. Another man here was just put in for 10 yrs for molesting a 10 yr old repeatedly. All crimes against children should carry the death penalty in my opinion. Anyway, Terry is a really nice person and when she found out about her Dh she took the right steps. But a lot of people here think that she is a bad person. Her DD seems to be doing well now and her DS has no idea what a dada is. She's going to school to learn medical transcibing to support her family. So since Riley has started daycare, he has had a lot of colds. Jennifer keeps her house very clean, she gives them nutritious meals, and keeps a good eye on things. Lynda, what you might need to do is give your baby extra vitamins. I do this for my older boys too. It cuts down on the amount of crud they drag home from school. If there is a lot of kids sick, I'll make mine change their clothes right after school too. The dr. told me to do this as a way to cut down on the amount of germs coming into our house. If your daycare does not use good cleaning habits, then maybe you should change. Welcome to our board. Thank you to everyone who gave their opinion on the Home issue. I know my Mom will start the process after the holidays. All he wants to do now is sleep anyway. Helen** So, do you play tennis in this bracelet or what?!LOL. I think it is a great gift and what a sweet DH to buy it for you. Birdie**Hope you feel better soon. I like a big deal made out of my b-day. I get mad when no one does it. I always go out of my way to plan dinner and a cake for my mom and sis. Last year Moriah had to call my mom and fire her up to do anything for me. I don't expect big $ laid out, but at least some sort of hoopla! Lucynda**Very nice job on the site. I can't wait to get you pics of my fam. I'll send some Mo's way and maybe she'll scan them for me. Crystal**I did a at home pg test and got a positive. I went to the dr. the next week and something was wrong on the ultra sound. I had to get another one in 2 weeks and by that time there was nothing left of the twins I had been pg with. I had been sick in the very beginning and then it stopped, I didn't know that this meant something bad until the dr. gave me the news. I had to have a D&C as I never bled or cramped. Don't want to scare you, but you need to go to the dr. I have $ problems too. Is there a clinic around you that charges on a sliding scale? We just got one here, it makes it easier. When I've gone in and told the dr. that I tested at home and got a +, they never even retested me. I guess that is how far at home tests have come. LisaB** Hi!!! Moriah**Mom is drinking weird tea to keep from getting Riley and John's cold. Better get hopping down to the nature nut store and buy her some granola!!!LOL I've got to go now, sorry I didn't get to post to everyone. More later! P.S. I forgot to mention Rileys new trick. He gets out of the tub and streaks naked thru the house and then gets back in. He must get it from his Dad.LOL Shelly & Riley 20 months Monday, December 06, 1999 at 15:15:42 (EST)) Hello again everyone from Christi. I first want to say, I didn't mean that I was being jipped by parents at Christmas time. It is just that this one family has plenty of money, and they never say anyhting, or do anything positive. They even went to DisneyWorld last month, didnt tell their kids, and brought back pictures of them with "Woody & Buzz" (their 4 year old is obsessed with Toy Story).Oh, and they were upset with me because I asked him (before they left)if Mom and Dad were going to see Woody & Buzz, I didnt know they didnt tell him! I can honestly say if they found daycare $10 a week cheaper they would leave. Just thinking about it just puts me in a scoogy mood. Ok, sorry to ramble, I just didnt want you all to think I expect and extra $100 or anything at Christmas, ANYTHING would be nice, even a "thank you" Few Personals LISA B.*** Good to see you! Glad your training went well. Sounds like max is growing very well. Glad you had good "Lisa" time HELEN*** Thanks for the gift idea! I think frames the kids a=can decorate will work good, and be inexpensive Okay, I am off again, time to finish laundry Christi again Monday, December 06, 1999 at 16:47:57 (EST)) Hi its Lynda here. A big thank you to Rita, Julianne, Christi, Helen, Lisa B, Shelley and anyone I missed for responding to my question about daycare. I will definately speak to some of the other parents at the childcare centre and then think about a smaller centre or maybe a nanny. Rita - Hi again - I remember you from the born in January board. I have an occaisional look there but haven't posted in a long time. Shelley - Ella likes the teletubbies also. Even if the purple one (Dipsy? - can't remember his name ) is supposed to be gay - young children aren't going to be influenced in anyway by that. They said the same thing about Noddy and Big Ears which I loved as a kid and think it was absolutely ridiculous to bann the book. Birdie - I am starting to think about weaning Ella from the breast to whole cows milk and will be very interested to hear how you go with Noah. Well I better go now - Ella has just crawled into the lounge room and is suspicously quiet - a sure sign that she is up to no good. Lynda email: ljpjyoung@ozemail.com.au Monday, December 06, 1999 at 18:23:12 (EST)) Crystal and Darrel here. First of all, I have a prayer reqsuest. One of my best friend had a nephew who died this morning. They think it was SIDS, but they are not totally sure. He was a twin and was in the hospital longer than his sister. He had resperitory problems when he was born, but he's been fine for a couple of months. The twins are almost three months old. Please pray for my friend Kristel and her in-laws. I can only imagine how hard it must be on them with me being a parent myself and it being so close to Christmas. As for the pregnancy thing, I talked to a friend of mine who told me of two Planned Parenthoods that are subsidized by the Government. I haven't been able to get a hold of them for an appointment, but she said that since she's home during the day, she'll try calling them on and off throughout the day until she can get an appointment for me. My pregnancy symptoms haven't stopped completely, so I guess that if I am pregnant, that's a good sign. They're just not as strong as they were when I got the positive result and as they were when I was pregnant with Darrel. I also talked to my mom about it. She told me that she couldn't get a positive urine test with me until she was three or four months. If I'm unable to get an appointment any time soon, then I plan to buy another test in two or three weeks. Crystal and Darrel 15 1/2 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 21:28:36 (EST)) Hi mommies. Jarin monster boy decided to stay up until 1AM last night! I went to bed at 11 and let DH take care of him since I had to work this morning and he didn't. Then Jarin woke up at 6:15 and came to bed with us. Needless to say, I was just a little tired this morning. Fortunately, he took a nap this afternoon and I was able to sleep until it was time to pick up Jesse. =) **Tara and Adriana: Welcome back! I remember you just started posting as I was leaving BT. **Lynda and Ella: Welcome to you too. I know you told me, but how old is Ella? I am also still bf and I wonder, sometimes, if I'm the only one who still is. Jarin is 15 months now. Since he started daycare about 4 months ago, he is almost constantly sick. I just assumed it was all part of being in daycare. **Moriah: Glad Geoff made it home for your anniversary. That is so neat about the "rocks" in Alex's pocket. LOL at your "can't flush 'em" comment. I wrote "pics" next to my notes and now I don't know why? Did you want the new pics of Jarin? **Sarah: Sorry to hear that Hannah has another ear infection. I hope she feels better really quickly. I will send our pics your way. **Birdie: I would work up to the whole milk a little at a time. Good luck! **Julianne: So cute about colton and the pop. Jarin also drinks out of a straw and LOVES Sprite and Mountain dew. (Such a good mommy, aren't I? LOL) Also LOL at the "manly" names of your fish. Jarin's crib mattress is elevated, but it doesn't have pillows underneath. Maybe we'll have to try that as well. Soon his crib will probably look like a slide. heehee **Christi: Wishing good luck to your mom and your family tomorrow! Sounds like you are quite busy with the Christmas program. We love our DCP and she is also a friend of ours. I can't believe those parents would go to Disneyworld without their kids and then have pictures taken to show them!!! I didn't think you sounded like you were complaining at all. **Rita: Sorry to hear that Maddy was such a pill this weekend. Hope she gets out of that stage soon, for all of your sakes. LOL. Sending pics your way. **LisaB: Wow! Max is one inch taller than Jarin, but six pounds heavier. Maybe my monster boy really is underweight! LOL. No, I'm not really worried about this. He looks perfectly healthy to me. Sorry Max has fluid in his ears. Gees, I think I know someone else who had that problem. =) I was wondering how your nose was - was going to ask that today. So cute about Max touching his toes. I would like to see pics when you get them. Our DCP is also a friend. I suppose we get a sort of "cut" rate. We pay the same as everyone else, but only have to pay when Jarin is there, since Tom's schedule is so weird. I think$20 and the ornament would be fine. **Helen: Yep, the movie was the gigolo one with that guy from Men Behaving Badly. DH was cracking up. That is so funny that your DH was the same way! LOL **Jennifer: So Sammy likes Chapstick, huh? That is so cute. Jarin also likes to dip his finger in the little bowls of chapstick like stuff (You know what I mean?) and puts that on his lips. I didn't know you were pregnant again!! Congratulations! LOL at Sammy dancing to Friends and the Fresh Prince. Jarin dances to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. I can't believe that Sammy can already do "heads and shoulders" and the Chicken dance! So cute!!! **Shelly: LOL LOL LOL at the gay Teletubby comments! You are so funny. I agree that all child molesters should be locked up forever. So cute about Riley streaking around during his bath. **Take care everyone. Gotta put monsterboy in the bath tub. Patty and Jarin - 15 months email: tematheny@ctlnet.com Monday, December 06, 1999 at 22:13:28 (EST)) Hi ladies Tara here!!!!! Well we had a pretty good day today. Adriana said " Bye-Bye Baby as we were leaving my friends house" She has a 7 month old. I cant belive how fast she picks up on words. She is my smart cookie. She is walking with her push toy everywhere. Before I know it she will be walking right beside me. She has been really attached to her daddy these past couple of days. She wont let him do anything without her. Well on to the posts: Rita: We are doing great. Adriana is getting so big. HOws the girls? I talked to maddy today. Im really happy to be coming home for christmas. Lisa B: How are you? The move was really hard to get used to. I miss my family so much. Tara and Adriana Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 00:38:34 (EST)) Good evening! It's Moriah. Okay - my kid is a MONSTER! This morning I got up EARLY & got us all ready. We then went to a really nice outside mall (Stanford) to see Santa. Alex looked so cute! He had on jeans, a fuzzy jacket & mittens (it was really cold!). Anyway we waited in line for 20 minutes (he was adorable the whole 20 minutes) & sure enough - right before our turn he decided he HAD to sleep right then! He fussed up a storm becuase I wouldn't let him go to sleep. So, I now have aroll of 12 exposures to be developed - all of which either have Alex SCREAMING bloody murder or sleeping on Santa! UGH! Then 15 minutes after the whole mess his eyes spring open & he's happy as a clam all day! Maybe next year?? We did manage to sneak into the Baby Gap! My MIL was with us & she got Alex the cutest fleece blanket with a snowman on it. I found him a cute outfit. I just LOVE that place. I swear the clothes from there are the best quality. Since Alex seems to be the same size for a long time I'm finding that they hold up better that just about any brand out there. Hey - I need to ask you guys a favor. Can you all tell me your kids weight & heights & where that puts them in the percentiles? I want to see how far off Alex is. I know he's small but I don't have a clue. The percentiles will just put it into perspective. Thanks! On to the personals! Does anyone know what's going on with Mimii & her marital problems. I think of her often after Lisa posted her email. Also does anyone still hear from Dana? Lynda - welcome! I know that hand washing is really important to help in the spread of germs, but other than that I think in general day care exposes kids to a lot. Maybe a smaller place would be better? Birdie - My Dr said to switch very slowly. I still have Alex on formula though. Christi - I'm thinking of your family! I hope that you get good news today. Rita - I had to LOL at the description of people talking about Maddie. We have friends that have the Holy Terror Child from Hell! She's infamous for her antics and I always say a silent rpayer that Alex doesn't behave like her. But as we all know - I'm sure that Alex will put them all to shame with his bratiness! Lisa B - please send pics of Max! I'm sure it was really hard to leave him, but it's so great that you got to have a little get away! Crystal - I'm really sorry about your friends baby! Patty - Yes I'd like to see pics of Jarin! Shelly - I'm going to be so bummed if mom doesn't get to come! I'm looking forward to her visit. Well I gotta go! Alex needs a cuddle. Chat again tomorrow. Moriah & Alex (14 months tomorrow!) email: geoffandmoriah@msn.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 01:37:38 (EST)) Greetings! Sarah g here. It's late and I'm tired, but I thought I'd make a quick post before bed. Thanks everybody for the sympathy messages. My grandma is greatly missed, but she's in a much better place now. Turns out Sofie had ear infections- 'tis the Season, huh? (Sarah- so sorry to hear about Hannah) Isaac has a cold only so far, knock on wood.... MIL watched the kids this afternoon; I did some xmas shopping before my class tonight. I've sure enjoyed taking that night class, only one more week. I've had head space to feel like a real person, not just in "mommy land," I've even lost a bunch of weight (20 lbs!! hooray!!) a few personals- Julianne- nice to hear you had good play time with Colton - that's wonderful. Rita- OOOOOO! Sorry your SF trip was so taxing with Maddy. (It's good to be back :-) thanks for the welcoming.) Lisa b- Congratulations on your promotion! Belated congrats on your baby on the way!! WOW! Well guys, I'll post more when I have some sleep in me!! Till later- Sarah g, Isaac and Sofia email: gat_men@hotmail.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 04:25:33 (EST)) Good morning ladies! SARAH here. Hope you all had a good night's sleep! :) My dad's birthday was yesterday, so we all (my family) went over to my parents last night for pizza and cake. HANNAH was running around everywhere. She just LOVES her cousins! I love to watch her interact with them. I forgot to tell you all that she has learned to rub DH's back. It's so cute. I rub DH's back usually once a day. Well, HANNAH has seen me do this. When she sees me do this, she comes over and tries to help. Well, the other day I said "HANNAH do you want to rub daddy's back?" (I wasn't rubbing it). So she walked over to him, pulled up his shirt, and started to "rub" his back. :) Well, not much else so..... BIRDIE - We started whole milk when she turned 1. We just completely switched over. She did very well. JULIANNE - Isn't it cute when they drink through a straw? HANNAH thinks it's pretty cool. That's neat you got him fish. CHRISTI - How did your mom's scan go? RITA - Sorry MADDY wasn't better on your trip! LISA - Welcome back. Glad you had a good trip. HELEN - Did you get your tree up yet? :) JENNIFER - HANNAH is the same way about dancing. She stops in her tracks to dance. CRYSTAL - Oh, that's awful!! I'll keep your friend and her family in my thoughts and prayers. PATTY - I haven't checked my email yet. Hopefully I have pictures from you??? JARIN up until 1am??? MORIAH - I take HANNAH in for her 15 month check up and shots next week. I'll let you know her stats then. I do know when I took her in on Saturday (when she was diagnosed with an ear infection), she was 22 1/2 pounds. I've also been wondering and thinking about MIMII' and DANA. Also JOY and JUDY. SARAH g. - Hope your family gets healthy soon. HANNAH is feeling much better. :) Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!! :) Sarah and Hannah (15 months) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 09:57:23 (EST)) Hello from Julianne. I have lots of work today so I thought I had better wait until it was closer to lunch to get on here. Talk about will-power! I had Colton in his snowsuit yesterday since the weather is much colder now. He looked so cute bundled up--was even wearing mittons. Dh was borrowing the neighbor's hi-lo so he drove Colton around in it while he cleaned up the back yard. Colton just loved it. He would ohh & ahh when DH would move stuff on the fork lift. It even has a radio in the cab and when DH turned it on Colton put his hands in the air and danced. I have a couple of Christmas questions for you: 1) What are you giving your DCP if you go to a center? Colton has many teachers--at least 4 or 5 regulars for his room. I bought 7 Christmas mugs and thought about filling them with Christmas M&M's & other candy. I thought I would also bring them a mixture of homemade Christmas cookies. 2) What fun Christmas traditions do you have? We really don't have anything I would consider a tradition. My DH is such a bah humbug it is awful. I really want Colton growing up in an atmosphere where Christmas is family fun, not just presents. Would love to hear your thoughts. Sarah: Hope Hannah gets over her ear infection quickly. Birdie: I switched Colton to whole milk around 11 months. We gradually mixed more milk than formula over several weeks so he could adjust & that worked good. Christi: Wow, sounds like your whole house is involved in the Christmas program. Hope everything goes great. Hope your mom's bone scan results shows good news. Rita: Maddy screaming to get her way--how much fun for you. LOL LisaB: Great check-up Max. Good for you enjoying your time away. Poor Max missing his ma-ma. Sounds like he was really happy to see you. Yeah for him touching his toes-cute. I would love to see the new pictures. Helen: Hope your tree gets up soon & doesn't dry out. Jenifer: Cute about Sammy dancing. Colton does a stomping chicken immitation that he thinks is dancing. It gets me laughing every time. Shelly: So, Riley's a little streaker is he? Colton too loves to run around naked. Getting dressed after bathtime is a major battle. Patty: Thanks for the pictures. You have a great looking family. The Gap & hat pictures of Jarin are so cute. I was just wondering this morning if any other tots end up in their parents bed still. Colton wakes every am between 5 & 6:30, crying for ma-ma and ba-ba. So I get him & the bottle and it's back to our bed for a few extra zzzzs. You had me LOL at your slide in the crib comment. Crystal: I am so sorry to hear about the death of the baby in your friend's family. I will be praying for them. Tara: Yeah for Adriana saying bye bye baby. I just love hearing Colton talk. He says his words so cute. Moriah: Too funny about Alex not cooperating for a good Santa picture. I am not looking forward to taking Colton for the same reason. I think I will try next week though. Should be entertaining. SarahG: Great job losing weight! How did you do it? Hope Sofie's ear infection clears up soon. Sarah: So cute of Hannah to give back rubs! Teach her young--that's good. I have a vacation day tomorrow so I will talk to you all Thursday. Julianne & Colton 16 mo email: jjones@batts.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 13:04:30 (EST)) Hi everybody, Jennifer and Adam here....how is everyone today? Did you all have a nice weekend? Dh and I went to a work-related Xmas dinner and dance on Sat night and it was nice spending some time with him. We won a door prize of a VCR (our 4th one, we're giving it as an xmas gift) and my best friend won one too! Adam stayed the weekend at my parents' house, he had a great time and didn't want to come home on Sunday after I got off of work! Our Xmas tree is still in one piece, though I have moved the ornaments up a few branches. lol. We are so broke, we are afraid we won't have the money to buy the xmas gifts we need to buy. This sucks. I really don't get it because last year I wasn't working and we got great presents for everyone and didn't break the bank, and dh makes more now than he did then. I'm so confused. I feel like I've been gone from the board for weeks, looking at all of the posts, so I'll try to catch up on personals. Forgive me if I miss anyone! Leanne- It is amazing what they can understand now isn't it? i love being able to communicate with Adam now. I know he understands what I'm saying...now, wether he chooses to obey me, that's another story! A suggestion about Cynthia's waking- maybe go lay down in her room with her until she falls back to sleep, then you can creep out. My nephew used to do that and when my mom would keep him on weekends, she would do that and it worked. Stacey- My son is the king of tantrums. I ignore him, that seems to work! Oh, and AF arrived right on schedule. Guess the pills are working just fine. Thx for the info! Michele and Nicholas / Tara and Adrianna - Welcome! LuCynda- I hope you get to feeling better real soon! Julianne- My favorite Xmas tradition is on Xmas eve. We go to Xams eve mass (we are Catholic) and then we go over our freinds' house for dinner. We have known these people for 20 years! we also give each other Xmas eve presents...one for each person in the immediate family. They are usually like night shirts or pajamas, something we can wear to bed that night that is Xmas-like and new. The men though, usually get Xams socks or undies. My mom started that tradition when I was little. I LOVE my mom's traditions, I want to keep them all special for my little one too! Sarah- How cute about Hanna giving daddy a back rub! Congrats on the weight loss, I am trying to lose some too...how did you do it? Moriah- At Adam's 15 mth check up last week, he weighed 21 1/2 lbs and is 31 1/2 inches. I don't know what percentile that puts him in put he has always been high up in height. Daddy is 6'1". Crystal- Good luck with the pregnancy thing.....I'm thinking of ya. Shelly- Adam used to love Teletubbies...that is what we did for his 1st birthday. It makes me so angry when the media and such says that Dipsy is gay. They always want to take something that is supposed to be teaching our children good things and turn it into something else. It's so ridiculous. Jennifer- Great name! Lol. Adam loves dancing! We have the Harry Conick Jr. Christmas CD and he loves it. Whenever a song with a good beat comes on in the car, I'll turn around and see Adam nodding his head to the beat. It's so cute! Birdie- I think I recently posted something about this to another girl on the boardm but what we did was mix the milk and formula half and half for a while, decreasing the formula and increasing the milk every week or so until eventually it is all milk. This way his little digestive system can adjust easily to the change. Christi- You and your mom are in my prayers Well, I'm sorry if I missed anyone, it sure is hard catching up opn everything!! My eyes hurt! Adam is doing better with the hitting thing so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Gotta go clean this house before my dh kills me for the mess! Take care everyone. Jennifer and Adam 15+mths email: ddock@gte.net Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 14:09:11 (EST)) Hi, it's SARAH. I have pictures scanned!!!! Let me know if you want to see. :) Sarah and Hannah email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 15:09:25 (EST)) Rebecca here... Moriah - Paige is around 21 lbs and 29". That puts her in the 50th percentile for both. Her height had been in the 95th and her weight in the 40th at birth. Boys of course are different. Sorry to hear that Alex was difficult with Santa. You could always try again (maybe right after a nap). Not much happening here. I've got to shower while Paige is napping, but I wanted to drop in and say hi. Hugs and kisses to all of you! Rebecca & Paige email: burn@canadawired.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 15:10:52 (EST)) Well, ladies (Christi here),Mom's results werent good, they weren't terrible, more like inconclusive. They were checking to see if there were any more spots anywhere, and they found 3 on her ribs. But they have been fractured before and maybe this is just that showing up. She has to go to a larger city --not until Thursday--for a complete "work up". We had all been so positive that it was an infection or something, now we arent so positive. I am so sad, I don't want her to have to go thru all of the chemo and radiation again, I don't want Alexis to have to see her gram sick (they are so close, I am jealous sometimes)I don't want to loose my mom. But, I know God can and does work miracles still, we just have to believe and wait. Caleb is acting weird, he is so clingy it isn't funny, I think I tripped over him 3 times today. Last night he started to "bark" in his sleep, I am afraid he is getting the croup his sister had. Is this contagious? Dr. said she could go to school, so I thought it wasn't. That combined with his last molar (one year anyway) coming in, and I think I see his upper eye teeth starting. Poor little guy! LISA B.*** I know yur DH said the comment about your DCP being "just an employee", but I had to respond. First, I think $20 would be fine, especially if you pay more than the others. Second, I do not consider myself anyones employee, I provide a service, and am a small business. Third, even if she is "just an employee" isn't she the most important one you have, she is caring for your most precious cargo, wouldn't you want to be-friend her? I am not trying to start anything, just stating my opinion, hope it is okay. MORIAH*** Caleb was 22.4 pounds and 29.5 inches, at one year. I have no idea what percentile, I THINK his weight is in the 50th. Sorry Alex was so difficult during "Santa time" SARA G. Congrats on your weight loss, good for you!!!! SARAH & PATTY*** yes please send pics. Have a good day everyone Chrsiti & Caleb 13 months email: plumbs@coiinc.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 16:22:12 (EST)) Hi its Lynda here. This afternoon is playgroup afternoon - and its at our house so I have a bit of tidying and cleaning to do before 6 or so toddlers (and their mothers) come over to mess it up. All the babies are around the same age and we have been meeting since they were about 1 month old. It has been a lot of fun and as most of us are first time mums it has provided a much needed outlet and learning/socialising opportunity. Do you have similar things in the US/Canada ? My Mum has offered to look after Ella tomorrow and Friday whilst I work - she is really good to me - aren't mums the best ! Crystal: I am so sorry for your friend and her in-laws. I can't imagine what they must be feeling. Patty: Ella is 11 months and has 3 to 4 breastfeeds a day although in the last month I have been giving the daycare centre formula for her on the 2 days that I work as I can't be bothered expressing anymore. Well done to you to be still breastfeeding at 15 mths! Moriah: Thanks for your advice - we are looking around for a smaller centre and hopefully that will help a bit. Alex is very cheeky wanting to take a nap rather than have his photo taken with Santa! Julianne: Colton in a snowsuit - where do you live? We have been sweltering here in 30-38 degree heat for the last 2 weeks. Ella still comes into bed with us irregularly - either when she is ill and I can't settle her in her cot at night (the little devil normally drops off straight away when she comes to our bed) or after her early morning feed (between 4:30 and 5:30am similar to Colton)if I don't feel like walking back to her room. Well I'd better go and get started on the livingroom. Lynda & Ella (11 mths) email: ljpjyoung@ozemail.com.au Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 17:19:58 (EST)) Hello from Rita We had a nice surprise this AM. The Divine Miss M had a bout of diarrhea last night and woke up with the bed completely covered. I am taking her in to the doctor this week to make sure that we are not dealing with a major blockage since we have had frequent constipation and now this. I hope that she does not have the severe withholding problem. She is so ultra-sensitive these days that I am not sure she doesn't have the idea that pooping is bad. Please send me your snail mail addresses for the Xmas card list. I'd like to send out a list this weekend since time is flying. Moriah - A sleeping on Santa picture could be so cute. We haven't decided if we are going to try to take the girls to see a Santa yet. When do I have time? At Amy's ten month check-up, she was 19 lbs (50th percentile) and 27 inches (25th percentile). Well, gotta go to a - another meeting, you guessed it! Take care everyone! Rita, Maddy & Amy email: ritad@home.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 17:47:12 (EST)) Hi from LisaB. DH commented Sunday night that Max was showing some baby butt-crack. I was gettting ready to iron and asked him to check Max's diaper. I guess he just pulled it up and forgot about it (vs tightening the tape). Anyway, I finish ironing and Max was standing at the baby gate separating the laundry room and the kitchen. I asked him to move so I could get through and when he turned around I saw poop coming up out of his diaper and on the bottom of his shirt. I then noticed 2 piles on the kitchen floor. DH decided to just give Max a bath early as it was the easiest way to clean up the mess. I'm guessing he'll get those diapers on better from now on - LOL!!! The good news is that Max slept in his own crib all night last night - first time since I returned from my trip. CRYSTAL: It's so sad about that little boy. PATTY: No Jarin isn't underweight ... Max is just a chunk!!! My nose is doing great but it's still a little tender. TARA: I'm doing fine; thanks for asking! MORIAH: I'm glad Alex is developing monster tendancies so you can complain like the rest of us - LOL! DH didn't get the % on Max's height and weight at his appointment but he's chunky so I'm sure he's way up there on weight. SARAH G: Congrats on your weight loss. You might be confused - I'm not pregnant (at least not to my knowledge) but DH and I started TTC #2 about 2 weeks ago. SARAH: Hannah is so smart, rubbing DH's back. I would love photos! CHRISTIE: I'm so sorry you didn't get any definite answers on your Mom. DH and I have had many discussions on the sitter "just being an employee". It's not that he doesn't appreciate her - he's just afraid that if I become close friends with her that I'll be less likely to speak up if I disagree with her on some issue pertaining to Max. The guy should know after 7+ years with me that I VERY rarely don't speak my mind - LOL!! I didn't get my photos ready to e-mail out yet ... hopefully tomorrow (or possibly Thursday as the boss will be out of the office ... but that might just make things even more hectic). LisaB & Max (15 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 17:49:15 (EST)) Good Afternoon, it's Debbie. It seems like some days I can get on here 2 - 3 times and other days turn into weeks. I don't know where my time goes, but it's flying by. Emilee has been doing this really funny thing lately. While sitting in her high chair, she will tightly close both hands making a fist, grit her teeth and shake. And I mean shake. She does this so hard, her big little cheeks shake. It's really a crack up to watch. We had to film her one night doing this. I asked Maddie if she knew what Emilee was doing and she didn't know. Last week I took Maddie & Emilee in for their Christmas pictures. They turned out to be the best pictures we had taken of both of them. They are so darn cute. If I only had a scanner. I mailed my MIL some today, so maybe she will scan some for me. We put our tree up last night and I decorated it. Dh wasn't feeling too good and has been working alot lately so I let him off the hook. Maddie helped with the lights. I put both girls to bed and then finished the tree myself. Candance - Thanks for the pictures. Tanner is getting so big. Very nice looking family you have. Emilee's Bday was 11-4. Wish I had a scanner. Julianne - How's the night feeding going? Darleen - We wrap all the presents and leave the stocking stuffers unwrapped. What day is Nolan's Bday? Sarah - I knew Hannah would be a good little girl at the condo. And you were so worried. LOL Now if you can get her to rub your back. Would love to see new pictures. Moriah - Peek a boo, way to go Alex. At Emilee's 12 mo visit, she was 29 1/2" and 17 lbs 12 oz. Not sure what percentile she was in. Rita - Thanks of the pictures of Maddy & Amy. They are so cute. I've put a tent up too for Maddie & Emilee and they just love to get in it. When ever we get together, we can just put all the girls into a tent. LOL Sorry your trip to SF wasn't all that great. Poor little Maddy, hope it's not anything too serious. Beth - Do you anchor your tree to the wall or ceiling? We always do and never have any problems. We use fishing line. Jennifer - Hi, hope you & Adam are well. Do you have pictures? Please send my way, thanks. Birdie - Happy Belated Birthday! Stacey - Darn, I have your name down and didn't write anything down. Well, how are the angels? Sounds like you had a much deserved night out, I'm jealous. I need one badly. Michele & Nicholas - Welcome. Shelly - I'm so glad you were kidding about that pink tree. Patty - I want you to see the little pumpkins too. And now that I have these great Christmas pictures, you all have to see my little darlings. Helen - Thanks for the pictures. Very nice family you have. It's great to put a face to you now. And you have a very pretty one too. Amanda is a little doll. Happy Belated Anniversary. A diamond tennis bracelet... Way to go dh! Romaine - What a pretty name. Yes, it does get eaiser. I'm training Emilee to be a Daddy's little girl too. It's kinda nice, you get a break sometimes. Crystal - Glad you're back. Sorry about the little boy. Hello to everyone else and I hope your little ones are doing great. Debbie, Maddie & Emilee email: debngreg@qnet.com Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 20:04:50 (EST)) Hello ladies, Chubbo leanne here! Yes, I had my 3rd drs. appointment today and gained 7lbs! YIKES. I am hoping this was my "weight spirt" I tend to have one with each pregnancies when one month I gain 6 - 7 lbs and then the next month nothing so they balance themselves out! I think I am going to schedule my u/s on my birthday Dec. 15! I will be turning 30 and thought what a great present then to find out what sex our baby will be - that is if we can find out! Cynthia slept through again last night YEAH! But the other night she came in our room twice! just asked for a drink of water and then went back to bed..... I am hoping that she is done with this, it is just so weird. She has been dry the last 2 nights with the diaper so tonight I will try no diaper! I put a plastic baby cover under bed just so I dont have to wash to much! I hate bunk beds! Veronica is starting to pat my tummy, it is so weird she is the age that Cynthia was when she herself was born. I remember thinking that Cynthia was so grown up she was sleeping in a big girl bed by 15 months, I guess when you are about to have another baby the other has no choice to grow up faster. I feel bad now, I think I rushed her, maybe that is why we are having the problems we are having. She is wonderfull though. She is getting very huggy and kissy now. She loves to stay at my parents. I think she enjoys the break!!! HAHAHA Veronica has started to strutt when she walks too funny Jennifer: Thanks for the advice on the sleeping, I really think it is just a faze thing, she slept great at my moms and last night no problem, I think she was just scared. Congrats on winning the VCR!! Good for you nice to get a night out isnt it? LisaB: I agreee about what you said about sleepiung in there own bed. She never has slept with us. None of the girls have, they would keep me up all night.. HAHAHA when she does wake up we just give her some water and she goes back to sleep it is just the waking up thing that is so weird. She has slept through the nights since she was about 5 months! Patty: I laughed now at the weight gain comment! 7lbs this month wow! I better not gain any the next or whatch out! what do you mean it does not melt off?????? (sarcasm) Sorry that Jarin was so sick is he feeling any better? Crystal: Sounds like Darrel might be taking an interest in the potty training thing! I would not push it but see if he is will to sit on the toliet every now and then, you never know.... Night ladies will talk later! Leanne with Cynthia, Veronica (17week utero) and of course Alexis Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 20:49:59 (EST)) Beth here, I really hate it when I get behind. I find it impossible to catch up! Anyway, I was off work yesterday because I work for state Gov't and it was the inauguration day for our governor. As an added bonus it was my birthday so I got off for that too! 29 years old! Poor DH was sick yesterday and he and a girlfriend of mine had planned this surprise party for me at a local restaurant. He was supposed to be taking me out to eat (just to get me to the restaurant for the surprise), but woke up with a stomach virus. I told him I would take a rain check and he could take me out some other time. Little did I know about the surprise. Poor guy had to tell me about it so I would go to the restaurant anyway. Felt weird going to a restaurant by myself(with Allison in tow of course), but it was fun anyway. I felt bad that his surprise went haywire though. It would have been fun to be surprised like that. Just a few personals from what I scanned over. Helen - a tennis bracelett!! WOW! how nice! Lisa B - I asked about my promotion last week. It is still not through yet, but I will probably get back pay once it does go through. They are having to rework the budget and it's stuck somewhere way up the line from me. All the paperwork was in on time for it to go into effect way back in October, but you know how state gov't works. Red tape galore! It just bites as it would have been nice to have that money at Christmas. Crystal - Please go to the Dr. As someone else said, home tests weren't nearly as reliable 20 years ago as they are now, so even though your mom didn't get a positive doesnt' necessarily mean you won't either. I hope everything turns out good for you. Patty - please send pictures if you haven't already. I haven't checked my home e-mail in several days so it may be there waiting for me! LOL. I really need to be better about checking e-mail there. Debbie - Dh was going to anchor the tree with fishing wire, but you know how Dh's are. They never seem to get around to doing those things! LOL Shelly - I was LOL at your telly tubbies comment. Sorry I don't have more personals. I will do better about keeping up from now on. Have a great day. Beth and Allison (18 months) email: bobwite@msn.com Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 13:43:11 (EST)) Hello ladies! SARAH here. WOW, slow on here today! This post is going to be VERY short. I just wanted to let you all know I sent pictures to some of you. The email addresses they wouldn't go through to are: LISA B. (of course), HELEN, SARAH G., SHELLY, DEBBIE and KAHNE. It says the file has exceeded maximum limit...sorry! If anyone else didn't receive them, or would like to see them, please let me know. That's it for now. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!!! Sarah and Hannah (15 months) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 14:04:14 (EST)) Hi everyone. Man, I miss you guys. I skimmed the posts but I don't think I will try to keep up. Just want to let you all know I am feeling a bit better. Also got the other two kids birthdays out of the way so I can concentrate on Christmas. I did finish making our Christmas stockings too. Wow. I made six. One for each person AND the new baby so I won't have to make one next year. They are made out of green felt, sticked around the edges with a red plaid top, our names written on the tops with gold glitter. DH's has a Santa and presens on his Mine a snowman with snow falling around it Jasmines is an angel with button legs Cam's is a snowman and so is Cody's and the new baby's. Too fun. Took forever though. Anyway, One personal. Crystal if you don't go to the doctor and there IS something wrong you could end up with all kinds of problems like infection or something which could cause you to have to have a hysterectomy which of course means NO MORE KIDS. And, quite frankly, it sounds like something is wrong to me. Preg tests don't come out positive on day and negative the next. You could have had a missed miscarriage in which a D&C is absolutly necessary to prevent infection. I don't think it is a tubal pregnancy though. You'd probably be bleeding profusly by now and in so much pain you would be in the ER. But just in case, if for some reason you DID have a tubal pregnancy and the tube was to rupture you could die. It would fill your body with poison and the your DH AND Darell would not have someone to watch over them anymore. Be sensible please and MAKE yourself afford it. You simply cannot risk your health like that. Sorry if I sound harsh, it is part of my personality. I don't mean it is a mean way, but if someone needs a kick in the butt, I give it purely out of love and concern. Now, I expect to hear within a day, that you have been to the doctor and what he/she said. Got it???? Or I will personally find you and drag you there by the ear! Jokes. But I will keep giving you grief until you take care of yourself!!! Well, chow for now. Here is the web site address again for anyone who needs it. www.geocities.com/cyber_tots The guestbook still doesn't work. Found out it is a Yahoo/Geocities problem. They are working on it. LuCynda and Cody email: lucyndah@telusplanet.net Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 16:47:37 (EST)) Hi to all! Riley, the grumpus, is taking a nap. For the last 2 weeks, he's had a runny nose. First it was clear. Everytime I thought about taking him in, he looked better the next day. Last weekend, it turned thick and goey. I know I don't have to say the colour!LOL Anyway, I'm finally taking him in today. I feel like an idiot for waiting so long. I woke up with a sore throat too. My oldest sis, my BIL, and step Dad, have it too. Last night was Jesse's 7th b-dAY. We had a pizza party, way easier on me! I didn't have to clean and worry about everyone here in the house. He had a great time. There was even a little friend for Riley. He lives nextdoor to us, his name is Hermie! My Mom is driving me crazy!! Please Mo, keep her!! Disconnect your phone, otherwise she'll call and bug me!!LOL Everytime, I turn around something new is wrong with her! Honest!!! I'm hardly even exagerating!! So today when I tell her my throat is sore. I have to listen to a lecture about how this is a wake up call to me to take vitamins and eat right and about fifteen thousand other things. Her own hubby has the same sore throat! Yesterday, I took my presents home from my oldest sis's house. My other sis (Anna) mailed all the gifts together in one box, to make it easy on herself. That was fine with me. But my Mom and sis are trying to hold them hostage. They said Anna meant for me to open them when we are all together x-mas day. But I hate making my kids have to go and open gifts everywhere we go. Why can't they just all be under our tree to open when we get up? They also tried to tell me we were opening the gifts x-mas eve. My boys are spending that evening with their dad. Plus, I refuse to open them any other time but x-mas morning. My traditions are important to me. AAAAHHHHHHHHH!! Cowboy! Take me away! oops, I meant, Calgone! Thanks for the discussion on caregiver gifts. I never even thought about getting Jennifer something. But I will now. She is not open during x-mas vacation. If I need her, I can call and see if she's around. I think I'll get her something from Bath & Body. Mo***I'll pay you 1 million (hersheys kisses, that is) to keep Mom. She'll cook and clean and it will be so fun for you!!! Just don't let her near the phone! EVER!!!!!!!!! Jennifer***Whenever Riley hears "Feel like a woman" from Shania Twain, he goes nuts. Even in his carseat he's dancing. He really knows how to shake that hynnie, too! On the pg thing. I had a really easy pgnancy with my first. But my second was hell. I was so sick, I lost 10lbs. I thought I must've been having a girl because of the difference, but no. Jesse is all boy! With Riley, I woke up feeling great, but by late afternoon, I was in bed sick. So I had night sickness instead of morning! Christi***Slap those people upside their heads. You take care of their kids, they should appreciate you more. Julianne***I read the Night Before Christmas before bed every year. We have eggnong and usually watch a special or two on tv. The boys have always spent C. Eve with their Dad, but I do these things when they come home. Each year, the kids wear their Santa hats to pass out the presents. They love it. Riley won't keep his on though! We bake together before C. too Sarah***Sorry about my e-mail. I'm tired of hotmail sending my e-mails back. My Dad is giving me an account on his. I'll let you know the new address soon. I will try to clear stuff out, so try again tomorrow please. Well, thanks for listening to me rant! Sorry to anyone who didn't really want to hear it!LOL Shelly & Riley 20 months email: shellyvance@hotmail.com Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 17:13:11 (EST)) Hi from LisaB. Max has such a huge appetite anymore. He starts crying first thing in the morning and cries until he eats. This morning he had an adult serving of oatmeal AND one slice of bread with ham salad on it. His poor little tummy was growling when he woke up. I'm going to start giving him a bedtime snack to see if that helps any. He ended up in bed with us last night - grrr. I was REALLY hoping that was over but no such luck. I guess I just need to get tough. I don't even remember DH putting him in bed last night but he said I told him to put Max in bed and that I would put him back in his crib once he feel asleep. We taped the Goodnight Moon antimated deal on HBO the other night and Max loves it - he stares at the tv the whole time it's on!!!! I dated my BIL's best friend one time when I was 16. My older sister was talking to this guy's wife when the wife made some comment about one of my BIL's ex-girlfriend. Anyway, my sister casually mentioned that I used to date this guy and then the wife asked about me. I guess my sis and BIL laid it on thick - mentioned my recent promotion and raise, our new house, etc. The wife later pulled my sis aside and grilled her on me - and my sis did some major duty lying and now this woman thinks I was some teenage sex goddess that her DH never quite got over. TOO FUNNY - esp. as I've never been a goddess of anything (and esp. not sex!!!). Anyway, I thought you guys could appreciate that! I have 3 photos of the Max Monster that I'll send out this afternoon or first thing tomorrow. I'll just send them to everyone in my address book - so if you want some and don't get them in the next day or so let me know! DEBBIE: Emilee and her shakes sound so hilarious!! LEANNE: See above ... I'm weak. I know all the literature says how to make your kids sleep in their own beds but in the middle of the night I don't think - I just do whatever I have to do to get enough sleep to function the next day. SARAH: We finally have e-mail access at home (abet very slow and can only use on weekends as it's a long distance call and my calling plan allows unlimited calls on weekends only). The address is "hieber@socketis.net". LuCYNDIA: The stockings sound great! LisaB & Max (15 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 17:16:18 (EST)) Just a quick note to say I sent Max's photos out. Let me know if you wanted one and didn't get it (which I doubt as I sent them to EVERYONE in my address book as that was easier than scanning the list to see who wanted them). Sorry if you got the photos and didn't want them :-( but I'm so proud of my sweetie that I rarely pass up an opportunity to "show him off"!!!! LisaB Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 18:30:35 (EST)) Hi, Romaine and Saba here! I have not had time to come on for a few days. We went away for the weekend; decorated the tree Mon and had a shower for a friend yesterday; am going to a shower tonight; tomorrow we start to wrap gifts; Fri. I go out to a fondu and Sat. we are having friends over! I am not sure that I will have a chance 'til next week after today! I have not slept well the last couple of nights. Mon., I was up 4 TIMES w/ Saba crying out, then it was time to feed DD2 who proceeded to wake every 2 hours after for feeds! Last night, I just could not sleep! I hope tonight is better! Saba was so cute w/ DD2 yesterday while I was in the shower. She was leaning over her and holding her hands and talking and kissing her! I MAJORLY skimmed, so personals will be few! Abbi- Thanks! I can't be bothered w/ these things. Christi-Prayers are going out to your mom! My g-ma is in the midst of radiation right now and I last my other g-ma to cancer a year and a half ago. My heart goes out to you and your family! Hugs! Sarah G- Sorry to hear about your g-ma. It is hard. See above about my g-mas to Christi. Hugs! Lisa B-LOL on Max's lttle butt too! Saba rarely sleeps in any other position other tahn her tummy! Debbie-Thanks. I admit that there are good things when you are not the favourite-like who does she prefer if there has to be a diaper change? or if she is in a cranky mood...... Crystal_ Sorry to hear about your friend! How terrible for the mommy! My heart and prayers go out to her! Please heed LuCynda's advice! I don't want to scare you either, but there is also reality too. If hormone levels go down, it is not a good sign. I don't see how you could test +, then test - later on unless something has happened. Jenny on PT had a missed m/c at 14 weeks. It had stopped growing at 5. PLEASE have it looked into! Not only for peace of mind, but your health as well! Patty- I believe that our District pioneered E-bus. It is school support for home-schooled students via the internet. We have students from all over the province! I would LOVE K for the same reason you do (plus I really enjoyed the children!). How great that your principal was so supportive! I job-shared this past year and never felt that our principal was as supportive as he could have been. I think that he secretly wanted to see it fail. Job-sharing is not new to our school though, just in the lower grades. L and I (I think) were very successful considering all! We both would have gone INSANE to take that group alone for a WHOLE year! I would have looked into a Dr. supported early mat leave had I had to do that group alone. The stress was incredible even P/t. We had some severe behaviour students w/ little support. I worried the whole time hoe the stress would affect DD2 emotionally, etc.-would she be hyper-active; fussy, etc. She is very sweet!!! No thanks to my work environment! Gotta go, taken too long! Romaine and Saba 21 mos email: rrantry@yahoo.ca Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 18:52:24 (EST)) Rebecca here... I've only got a second before I have to get ready for my PPD support group. Been baking all day. Hopefully I can get it done before Saturday (Christmas party) since I'm giving it as a gift!!! Lynda - there are play groups here. I actually go to a walk-in group on Tuesdays that's all moms and new babies. I've made some really good friends that I see at least once a week. Isn't it nice to have someone to talk to? LisaB - thankyou for the pics of Max. Of course I wanted them! You have every right to be proud, he is a cutie!!! Okay, gotta go shower while Paige sleeps (if she'll let me!) I am hitting a hectic time so I apologize in advance if I miss anything important. Working on the weekends has cut down my holiday prep time. How do you working mothers do it?!? I love you all! P.S. Crystal, please see the doctor, I'm worried about you. Rebecca & Paige email: burn@canadawired.com Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 21:28:39 (EST)) Hi mommies from the 34 year old Patty here. Today is my birthday. DH sent me some really pretty flowers (some lilies-I LOVE them). Jarin, bless his heart, decided to be up from 2AM-4AM last night. I went to bed at midnight and had to be up at 6:45. Guess how tired I was today? LOL I called my DCP about an hour after I dropped Jarin off because he was crying when I left and he was still crying. =( Breaks my heart. When I got there to pick him up though, he was happy as could be.=) I got some email from Kelli. She'd like you guys to say a prayer for her grandfather. They just found out that he has cancer and she is very close to him. Sounds like there isn't much they can do about it at this point, so keep Kelli and her family in your prayers. Also, Moriah was asking about Mimii... I talked with her the other night too. Things are still not good with the marriage. She is changing lawyers and I think she has to be out of her house by the 3rd. Her parents are making her come there for Christmas so she doesn't have to be alone. Bradii turned 3 and Koda is 1 now. **Moriah: Sorry to hear about the Santa picture. I won't even attempt it with Jarin since he has such a HUGe stranger anxiety. At Jarin's 15 month check up, he was 30 1/2 inches (25%) and 19 lbs 8 oz (7%). I will be sending pictures your way. **Sarah: So cute about Hannah rubbing her daddy's back! =) I thought Jarin being up until 1AM was bad, 2-4 was worse. heehee. Thanks for the pictures. You guys all look great, even without make up. =) **Julianne: No, you are definitely not the only one with a tot still in your bed. Jarin is there in the early morning almost every day and then he nurses. Thanks for the compliments on the pictures. **Crystal: Sorry to hear about your friend's baby. That is so awful. **Jennifer: We go to Christmas Eve Mass (Catholic too) with my mom and all my brothers and sisters. Then we have dinner at mom's and open presents there. **Christi: Hope your mom finds out good news on Thursday. I'll be waiting to hear. I hope Caleb doesn't have croup. I'm not sure if it's contagious or not. Sending pics your way too. **Lynda; Your playgroup sounds fun. I wish all of us could get together and have playgroup time! **Rita: Yuck, poor Maddy covered with diarrhea! And poor mommy having to clean it all up. **LisaB: Max is not a chunk! He is so cute! Thanks for the pictures. The poop on the floor was gross, but I kinda had to laugh. Sorry.=) LOL at you being the sex goddess to your ex-boyfriend. What will DH say? **Debbie: Emilee sounds so cute doing the shaking thing. Get those pictures scanned so we can all see your angels! =) **Candance: I want to see your family! **Leanne: Happy 30th birthday next week. Your girls all sound so sweet. I always had a month or two with that big 6-7 pound gain too. =0 **Beth: Howdy 29 year old. You're still a youngster. Sending pics your way. **LuCynda: Your stockings sound so neat. I'm so jealous as I am so NOT crafty. I wish I was. Did you ever receive pictures of Jarin? The day I sent them we had lots of problems with our server. **Shelly: Hope Riley feels better. Happy birthday to Jesse. (I love that name. LOL) Totally LOL at the "Cowboy take me away" comment. **Romaine: I hope you get some sleep tonight! You must be even more tired than I am. I really love the Kindergartners. They are so funny. The principal who really helped me get my p/t job retired about 6 years ago. Our new principal is pretty good about helping me to continue it, though not as committed as our old one was. Our superintendent is TOTALLY against all job sharing. This year when I returned from maternity leave, he told my principal (and all the other principals in the corp that there would be no job sharing - several other K teachers also just had babies). Thankfully, my principal said that I had already been doing it for 5 years and how was he going to change that policy now, so I got to stay p/t. Hope that all made sense! **Time to give monster boy his bath. Take care everyone. Patty and Jarin - 15 months email: tematheny@ctlnet.com Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 22:35:45 (EST)) Hi ladies and tots. Crystal and Darrel here. Well, tomorrow I am planning on going to PLanned Parenthood for a blood test. If I'm unable to go, then next week after I get paid, I'll be going to a dr. for the blood test. Hopefully everything turns out okay. If it happens that I had a missed miscarriage, then I'm sure the dr. won't refuse to do a d and c just because I don't have money at this time. My MIL thinks that I should wait until I miss one more period, but I don't think it's a good idea in case something really is wrong. Hey, if all else fails, I can have DH take me to the er and act like I'm in pain. The first thing they'll do is give me a pg test and/or an ultrasound since I haven't had two periods. We have one that will pay the bill if you don't have insurance and cannot afford to pay it. But dh doesn't want to wait for a few hours there. I can't blame him. But it is an option. So, I should know what's going on withiin the next week. Please keep me in your prayers that nothing major is wrong. Sorry no personals but thanks for responding. Crystal and Darrel 15 1/2 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 23:46:05 (EST)) Hi guys. Not much going on here, just thought I'd post before doing laundry or wrapping presents, hmmm, which would be more fun? I took the kids to Sears to get their pictures taken today. That was pretty fun. I'll send some out soon. I have their Santa picture on disk already, I'll send that first; just excuse the grumpy Santa!! He was about the worst Santa I've ever seen! (bad attitude!) a couple personals- Lisa b- thanks for the pictures! Max is so darling- what a doll!! my goodness! I'm SO sorry about my confusion about the prego sitch- I've been gone- and obviously skimming way too much!! I wish you guys all the best of luck - hope to hear when it's official. Patty- happy birthday! Sorry to hear about Jarin being up in the night- I hope you get your much deserved sleep tonight! Romaine- I'll keep your grandma in my prayers, my other grandma is also battling cancer as well; for about 10 years now. She's had a really hard summer and fall, but currently is doing better. Best wishes to your grandma. Christi- Your mom will also be in my prayers- see above... I know it can be so stressful for the whole family, dealing with this sort of thing. Take care! Julianne- Wow- snow!! It was nice to hear about Colton on the forklift. Sounds pretty funny. I'll tell you- losing the weight was relatively easy. I've been eating very few carbohydrates, that's it, it works. (and drink lots of water) :) Crystal- my best wishes to you for your health!! Sarah- I emptied out my folders in my hotmail, sorry the pictures got sent back to you. I'd love to see them, now that my e mail has room again. Well ladies, I've been typing here for about 30 min- eeek! I better go get something done around here! bye bye Sarah g and Isaac and Sofia email: gat_men@hotmail.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 02:14:12 (EST)) Good morning ladies! Hope you all are good today. It's SARAH. Very cold here in Colorado this morning! BRRRR We had a great night last night! DH had the night off, and HANNAH was in the BEST mood!! Not much new here, so..... LUCYNDA - I'm sending pictures your way today for the website. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. Your stockings sound real cute! SHELLY - Happy belated Birthday to JESSE! I tried sending pictures to you again this morning. I had night sickness with HANNAH, too. (First trimester) LISA - Thanks for the pictures! MAX is just so cute!! Looks like a little man. HANNAH's pretty much the same way when it comes to eating! Piggy! I resent pictures this morning to your home email. ROMAINE - Sounds like you're a busy woman! Glad to hear from you. PATTY - HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY!!!!! Thank you for the compliments on the pictures! :) Oh, and thanks for the info on KELLI and MIMII'. CRYSTAL - Let us know what happens at the doctor today!! SARAH g. - I love the picture with Santa!! You have adorable children!!!! :) I resent my pictures to you this morning. Well ladies, that's all for now. Hope you all have a great day!! Sarah and Hannah (15 months) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 11:52:45 (EST)) Me again! SHELLY and SARAH - The pictures didn't go through again. Sorry! Ok, talk to you all later! Sarah again! Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 11:56:58 (EST)) Hi from LisaB. Max slept in his own bed again all night last night -YES!!!!!! WARNING - here comes a MAJOR gripe. The DD of a friend at work just had twins. Money was tight for them and with twins they were going to be out a lot of $$$ on baby stuff so I was nice and lent her all my maternity clothes. I got them back last night and was throughly disgusted. Most of the clothes all had little "pills" on them, esp. between the legs on all the shorts and pants and on all the t-shirts. I didn't get real upset as I realize I'm somewhat fanatical about "de-fuzzing" my clothes to remove all the pills. What ticked me off was that EVERY SINGLE pair of shorts and pants and the swimming suit all were stained in the crotch from discharge. I don't mean to be disgusting, but one pair of white pants look like she literally pooped in them. I now need to treat all the stains, rewash all the clothes, and do some major de-fuzzing ... like I have NOTHING better to do with my time. UGH!!!! You try and try to be nice and all it does is bite you in the butt :-( Since I sent pictures to Max to EVERYONE in my address book I heard back from some of our MIA Mom's. Mimii said that KodaJamers is ONE and tryin to walk and that Bradii just turned three. They (I assume her and the kids) are looking for an apartment. She doesn't have a tree or any presents bought yet. Diane has been busy working and Angel has been really sick and hopefully now is on the mend (has a throat infection and pinkeye and is teething). Diane misses the board but doesn't have the time right now to post. She said she can keep up with her e-mail so send her one if you want!!!! ROMAINE: Sorry about your lack of sleep. PATTY: Happy belated birthday. I'm sorry Jarin kept you up and cried at daycare (the guilt trips start early, don't they?!). Thanks for the updates on Mimii and Kelli. CHRISTI: Our ER doc said croup can be contagious but generally only before the symptoms show up and with really young children. SARAH G: I would love pictures. AF is due any day now so I guess I'll be knowing soon if our TTC efforts were fruitfull or not. LisaB & Max (15 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 12:19:26 (EST)) Hello from Rita I am working at home this AM since I am taking Miss M in to see the pediatrician. I have both the PC on and also my workstation, which is so slow that I am going back and forth between the two computers. At least it's exercise of a kind. Thanks to everyone who sent pictures! Issac, Sofia, Hannah, Max, Jarin, Jesse and Jamie are all great looking kids. And the moms are, too! If I left anyone out, please forgive me. I didn't take notes last night and my e-mail was down the previous night. Patty - Happy belated BD! You are still young, you know. I tell Larry that I feel the same way that I did at nineteen, I just don't look the same. LOL. You look great in your xmas pictures! Lisa B - Ugh, that is so gross. I am glad that I shared clothes with my sister and she is as careful as I am. I am really careful with loaned baby clothes, too. Now I am just giving things away. Two more of my co-workers are PG (I started a trend) and one of my friends called me on Monday to tell me she was expecting #2. More babies - yah! **There are seven of us on the Christmas card list, so please send your info if you would like to participate. I'll get the list out this weekend and send out an updates on an ad-hoc basis after that.** Gotta go back to the workstation. Take care everyone! Rita, Maddy & Amy email: ritad@home.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 13:16:07 (EST)) Leanne Here! It is finally getting colder now! I dont want cold I want SNOW for Christmas! Well I booked my u/s for my birthday! Dec. 15 will be the day we find out if it is a boy or girl! At least I hope we find out! DH still does not want to know but he did make a comment that he only wants to know if it is a boy! Well thats a true give away! He is really getting razed at work (he is an electrician) about having 4 girls! What are those guys problems! Is this a male macho thing to have BOYS!! He loves the girls to bits but I think he is really feeling the pressure for this one to be a boy even though I know he would not care if it were a girl except for all the bugging he will get. We just want it to be healthy! But deep down for his sake I do hope it is a boy! Enough blah blah, Cynthia had a brutal day yesterday... she peed in her pants 3 times!! What is that????? She goes for 3 day with not one accident then 3 times??? At least she pees standing up and not on the furniture - be thankfull for the little things right? Sorry just a few quick personals! LisaB: Good luck, ++++ thoughts your way! I am really excited for you. Dont worry about the sleeping thing. It is hard....you will find that if you are pregnant you tend to push things a bit more to make things easier for you. For now you just have Max and want to focus your attention on him. He will grow out of it soon!:) Patty, Happy Beleated BD to you! Thanks for the Birthday wish! and the weight thing. I guess I am not to worried as it has happend before with the other 3 and only ended up gaining 22lbs but i always worry that maybe I wont be so lucky! Crystal: Glad that you are going for the blood test. It it so weird for you to get a positive then a negative. As everyone else has been advising it does seem weird and for your health you should get it looked into ASAP!!! You certainly dont want anything drastic to happen! Good luck, I will be looking for your post as to how things are going. Hungry, got to go! Romaine I will see you in 8 days!! WOO HOO cant wait! Leanne w/Cynthia 31month, Veronica 16mon etc. etc. Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 13:24:05 (EST)) Hello from Helen&Amanda!! I've been busy shopping and haven't had a chance to post but have been taking notes- well some notes! On a very sad note-- we had a huge fire here in Worcester,MA last week- 6 firefighters died- only 2 found so far. The memorial is on TV now and there are firefighters fromall over the US, the Pres. and V. Pres are here too. They had 17 kids between the 6 of them. Such a sad time of year for it to happen.:O( :O( Our neighbour is a state trooper and has been there all week and this AM went into Boston to the airport for the Pres and V.Pres's arrival. We will be going out w/him and his wife tomorrow night to a Christmas party- I don't know how people in that line of work deal with the things they see... They definately are special. Now that I know someone in that line of work I appreciate what they do for us a little more. Sorry to be so depressing!! On a happier note-- I did LOTS of shopping yesterday and am almost done- only a few more things to get.I have some sugar cubes and icing and decorative candies for the kids to make a x-mas village out of when we get the time. Amanda likes to put our shoes on now and walk around the house!! So funny!! She even put her shoes in the closet the other day when I told DS his shoes were in the kitchen and to put them away!! She was so good yesterday shopping- we went to the mall w/ my neighbour- and her DD, then got home and went to BJ's to get a few more things- so today she is sleeping and catching up onher ZZZZZ's. RITA-- Hope Maddy is better!! The diarrhea sounded awful! MORIAH--Amanda SCREAMED when we went to see Santa- got a picture of her mouth wide open- its cute just the same!! DD cried at the same age and I only got DS's picture w/Santa and regretted it so we did the tears this time.This was our 1st year DS&DD didn't sit w/Santa- too old.:O( DS was so NOT thrilled w/me last year sitting on Santa's lap w/Amanda and DD- I made him feel guilty that it was Amanda's 1st X-mas..so he did it. PATTY--First of all your very special being married to a man with the job he has- God bless you all!! Happy B-day-I love flowers, how nice!! SARAH--JULIANNE-- NO--- the tree is still in the garageNOT in water- its cold though so it will keep out there. Men just don't realize the time it takes to get a tree decorated and the we have to put the boxes away and clean up.He tells me this weekend!!! JENNIFER-- You are very lucky- not like me at all!! MORIAH-- Amanda was 23.9lbs and 32" at 15mos-- it was about in the 85%... She was over 100% at birth (10.3) and is slowly moving down into a more normal range. CHRISTI--Hope your Mom's tests go well. I'll be thinking of you all!! SHELLY-- My Mom holds my brothers presents hostage until the end- Sometimes I mail them separetely so the get them.She thinks they will 'peek' or something!!LOL!! DEBBIE-- Glad you gotthe pics-thanks for the compliment! BETH-- Happy B-day!!! The restaurant sounded nice- glad you had a good b-day!!! I found a top yesterday to wear w/my black 'funeral' pants so I will look more 'Christmasy'. We were in Macy's looking for a blouse for our Mom's and I got a beaded top-- a shell??? Nosleeves, satin, smoke in color-- it was $55 for $41 and rang up for $28!!!!! Just love bargains- thats cheaper than Wal-Mart!!LOL!!!! LISAB-- Amother old wives tale-- morning sickness has nothing to do with the # of pregnancies-- I had it mildly w/my 1st and practically not at all with the next two- don't worry!! LUCYNDA-- Stocking sound beautiful! I bought a book-- 'organizing from the inside out!!! I'll let you know if it works for me!LOL!! OK-- I have bananas waiting on the counter to be made into banana bread--- LATER!!!! Helen&Amanda@16mos(#3) Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 14:18:11 (EST)) MORIAH: Thanks for the photo of Alex. He was adorable ... even if he wasn't smiling! LisaB Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 16:51:45 (EST)) I had a fun day off yesterday. My mom watched Colton for part of the day so I could spend time w/ my friend who had the triplets. They are doing great--still on monitors when they sleep though. The biggest one is barely 9 pounds at 3 months. They all look like newborns. We had fun doing girl stuff--big stop at Merle Norman's for some new make-up! I think I am almost done w/ my Christmas shopping. I need to get some stocking stuff for Colton and possible something else for the IL's. They are giving us money towards a new couch and DH thinks we should get them a bigger present too. However, last year we spent quite a bit more on them so I think it should even out. It wouldn't be so bad but they have everything and I can never come up w/ a good idea. Jennifer: Good luck w/ buying Christmas gifts. It seems like every year what I set aside for my budget is not enough. I really need to scale things back. Christi: Sorry to hear that the tests weren't very clear. My FIL had prostrate cancer and had several conflicting reports and various views for treatments too. He ended up going to Mayo since that is one of their specialties. Hope Caleb feels better soon. Lynda: I live in frosty Michigan! Moriah: Colton stats at 15 months were: 22.2# (25%) and 30.75" (50%). He is a very picky eater and I worry about him not getting enough food. However, since he has plenty of energy and fills lots of diapers I figure he must be getting enough! Sarah: Thanks for the pictures. Hannah is a cutie. Great Christmas photo w/ everyone matching. Colton like wearing his hat backwards too--it is the only way he can put it on his head by himself. SarahG: The santa picture was cute. I couldn't even tell that santa was grumpy! LisaB: Thanks for your pictures, Max looks so cute all dressed up. I see he enjoys his bubble baths too. What a good poop story. I hope you made Dh clean up the mess in the kitchen. Wow, what a reputation you have. I couldn't believe the nerve of the person returning all those clothes in such bad shape. Really makes you not want to be so nice next time! Beth: Thanks for the pictures. I loves the Christmas one w/ the dog. How sweet of DH to plan a surprise party. Poor guy getting sick and having to spill the beans about it though. Debbie: Too bad Maddy couldn't tell you why Emilee does the shaking thing. How funny. Colton sleeps through the night now so I am done w/ the PM feedings. However, when he wakes up between 5 & 6:30 AM he wants a bottle so I get him, the bottle, and bring him back to bed w/ me! I know I need to stop this but haven't found the strength or will power to do so yet. Leanne: Way to go Cynthia. Hope she continues to stay in bed & stay dry. Oops just read that she had some accidents. How sweet of Veronica to pat your tummy. LuCynda: Wow, you made stockings for your family. That is so special. I wish I could be creative like that. Shelly: Sorry to hear Riley is sick, hope he feels better soon. I usually wait 7-10 days and if the cold symptoms are not improving then I call the dr. Hope you get your gifts back from your Sis, you should be able to open them as you wish. I think I will borrow your reading of the "Night Before Christmas" idea. Thanks. Romaine: Wow, you sure are busy. I miss that. It seems like I don't get to go out near as much as I used to now. Rebecca: I had planned a cookie baking afternoon w/ my sister, mom & grandma but my sister & mom have bailed on me. Now I don't know how or when I am going to get my goodies made that I plan to give out as presents. I see some midnight baking in my near future! Patty: Happy Birthday! Yeah for getting flowers. It's been such a long time since my DH sent me some. He used to be really good at that, but I think that was back when we were dating. Thanks for the updates on Kelli & Mimii. I will be keeping them in my thoughts and prayers. Crystal: Did you go to PP today? My thoughts are w/ you too. Helen: I too have heard about the deaths of the fire-fighers. It makes me so sad to hear about such things. It is nice to see how great the community is responding to the families though. Ok, my long post is over! Julianne & Colton 16 mo email: jjones@batts.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 17:19:57 (EST)) Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing good and having a happy and healthy holiday season! I've been trying to keep busy with some baking and wrapping. I made this delicious Pumpkin Butterscotch Cake last night. MM MM Good! Elizabeth is hanging onto her cold. She's been coughing while she sleeps and her nose just won't quit. She's such a doll, though! Her little personality is the cutest!!! She can make Mr. Scrooge smile! Her newest thing is trying to wipe her own nose and then trying to wipe my and dh's nose. She walks around the house saying, "one, two. one, two, fee." (fee=three) I haven't been working with her on numbers at all. Guess it's time we start! Well, as Patty mentioned in her last post, we got some really bad news this past weekend. My grandfather, whom is like my father, was diagnosed with prostate cancer last week. I wasn't really that worried because I knew prostate cancer is very treatable. I'm very worried now and I'm having a very difficult time dealing with this. Unfortunatly, there are 2 kinds of prostate cancer: 1 that is very small and grows very slow and the other is a very agressive cancer and grows very fast. My grandpa has the aggressive one and it has spread to his lymph nodes and bladder. It's beyond radiation, chemo and surgery. He is taking injections of a drug that helps the body to stop producing testosterone. Apparently, that is what the cancer is feeding off of. He's also taking another drug to try to see if he can go into remission. Other than that, I really don't think there is anything else they can do. I am really praying for something, anything to help him! Fortunately, the drugs don't have many side-effects, if any, so he's not feeling that sick right now. Could you guys PLEASE keep my grandfather in your prayers! Also, my grandmother... she's really going through alot right now too. My grandfather isn't that old, either... only 62. A few quick personals: Moriah, I'm doing this from memory: At Elizabeth's 1 year doc appt. she was about 21 1/2 pounds (20th %tile) and 31 inches (75 to 80%). Hey, How's Zandy Cards doing? LisaB, MAN... I'd be pissed off about the maturnity clothes! I wonder if she was embarrassed at all? Max is so cute! He looks so much older to me! Maybe it's all that hair! Patty, I hope you had a good b-day, despite not getting much sleep. I know I've told you in an e-mail, but you have such a beautiful family. Beth, Happy Belated 29th!! Too bad DH was so sick! Hope he's feeling better! Allison is a living doll! Her and Eliz. could be sisters! Helen, Mmmm Banana Bread! I'm about to make a few loaves later this week. Amanda is so cute!Thanks for the pictures. You are very pretty too! And you have a beautiful home! SarahM, What a good looking family you have!! Gosh, you look good with and w/out make up! Aren't you the lucky one! Hannah is such a cutie! How about this cold weather. It was still 13 degrees at 11am here in Ft. Collins today. SarahG, What a couple of cute blonde's you have!! I just want to reach through the picture and squeeze little Sofia's cheeks! Thanks to all who sent pictures of their kids and family. I enjoyed seeing eveyrone! It brightened my week! There seems to be a few December B-days on here. Mine is in a couple weeks, too. We will be leaving in a week and a half back to Oklahoma for the holidays. Plans have changed since my grandfather got sick. We will be there for abotu 2 weeks... more or less depending on alot of things. I'm scared of going back... but, at the same time, I want to go back and stay for a long while. This is the first time someone close to me has been this sick. It really puts EVERYTHING in a WHOLE new perspective on life... just like having your first child. You guys take care. I'm sorry if this was such a depressing post. I promise to be back with a more cheerful post. Kelli & Elizabeth, almost 17 months email: rkncs@aol.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 17:23:00 (EST)) Hey Ladies! I have some good news for some of you! I received a bunch of pictures in the mail yesterday from Joy! I don't have the pictures here, but I know that LisaB, Birdie, Kelli, Katy, Mimii, and Dana's pictures are all in there! Mine were too, so I was definently a happy camper. Thought I may never see them again! Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone wanted me to send their pictures directly to them instead of continuing them on to Kelli. I just know that they were lost and now are found, so many people would just assume have them back instead of the alternative. Let me know, e-mail me and I will mail them to you directly. Well after finals, I should have more time to post...only 3 tests and 2 finals left to this semester! Poor Sloane is beginning to get so clingy since I have been cooped up trying to get the last of the studying done! Talk to you all soon! Amanda & Sloane 14 Months email: Amanda.Haugum-Hill@wcom.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 17:46:50 (EST)) Christi here. Finally we have answers,not the answers we wanted, but answers none the less. Mom does have secondary bone cancer(secondary because she has had breast cancer), but her prognosis is good. She still needs a biopsy to know what kind of cancer it is, and she will do radiation and then chemo. Like I said it is not the answer we wanted, but finally it is an answer. Thanks to all who were praying, I appreciate it! Now, as for Caleb. UUUGGGHHHH I took him to the Dr today (not our Dr), and do you know what they told me??? "Take him to his Dr tomorrow, I dont know whats wrong with him!" They did a pulse ox test and it was 98--good, his lungs sounded "ok", but not perfect. Oh, and he's not wheezing because the noise is when he is breathing in, not out. This is the same Dr who told me once "if you are that worried about your Dd take her to the ER". I think I will tell our Dr what I think of "Dr. C" Okay, I know this is a "selfish" post, but I have to run, going to moms, she is going to tell Lexi about everything. Christi & Caleb 13 months email: plumbs@coiinc.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 19:08:28 (EST)) Hey! Jennifer and Adam here. I'm just sittin around the house today, doing laundry, fixing picture albums, I made some banana bread and of course, sufing the web! My DH was supposed to be off today but we got a call this morning about 5 minutes before we were headed out the door to go to his grandparents' house and it was his assistant manager from work calling to let him know that he was quitting and walking out. So, needless to say my DH had to go into work and because he has a flat tire, had to use my car. So here I am with no car and nothing to do. Oh well, I'm relaxing anyway. I checked the board yesterday and there weren't too many new posts.....it sure has grown in one day! We will have pictures on Dec 17 and then I will send them out to all of you. I'm going to hold off on the personals today because I have a long story to tell.....here goes. (I need some advice) Ok, last Sat at my nephew's birthday party, we were about to open gifts and Adam started getting cranky so my Dad (who adores Adam) offered to walk with him in the stroller about two houses down and come right back. After he left, my SIL really loudly said "Why is your father walking him? Why don't you? What do you do? Everyone else takes care of your kid, what do you do?" She was laughing as she said it, I guess she thought she was just kidding around, but I got offended and I said "I stay home with him and care for him all the time when I'm not at work" she said "I have three kids and I don't see anyone else taking care of them!" (which is BS because they are asking my mom to babysit ALL the time) I got really mad and hurt and went into the bathroom because I was about to cry. My mom was the only one who heard what she said because noone was really listening to her to begin with. I didn't talk to her at all the rest of the day, then before we left, she came to me and said "I was just kidding, why are you so sensitive? Are you pregnant again?" I said "no" and then she said "I was just joking, but I will be honest with you and say that your dad is the only grandfather Matthew (my nephew) has left (his other grandpa passed away last month) and I would rather he spent time with him, instead of everyone always running after Adam when that is your job. I have to look out for my kid too ya know" So, I didn't respond to that, but I told my parents what she said in the car on the way home. My dad was really angry and so was my mom. the kicker is that she called me on Sunday night and apologized for the comment, but again, repeated the fact that she feels like my mom and dad don't do enough with their kids since Adam has been around. My mom drives 25 mi to their house at least twice a week (after work!) to see the kids and had them over for the weekend just two weeks ago. My parents live only 2 mi from me and they watch Adam while I work.....because I have to work. My SIL hasn't worked a day in 10 years! Unfortunately we aren't as financially well off that I don't have to work. Before this happened she had invited everyone over for Xmas dinner, but now my mom is very angry with her and so am I wand we are discussing wether or not to go. One of my mom's friends said that we should still go because if we don't, it will start a family war. I don't think we should and I'm afraid that if she says something rude again, that my DH will say something this time because he is equally angry as the rest of us. He never has liked her anyways. What do you guys think? Should we go over there for Xmas? Would you? Or how would you have handled the situation that happened? My dad says I should've told her to mind her own business, but I'm non-confrontational so I didn't. Let me add, just to clarify....my dad is not my brothers biological father, my brother is actually my half brother....my mom's son from a previous marriage, but I grew up with him so we don't really look at it that way. So, his kids are not actually my dad's "blood" grandchildren.....Adam is, and I think that is why Adam is so special to him. My brother's biological dad (my mom's ex-husband) is the one who passed away last month as a result of a heart-attack. Well, sorry this is so very long, but I couldn't leave anything out, then you wouldn't be able to understand why everyone is so angry with my SIL. All advice is greatly appreciated...... Take care everyone... Jennifer and Adam 15+mths email: ddock@gte.net Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 19:33:55 (EST)) Hello! Not much new here. Alex is of course - the cutest child ever! He's so sweet these days it just makes me want to gobble him up. Even at 4am when he wakes me up to "chat". It's funny because he wakes up & he's not wearing his "voice" (PMV) so he wakes me up & keeps moving his mouth trying to make the sound come out until I snap it on. He's a genuis! Christmas Traditions: We always decorated the tree as a family. On the other hand Geoff's mom was always psycho over her tree (it HAD to be perfect) so the kids never decorated it, instead they had little trees in their rooms. BUT I want Alex to have a family decorating thing like us. Unfortunately that will take some cajoling with Geoff because he doesn't see the "big deal" with it. We'll get there! The other thing that I want for us to do is to bake cookies. This year I'm even going to let him play in the dough for a picture op of his 1st baking! Thanks to everyone for responding on the height/weight percentiles. Alex is still way under but not as bad as I thought. I scanned the crying/sleeping Santa pic. I sent it out to all in my address book. If you didn't get one send me an email & I'd be happy to send it along! Jennifer - I know exactly how you feel about not having the $ for Christmas. In years past we always bought for both families + friends & would end up spending about $1500. BUT this year we're not able to do even 1/3 of that so we're cutting way back. It's depressing but it's also forcing me to be way more creative with my gifts which I like. As far as your SIL goes - I don't blame you for being pissed. I think that her comments were in poor taste. Truthfully I don't think I'd upset Christmas & cause a family fued over it though. Maybe your Mom should take your brother aside & let him know that his wife is acting like a witch. The jealousy between the grandchildren is ridiculous & I do not think your parents should tolerate that comparison. You live closer to them so of course they see Adam more often, but I'm sure they do not love her kids any less. Obviously she needs to apologize to everyone involved. Christi - I'm sorry that it wasn't better news for your mom. I hope that your family get's a miracle. BTW - a pulse ox of 98 is really good. We have a pulse ox monitor @ home for Alex & I check him daily. When he's sick he goes down a few points & anything consistently below 92 means he goes back on oxygen. Lisa B (Goddess of all things!)- Cute pics - Max is adorable. How can you ever say no or scold those eyes??? Okay - that's just plain gross! How could she even return something like that? I'd rather just purchase someone a replacement item rather than give them one with butt stains! YUCK! I gave away all my maternity clothes after I had Alex & did not ask them to be returned. I figure that since we want our kids far apart I'd want new ones anyway - plus most of mine were really inexpensive from Target so I doubt they'd really hold up through too many people. Beth - Happy Birthday! Also, thanks for the pics of Allison. I think she looks just like you. Sarah - Love the pics! Hannah is a doll. Patty - sent you an email re: your pics! Happy Birthday! Are you & Beth on the same day? (sorry I didn't look - but it just occured to me as I was reading the notes) Sarah w/Isaac - Love the Santa pics! Sofia looks cute all slouched over. Boy your kids have nice blond hair. LuCynda - your stockings sound great! Helen - I wondered if that tradegy was near you. My FIL was a fireman for 32 years so that kind of thing always hits close for us. Kelli - Zandy Cards is doing okay! We've gotten 1 official paying order, plus we have a couple on the way. Then a friend of mine who does my nails ordered some so I traded her a couple manicures. Our website is still under construction, but we hope to have it up after the 1st. Okay - I've got to jet. The nurse is coming to weigh Alex tonight so I'll let you know how much he gained. She doesn't do the percentile thing though. Next Friday I'll see about that. Chat again later! Moriah & Alex (14 months) email: geoffandmoriah@msn.com Thursday, December 09, 1999 at 21:09:43 (EST)) Rebecca here... Moriah - I didn't get the pic of Alex. Okay, this is going to be a selfish post. I had a really bad day today. Just when I thought that things were getting better I found myself curled up in a ball crying uncontrollaby. I don't even know what was wrong. I know that I haven't slept in two nights (thanks to Miss Paige) and money is really tight. I went to the dr's this morning (not my regular dr, his locum) and he gave me a prescription for my anti depressants. Now, my dr has been giving me samples because he knows we're having problems. I get home and call the pharmacy to ask how much for a month and it's $50! I had to call my dad and ask to borrow the money. I must have sounded bad because not 10 minutes later he was at my door (he works 3 blocks away from our apartment) to check on me. He gave me a hug and assured me that he and my mom would help. I felt weird crying in my dads arms. I think I was 8 last time I did that. Just posting this is causing the tears to swell up. I just hate having to run to my parents every few months for money. I know that when DH is in the union at work and gets a route of his own money will be coming in steady. I just wish that I didn't have to put Christmas shopping off until the 23rd when I get paid. I know I sound like I'm belly aching and I'm sorry. I just don't want to play anymore. Looking back at what I've just posted has made me realize that I'm probably not doing as well as I thought I was. I may not post for a couple of days. I don't want to depress you wonderful ladies. I'm getting teary eyed again so I'll sign off. Rebecca & Paige email: burn@canadawired.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 02:37:14 (EST)) Hi its Lynda here. Just finished my 2 days at work, have put Ella to bed and DH isn't due home for a while - ah...heaven ... some time for myself! Over the last week it has dawned on me that Ella understands much more of what I say than I ever realised. There were 2 books on the floor and I asked her to get her "Humphrey Book" (Humphrey is a big lovable Bear that all Aussie kids including me grew up on) - anyway, she went over and picked up the right book and began "reading" it. I tried a couple of other items and she went and got them also - it totally amazed me as I hadn't realised she comprehended so much - wow! I'm thrilled! Some of you have posted with some personal issues and I have responed below even though I am new to the board and don't know you all very well - I hope you don't mind. Rebecca - I just read your post and don't know what to say - things sound bad for you at the moment. Do you think that you might feel a bit better about things if you could get a good night sleep? It is hard to be positive at the best of times when you are sleep deprived. Kelli - I am very sorry to hear your news about your grandfather. I hope the drugs are sucessful in treating the cancer so that he is in remission. At 62 your granfather is younger than my father. Christi - I am also very sorry to hear about your mother's cancer diagnosis. I don't really know what to say to you as I have never been in a similar situation but I sincerely hope that the radiation and chemo treatments are sucessful. Now for some less serious issues. Jennifer - I can totally relate to having a rude SIL and I do not think you were being too sensitive. Given that you work and that you live so close to your parents of course they are going to see more of your family than your SIL's. However I do not think that you and your mum should stay away from Xmas with your SIL. I think you should ignore your SIL's comments and try to enjoy Xmas as much as possible. The issue will fester and grow out of all proportion if you stay away from Xmas and things could get much worse. Patty - I know I'm late but happy belated b'day for Wednesday. Lisa B - Thanks for the pictures of Max - his big brown eyes are adorable ! Good luck with TTC - returning your maternity clothes in that condition is just plain revolting! Julianne - Congrats on being so organised with your xmas shopping. I find it difficult to buy for my parents - because even if they don't have everything - they have everything they want - so I usually get gifts of the "consumable kind" that they wouldn't buy themselves because they see them as luxuries. Things like theatre tickets, magazine subscriptions, or a hamper made up with really nice coffee, chocolates, special biscuits etc Moriah - that is sweet - Alex chatting without his "voice". I didn't get a photo - and would like to see it - would you mind sending me one ??? Lynda & Ella 11 months email: ljpjyoung@ozemail.com.au Friday, December 10, 1999 at 06:17:30 (EST)) Good morning ladies!! HAPPY, HAPPY FRIDAY!!! :) :) SARAH here. I just love Friday's! I bet you all couldn't tell!?!? LOL My mom took my sister and her two boys, HANNAH and I to dinner last night. The kids (3 yr old, 15 months, 13 months) were really, really good. So, it was very enjoyable...although we had a terrible waiter! Oh well. Then HANNAH and I came home and she was in the best mood!! I just love her so much!!! :) Nothing else new so.... LISA - EEEWWWW, Gross!! Did you get the pictures last night? LEANNE - That will be a nice birthday present! HELEN - That is so sad about the firefighters!!! JULIANNE - Sounds like you had a nice day off! So, how is your friend handling 3 babies??? That's great they're doing so good! Thanks for the compliments on the pictures. KELLI - I'm so sorry to hear about your grandpa!! I'll keep you all in my prayers! He's very young! My dad is 62. Thank you for the compliments!!! Yes, it's very cold! I don't like it!! :) AMANDA - I can't believe you finally got the pictures!!! I think you should just send them back to the original owners! Good luck with finals!!! How's SLOANE doing??? CHRISTI - Sorry about your mom's diagnosis!! You all will be in my prayers, too!! JENNIFER - How rude!!! That would have really pissed me off!!! I don't think you should blow off Christmas, though. I think you should still go over. MORIAH - I love the picture of ALEX with Santa! Too sweet about ALEX's "voice"!!! :) :) Thanks for the compliments! REBECCA - I'm sending you an email! LYNDA - Good to hear from you! I'll send some pictures of HANNAH. Well ladies, hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Be safe!! Sarah and Hannah (15 months) email: smoore@geatoir.cfer.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 10:45:23 (EST)) Hi all from long, long lost Sue and Cameron. I haven't been keeping up with either board lately (my apologies!), but got some incredibly cute pictures from LISAB so I thought I'd check in with everyone. Besides, Cam will be a year old on the 29th of this month, so I'll "graduate" to TT very soon. I can't believe it! Not too much is going on here. Looking forward to Christmas this year. We'll be going to my mom's house in Connecticut. My youngest sister, who is a nurse, has the holiday off this year (for the first time in ages), so we'll all be together. I'm taking a vacation day Monday to try and finish up shopping. I'm going to be "bad mommy" and bring Cam to daycare that day so I can try to shop and wrap like a maniac. Hope noone is expecting extravagant gifts this year - Mr. Cam has forced us into some pretty creative budgeting! Speaking of Cameron, he's doing pretty well. He's a pretty big boy - was 23 lb. and 29 inches at his 9 month checkup. He now (at long last!) has his two bottom teeth and is a pretty accomplished crawler. He's pulled himself up to standing a couple of times, but is still pretty happy to buzz around on all fours. He's been on a hunger strike the past couple of days, so I think he may sprout another tooth in the next few days or so. My only concern about him is that he has ZERO interest in self-feeding. He'll pick up food we leave on his highchair tray, but only squishes it betwen his fingers then tosses it onto the floor. He still gags on anything bigger than a morsel the size of a small pea. I'm afraid I'll be spoon feeding the kid forever! I was looking forward to getting pictures of him with his first birthday cake smooshed all over his face, but I think I'll have to do it for him! Any suggestions? Sorry I haven't kept up with all the personals. I hope everyone is healthy and happy (not to mention well rested). REBECCA - I'm emailing you separately. Hang tough! Happy Hannukah and Blessed Ramadan to those of you who celebrate them! Love and kisses and early Christmas wishes to everyone else! Sue and Cameron (11 1/4 months!) email: sbarry@key.org Friday, December 10, 1999 at 11:37:09 (EST)) Katy here Moriah- Alex sounds so cute talking without his voice. I don't think I got a pic, but would love one. We are debating about taking Liam to see Santa. LisaB- Max is such a cutie!!! Amanda- Glad to know my pictures aren't lost in Post Office limbo! Sent you an email about them. Sorry that I haven't been on in a while. Our computer is going through some major problems. So if you don't hear from me for a while, that may be why. We went to my mom's house on Wednesday and they had their tree up. Liam was sooooooo fascinated by it. He had been real chatty until he saw it and then he was speechless!! LOL! It was so funny. I can't wait to see how he'll react to the presents. Well that's all from us for now. Talk to everyone later!!! Katy and Liam email: princess__bride@hotmail.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 13:41:43 (EST)) Hi from LisaB. AF arrived this morning so I guess DH and I will have to "try" some more!!!! Max ended up in bed with us again last night - it's every other night now. How strange is that? Well, at least we all get 1 night of good sleep!!! Max cried as soon as he sat on Santa's lap and quit as soon as he got off! We bought one picture with screaming Max on Santa's lap and me sitting next to him holding him. DH also took some. Then we ate at the mall. Max choked and it scared him so I took him out of the highchair and sat him on the table facing me. He picked up a napkin and kept wiping my mouth for me - TOO FUNNY!! JULIANNE: I can't imagine triplets - what a lot of work but also a bunch of love! KELLI: Elizabeth is pretty swift picking up her numbers on her own. Your grandfather is in my prayers. AMANDA: WOW - I thought all those pictures were lost for good. Please send mine on to Kelli but mark Mimii' and Dana off the list (as they were both having marital problems the last time they posted I'm afraid they probably moved) and Megan and Tonya if they had been added (as they rarely post). I'm not real concerned about getting mine back as I have duplicates at home. Did Joy write anything with the pictures on how her pregnancy is going and how Josh is doing? CHRISTIE: I'm glad the prognosis is good for your Mom. The doctor sounds like an idiot. Max had croup and had a bad "stridor" - that rasping sound when they breathe in. I would go see another doctor and also report the one you saw to the state medical licensing authority. JENNIFER: I'm looking forward to seeing your photos. Your SIL sounds like a real witch. Ideally the best thing would have been to address the issue when she brought it up by telling her your Dad can bond with both Adam and Matthew, that your Dad and Adam like to spend time together, that you do ALOT for your son - the same as she does for hers, that if she wants your Dad to spend more time with Matthew than she needs to address that issue with your dad instead of you, etc. I would definitely still go to Christmas at your SILs and encourage your parents to go. Believe me, my family has had several big feuds and it's just not worth it. For example, we have 2 big family reunions in the summer as certain relatives won't go each other's houses, etc. And believe me, not going will just tick off your SIL, your brother, etc. It's not worth losing touch with relatives over a few insensitive remarks. Go for your nephew's sake and for your brother's sake but before you go call your SIL and discuss the issue. The longer these things "sit" the harder it is to resolve them. MORIAH: It's easy to tell Max no ... until he gets that "puppy dog" look!! I bet it's so frustating for Alex to try to talk without being able to get any sound out. REBECCA: I just e-mailed you. LYNDA: Actually, Max's eyes are bright blue (but they generally look green or brown in pictures). SUE: Daycare while shopping is a GOOD mom - makes it easier on you and Cam will be happier at the sitters than getting drug through the mall in a stroller. Max only recently got pretty good at self-feeding. Have you tried meat steaks from Gerber Graduates? Max could eat them gagging before he could the dices. KATY: Liam sounds cute with the tree. A man, between Sunday and yesterday, tried to abduct 3 little girls and exposed himself to 2 others in our area in the past week (at WalMart, Target, and Penny's at the mall). They caught him yesterday when he tried to abduct one of the girls. Please keep a close eye on your kids!!!! I guess the Mom yesterday just turned her back for a few seconds when a sales associate asked her if she knew the man tying to grab her DD. LisaB & Max (15 months) email: lisa_lab@hotmail.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 15:02:43 (EST)) Hello from Rita TGIF! I have sooooo much to do this weekend. We get the tree tomorrow and go to DH's work party. On Sunday I am slated to make tamales. I also have more shopping and stuff to finish for gifts. I have always been better organized than I am this year. What happened? Maddy is fine. We needed to make sure that she didn't have a blocked bowel and develop encopresis. We are just going to leave her in diapers until she is ready to try potty training again. She is super sensitive about everything and internalizes things (like her mama, I am afraid). We have also seen more behaviorial problems as of late. She seems to need more one-on-one time with me. Plus we need to find an indoor way to work off all of her incredible energy. She was just bouncing off the walls at the Ped and getting into everything. She is aware that her BD is coming, but she'll tell me that she is going to be 4, 5 or 6 at any given time. She looks like she is at least four and people expect her to act older and but she really is only almost three. Rebecca - Hang in there sweetie! We love you through all of the good and bad days. Your parents sound like wonderful people. Come back and post when you can. Jennifer - Wow, I can't believe what your SIL said to you! Who, in their right mind, compares such a thing? I would not stay away from Christmas, since it would probably lead to further problems and estrangement. We have had some problems with some of DH's family (they never come to our events, etc), but we are letting them slide since it would be too painful to his mom if we carried a grudge. We just have learned to not expect too much from them. We'll see what happens with Christmas and the girls' BDs this year. Sue - Hi there! I'll send out some pics to you. Amy is getting close to walking these days, although she is much faster on all fours, too. We finally have four teeth, so she has gotten into feeding herself. Christi - I hope that the treatments get your mom. to remission. I know that it is the pits - DH's brother had massive chemo treatments for his cancer. Maddy and I will keep her in our prayers. Beth - Thanks for the wonderful pictures! we have given up on trying to film the dogs with the girls at our house. Happy belated BD to you! Stacey - Thanks for the pictures of your adorable girls. I would love to get together when you come back up to Pleasanton. Let me check our schedule. Moriah - Alex's sleepy picture is precious. He looks so relaxed with Santa. I haven't been to Stanford in ages and I am right down the road, too. Well, gotta go ladies. I will send out the card list tomorrow to all the members. Take care everyone! Rita, Maddy & Amy email: ritad@home.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 15:19:17 (EST)) Hey everyone! Happy Friday to you all! Allison did the cutest thing this morning. DH has been out of town since Wed morning. Every morning she asks for Daddy. This morning she did it and I told her he was gone but that he would be back in a couple of days. she then said "gone" and "back". But then she looked around and yelled at the top of her lungs "DADDY!!! DADDY!!!" and looked around like he was just going to come running like the dog does when we call for her. It was too cute! I felt sorry for her that she couldn't see her Daddy though. A few personals. Lisa B - that is just gross about your maternity clothes. I have loaned mine out a couple of times, but luckily they have always come back in good condition. Moriah - thanks for saying Allison looks like me. Everyone else thinks she looks just like DH! Question, how does Alex wake you up when he can't make any noise?? I would sleep right through if Allison couldn't yell for us. I sleep like a rock!! LOL Helen - Amanda sounds too cute with the shoes. Allison has a big shoe fetish and is always playing with our shoes, and her shoes, putting them on, taking them off, etc etc. I just fear she is going to be one of those teenage girls that has to have a closet full of shoes! LOL Julianne - the triplets sound cute! Glad you had fun on your day off. Patty - happy belated bday! Kelli - I will be praying for you g-pa. He's the same age as my dad, but I have a brother that's 37 too. Christi - I will be praying for your mom too! Hope it works out well for you. Jennifer - I agree with the others. Be the bigger person in this case and don't cancel Christmas. If it continues I would tell your brother, however. Well, gotta go. Lots to do here and work today. Talk to you ladies later. Beth and Allison (18 months) email: bobwite@msn.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 15:24:35 (EST)) Happy Friday Ladies Leanne Here Well Cynthia was up again last night 3 times! Man I am really hating this! It BETTER be temporary, it sure is frustrating cause then she is SOOOO grumpy the next day and latley has not been taking very good afternoon naps! ARRRGGGG No accidents yestereday (cynthia) but this morning she went and peed again!!! I am really hating this! I am getting stretched to my limit!!! Sorry for the Venting ladies but this is really driving me crazy with the NO sleep and peeing all the time!!! She will be 32months tomorrow and there just is no excuse for her doing this..... Thank good ness it is christmas as that makes me feel better, I just count down the seconds till dh comes home to give me a break! He took all 3 girls out last night (which they love) and I was in bliss for 1hr!!!! He is so great! Just a few quick posts! Jullian: Triplets! WOW now that is a lot of work! Nice of your mom to watch the kids! Congrats on getting your shopping done! Great feeling isnt it? Kelli: So sorry about your grandpas cancer! My grandma is going through the same thing right now but radiation is not as bad as chemo! She seems to be in great spirts. Christi: Sorry aoubt your mom, I cant believe how much cancer is out there now! She is in my prayers. Sarah: Glad Hannah was so good and had so much fun with her cousins. Have a great weekend ladies Leanne with kids in tow! Friday, December 10, 1999 at 16:44:05 (EST)) A quick Hello to everyone from Julianne and Colton. We are doing great. Work has been really crazy the past two days. Have a great weekend everyone. Kelli: Wow Elizabeth saying her numbers already is great. So cute how she says fee for three. Hope she gets over her cold quick. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. I am sorry that I did not have time to e-mail you back today. I will respond on Monday! Christi: That was not very nice of the Dr. to scare you about Caleb like that. I will contine to pray for your mom and family also. Jennifer: I think what your SIL said to you was out of line. However, it would not be worth it to ruin Christmas and start a big family fued. I think you parents need to let her know that they were offended by her comments also. It sounds like they really go out of their way to make sure they spend time w/ her kids. Rebecca: Sorry to hear that your are feeling so down. Money issues this time of year can be really hard. I grew up w/ not much money and my parents always tried to make Christmas special for us anyway. We ended up w/ lots of small gifts wrapped in our stockings. We would take turns opening each one up one at a time to make Christmas last longer. I learned to appreciate the gifts more and not just rip into the wrapping paper, going from one to the next. Don't stop posting--we are free therapy!! Sarah: I can't believe how well my friend has adjusted to 3 little babies. She does get down some days because there is very little free time. She really enjoyed our time together away from the kids. She is very lucky to have so many people helping out though. Her friends and church have really come through with sitters and meals. Sue: Nice to hear from you. Lisa: Too bad Max didn't like Santa. Those pictures are fun to look back on though. Moriah: Thanks for the Santa picture w/ Alex. See above comment to Lisa. At least he was good for you in line! See ya!!!!!!!!! Julianne & Colton 16 mo email: jjones@batts.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 17:43:26 (EST)) Hi, Romaine and Saba here! I have been busy (as you know), but it is an exceptional week! I am usually a hermit! It is fun having lots to do though! Thanks for the concern about sleep! I have been sleeping well since! I still feel really tired though (I have been getting 9 slightsly broken hours). It is likely b/c it has been really grey and overcast and the "sunshine" hours are so short! It sounds like there are lots of us w/ family members battling cancer. It is hard to beleive that it is so prevalent, but it is. I am sure that almost everyone has had a friend or family member that is a survivor or not. Lots of hugs and prayers are out there for you-Kelli, Sarah G, Christi and otheres that I may have missed in my skims. Patty- Happy b-lated b-day!!!! Mine is on the 26th of this month!-32 for me! Our Superintendent is supportive of job-sharing he wants teachers to stay b/c they are happy. Great that you got to stay p/t!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me that something will work out! Sarah G-Glad that your g-ma is doing better right now! Lisa B-EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW! Has she ever heard of PANTI-LINERS??????? I cannot beleive that she wouild return them to you in that condition! The ---- stained one should AT LEAST have been replaced, never-mind the other stained ones!!!! Gross!!!!!! Saba did not want to go th Santa either and he is my great-uncle. We only got a picture w/ DD2 this year. Helen-Very sad news. My heart goes out to those families! Julianne- I don't normally get out a lot any more either! Thsi has been an exceptional week! Rebecca and any others that are feeling down or over-whelmed by the holidays-big hugs to you. The real spirit is not what you give, but the thought put into it. I am sorry that someone was so hurtful about it-may she get a lump of coal! Crystal-What is happening w/ you? Is everything ok? have a great weekend.... Romaine and Saba 21 mos. (actually) tomorrow! email: rrantry@yahoo.ca Friday, December 10, 1999 at 19:12:06 (EST)) Hey everyone!!!! A real quick post to share some big news! ALLISON PEE PEED ON THE POTTY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!! I was so excited. I jumped up and down and clapped. I don't think she really had any idea what she'd done, but she got excited too. That's all. Talk to you ladies later!! Beth and Allison (18.5 months) email: bobwite@msn.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 19:23:38 (EST)) Hi mommies. Monster boy (Jarin) came to bed with us at 4:00 last night, but at least he went back to sleep. Wednesday night I was up from 3:45-4:30 and then DH got up and was up until 6:30!!! Jarin is breaking my heart at the sitter's. He's cried every day this week for at LEAST 2 hours. I hate leaving him so much. =( **You guys are the best. Thanks for all the birthday wishes Leanne, Sarahg, Sarah, LisaB, Rita, Helen, Julianne, Lynda, Kelli, Romaine and Beth. **Sarahg: Thanks for the pics. Such cuties. =) **Sarah: Thanks for your pics too. You guys all look great. =) **LisaB: Ditto for the cute little Max. So gross about the maternity clothes. Have you ever used Biz? It gets out everything. Yep, Jarin is definitely laying the guilt trips on me big time. So cute about Max wiping YOUR mouth! =) **Rita: thanks for the compliments on the pictures. I'm glad that Maddy doesn't have any bowel problems. I'm sure she'll train ok when she's ready. **Leanne: I can't believe you only gained 22 lbs three times! I gained 34 with Jaime, 33 with Jesse and then when I figured out that it didn't fall off, I was careful and only gained 25 with Jarin. My DH WANTED a GIRL. He was pretty upset when my U/S showed boy. **Helen: I will tell DH you think that he does a special job. Sometimes I think people forget all that policemen, firemen, etc really do. That's so awful about those firefighters. =( Too cute that Amanda is wearing shoes around the house. 10 lbs 3 oz at birth? OUCH! I also love those bargains! **Julianne: Glad to hear the triplets are doing so well. **Kelli: I am so impressed with you and Helen and all the baking! Hope your visit with your grandparents goes well. **Amanda: Glad to hear some pics were found. Were mine in there by any chance? I'm supposed to be after Dana and before Katy. **Christi: Sorry to hear the news about your mom. I will keep her and your family in my prayers. I also hope Caleb is ok. **Jennifer: Your SIL's comments were rude and insensitive. I agree with everyone else though - I'd try NOT to let it ruin Christmas. **Moriah: Beth's b-day is one day before mine. The pics of Alex were so cute, even if he was sleeping. =) **Rebecca: Post whenever you want - up, down, we love you either way. When my DH and I went through severe problems several years ago, getting hugs from my dad helped more than anything else. I think it just helps to forget we're adults sometimes and be "daddy's little girl" again. And hey, if it makes you feel any better, my dad brings us groceries, etc all the time and we just borrowed $500 last month. **Beth: Sounds like Allison is daddy's girl. YAY FOR ALLISON PEEING ON THE POTTY =) =) =) =) **Romaine; I hope something works out so you can go part time too. IF Jarin was happier at the sitter, it would really be the ideal situation - still getting some $$ coming in and being able to spend most of the day with the baby. **Gotta go. Take care all. Patty and Jarin - 15 1/2 months email: tematheny@ctlnet.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 21:00:51 (EST)) Hi ladies, Kahne here, Sorry I have been gone, but FINALS WEEK. I do have a favor to ask. A guy I go to school with is going through a very tough time. His wife was 8 1/2 months pregnant and the other night he was sleeping, and she started breathing funny. He thought she was snoring so he nudged her to stop. she didn't. He turned on the light and she was twitching and foaming at the mouth. He called an ambulance immediatley, but it was too late, she died. The sent a medivac helicopter out, because the baby was still alive, however by the time they got to the hospital, the baby had died also. It is so close to Christmas, and I feel so bad for him losing his whole family in one fell swoop. PLEASE pray for him, and his sanity. I am sorry to come on here and depress all of you in the midst of your happy posts, but I can depend on you guys to help. I love all of you and I should be back on Tuesday, since finals will be over. Kahne and Cat 2 weeks away from ONE email: kahneandsteve@hotmail.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 22:57:37 (EST)) Crystal and Darrel here. I was unable to make it to PP this week. We've been very shorthanded this week, so I haven't been getting my full lunch break. Plus, DH spent my money, but I'll definitely be able to go next week, as the owner of my day care bought out another day care. So, we'll be getting all their staff, kids, and equipment within the next two weeks. I'll also be getting a fat check next week, so it will be more affordable. I was talking to MIL, and she thinks that it could have been a false positive and the symptoms could have resulted from the fact that I believed that I was pg. Basically a phantom pregnancy. I hope that if I'm not pg, then that's all it is. At least then I won't have to worry about insurance. But I don't feel like anything else is really wrong. I've always been real intuned with my body. Otherwise I wouldn't have known before the pg test came back + with Darrel that I was pg. At that point, I was even due for a visit from Af. Darrel is now in the Big Boy class!!!!!! Yeah. :0). right now there's too many babies in the baby room and we just had some one quit at the day care, so we've been having to juggle the kids around. Because Darrel is a fifth baby for the baby room (we're only allowed four babies with one staff member), he is sent into the 18 month room, which I have temporarily taken over, and my 12 month olds are in the baby room. We count Darrel as being an 18 month old because he looks older and acts older (most of the time). Darrel gets pushed around and bit, but so do all the other kids in the class. It's a part of being a toddler. But Darrel is doing very well in the class, so I'm not concerned about it. He may not be running or climbing yet, but socially, he is striving. He does better than he does in the baby room. Now don't take it wrong. My employer doesn't do this with all the children. It's only the ones who are within a month or two from one age group to another and who are mature enough for it. Normally, it's during nap time and bus runs. Only teachers' kids are put in the next class all day on a daily basis. And she only puts the staff kids in with permission from his/her parents and when everyone will benefit from it. And if Darrel wasn't walking, there'd be no way I'd allow him to be considered 18 months for ratio purposes. Also, if Darrel was even two inches shorter, I wouldn't allow him to be 18 months at day care, but, since Darrel is as tall as one of the 19 month olds and within an inch or two shorter than most of the other kids, that's not a problem. Having clerified all this ahead of time, I don't want any anonymous posts stating how I'm a bad and irresponsible mother for allowing my son to be 18 months for ratio purposes at day care. Well, Darrel isn't ready for potty training yet. I sat him on the potty at day care to let him get a feel for it and because he kept going into the potty room. All he did was scream. No, I'm not forcing it on him. I treat him the way I do all the kids in my class. If they keep going in and out og the potty room, they get put on the potty. Some kids never go back in, and some will actually start using the potty and some think it's just a game. It's not because I'm trying to get my whole class potty trained. It's so they know that the potty is not for playing in, that there's a purpose designed especially for that little room off in the corner. And I do have some kids in the process of training. There are four kids in the process of toilet learning. One just started. In fact, she'll just walk in, pull her pants down, take off her diaper, throw it out, and sit on the potty. When she's done, she'll bring her diaper to me or put it in the trash. She's the youngest learning to use the potty. The other three are closer to two or are two and refuse to use the potty at day care. If I even suggest going to the potty, they'll start screaming, kicking, crying, and shouting no. So, I give them the choice on whether to use the potty or have their pullup changed. Normally, they don't want either, so I change them anyway. One girl just started this day care and wears a pull up during day care and at night but underwear at home. She absolutely refuses the potty. The last day care she went to wouldn't send her to the potty but would just keep changing her pullup. She's starting to get used to the day care now but still refuses to go to the potty. On Monday when her mom brings her in, I'll be talking to her about it. As much as I love my kids, I'd rather see them graduate to the big kid class. She's two, so she's eligible once she starts using the potty regularly at day care. As much time I invest emotionally into my kids, it's a proud moment when I see them graduate to the two and three year old class. I never knew that a day care worker would invest so much into their kids, but now I do. And I wouldn't have it any other way. And when my kids call me mommy, I know that we have truelly bonded. And when a hug and a kiss will make a child feel better after their mommy leaves or when the get hurt or another child takes a toy from them, I feel like I'm their "mommy". There's one little boy who has especially become attached to me. He'll come up to me and for no reason at all give me a hug and a kiss. Now that is something special. The other day, there was another teacher in my class so that we could have 13 instead of 5 kids, and the little boy who's very attached to me wouldn't let the other teacher do anything for him. As soon as she picked him up to change his diaper, he started screaming and kicking and reaching for me. And the kid who I have had problems with biting everytime I turn my back, he'd cry everytime his mom dropped him off when the teacher who just quit would take him. Now, he doesn't. He'll whine a little, but then he's fine. And he'll come straight to me. His mom feels so much better about having him at this day care now becuase of it. I just have a way with young children. That's all. I always have. In fact, one of ,y co-workers thinks that I'm so good with my kids that she reccommended me for assistant director. That's what happens when you try to give each child individual attention and structure the classroom to meet as much of each child's individual needs. And I take time to talk to each child's parents. Well, I have to go now. It's bed time. Good night everyone, amd sorry for the novel. Crystal and Darrel 15 1/2 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 23:09:34 (EST)) Hi all! Happy Friday! Alex is doing so good! He gained 12oz this week! So HUGE! Week before last he was at an all time high of 14lbs 3.5oz then last week he lost weight (due to sickness) so he was down to 13lbs 15oz. Then last night he tipped the scales at a whopping 14lbs 11oz! Can you believe it? Finally some growth around here. If only Mommy could give him a fat transplant or at least lose what he gains! Speaking of - my eating is out of control! I'm having this huge sweet tooth issue! UGH! I've just got to buckle down & stop eating like Pig Girl. I'm getting noticibly chunkier. Anyone else having a hard time for no other reason than the fact that you eat too much? I received an envelope of pics yesterday from Sarah! It has Rebecca & Rita's! Rita watch your mail next week for them. Beth - Alex sleeps with us - he HAS to becuase of his trach (okay - who am I kidding we now LOVE Alex in bed with us & even after his trach comes out it will be hard to kick him out!). So when he wants me to wake up he scooches over and either plays with my face or yanks my hair. Yah! for Allison on the potty! Well I've got to get my pics together. I'm making my mom a scrapbook for Christmas & I haven't even started yet. :( I'm sure it will be dead over the weekend. Hope everyone has a cheery time! Moriah & Alex (14 months) email: geoffandmoriah@msn.com Friday, December 10, 1999 at 23:10:47 (EST)) Hi there- Sarah g here. Just a quick post- Thanks for the pictures Patty and Beth- I hope I didn't forget anyone. BEAUTIFUL kids, guys! We had a nice morning home today. Isaac and I made cookies and he even helped wash the dishes! He's such a character- quite often he'd rather help do work than go play. Later we went to the library and to the cleanest Kmart I've ever seen- what a kick! How silly! just a couple personals-- Kahne- my thoughts are on your friend from school. I just can't imagine. On another note- Break a leg on your finals! Beth- congrats on Allison going Potty!!!!! that's super! Rebecca- My best wishes to you. We haven't really "met" but I will say a prayer for you. You never know which direction help might show up from. Leanne- way to go DH!! How nice to have free time! :) Hopefully things will improve with Cynthia's sleeping and potty habits. My best wishes for you guys in those departments! Well ladies, I only skimmed- so that's it for now. Have a great weekend! Sarah g and Isaac and Sofia email: gat_men@hotmail.com Saturday, December 11, 1999 at 01:42:06 (EST)) Crystal and Darrel here. It's the kind of day that makes me want to stay in bed. It's cold and wet. Unfortunately, I can't just stay in bed today. Darrel won't let me, and I have too much to do. We're throwing a surprise birthday party for a friend's baby. He'll be one tomorrow. Our friend wasn't able to have a party for him due to finances, so I took it upon myself to throw a party for him. I'm making turkey stew, and another friend bought the cake. Hey, that's what friends are for. My friend would do the same for me, and I know it. So why can't I do it for her? I have two friends going in on it with me, and we're all close friends. We went to school together and have known each other for four almost five years. Not all of us were the best of friends in high school, but things have changed a lot this past year. To me, when we celebrate our babies' birthdays, we are also celebrating our friendships. Our kids have known each other since birth. And, our children have brought most of us together, even though we either didn't like each other in school or didn't really know each other. And, our kids are all "cousins", and we're all "aunts" to each other's kids. If one of us is having a hard time dealing with our own child, some one will come over to help out. If one needs a ride to go to a dr. appt or something, there are three of us who have a car and two who stay home during the days. Four of my friends are basically single moms, though one hasn't had her baby yet. But she's now being included into the group. We all live within 30 minutes of each other, and within 15 depending on the road/highway/freeway that is taken. We do things separately and as a whole group. In fact, in the spring we want to take our kids to either the Ft. Worth or the Dallas zoo. They all love animals. That brings me to a problem that I just need to talk about. DH isn't from around here. He's from Oregon. Well, DH wants to go back to Oregon. We agreed when we got married that we'd go to Oregon after we both got out of the military. However, we ended up coming to Texas to have a shot at it first. DH is very unhappy, and I'm having the time of my life. But I'm also home. I have no problem going to Oregon. It's very pretty there, and we'd have a white Christmas next year, something I really miss. We're both country people and want for our kids to grow up in the country as well. Oregon isn't the problem. The problem is with me. You see, I've grown up moving every six months, so I never had very many friends and never had a place that I could call home until my dad decided that we were going to move to Texas when I was a sophomore in high school. At first I hated it because I wanted to be in the country again and to be able to go fishing in my backyard. I wanted to go on walks in the woods, track deer and rabbit. I loved all those things. And in Oregon, I'll have them back because we'll be going to DH's hometown. However, I soon learned to love Texas. I had fun in school and made what I consider to be a lot of friends. I still have many of those friends today. I have a job that I love to death, and I love my kids at the day care. I couldn't be happier. In fact, I've never been this happy even though I'm not living in the middle of nowhere as I loved doing. I loved Texas before I joined the Navy but agreed to go to Oregon with Doug anyway after we got out. However, Doug sent me to Texas after I got out of the Navy, and I have learned to love it even more. Had we gone straight to Oregon, it would not have been a problem. But now it is. My mommy friends and I didn't really become close until March of this year. I know MIL, who is in Oregon, but that's it. I've tried talking to Doug's sister, but I don't think I like her very well. I don't want to leave my husband just because he wants to go to Oregon. That's a stupid reason. We have a place to live there without staying with anyone. That's great and all, but it's just the fact that I'll be leaving the only home I've had since I came back to the states from Germany when I was 8. I've moved 28 times since I was born. I don't want the same for my son. Moving back to the Pacific Northwest scares me, especially because of the Green River killer. I don't know if he's been caught yet, but I remember hearing about him when I was only 10 years old. I used to live in Washington. Some of the worst memories I have are from there. I'm not ready to live that close to Washington now. I didn't start thinking about my problems from there until this month. Every year about this time, things just start to really bother me. It's not really depression or the stress from the Holidays. I don't know what it is, but I think it may have to do with something I blocked from my mind as a child. But every year at this time, I end up thinking about my childhood.And it was a very unhappy one at that. Come January or February, everything will be fine again until next November or December. Anyway, DH says that he can get a job making a lot more money there than he does here and that after 5 or 6 months, I can stay at home with Darrel if I want or start my day care. That's great. I love that idea, but I'm afraid that I can't be happy in Oregon now that I'm so happy here in Texas and have really renewed my high school friendships. Oday, that's it on this. Thanks for listening. I know you may be confused by all of this, but I needed to get it out. Well, Darrel has started something new. He does the spider for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" It's so cute to sit there and wacth him go through the motions and "sing" the song. But if I join in, he stops. Go figure. It's cute anyway. The funeral for my friend's nephew was yesterday. Everyone is handling everything okay except for his twin. She wakes up at night screaming for him because they shared the crib. The dr. thinks he probably had seizures and was vomitting because there was a pile of vomit next to him. They think he may have asperated on the vomit. The worse part of it was that it was their dad's birthday. He was baried in his New Year's outfit that his grandma had bought for him. His sister wore hers to the funeral. That is so sad. I'm crying right now as I'm typing. No one deserves for their baby to die like this. But I honestly feel worse for the twin than I do for anyone else. It's got to be so hard on her even at 3 1/2 months old to have her twin brother die so suddenly. What a drastic change it must be for her. Thankfully, she's still so young, so she will soon "forget" the loneliness. But I'm sure her famliy wll keep his memory alive. Moriah: There's someone on PT who just found out that her baby will have Spina Bifida. She needs a lot of support right now. Since you are dealing with birth defects as well, could you go over and talk to her? Well.that's it for now. I'll be back on Thursday to let you all know what I find out at the dr. Crystal and Darrel 15 1/2 months email: cjeanmurphy@yahoo.com Saturday, December 11, 1999 at 18:07:00 (EST)) Hi Mom's and Babe's, Our computer has been acting up so we haven't been able to post. I have miised chatting with you all. Are all you mom's ready or getting ready for Christmas? We are done buying for Nolan, but we were suppose to go and finish off all of our shopping today, and my Dh got sick, so needless to say it isn't all complete by we are close. The worse part for me is wrapping it all, I hate wrapping presents. So how are all the Todd's doing? Nolan is getting his molars. He hasn't been feeling the greatest for a week now. His appetie stinks. He sleeps excellent though. He slept 12 hours last night. Christi- How is your mom doing? I have been thinking about you and your family, think positive, we are! What are you doing for the Millenium Mom's? We are going to my brother's, in his neighbourhood they are having house parties where you start at one house, and at midnight you all meet at another house, and the town is having fireworks also at midnight. It includes the kids also so we don't have to pay for a sitter thankgoodness. Well I guess that is it for today. Have a great week-end, and Season's Greetings to everyone and there families!!!!!!! Darleen & Nolan (13 months) email: j7mith@ciaccess.com Saturday, December 11, 1999 at 18:21:16 (EST)) Hi to all. Riley is napping. Boy did he need it. I guess grocery shopping was too hard on him. I'll get right to personals, because he'll be up soon. LisaB.**Riley sleeps with me and so does Jesse sometimes. I figure, one of these days he'll be grown up and I'll wish they were both still in my bed! Thanks for the pics, Max is sooo cute! A boy I dated in highschool had a little girl. One day I ran into his sis, and I asked about him and his new fam. She said that he insisted on naming the baby Shaleen. I remarked how unusual and pretty that name was and Becky said that it was as close to Shelly as his woman would allow.LOL. Patty**Happy belated B-day! Chrystal**My dr. pointed out that not taking care of a miscarriage was very dangerous. You don't have to cramp or bleed, I never did. But leaving all that tissue in there will cause an infection. You think paying for a blood test cost money? How about emergency surgery? Please don't take offense, but do something ASAP. What part of OR is your dh from? Sarah**Thanks for trying. I'll let you know my new address soon. Rita**Encopresis is worse for girls, as the soiling gets inside the vagina and causes all sorts of problems. My niece had it. One of her kidneys is now not functioning 100%. Jullianne**I bought a really nice padded book from Hallmark. Thats the one we read ever year. Kelli**I will pray for your GF. I'm so sorry for your fam. (Please don't say pumpkin too loudly, my stomache rolls!)LOL. Christi**Will that dr. send you a bill? I'de tell him to shove it if he does. Jennifer**What a bunch of crap. I think your parents need to take BIL aside and tell him to slap sense into the bitch! After x-mas, of course. I had someone in my extended fam. tell me I never got up after my kids. They all run over if one of their kids gets hurt. If one of mine falls, I 'll say come here and let me see. Well Uncle Rusty didn't like that. I'm not an anal Mom, most of the time my kids are running the other way to do something else, by the time I run over to see the booboo. If your SIL says these things too much, the kids will start picking up on it and real problems will arise. Good Luck. Bake her some choc. chip cookies. Doesn't ex-lax make choco flavor!!!!LOL Rebecca**I know where you are. I've been there. Love is important, but so are presents to kids. Please don't stop posting. Go to Target, they have good prices for toys. They take them out of the brand name boxes and put them in plain and then sale them for 5 to 20.00. I'm stressing on house payments, insurance and all the other bills. Your Dad sounds like he really cares. My sis Anna,lent me 300.00 2 months ago. She doesn't want it back, but I plan on paying it after the new year. Try to get some sleep. e-mail me anytime! shellyvance@hotmail. com Leanne**not to be nosy, but how do you react when Cynthia wets herself? She might be doing it to get your attention. Specially, if you are busy cleaning or taking care of the little one. I'm not trying to imply anything, it is just a thought. Kahne**I feel horrible for your friend. Why didn't they do an emergency c-section right there? Well, Riley is up and still cranky. Love to all! Shelly & Riley 20 months Saturday, December 11, 1999 at 20:27:17 (EST)) Good evening, Mommies: My name is Dawn Fields. I use to post for a while but I then went on maternity leave and didn't have access to a computer. I have recently purchased one and now "TADAH" I'm back on line. Just to let you know, I have an 18 month old DD whose name is Erica and a five month old DS whose name is Eli. You may remember me. I was the one whose children spend the week at their grandmother's house and I only got to see them on the weekends. I am now a SAHM and loving it. I haven't had time to read any post, I'm also on Babies Today (it's a job trying to read both post). Anyway, I'm going to catch up so that I can know what happening with you ladies. Take care and I'll post again tomorrow. Dawn Dawn Fields email: ShmooDJE@aol.com Saturday, December 11, 1999 at 22:39:23 (EST)) Hi Mommies, it's Judy!! I'm baaaaack!! The last time I posted was the first day of my maternity leave. That was back in mid October!! I had my little Michael David right on his due date of October 25th. He was 9 lbs. 8 oz. He spent the first 9 hours of his life in NICU because he had trouble breathing. He was pale and grey when he came out but he recovered quickly. Elijah, now 19 mos, is adjusting well to his new baby brother. My runny-nosed Elijah gave Michael a kiss on the face when Michael was 3 weeks old. A few days later, Michael and I were in the hospital. Michael had RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). It's like a cold for an adult but very serious for a newborn. We were in the hospital for 4 days. He's now 6 weeks old and doing better. It takes a while for the virus to leave his system. I have a question for you mommies. All along, Elijah has absolutely LOVED his tubby time, but for the past couple weeks, he doesn't want to take a tubby. He would play and play in the tub, sometimes for a half hour. Now, all I can do is shampoo his hair and he wants to get right out. Tonight, I noticed that he cried even harder after he looked at the drain. Could he be frightened of it? It seems strange because he likes to pull the stopper to let the water out. We've always said "bye-bye" to the water. I've never made it a big deal about the water. It's just one of many steps we go through during tubby time. I need advice from you all about what to do to alleviate his fear of the tubby. Judy and Elijah (19 mos) email: jhintz@manu.com Saturday, December 11, 1999 at 23:12:57 (EST)) |