Het gang! It's time for me to check in again.
Terry - Congrats on Robby doing so well on the SAT testing. Devin has also been on the radar screens of Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth for a few years. He took the PLUS test in the 5th grade (when he was 10). He also scored in the top 20% and was honored at an awards ceremony. (For those that don't know, the PLUS test is normally given to 8th graders and Devin was scored against that age group.) I've been debating whether we are going to have him take the SAT or not since he's already on their mailing list and the fact that it costs to take the test. (Why spend the money again, when they are already aware of him?) I'm glad that you like your PDA. I've had a Palm Tungsten C for a few years and I love it.
Andy - So your ancestors hail from Germany, huh? I wonder if we're related somewhere along the line. My dad had our family tree traced back to the 11th century in Germany. Unfortunately, I never got a copy of it before he died. I just hope that my step-mom comes across it in storage sometime. I hope that Angelina feels better soon.
Ed - I can definitely sympathize with both the allergies and the sprained ankle. I hope that both improve soon. Glad to hear that you suvived the birthday party. I'm just glad that Devin's dad is handling it this year.
Ginny - Way to go on the job in Florida. Isn't it great when your dreams work out?
Tina - 8 vials of blood? Boy, the local vampire must have been extra hungry that day. I hope that everything works out!
Darlene - I'm sorry to hear that Stan has to go under the knife again. Hopefully if they can get rid of the offending section of colon causing him problems, then maybe he'll stop having so many problems. Keep us posted and I'll keep my fingers crossed!
Doreen - Glad to hear that Marty's surgery went well and that he's up and around.
Lyn - So you're heading out to Disney on my birthday, huh? Can I come along (as a birthday present)? LOL Sorry to hear about your Mom's vertigo. Been there, done that! It's no fun! I was having problems with vertigo last winter. It turned out that I had severe fluid build-up in my inner ear, enough that my ear drum was bulging (no infection though). I continued to have problems until we could get the fluid to drain.
Sue - Glad to hear that your 'holiday' in August has been paid for now. I just recently got this cruise paid off. Now I need to take care of the air travel part of it. Wish Vicki luck on her exams, even if it is only 'practice' this time. At least it should show her what areas she will need to work on before the 'official' exam.
Bev/Lindz - Glad the surgery went well and thanks for letting us know, Lindz!
Marla - Welcome! Don't worry! We have a fairly large group here and there are quite a few teenagers and young adults in the group. I'm sure that you'll find someone to hang out with in short order.
Barb - So sorry to hear about the problems with your brother. I think that I can empathize better than most in this group. (Okay - so now we're going to get into some of the soap-opera I avoided disclosing a few weeks ago.) I also have a brother that is a major problem child/black sheep (but in my case, it's my older brother). He's been unemployed for a couple of years and he was evicted a few months ago. He and his wife have been camping out in the pasture (belonging to my aunt) behind my lot for the last 6-8 weeks. You have to understand what this is doing to me. He and his wife have had drug problems off and on for the last 15+ years. They have stolen from me and lied to my face about it on more than one occassion. And now he is living about 50 feet behind my back yard. It totally stinks! But because it was my Mom that gave them permission to be there I can't do anything about it. Unfortunately, my stress level has been pretty high.
Hugs and good wishes for anyone I missed.
Now for an update on us.
Yesterday was Devin's last day of school. He's exited about summer vacation. (Boy, I wish I was a kid again. I'd love to have a summer vacation.) He turns 13 on Sunday. I'M NOT READY FOR A TEENAGER, YET! His party is tomorrow at his dad's house. Then next week I get to claim a different age as well. However, I subscribe to my mom's philosophy. Now that I've hit 40, I'm going to start working backwards. That way when I'm in my second childhood, I'll be acting my age. (You should have heard the harrassment I got the year she 'got younger' than me!)
I'm looking forward to our vacation at the end of July. We are going to hit Annaheim for a week. I can't wait! (I just have to make sure that I get someone to housesit for me while I'm gone. I don't like the idea of leaving it empty for a week with my brother in the backyard.)
I'm officially working from home full time now. The home office is set up and I'm completely moved out of the office. I love not having to drive 20 minutes to work anymore!
Well, I think that this post has gotten long enough. I'll try to stay in the loop better now that things aren't quite so hectic.
Dori
and
's.. i will update you guys more later on
What a nice graduation present. 
We aren't taking the kids on this cruise.
Please jump into the conversation here whenever and wherever you like. We're a very friendly bunch, and we have all age groups. 
And it's great to hear from you again! You know, regarding the SATs, we debated about whether Robby should take them, and back a few years Craig also qualified through the John Hopkins program, whether HE should take them, and thats when my mother got real ill, so I never did register Craig to take the SATs when he was in middle school, but when Robby qualified last year in 7th grade (due to his high MCAS scores from testing in 6th grade), we talked to him about and he WANTED to take it. lol He looked forward to taking it again this year, and now he wants to know if he can take it EVERY year during high school too. LOL Neither of my kids get stressed over tests and in fact they enjoy taking tests, so that's why we let Robby do it. And now when he takes them for college, he'll already know what to expect. Congrats to Devin for qualifiying! That alone is a great accomplishment 
I'm sorry to hear about the stress from your brother 
No wonder you're concerned about leaving your house alone. 
I'd love to say a real "HELLO!" to everyone there 
