Cheerfully child-free. Anyone else?

[luvwinnie]

*bump*

Yes, furbaby brags are welcome here

 

[GoofyDad869]

OT warning...

Maddhatir - regarding 'microbursts' from a couple days ago / couple of pages ago, here's a couple of links about 'em...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microburst

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wmcrbrst/wmcrbrst.htm


We had a microburst about 6-7 years ago at our old house that snapped a 30-foot tall top of an oak tree (meaning the oak tree was about 50 feet tall before the storm, 20 feet tall after) in our backyard. It was really freaky. I've experienced several tornados (grew up in Southern IN, the armpit of Tornado Alley) and I'd never seen anything quite like it. 1/4 mile away there was no apparent damage.


OT warning ended. Carry on about your business... (If this had been an actual emergency you would have been instructed on where to go in the event of an actual emergency. This was only a test...)

 

[Hixski]

Here is a photo of my furbaby Duncan. He loves to wear things on his head.

 

[JuliaEeyore]

Hi everyone!

I haven't read thru the entire thread, but we are most definitely child-free. I'm not big on kids and neither is my DH...

It's been tough being surrounded by all of my girlfriends and my husband's buddies having kid after kid. We're surrounded by them, and while I love them because they are our closest friends' children, and I enjoy buying them goodies and seeing them, I'm never quite sure how to handle being around them... I try my hardest though.

My BIL just got married to a girl who wants a truck load of kids and SOON, so I'm going to become an aunt quickly, I think, and I'm honestly not thrilled... I hate when people hand me their babies, assuming I'll want to hold them. (I don't. Lucky for me all of my close friends know me very well. ) And I'm sure it's just going to be assumed that because s/he is my neice/nephew I will want to love all over her/him. I like to love babies and kids from a distance.

I'm a fur-mom though, and probably a hypocrite because I obsess over my dog like a child. Because he's a bulldog, I have diaper cream, wet ones, baby powder, and many other baby-like items around the house, to which many react "But you would make such a good mom! You're already prepared!" Not really. We also love Disney, and Disney movies, and tend to have a lot of fun, funky stuff in our house... even our closest friends and families sometimes don't understand why two really fun 29 & 30 year olds don't want kids. But I'm lucky that most have just accepted the fact, and I only get into the good ol' discussion a couple of times a year.

So this is Grover... he's 5 and we've had him since he was 11 weeks old.

Julia

 

[JuliaEeyore]

Can I brag about our "baby" bulldog here? Here is Winnie:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/42436/message/1156779991/My+trip+to+Maine...

Anyone else?

Ah ha ha ha! Hi Michele! I didn't even scroll up to see that you were here. I only read the first few pages of the thread. Hee hee! Love that Winnie girl...

 

[Fitswimmer]

Countdown to HHI is in single digits! Of course, now we have the Ernesto issue and worry about driving through it or what damage he might do in HHI.
Never a dull moment.

 

[luvwinnie]

Ah ha ha ha! Hi Michele! I didn't even scroll up to see that you were here. I only read the first few pages of the thread. Hee hee! Love that Winnie girl...

I didn't realize you were "in this club"!!! SO happy to hear it though. By the way, we have a bumper sticker that says "My bulldog is smarter than your honor student"...

 

[Hixski]

I didn't realize you were "in this club"!!! SO happy to hear it though. By the way, we have a bumper sticker that says "My bulldog is smarter than your honor student"...

My golden retriever IS smarter than some of those honor students. And their parents too.

 

[Jennasis]

I see...well I don't see Me (at 30) and DH (at33) "maturing" into parents anytime soon. All I will say is that medically, it's been taken care of..eh hem... It was a conscious choice we made, and we're quite happy about it.

When DH gets promoted in another 1 1/2 years we will (God willing) buy into DVC!! So exciting! In the meantime, our nurturing instincts are being fed by loving each other, our 2 wonderful dogs, 4 beautiful horses, and 4 crazy barn cats.

 

[maddhatir]

HA! Love the honor student/pup comments!

Who really cares anyway? Newsflash people! I bet 90% of the people that see your HS bumper sticker say the same thing!

I LOVE my niece and nephews, but when they act up- sorry- I get the same feelings inside that I get when I see someone elses kids act up! EEEK STOP IT! and then my heart starts to race and I sweat! but in the end I still love mine!

AND! Why is it- some of your friends that are just obsessed with their kids want you to share in their obsession!? Do they NOT understand you are childless for a reason!?

 

[JuliaEeyore]

I didn't realize you were "in this club"!!! SO happy to hear it though. By the way, we have a bumper sticker that says "My bulldog is smarter than your honor student"...

Yep!!! My husband married me because I told him on one of our first dates that "If I could, I'd rather physically be able to have puppies than babies..." I may have had a few glasses of wine at that point, but that sealed the deal that I was the "One"!!! And Grover came shortly thereafter.

I've got the bumper sticker too!!! Never put it on the car though.

 

[luvwinnie]

Yep!!! My husband married me because I told him on one of our first dates that "If I could, I'd rather physically be able to have puppies than babies..." I may have had a few glasses of wine at that point, but that sealed the deal that I was the "One"!!! And Grover came shortly thereafter.

I've got the bumper sticker too!!! Never put it on the car though.

Too funny!!!! What part of CT are you in? I mean, close to NYC? PM if you can.

 

[goofygirl]

RE: "my kid is an honor student" stickers- does anyone actually read those things and think, "Wow! I am sooo impressed!" ?? The answer is NO.

Plus they are teaching their kids that it's ok to brag and show off.

One parody I love is "Your honor student screwed up my McDonalds order!" LOL!

 

[SplshMtn99]

RE: "my kid is an honor student" stickers- does anyone actually read those things and think, "Wow! I am sooo impressed!" ?? The answer is NO.

Plus they are teaching their kids that it's ok to brag and show off.

One parody I love is "Your honor student screwed up my McDonalds order!" LOL!

 

[Hixski]

RE: "my kid is an honor student" stickers- does anyone actually read those things and think, "Wow! I am sooo impressed!" ?? The answer is NO.

Plus they are teaching their kids that it's ok to brag and show off.

One parody I love is "Your honor student screwed up my McDonalds order!" LOL!

I have seen one that says: "My juvenile delinquent can beat up your honor student."

 

[jenm2878]

Fencesitters tend to be more "loose" in the birth control dept- they are not as strict on using it every time, and in most cases have not done anything permanent (tubal or vas, etc).

Hmm....I'm a "fence sitter" who is leaning more towards no kids. I want to want children but don't so far. I'm vigilant about birth control, love the alone time w/DH and the extra money......can I be childfress? (Child-free child-less combo) Is that allowed?

 

[LindsayDunn228]

RE: "my kid is an honor student" stickers- does anyone actually read those things and think, "Wow! I am sooo impressed!" ?? The answer is NO.

Plus they are teaching their kids that it's ok to brag and show off.

One parody I love is "Your honor student screwed up my McDonalds order!" LOL!

I know. I think, "Oh brother. Who cares??!"

 

[plgrn]

Hmm....I'm a "fence sitter" who is leaning more towards no kids. I want to want children but don't so far. I'm vigilant about birth control, love the alone time w/DH and the extra money......can I be childfress? (Child-free child-less combo) Is that allowed?

This is me too, so I guess we're here allowed or not! I wish I wanted kids, but I just DON'T. Glad that makes sense to someone besides me.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Why is it- some of your friends that are just obsessed with their kids want you to share in their obsession!?

People like to have their choices validated by others. We've seen threads on this forum about how insulted Disney fans feel when co-workers or family members make derogatory comments about their choice of a vacation spot. When I say that I don't want kids or that I'm happy without them, it makes those that have kids feel like I'm insulting their choice. I'm not, and when they think about it a minute intellectually they know I'm not-but the emotion kicks in and they feel disapproval even when it isn't there.
We're also a minority, and any minority is fighting an uphill battle for acceptance. There is a strong genetic impulse to reproduce that is kind of hard wired, and I think some of the condemnation we feel from others is a reaction to that impulse. We CF folks are not pulling our weight for the tribe-even though there is no real need for EVERYONE to reproduce in today's world to keep the tribe going. I tease my cousin all the time that with his 5 kids, he covered my reproductive requirement!

 

[Jennasis]

I need a bumper sticker that says "My (insert dog breed here) is smarter than your honor student".

At least I'll never have to worry if my greyhound has been out drinking, running with a bad crowd, smoking pot, getting bad grades, etc........