The Official New Mom Thread Part 2

[zalansky]

Hi ladies, just checking in.

Alice - I wanted to let you know prayers are being sent for your friend Marylou and her family.

I will catch up tomorrow with you ladies.

 

[nucpharm29]

Alice--I will keep Marylou and her family in my prayers
As for the house, it's so nice!! I love the pic of the backyard and the spiral staircase! We have lots of houses in our neighborhood that have been on the market for a couple of months and nothing is selling--I'm thinking had we moved a month later we could've gotten a really good deal on our house--anyway, I would say keep on checking on it and if it still doesn't sell, make an offer-all they can do is counteroffer or refuse it--no harm in trying!

lissawyn--the comment about the bug was too funny! Good luck with your doctor's appt.

fabumouse--hope your allergies are getting better

Tasha--great news on the grades!

HI to everyone else--My brain is really foggy right now! Sorry! Well, I got 4 new tires today at the lovely price of $640!!! Okay, so that included labor and alignment, but guess what I'm getting for Christmas this year--Ha!! DH called today to ask if the tires looked nice--Yeah, I guess they look like tires and smell like new rubber--guess that's a good thing I got most of my buddy shopping done today! I had fun just roaming the stores looking for things--I tried to be a little more creative then the last one I did. Well, going to hit the hay!

 

[nucpharm29]

0.07 click on Sunshine right now!!!

 

[J&D]

My "morning sickness" is back.

nucpharm- I was coming here to post that. Love those high value clicks!!! Sorry the tires cost so much.

fabumouse- Hope you feel better soon. We are all suffering from allergies here as well.

DisKim- Glad to hear that your kids are still behaving well. That makes going to work each day a little easier (at least it did for me). When I was pregnant I had my worst group of kids in my 10 years of teaching, so I hated going to work each day. I was so glad that I was able to take 12 weeks of leave.

Alice- That house is beautiful. I also agree that you should make an offer. You never know... Prayers for MaryLou and her DH.

lissawynn- Good luck with your appt. I assume they will schedule your US soon. Aren't you planning on finding out the sex? If so, I can't wait to find out.

 

[Ginamarie]

Alice- I’m sorry to hear about your friend

Fabumouse- my allergies have been getting awful this week as well. I hate allergy season!

Nucpharm- those tires sound really expensive! It’s funny how we take our cars for granted sometimes. They drive us around every day and then we get upset when the maintenance is so expensive. I had to put new brakes in mine recently for $800 (ouch!) Thanks for the heads up on the .07 cent click!

I also got my exchange shopping done today. There were so many cute Halloween things that it was hard to pick. I also got into Target just as they were filling the 75% off baby clothing racks. I got a bunch of pants and sweaters for Olivia for $1.98. They even had a flowered denim jacket for $3.50. So now I love the Target near the new house. It looks like they don’t get much business there, so the selection is good and there was a lot of stuff on clearance.

OK, bedtime for me. Actually, showertime and then bedtime. DH is off tomorrow, so we get to do some fun things like go to the DMV and town hall. Oh, and I start classes tomorrow night. Did anyone watch Dancing with the Stars tonight?

 

[Alice28]

Thanks guys, for offering up some prayers for MaryLou and her family. We all pitched in a few bucks to send her some flowers to let her know we're thinking of her. I don't even know this woman nearly as well as I know you guys, but I cannot imagine my DH being in the hospital for something like that, you know?

That house is so pretty, isn't it? The thing of it is, is that right now our mortgage, taxes and insurance are under $950. That's less than 20% of DH's income, which is really, really smart financially, at least for us. Calculating the mortgage, even if we could somehow get it down to $300K, and put almost 90K down, it would be a $1500 mortgage, plus taxes and insurance. Technically we could do it, but it's so nice having breathing room most of the time, you know? I prayed about it a little today, and I guess if it's meant to be, it will stay on the market another 6 months while we get our last credit card paid off and get some money into savings. The one thing I noticed right off the bat is the stairs that go up (those spiral stairs are on the middle level and they go down to the basement), are in like a closet- you open a door to the staircase. So cute, right? But my immediate thought after 'cute' is "how the he** do you get a king sized mattress up that? There's only about a 6 and a half foot clearance!" A window would probably need to be taken out.

Hope SL is doing OK; haven't heard from her today. And we never heard from Gretchen after she got back from WDW, did we? She's probably busy with school starting.

alisa- how was your appt? Isn't your US in a couple weeks! Yes, all the baby's DIS 'Aunties' are dying to know the gender!

Kim- glad your students are still hanging in there. Maybe with this job offer thing for your DH, he will realize he is wanted, and my boost his ego about applying for jobs in NC?

Nucpharm- Tires- I am afraid what they will cost me for the tribeca- they have HUGE tires. I think when DH got the Outback's replaced it was close to $500. Oh, well, at least you got it done, right? And THANKS for the headsup on Sunshine! I'm almost at $10 now, and I want the Borders GC for a France tourbook.

I'm still waiting for my Target cashout card I did two weeks ago. I forgot it was coming, but then remembered and I hope it comes tomorrow or Thursday so it can help pay for the diapers, Star Wars game, mini vacuum, etc., etc., etc!

J&D- you know, in the end I didn't care that Booger won it. Whatever.

BNB- did you figure out if chocolate was the culprit in Luke's behavior? Thanks for the encouraging words about the house- there are SEVERAL in this neighborhood, more than the one that's up for sale, that are my dream homes. There is one almost literally around the corner where I have told DH from practically day 1 of living here, "If that house goes on the market, we're buying it." I think a realtor lives in it, and she keeps it very nice. Another 3 story historical.

GM- Oh, I can imagine what that would sell for on Long Island. My parents sold their 3 bdrm 3 bath, 2000 sq ft home in San Jose for close to $700K. Prices here in Portland are still sort of doable, but moreso if you are a two income family. It's just prices in Oregon City alone jumped 23% last year; our house for example, went from about $190 to $220-225, or so a realtor told me when he was selling our neighbor's house. He said maybe even $240 if I let him walk on the inside. I was like, "That's ok...we're not selling." The thing is though, I think we could probably sell our house in a week or less., because there seriously aren't very many houses that are decent under $250,000 anymore. Someone would feel like they were getting a diamond in the rough with our house. OK, enough house babble. LOVE That you have a good Target! My closest one isn't my favorite; the one about 10 minutes further is a bigger, newer Target that doesn't get as much traffic, so they always have T-Riffic sales stuff. I'm glad you scored Olivia some clothes!

Fab- you know, I like the smell of coffee, I don't mind the taste of it, I just have never developed the habit. And god knows there is a Starbucks or other coffee chain about every 2 blocks here in Oregon. Cripes. It cracks me up sometimes. Near the mall, I think there are at least 3 if not 4 in about a .3 of a mile radius.

Hope you and GM's allergies ease up for you!

Justhat- how are you recovering from your drive yesterday?

Well, I guess I don't know anything else. The only place I went today was the kids' open house. Same ole' same ole'. Sam's teacher is also the volleyball coach at the district I used to work for; the girls I all had in Extended Day are all in high school (or beyond) now- I wonder if any of my girls are on her team? I should have asked. The thing about when I worked Ex Day....some kids I had every day, of almost the entire year, for 5 years, so they really felt like my kids sometimes! I still think about some of them.

 

[J&D]

Ginamarie- I watched BB, but I taped Dancing with the Stars. Don't know when I'll be able to watch it. Gotta love Target! Enjoy DH's day off, and good luck with your classes.

Alice- I didn't want either to win. I thought Booger did a better job of answering the jurors' questions. Erika talked like she was responsible for everything that went down in the house. I guess that is why she only got one vote. I loved how they showed Booger DISing Erika, and I would like to know how she is "really feeling" about Booger now. Still wanting to have his baby, "Ho" (as Booger called her-not me)? I think Janie deserved the money, but I also would have loved for CG to have won it (like I think Dani shouted).

Can't wait for Survivor and Amazing Race to start! Those are my two favorite reality shows.

GLT- How is your DH tonight?

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!!!

 

[T16GEM]

Robin - We have a Pumpkin Patch store in our shopping centre, and we love the things from there!! Shelby has a few outfits and they are so cute. I am keeping your friend in my thoughts.

Lissa - The bug cocoon was hilarious! Thats the kind of thing my DH would say! Shelby quite often picks things up and eats them before I have a chance to see what they are, I think she was chowing on a piece of carpet fluff on Monday night eggghhh!


GM - You are so lucky that you can take Olivia to work with you, I would love that!

J&D - My day wasn't oo bad except I got locked in the car park as my ticket had expired, I couldn't see an expiry date on it but apparently it has one?!? I ended up wasting 20 minutes trying to get out!


Kim - Sorry you lost your post! Annoying when that happens isn't it. Hang in their with your school kids!

Oh gotta go, hi to all the other mommies I missed.

Gems

 

[nucpharm29]

Morning all!
We're getting ready to head out to gymnastics, so I'll make this quick! Hey, ya'll that do the reward sites, MyPoints and Sunshine, do any of your DH's think you're crazy like mine does???? I told him just keep on lauging b/c once the gift cards start rolling in they're all for me!!!! I'm excited b/c of that 0.07 click on Sunshine last night it pushed me over $30 so I ordered my first Disney dollars!!!

ginamarie--we are big Dancing with the Stars fans here--Emma loves to watch the dancing--last season it would come on and she would tell me that she was going to dance the samba!! It was hilarious!

Alice--that staircase sounds pretty scary! Pretty cool at house much your house has increased in the past years! At least you know you could get some good equity if it ever needed to be sold!

Okay, that's it for now! Time to get ready! Have agreat day everyone!!

 

[zalansky]

Morning ladies

nucpharm - I am up to $26 in my sunshine account. I am excited! I was thrilled when the Blockbuster online offer was $19, I signed up and that pushed my earnings way up. What do we do? Wait for cashout time? I am still not sure how it works.

BB finale last night was pretty good....even though my girl Janie didn't win it all. I am happy she got the $25k. I would love to see Janie and WIll on Amazing Race. It was pretty sad to watch Erika say the things she did and make herself look so foolish. Like she took out Chilltown? UGH. Glad she lost, even if Boogie didn't need the money. I am sad it is over though, I will miss watching them. Pathetic huh?

That focus group I went to the other night was AWESOME. They gave out cookies, sandwiches, soda, water, etc. It was easy and fun questions about an ad for cosmetic surgery. There were 7 of us and we all laughed and had a good time, walked out the door and were handed $100 each.
I hope I can do it again soon. Being in an office envrironment made me miss working again...I came home and told DH I should get a PT job and he said no. He thinks it is better that I stay home for now and work when Cam gets to pre-school. Mind you, this is the same man who never wanted me to stay home at all. She won't be in pre-school for another 3 years because her bday is a few days after the cutoff here so she will be the oldest in her class and it stinks because she will have to wait an entire extra year to start school just because of a few days. I don't know that I can wait 3 full years before I work again. I really miss it!!!

Anyway I have to hop in the shower. Have a good day girls.

 

[lissawynn]

Hey all. I'm caught up (for now) with my students' 5x each, so I'm treating myself to a pack of pb crackers, the 80s station on Yahoo, and a post. It is cold and rainy here today, which makes a hour drive to the drs so much more fun. I made dinner for tonight on Monday night, so DH will have food when he gets home. I was bad and didn't finish last night's dishes. Who wants to bet DH will be too "busy" to wash them?

Jimmy was in rare form yesterday. He fell back to sleep from about 5:15-6ish. I tried to give him dinner, but he threw everything. He did have a container of yogurt. Then the screaming started. I did get him in the tub. DH's sister came to visit w/ one of her kids. Then I watched DwtS until 10. Jimmy went in around 10 and did sleep through the night . I am so hoping this temper tantrum/screaming phase ends soon.

My level II US is on 9/25, and yes, I will be finding out the baby's sex. I am too much of a control freak to not find out. Then I can get girl clothes if I have to.

I am wearing one of my tops from Babystyle. It's really comfy. Thanks for the tip FF.

zalansky - The focus group sounds like fun. What's better than free food and money?

nucpharm - Have a good day at gymnastics.

gems - Jimmy often puts left-over pet hair in his mouth. I do run the vacuum every day, but he always manages to find the hidden stuff.

Alice - As soon as I can access a computer after the US, you all will know what we're having. I'm getting anxious about it.

Ginamarie - I watched DwtS. I think Tucker or Jerry is out tonight. Most likely it'll be Tucker. I was impressed with Emmit, Joey, and Mario.

fabumouse - I hope your allergies clear up soon.

DisKim - I hope you got your bills paid!

Time to hit the ladies' room and get some water from the cooler. TTYL!

 

[tkyes]

hi all!

I took Tyler to the dr. yesterday because his lump really started to bother him. He was itching it and crying yesterday. The Dr. doesn't think it's anything major, just a puss kind of thing (YUCK). She did want to treat the raging ear infection he has in his right ear I guess that would explain the mr. crabby pants that I've had on my hands the past couple of days. She said the antibiotic should help with the lump too.

Tyler was supposed to go to daycare today so I could work. My aunt has a migraine though and said she isn't doing daycare today. I was really looking to a day of quiet!!

I'll make a lame attempt to catch up with everyone here!

zalansky - great pictures! LOL about your family comments at WDW. Not a very smily bunch huh? You look fab by the way!

joats - Jace looks so cute by his growth chart! I'm so glad you are happy with it!

tasha - Great job with school! The growth charts are $40 and shipping has been running around $10 - $12 depending on where in the US it's going.

alice - Glad you found some fun exchange stuff. I was hoping to go out today by myself and shop in peace for my exchange. That house is beautiful!!! Prayers for Marylou and her husband. How scary.

lissawynn - LOL about the bug cocoon! It is scary what kids pick up and put in their mouth, but a bug cocoon? LOL!!

nucpharm - Ouch on the new tires. I hate boring expenses like that. Have fun at gymnastics.

ginamarie - Good deals at Target! I'm not sure who's going to go home tonight, it was a good show last night!

ok - I didn't even touch the surface on replies, but I really need to jump in the shower!!

tamie

 

[floridafam]

lissawynn,

I'm glad you found some stuff at babystyle. I ordered a bunch of baby stuff for Kona and it came yesterday. It's so cute.

Sorry you have to drive so long to your Doctor's office.

Robin,

I prayed for your friend froom the Gymbo boards. That must be so frightening. Does she know what he has?

That house looks real nice. Keep us posted if it comes down in price.

zalansky,

Sorry that you miss work. The next few years will fly by. I know what you mean about wanting to do something part time. I'm going to be in for a rude awakening when I go back into the workforce. I'm not looking forward to it. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do.

You look wonderful in your vacation photos. I love the look on your MIL's face in that one picture.

I don't even think I could go on vacation with my BIL if he was dating a NFL cheerleader. I'd probably have to hang a drool catcher on DH's mouth the whole time.

I have gone down a pant size in the last month so I am slowly on my way back to something. I don't think I will ever get back to what I looked like before I had children.

I'm glad Cameryn had a great birthday.

J&D,

So, your "morning sickness" is back, huh?

nucpharm,

Thanks for the info on the .07 click. I missed it. Oh well. Dh has a talking Stewie pen (from Family Guy) that someone gave him. I think of you every time I hear Stewie say "So broccoli, Mother says you're very good for me. Well, I'm afraid I'm no good for you."

ginamarie,

It sounds like you scored some deals at Target.


fabumouse,

I hope you feel better soon. Allergies can be awful. Do you know what you are allergic to?


Kona and I are just cleaning today. I already made dinner and I'm going to make cookies and banana bread later. YUM! I've made banana bread about 3 times in the past 2 weeks.

DH has a big day today. He has an exam and if he passes it he will get a raise and move up a level at work. I guess that's the easiest way to explain it. He has pretty much an ideal job so anything on top of that is just icing on the cake.

I made DS's teacher cry at Open House last night. I feel like such an idiot. I was talking to her about taking pictures of the class throughout the year and making a DVD at the end. I told her I just made DVDs for my family and set the pictures to music-the "Hawaiin" version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. She said "that song reminds me of my baby" and then I saw tears in her eyes. She lost a baby last year when she was 5 months pregnant. I just wanted to crawl out of school. She said it was alright and that I had no idea that song meant anything to her and not to feel bad. STILL, I hate it when I make someone feel sad.

She was such a trooper after it happened. She came back to school with a smile on her face and was only gone for 3 days! I would have had to quit probably. I sent a letter to school with DS that said I was sorry for making her sad and that I hope all of her hopes and dreams come true this year (that was the theme of the open house)

See you all later.

 

[zalansky]

FF - what did you do in your prior life, before you stayed at home with the kids? You are so good, already have dinner done AND cookies and bread later? Can I come over?

 

[Alice28]

I went back to bed for 30 minutes after getting Sam off to the bus! I woke up in the middle of a dream, and you know how you can feel so groggy when you do that? So I laid back down and waited for Molly to start hollering. It was quite indulgent to do that!

Z- there are times, often, where I miss having a life outside this house. So, I totally know what you mean by wishing to work parttime. The preschool teacher called me yesterday- my first two days are Oct 2 & 3, and basically I will just follow her around and watch. Then she said she would give me some notice of the days she wants to take off so I can plan ahead. I'm looking forward to it. The extra $$ will be just a bonus.

I'm glad you had fun at the group!

Tamie- glad Tyler is on some anti-biotics; so sorry to hear about the ear infection, but good that the meds will clear that up and the lump on his leg.

Alisa- yay that the clothes from baby style are comfy! I love comfy maternity clothes! And you do know if it's a girl, we're bringing you to the dark side of Gymboree-aholics, right? J/K, sorta....

I only watched a few snippets of DWTS last night. DH will stand BB, AR, Survivor, but he HATES that show. I said, "You best get the TV hooked back up upstairs then, because I want to watch this show!" He still hasn't hooked up our TV in our room because there is a piece missing from the cable cord thing.

FF- WTG on losing a pants size! I bet I could if I wanted to go try on clothes- I'm fairly certain I could fit in the next size down, but I would rather lose another 15 pounds before I buy all new pants. I'll just belt it for now.

I'm sorry about the incident with the kids' teacher- that's awkward, but how would you know? I love that song too- it brings tears to my eyes, I want a recording of it.

Good luck to your DH on his exam and potential pay increase!

Hi Gems! Bummer about the ticket!

Oh, I believe MaryLou's DH is a diabetic, from what I can gather. (He's 6'8" and 400 pounds, and is in his 40s....she mentioned something earlier that made me think diabetes, but I can't remember what). I believe he had a sore on his leg or foot earlier this summer, and never got it properly treated; so I believe he developed this raging infection, which can be very serious in diabetics because of their poor circulation. She posted either late last night or this morning that he seems to be in a bit better spirit, but physically things are not any better at all. Worse, his family is coming to town and I guess they are just jerks. MaryLou is keeping her sense of humor, but I can tell she is just at her wits. Thank you again for thinking of her and keeping her family in your thoughts.

TTYL!

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

ARGH! I had a post all typed out since this morning that I finally got around to finish and it disappeared!

Anyway, just checking in! I've been super busy at work and with getting my nephews' gifts and things together for their party this weekend. Then I ended up getting sucked into all 2 hours of Dancing with the Stars last night.

I've missed so much...
Alice - Prayers to your friend Mary Lou and her DH. How scary.

GLT - Hope your DH is feeling better.

Hi to everyone else! There's no way I could re-type all that stuff because I have a few things I need to do on my lunch break and I only get a half hour. Hope everyone has a great day.

 

[justhat]

SL, I feel the pain as the same thing just happened to me! I felt kinda sick the past 2 days so I didn't get a chance to post much, so I finally caught up now and the whole post vanished! Very annoying.

Well now Madison has woken up Henry so he crying to be fed. Stupid move on my part to let him nap on the floor where she could harass him. He was laying on his baby gym and looked so peaceful till she finished lunch. Great, she just said she had an accident in her pants. What a great day!

 

[floridafam]

zalansky,

I worked for a retired FBI Special Agent In Charge, a retired US Marshal and a retired IRS Criminal Investigations Divison gentleman that started their own security consulting firm. It was THE MOST INTERESTING job I have ever had. I did everything. I really learned a lot. Of course, they are hugely successful now and I'm not there.

Before that, I worked political campaigns. The last one I worked was for a man who was running for Attorney General of Michigan. He lost. I did make some great contacts and I have great references but there really isn't any hope of doing anything like that down here. My politics have changed a little over the years, too. I see myself doing something totally different. I love food so I thought about maybe applying to one of the local bakeries around here. I'd be doing something I love which would make me happy.



Robin,

I bought the song off itunes. Do you use any music download sites? I just love it.



Gotta go get the kids.

 

[nucpharm29]

justhat--sorry to hear that Henry is up and Madison had an accident! That reminds me that Emma hasn't been to the potty lately--better get on that so we don't have an accident ourselves!

FF--LOL about that pen!!!! Where did he get it--I've got to get one!!!!

Lissawyn--if you are having a girl we will definitely be bringing you to the dark side of shopping for her!!! IMHO shopping for little girls is tons better than shopping for boys!

z--you don't have to wait for a specific cashout time with Sunshine. As long as you have at least $20 you can either cashout to Paypal or get a giftcard/Disney dollars. I waited until I had $30 b/c I wanted the $30 in Disney dollars (that way I wouldn't be tempted to use my $$ on other things but vacation!)

Your focus group sounds like fun! What could be more fun than being paid to talk about plastic surgery! I keep telling DH that when I start working again that I'm going to have a plastic surgery fund to put my b00bs back where they belong and to get a tummy tuck!


Okay, ya'll, I need some advice from those of you who use a home daycare. I am pretty sure that I am going to start watching a friend of a friend's little boy when she returns to work parttime. It will be 2 days a week, Tues 8-5 and then Fri. from 8-3--Where I need the advice is what to charge her?? She is willing to pay $145 for daycare (fulltime) even if they don't need it, so her little one will have someplace to go. I am just so lost as to how much people actually charge for these things. I going to meet with her and her husband next week, and she wants me to kind of have the $$$ thing figured out to let her know. Any advice would be helpful!

 

[Alice28]

Nuc- I think $145 for two days is really great! I know I paid my babysitter (who ran a business inside her home, so she had up to 7-8 kids at a time), about $95 a week a few years ago, so $145 is really top notch pay in my eyes! When I watched BF's child 2-3 years ago, she paid me $25 a day, for about 4-5 hours a day. Good luck!

FF- I followed your lead and already have dinner going in the crock pot. And laundry going. I just need to get in the shower now, as soon it will be time to walk Josh to the bus! He gets up so late (9:30) he throws me as far as scheduling goes. I feed him breakfast and the school is offering lunch for kindergartners now, and he thinks that is way cool, so I am sending money so he can buy lunch at school like a big boy.

OK, off to the shower I go, and then I think I will stop and pay their soccer fees, and go to TarJay....I cannot resist the calling anymore.