The Official New Mom Thread Part 2

[justhat]

Lissawynn - Henry spent lots of time in his bouncy seat the first month of his life as he loved sleeping there. I still put him in it now, and let him nap in it the other day after you mentioned it. Not sure why I didn't think of it, but it was a great way to keep him semi-upright since he was fighting the swing. I didn't buckle him in and when he woke up he literally almost fell out by arching his back and scooting out. Only his head was still on the seat when I got to him and it was maybe a minute since I heard him wake up. Reminder to me that they become all too soon!

Enjoy Thanksgiving, hopefull sans drama. Who wants that around a holiday, and you're pregnant so you shouldn't have to deal with stress.

Joats - I forgot about it, but like Tasha and SL said, our ped told us to give Madison a lot of high calorie foods and make lots of snacks accessible by leaving little containers around the house. I bought those little Gladware containers, the smallest size, and filled them with Teddy Grahams, cereals, etc. and placed them around the house at her height. She even said to feed her stuff like hot dogs and ice cream cause most kids will eat that and they'll pack on some weight. Unfortunately for us, though she liked them, Madison would still only eat a small amount of even junky kid food. She wouldn't touch chicken nuggets or burgers till she was over 2yo so that didn't help us either. I thought school would help since they offer a ton of food for snack everyday but she wouldn't eat anything for months and when she did start eating (only after she turned 2) it was crackers only.

Another thing that helped us was that Madison loved oatmeal so I made it every morning for breakfast and then mixed in baby food fruits and veggies. That way I knew that regardless of what she ate the rest of the day she at least got some kind of nutrient in once. She never noticed a difference in taste and sometimes even ate the whole packet, which for her was a miracle. Even now I do that on the mornings that I can steer her away from the sugary cereals that she and her daddy love.

Good luck with the food battle. If it's any consolation, Madison is now in the 25th percentile for weight, so she's come a long way.

Nucpharm - I hope Matthew starts feeling better. I hope the random virus doesn't last too long. The sleepless nights are rough. Worse I think than having a newborn.

I have a kinda complaint to share with you ladies. I think I mentioned that we're going on DCL in February during my husband's 2nd vacation block. Over on the DCL forum there's a thread for people on our cruise so I joined. One of the posters asked who would be getting up at 3am on 11/19 to book dining/excursions/Flounder's and everyone on the thread replied that they would not be, that it was insane, they'd leave things to fate and book when they normally woke up for the day, etc. (For those who haven't been on DCL, or like me not since you could book online, they make the reservation system available online, 105 days out for Cat 1-3 rooms, 90 days out for CC members, and 75 days out for 1st time cat 4-12 cruisers. The date we're talking about is CC members.) Well yesterday morning my husband and I got up to book our Flounder's times and Palo reservations (no, not at 3am cause I'm way too sleep deprived to do that-in fact I was up at 2:45 feeding Henry and laughed at the idea of getting on the computer) and there was a problem with Palo, some IT problem that said they were all booked but had never been released. Why do I know that they weren't released at all? Cause every member of the cruise thread who said they were not getting up at 3am got up at 3am and got the message about no Palo at exactly 3am. So I'm annoyed that I can't book Palo yet cause I have my Flounder's times and now just kinda have to hope that Palo fits in, but more annoyed that everyone said they were not getting up at 3am and then they did! I feel like they all said that to "throat" everyone else, so they could get the Palo times they wanted while the rest of us slept. I know, not a big deal in the grand scheme, but I just feel so deceived. I mean, if they said "I'm getting up at 3am" I still would not have so it's not like it would have changed what I did, but more the point that they all lied.

Anyway, I have to get dressed while Henry is still asleep but then I'll be back if time permits, meaning he's still asleep. My husband took Madison to school on his way to work today so I got to relax a bit this morning.

 

[Alice28]

I am up already. The boys have their conferences at 8 and 8:30, so I needed to get up when DH left. Tired. Molly had a heck of a night and ended up in bed with us. I need to do a million things after the conferences, and I have the feeling she will be a crankibutt about it. The boys have the whole week off of school....

Just an FYI- one set of PJs is off the list for GLTs kidlets.

Wish me luck as after I go to their conferences, we have Trader Joes to go to, the mall to get something and some Disney Dollars, and then I want to go to Target, but I'm thinking that will just have to wait until Wednesday or Friday.

Nucpharm- I am sorry Matthew is so sick. Poor little guy.

Joats- I don't really have too much advice about Jace's weight, but maybe try the pediasure and just whatever he will eat! Have you tried giving him anything new? Molly is probably the chunkiest of my 3 kids at this age- she loves to eat! Esp her meat- it's kind of weird sometimes.

lissa- good luck with your glucose test. I hope they at least chill the extra sugar laden Orange Crush like stuff. (that's how I always explained it anyway). My doctor's office kept it ice cold, which helped.

OK, I need to get myself ready, and then get breakfast of some sort ready, so we can just pile in the car in an hour and go. My kids are so not going to be happy. I let the boys stay up til 10 last night watching movies.

 

[Ginamarie]

I’m way behind.. I know!

Bella- CONGRATULATIONS on your new daughter. She’s beautiful!!! I can’t believe she almost showed up in Pizza Hut.

SL- I HATE getting lost while driving around. I always mapquest directions to wherever I’m going, even if I’ve been there a few times before, just in case. Up until recently, I kept directions to some of the local courts in my car, because I was afraid of missing the exits. I don’t blame you for turning around and going home.

Lissawynn- I’m so sorry you’re having all those contractor problems.

Joats- I’ve seen the Magic Kingdom game, but never played it before. It sounds like a lot of fun.

DisKim- Great job with the shopping! I’m supposed to do the bulk of my Thanksgiving shopping this afternoon with DBro’s fiancé. It’s funny how a lot of people are leaving “professional” jobs these days because they’re not making any money. I know a lot of attorneys who are doing non-attorney jobs, because they’re unhappy and/or not making any money. One of them now works for a card-board box company.
Emmy sounds like such a sweetheart. I’m sorry she’s having trouble with basketball. Maybe your DH can spend some time practicing with her?

Fabs- I hate when DH has to work on the weekend too (which is every weekend!).

Alice- you’re really going to love the Mac stroller. They’re so sturdy! Thanks for organizing a list for GLT.

GLT- I’ve been saying prayers for you and your family all weekend. I’m sorry that you have to go through this tough time, but we’re all here for you whenever you need to talk.

Zalansky- I’m glad you’re being so strong during this time.

Tasha- The pageant sounds like a really interesting experience.

Val- Have a great time at your reunion. Mine was a few weeks ago, but I didn’t attend.

Dizagain- Hannah is too cute about Candyland!

Nucpharm- I hope matthew gets better in time for Thanksgiving.

Justhat- I can’t believe all those people got up at 3 am when they said they wouldn’t! Usually the disboards are such a nice place to be that it’s surprising to get deceived like that.

This week is going to stink. My mom is working every day and having dental work done this morning. We all have deadlines for stuff, and I have to do all the general cleaning and shopping for Thanksgiving.

Plus I’m pretty sure Olivia is teething. I can see the teeth right near the surface at the top. She woke up a few times last night a little cranky, and I’m attributing it to the teeth, because she’s NEVER up at 2 am, 4 am, 6 am intervals. Also, her cheeks are kind of red. I don’t know if that actually has anything to do with teething though or if it’s just a coincidence.

MIL decided that she’s going to take Olivia for Christmas portraits, because I just don’t have any extra money in our budget for it. DH and I bought a new camera instead (mostly with our amazon gift certificates from our credit card rewards). So I know she’s going to be unhappy when she sees the new camera, even though we absolutely needed it and we used our gift certificates for it.

We got a ton of work done this weekend though. DH was incredibly helpful. The old carpeting is finally out of our entranceway and now lining the attic floor. The lawn is mowed, the gutters are clean, and the leaves are raked. We also completed sorting through all of Olivia’s clothes, making a pile of things to take on vacation and getting them into her closet. Oh, and the high chair is put together. Livvie loves it actually. We have the Ocean Wonders one, which is really cute and has lots of little things for her to look at.

OK, I need to finish my Thanksgiving shopping list (finally) and get some work done. I also need to make a doctor’s appointment for this bump on my head. It’s like a big bubble, and it’s sore if you press on it. I’ve been ignoring it, but DH is urging me to get it checked out.

 

[fabumouse]

Good morning!

I'm having one of those mornings where I just cannot deal with all the crap that needs to get done. The house is a mess, there are like 5 school projects that I need to do something for - like find photos of Kailey "doing things" , letters to be written to our Congressional reps. re some local school funding issues, etc. etc. etc.

So here I am, instead.

Justhat - funny you should mention IL's calling the kids Maddy. My dh and I do not call Madeleine Maddy - we may when she's older, but for now we stick to her name. My IL's, however, call her Maddy and my FIL mostly called her the baby (I suspect he didn't like the name). FIL hasn't called since he left in a fuss 2 months ago so he doesn't call her much of anything.

And you are right - the whole swing/buckle thing is a risk that I keep taking. I don't mean to, but I set her down in the swing for a minute and sometimes she falls asleep - unbuckled. And I am NOT going to wake her up by buckling her at that point. At least I don't leave her too close to the edge of the bed like I did Kailey . . . THUD!!

I would NOT be happy if I felt like everyone was being sneaky about the Palo's reservations. OTH, we're planning on going in 2008 and if I really want Palo's guess I'll be getting up at 3am.

Robin - how did the conferences go? Did Molly cooperate?

nucpharm - oh those fevers can be so scary! I never know at what point to drag the poor sick child to the dr. office. I'm hoping Mathew feels better soon and lets you get some sleep.

Lissa - hope you get that nap in. I know I needed one almost every day of this last pregnancy. I don't think I ever got that rush of energy at the second trimester - although that is when I decided to repaint all the baseboards in the house.

Ugh. Now to write some letters to politicians.



Tasha - I hope things slow down for you soon!

ETA - Ginamarie - Please get your bump checked out! And one of my favorite attorneys just quit to become a dog trainer. I think it's great - she's going to be much happier. And although it's hard when dh has to work weekends and travel so much, I am deeply grateful that he has a good job that he likes. And MILES!!! We get lots of airline miles!

And it's infuriating to have to explain your financial decisions to someone else, isn't it? My IL's had the hardest time accepting that we bought one of the smallest houses in a high tax town - small house, big taxes - but great schools. When their kids were young, they bought a big house in a place with crappy schools. Totally different agendas.

Now I'm really gonna write those letters!

 

[zalansky]

Good morning everyone!

There is so much I want to respond to, I've got 30 minutes before I go and get Connor from school, so here it goes.

First - thank you ALL for your support, once again. I can't tell you how much it means to me.

Second - GLT - I missed your post the other night because I must have been posting at the same time. Please don't think I ignored your post! I will say that when I saw your initial post I had a feeling that was what was going on. I could tell by your posts over the past year that you were not happy and it almost seems as if you have been parenting alone. I know you can get through this and don't feel guilt about the kids. It will be better for them to grow up with a happy mom than two unhappy parents living together. Like I have said in the past I can tell you are an incredible mom and I give you so much credit. I will be praying for you and remember, when one door closes, another one opens.

Third - BELLACAM!!!!! - Welcome to your princess Bailey! I had a feeling you were having a girl and was secretly hoping that for you. She is just beautiful. And she looks sooooo alert for a newborn baby! Congrats to you and have fun buying the clothes, I know I sure have. Thank you also for sharing the pics, they made me smile.

FF - thanks to you for sharing your family Santa photos. They also made me smile. Kona cracks me up. Looks like she was distracted by everything but Santa, which is how cameryn will be too. That is if she does not run for her life.

Tasha - did you use an online coupon code for that personal creations or the other site? I forget which one you used. But they email me codes almost every day. I want to make sure you got the best price!

Joats - I can't help mich with the not eating, because Cameryn is not a great eater either. I have a hard time even getting her to finish milk botles these days. Let me know if you find any secrets! One things she will always eat however is Sweet Potatos and anything that is bad for her such as cookies, candy, etc.

Robin - I sent you a PM about the GLT thing....and thank you for being so thoughtful and putting it together. You are such a good friend.

justthat - We've been on 2 Disney cruises and though it was before pre-booking was available, we never had an issue getting ressies for Palo. I too, was on the cruise forum and people scared me that unless I was at the port first thing, before all the other passengers arrived, I'd be out of luck. Well, that turned out to be very untrue. Another thing they scared me about was if I didn't get there early that we would not be able to get any nursery spots at Flounders. Also untrue! We got every time slot we asked for and even one extra one. I would try to not worry about it too much. I don't know what it is with the thread nazis who try and worry people to death about these things.

Hi to everyone I missed, I am sorry - but I've got to get the baby up and I've got only 2 minutes for a quick update on my Dad....

I just got a call from my sister and they saw the oncologist this morning and we got some GOOD news for a change! It seems the cancer has not spread to his liver and kidneys and that is it contained and is very slow growing. So they are going to keep him in ICU a few days then move him to the hospital for 7-10 days, then to rehab to regain strength - and then he can go home and get radiation and chemo to help shrink the tumor!!!! So he may have quite a bit more time than we thought. I am so relieved about this I can't even tell you. So thank you again for all your prayers.

I will check back in later. Oh and I did manage to finally get my exchange buddy's gifts - so today I plan to get them in the mail.

 

[floridafam]

Loretta,

I just wanted to jump up out of my chair when I saw your post about the cancer not being in his liver. That is wonderful news! I was hoping that you would say that because when the liver is involved the news is usually different.

I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU AND YOUR DAD. I know you have a ways to go and he has to get his strength back but this gives you time to spend with him and to help him get through the chemo.




I'll be back later ladies. We are super busy. I had a good laugh because I just got a letter from our local Tru Green and the manager's name is Tony Orlando. I wanted to call ther and ask him if Dawn also works there. I hope at least one of you finds that funny.

 

[justhat]

Zalansky I am so happy to hear that news about your dad!! Like FF said and I mentioned about my grandmother, the liver is not good so that is such a huge relief for you guys. It really is wonderful that his cancer is treatable and that you'll get lots more time than you thought!

And thanks for the tips on DCL. We went before you could prebook too and were told by some on the cruise forums the same info as you, that we better run there. We ran to book Flounder's and Palo as soon as we were on board and even got to the port early to be on board early. (Which worked cause we were literally the first people on the ship-we were in a Cat 3 and they called us first and even took us ahead of a Make a Wish family which we felt beyond bad about. We told DCL to let the Make a Wish family go first and they refused. It was embarassing and we apologized profusely as there was no need for us to get on so fast.) We also had no problems booking, but for some reason we believed all these cruise maniacs again and thought we'd be out of luck-especially cause we have a regular cabin and they were rumoring the Cat 1-3s taking up all the slots.

Well Palo booking opened at 9am today and when I found out and tried at 9:45 we got the dinner and brunch times we wanted. And I feel the need to add that the other people on the thread knew at 9am and some of the people PMed each other but did not post it on the thread till 9:40. Well, at 9:15 they posted that they were PMing each other, which was followed by posts of "thank you" and the like so I figured out that meant that Palo was open for booking. I felt kinda weird about that too-like why not just post to all of us sailing on that cruise that Palo is open? I know I would have done that if I found out first, but whatever. I guess maybe my view is based on you nice ladies on this thread cause I know we'd all share any sort of good info/deal/etc. and never purposely hide it from each other so we could benefit ourselves.

Fabumouse - What's with ILs and the nicknames? I tell everyone the same as you, that maybe we'll call her that down the line, but right now she's Madison to me. We call her Madisinny and Masidon (derived from her friends at school) sometimes but that's it in terms of changing her name. FWIW, my mom doesn't like Henry's name either (says it reminds her of an old man, uh, my dad I guess?) and calls him HenryJ, like one word. She must have told all her friends that's what we call him cause all of the cards from them at his christening said HenryJ.

I have the same reasoning about why I don't buckle Henry too. Sometimes I risk waking him cause Madison's eyeing up his swing or whatever so rather than have her tip him out I buckle him in, but when she's not around then I'd rather him sleep. Guess I can't do it anymore though.

And like Zalansky said, you won't have a big problem getting Palo ressies, or Flounder's either. I booked our Flounder's times yesterday morning, around 7am I'd say, when Henry got up for the day, and when I changed one by 30 minutes today I had no trouble at all and saw that everyday had pretty much every time still available. So unless you're really up for it, I'd say you could skip waking up at 3am and just do it at 6am or whenever you get up with the small ones.

Ginamarie it sounds like you had a productive weekend, though busy. I wouldn't worry about your MIL too much since the camera is not exactly a luxury item for yourself. I mean, without it, then she wouldn't get any photos of her cute little granddaughter! Definitely get to the dr about your bump as even though I bet it's nothing, you wouldn't want to have some infection that gets worse or something.

Alice28 - I hope your conferences and errands go well. I can't believe your boys don't have school all week. That's a nice break. For them that is, not so much you.

I have to go force Madison to eat her lunch. I made a pizza last night and reheated a slice for her and she told me it's too hot (her excuse for not eating all the time!) and ran off into her room.

ETA: I forgot to say that my package was mailed out on Saturday so it should arrive tomorrow I hope? It was sent priority mail and not going super far which is why I have hope. If not then maybe Wednesday.

 

[nucpharm29]

Loretta--What an answer to prayer!!!! I hope you and your family keep getting more good news! Keep us updated!

Whew, I got my buddy's package mailed out this am--my mom watched the kids while I ran to the post office--box should make it to it's recipient this week! Our Post office is HORRIBLE!! I don't think they've made any improvements on it since the city was founded in the early 80s-and now the population has more than doubled with the same small rural type post office. It was jam-packed with people, thank goodness I didn't have the kids with me! I can only imagine what things will be like in a couple of weeks. Thankfully, I don't have a single christmas gift to mail this year!! So that was the last trip to the post office for me until after the 1st of the year!

Well, I've been procrastinating long enough--time to get my run in for the day!

Bye!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

First of all, I want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU TO ROBIN, MOLLY, AND MOLLY'S GRAMMA! We just got an amazing exchange package in the mail and Kylie can't decide what she likes best. Mommy knows what she likes best, lol! Kylie got Hello Kitty stickers, barrettes, and clips. She immediately wanted one put in her hair so she could see it in the mirror. It brought a big smile to her face, silly girl! She also received cute icecream ponytail holders. She also got a handheld Pooh Bear fan which she is fascinated by even though she hasn't quite figured out its purpose yet. She received a really neat Jasmine Disney glitter thing. It has Jasmine, Abu, Rajah, and several outfits for Jasmine to change into. Robin, don't worry about whether it is age-appropriate. She can play with it as long as I can see her and she is already playing with Rajah and Jasmine right now and making Jasmine kiss Rajah on the head so I think she likes it already! That's my girl! Heck, if she doesn't like it, I'll gladly play with it! Anyway, she also got a really adorable shirt with Minnie Mouse on it and it has Kylie's name on it as well. This is the one that Molly's Gramma helped her with so please thank your mom too! I love stuff like this and I must ask where she got it? It's great! She will be wearing it to daycare tomorrow. I will post pictures of her in it in the near future. And last but not least, I finally got to try the See's candy that I had never even heard of until this thread. YUMMY! Kylie keeps trying to steal it though. Apparently she is already a little woman and loves her chocolate. Thanks so much for the thoughtful package, Robin! It really, really made my day! Kylie seems to really like everything too.

Loretta~ I was so happy to see your post! That is such wonderful news! Hopefully your dad will be around a lot longer than originally anticipated. Enjoy your Thanksgiving! You deserve it!

GLT~ Hang in there. You are a strong woman. You proved that when you were brave enough to take all 3 kids to WDW by yourself! You are super mama and you will get through this! We are all here for you!

lissawynn~ Oh, boy, I am hoping your Thanksgiving goes well and there won't be too much drama!

Robin~ That's funny about Molly loving meat. I think Kylie has decided she's a vegetarian (not counting her love of milk and dairy of course!) because she really doesn't like meat. She spits it out with a disgusted look on her face every time! It doesn't matter what kind it is, where it came from, or who made it. She isn't crazy about much of anything though. She loves junk food but even that she doesn't really eat much of.

justhat~ The one thing that everyone told me was a "must-have" for a newborn when I was pregnant with Kylie was an infant swing. I must say we used it a few times and she HATED it! It was a waste of money with her but our next kid may love it so hopefully it will get some use someday. Kylie would scream and cry the entire time she was in it. The bouncer was the lifesaver for us. She would sleep in that thing, sit it in while we ate, etc. She loved it and I was a bit sad when she outgrew it. It helped me with my sanity during those early months.

GM~ It sounds like you have a big, busy week in front of you. I hope it won't be too stressful! I hope your bump is nothing serious.

nucpharm~ Poor Matthew! I hope he feels better soon and that you guys will both get some much needed rest!

fabumouse~ It's funny you mentioned your FIL not liking Madeleine's name. My brother didn't like Kylie's either and to this day I have NEVER heard him use her name. He loves her to death and they get along great. However, she is 18 months old and the only thing he ever calls her is a nickname he gave her, "Bitty" since she's small. The nickname doesn't bother me though. He's great with her and adores her so I let it go. Eventually he will have to use her name though as I am guessing she won't want to be "bitty" when she's 20 years old! Then again, I wish I was "bitty" instead of "pudgy" so what do I know?

Okay, Kylie is in desperate need of a nap. She's upset because the cat won't "play" with her. Her idea of playing is to literally torture the poor cat. The cat knows it and runs away like a bolt of lightning if she even looks in his direction. So anyway, now she is having a mini meltdown and that lets me know it's naptime. I am hoping Kylie's Christmas photos are in today. If they are I will be back later to post them. I still need to bake something for dh's party and my party tomorrow. I really don't feel like it so I am thinking about cheating and buying something from the bakery and putting it in a cute Christmas tin or something so it will look like I made it. I'm hoping my exchange buddy gets her package today too so I will be back later! Have a great day everyone! Thanks again, Robin! It is such a great package and I have candy calling my name as I type!

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

zalansky - What great news about your dad! Continued best wishes for him.

Tasha - Our poor cat feels the same way about Lucas but Lucas loves him anyway. Sometimes I just have to shut him in the basement (the cat, not Lucas ) just to give him a break.

justhat - That's kind of rude about all the secret PMs regarding your cruise. I really don't like that kind of game playing.

floridafam - I've got "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" in my head now.

lissawynn - Is today your glucose test? Good luck!

nucpharm - Hope you can get something for Matthew's cough.

Alice28 - Good luck with the conferences. Thanks for organizing the info for glt.

ginamarie - Hope your bump is nothing serious.

fabumouse - Good luck with your letters. Luckily the nicknames for Lucas (so far, Luke and Lukey) are not too objectionable...at least until he starts school. Then I'm sure he'll be hearing Lucas Mucas or Luke Puke or something like that.

The big boss just came over the intercom system and told us we're having pizza for lunch on Wednesday. And they wonder why they have trouble keeping employees?!?! FREE PIZZA!! Who wouldn't want to work here??

 

[DisKim]

I am just so lazy today. I should be grading honors projects but I don't want to so I came here instead . I'll get right on those tomorrow....

Fab - I can't stand when people call Alex "Al". It makes my skin crawl. The only 2 people who do it are BIL and Alex's old babysitter (now Aidan's sitter). That's why I went with Aidan for the next baby because I couldn't think of how anyone could make a nickname out of that. I don't envy your having to write to politicians today. Also, I can totally understand about choosing a town for the schools. I love the schools in my town and won't leave for that reason.

GM - I don't like when people judge what I buy. I don't like to have to explain myself. My friends who work with me often question how I afford my Disney trips.

Zalansky - I am SO HAPPY to hear the good news about your father. How wonderful!!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions with Emily. She does a lot to stay active already. The problem is that when she is not out of the house for an extracurricular activity, she lays around like a slug. She did well yesterday. I would not allow them to put on the tv and she was very productive and even played nicely with Alex.

Well, I have to sit here and wait around for an after-school department meeting when I have about a million things to do.

 

[zalansky]

Hey ladies, have any of you seen those family figure stickers that people put on their rear windows of their cars? Ones that represent the mom, dad, kids and any pets they may have? I have always thought they were cute and we saw these on the rear of a Lexus SUV a few weeks ago, even DH liked them and I want to order them for his SUV but I am not sure he'd put them on his car - but hello? How cute!!! Have you seen these yet?

http://www.laughingplacestore.com/Category-RC-302.asp

 

[lissawynn]

I have one more class to teach and then I'm off for my glucose test. Isn't it a shame that I'm looking forward to blood work so I don't have to be here at school? We should have the entire week off. No one wants to be here and I filled out discipline reports for three students b/c they didn't have their stuff.

Zalansky - That is wonderful news about your father! You and your sisters must be feeling relieved that he can now get treatment. I'm sorry he won't be able to spend Thanksgiving with you all, but it looks as if he could be home for Christmas.

nucpharm - Sorry your trip to the PO was awful. I have to mail my package today. Our PO has terrible parking. It's such a pain to go there.

justthat - I'm glad you were able to book your meals. The situation on that board sounds shady to me.

ff - Maybe they tie yellow ribbons around oak trees, or do they knock three times on the ceiling if they want you?

fab - I am not experiencing that burst of energy this time around, either. I'm going to need it when our house is done and everything has to get put back together. You know I'll have LOADS of time once Annabel arrives.

Ginamarie - I hope you get everything done for this week. It's terrible that things are so hectic around the holidays.

Alice - Let us know how the conferences went today. I hope the kids were good.

Did I tell you all that we have to do the gift exchange AGAIN this year with DH's sisters? Why we need to buy each other gifts is beyond me. That's another $100 down for DH and me b/c we each get to pick a name and buy a gift. Last year it was as if I tried to cancel Christmas when I said DH and I weren't going to participate. That went over really well with his sisters...
It's not as if we don't already have to buy for all of the nieces and nephews. DH already told me he'll pay for the gifts since I bought for everyone in my family and his monsters, I mean nieces/nephews.

I'll let you all know how my test went when I'm done.

 

[floridafam]

Ah, lissawynn and SL, I was hoping someone else would get that.

I don't understand why you all have to buy for eachother. We stopped that a few years ago. It's the same thing as just handing eachother money-at least that's what it seemed like with us. I remember a few people in my family thought it was just terrible that we didn't want to exchange gifts. Whatever.

This year, I am buying for the kids, Scott, his Mom, his sister and her DH and my Mom and Dad. That's it. I don't exchange with my brother in Michigan and I told my sister we are not doing gifts-she can't seem to hold down a job and needs to use her money for food and such.


Loretta,

A lot of people around here have those stickers/decals and they are realy cute. Turtle ones are real popular in our neighborhood because that is the mascot for the school (I have to say I really like turtle ones, too.)


fab and DisKim,

Luckily, you can't make a nickname out of any of our kid's names. I wanted to name our boy Andrew after my Grandpa but I wanted him to be called Andrew and I knew that wouldn't happen so that name went on the backburner.

I've got to leave soon to get DS from school. DD is home sick today. They have school tomorrow and then are off for the week. I'm looking forward to DH having next week off.

I actually had to turn on our heat this week as it is pretty cold here. There is something going on with our power. When the AC guys were here this summer the stove shut off when they shut off the power to the air handler in our attic and then the stove shut off the other day when I turned the heat on. I guess they are on the same fuse or something and they shouldn't be.

Dh tore out our bathroom vanity and sink yesterday. OH MY GOD. The smell was so bad we had to go outside. There was 30 years of gunk and hair built up in there and it smelled terrible. I LOVE the new vanity and can't wait to get started on the rest of the bathroom. He went to Home Depot last night and picked out a faucet that looks great so we can cross that off our list.

I hope everyone has a great day.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Good afternoon all! I survived play weekend, so just a short week of school and then a nice Thanksgiving at BIL's house. the play went well, Jocelyn did her 4 lines perfectly. Robert gave flowers to the little girl who was the lead. He said he wanted to marry her, but her dad said, only if he switched from being a Red Sox fan to a Yankee fan! Poor Robert--that'll never happen!

I can't even complain--everyone seems to be having such a tough time of things these days, my problems seem so minor!

GLT--You are in our thoughts and prayers. You are entitled to be happy. Dr. Phil always says, "Kids would rather be FROM a broken home, than IN one." You have to do what's best for everyone.

Loretta--That's great news about your dad. I hope he responds well to his treatment.

bellacam--CONGRATULATIONS! Bailey is just adorable. You are going to have so much fun with a little girl! And you can tell DH, he's in for it now--she probably already has him wrapped around her little finger! That will last for the rest of his life! Too funny about Pizza Hut--it makes a good story, though. She's lucky you didn't name her "Meat Lover's!"

Tasha--Luke "loves" our kitties, too. Two of them like to sleep on the changing table, so it serves them right when Luke pulls their fur! He also chases them all over.

"Hi" to everyone else--I'm so behind on work here, I have to get moving before Jocelyn gets home from school.

Oh, but I do have to throw in a shameless Mom brag--Jocelyn's report card came the other day. She got straight A's and has an overall average of 97. Oddly, her worst subject was band. I won't get Robert's until his conference next week, but I did get a note saying he's been handing in his work, so his Playstation privileges have been restored.

 

[justhat]

Lissawynn good luck with the glucose test. I had to laugh about your inlaw gift exchange situation. We have the exact same problem with DH's family. They do this gift exchange with pulling a name out of the hat too, only worse cause it's not just his sisters and brother who participate but his aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. And last year they upped the price to $30/person from $25, so now for our family we'll have to spend $120 on exchange gifts, on top of gifts for his parents, sisters, brother, BIL, niece and nephew. We had the same reaction last year when we suggested that we limit it to kids only or make it 1 gift per family or something like that. Everyone went on and on about how it's only $30, blah, blah. Yeah, but $30x4 adds up! So I totally sympathize with you on this insane procedure and hope you can find a way out of it cause I know we're gonna try again.

 

[floridafam]

Bellacam,

I forgot to congratulate you and your family. She is just beautiful.

 

[nucpharm29]

Hey all! just a quick post to let ya'll know that I'm in the process of ordering some stuff for Allison's kids. And I've let Robin know what I ordered, so if you want to know, so we don't get duplicates you can either PM her or myself!! I LOVE playing Santa!!! But dang it, where are my cookies?

 

[J&D]

Congratulations, bellacam! She is precious!
I was always afraid that my water would break while I was teaching class. There is no telling what my 7th graders would have said.

lissawynn- Is that something you worry about as well? Good luck with your test. Same here with the gift exchange with DH's family, but we don't even draw names. We buy for everyone. I suggested no gifts for adults last year, but DH's sister and BIL (who are almost 30) whined that they still want gifts, so we're doing it again this year. Easy for them to say- one is an engineer and one is a pharmacist.

Loretta- Great news about your dad!

I need to run. Jenna woke up sick this morning, so I've been doing wash all morning. I think she is fine- probably just the stomach bug that keeps going around. We all had it about a month ago. The nurse at my nephew's school said that kids just keep getting it over and over again. Maybe it will die down while the kids are out of school for the holidays.

TTFN!


PS- I did see some meteors around 9 last night while driving home from my parents' house.

.03 click at Sunshine!

 

[Alice28]

Z- your post brought tears to my eyes- I am so glad there is GOOD news with your father! And those decals are so cute!

Tasha- Yay! The box made it! My mom made the shirt- well, I bought the shirt at Target, but she has one of those UBER fancy sewing machines that does embroidery from a computer chip. It struck me I should buy some inexpensive shirts for GLT's kiddoes, so she can embroider some Disney stuff on them for them.... So glad Kylie likes her goodies, I love those Disney princess doll things- Molly is getting 2 from me and 2 from Gramma. I still want to buy the other two that are left. God forbid we not have all the princesses.

FF- Yay for a new vanity! That's exciting!

GM- hope the bump on your head is nothing serious.

The kids did great at the conferences. Joshua is a ahead of the game with his reading, writing, fine motor skills, etc. He also is doing extremely well behaviorly- I was very proud. Then Sam's teacher also just had raves about his work ethic, his attitude, his sense of responsibility. I asked her about the writing and reading and she said she only scored him 'below grade level' on reading because he is just 'right there' and she wants him to attain that goal this next quarter. She said she could have gone either way on it, but he would have been 'low grade level' had she done 'at grade level.' OK, whatever. So, they're both doing great and got a small reward at Target for working so hard in school.

Edited out GLT info- I pm'ed most people about it; if you didn't get PM, let me know!


I looked at Target today for this new Fisher Price thing, that I could have sworn sold the animals separately (including a giraffe)- it's like a big zoo train, and in the train is a giraffe and elephant and something else; all at this Target that was separate was a zebra and polar bear. Maybe someone else will have better luck finding giraffe stuff. I also saw a giraffe baby toy in my Hasbro catalog- maybe I will find a link and post it if anyone wants to get that. And like I said in a PP, the Cars DVD would be a perfect thing for someone to send off. GLT said her kids all needed snow boots, but she was hoping her mom and dad would buy those for them this week.

THANKS everyone!

Oh- and to those who participated in the Bellacam goodie- one was ordered yesterday, one will get mailed out tonight or tomorrow. Thanks again!