Circle of Friends

I'm bored

It's hot! grrr....
I am a very happy person in spring and especially autumn. Cool breezes
make working in the yard and sitting on the porch just right. Temps not
over low 70s is perfect for me. This allows the windows to be open so
I can smell the flowers or fresh cut grass.
So far this summer has been wonderful as far as temps go. The end of
July and we've only had to turn on the a/c a few times.
But that is starting to change. Today is hot and humid.
Today John and I aren't doing much.
Last evening we went out to dinner and did the grocery shopping.
Tomorrow we are going to go to a store called Pottery something
with a couple we are friends with. And most likely out to dinner too.
But what to do with today.
So far it's been ok. John slept in late. Poor guy works so hard, he
deserved that. Then I fixed pancakes while I listened to an audio
novel.
After we watched a movie. Alex and Emma. It was so-so.
Then John decided he'd cut the grass. But it was still too damp
from last night's rain. He did some other small chores outside.
I gave Rascal, that's our dog, a quick hair cut and swept the porch.
Then pulled weeds from the flower beds. Not really weeds.
What it is is grass. See John scattered grass seed and wasn't so
careful.Some of it ended up in the flower beds. sigh....
And I am feeling stir crazy. I want to do something. I don't know
what.
I do not want to cook dinner. I do not want to do housework or
laundry. Or watch tv, read or walk the dog. I have many things I could
do to entertain myself here at home. But none of that appeals to me.
I want to get cleaned up and go out.
But we went out yesterday and we are going out tomorrow. So we
should not be spending more money going out today.
Luckily I don't get these stir crazy moods very often.
Do you ever feel like this? If so, what do you do?

Friends

TB continues to do well after the surgery. I am so relieved that he's not in the pain he experienced the other two times!

On the downside, though, his stupid insurance company wouldn't authorize all of his pain medications. He's taking Staydol which is squirted into his nose (he was having sensitivity reactions to everything else) and they are dispensed in 10 dose bottles. The directions are to take one squirt every 4 hours as needed. The doctor prescribed three bottles to start and the insurance company refused to pay for one!

They have some convoluted reasoning, something to the effect that they'd pay only for a 2 week supply. If they did the math right, three bottles is about that. But they are figuring 2 bottles should last 2 weeks. What a PITA!

So TB has to get the directions changed on the bottle. His doctor won't be there until Monday. :P

I drove Linda and T to the doctor this morning. T got his six months check up and he is just fine, right where he should be! Billy and Heidi's summer reading books came into the library so we went there after dropping Linda off for her dental appointment.

Now I am getting settled in and hopefully caught up.

The meme du jour:

Weekend Wonderings:

1. What qualities do you look for in a friend?

Someone I can confide in and can trust. Someone who accepts me for who I am. Someone who shares similar interests with me.

2. How do you feel when a friend lies to you?

I don't think that's happened. If it did, I don't remember or I never knew to begin with. I imagine I would feel very hurt!

3. Do you prefer a large group of friends or a smaller group of closer friends?

I like having a large group of acquaintances but a smaller group of really close friends.

How 'bout you?

Yeah!!! Dad's Ok.

I am so happy to hear that Dad came out of surgery ok. Poor linda was freaking out today thinking that I was going to have the baby and something was going to happen to Dad. Well No baby. I know nothing would happen to Dad cause he is as tough as nails. Besides he has Cassie.

The doctor said that everything is good with the baby. We talked about getting my tubed tied and they are going to do it the day after the baby is born. THANK GOD!!! I filled out all the necessary paper work that needed to be done. This time there will be no procrastinating. I think that 4 kids is way more than I can afford. I was reading on MSN the other day and it said that it takes 250,000 dollars from birth to 18 to raise a child. If that is the case I would have been a millionaire. Oh well! I couldn't think of life without the kids.

I was bragging on how well behaved my kids were the other day and I think that I jinxed myself. The boys helped me rearrange the living room last night, and then took showers. Taylor and Ryan are always going at it and Ryan pulled Taylor off the couch and she hit her head. Brandon got Mad at Ryan and cut a hole in Ryan's brand new pants that my mother in law sent from Japan. I was so mad. Needless to say they are both grouned and it is killing them! Kids I tell ya!!!!

I'm baaaack!

I had surgery on my shoulder today to fix my rotator cuff. It went very well. I woke up afer the surgery and didn't feel woozy or sore and was ready to go home. I guess the third time really is a charm. We'll see how well I do tonight, after the stuff they used to numb me wears off and how well I sleep tonight.
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me. A triple thanks to my wonderful wife Cassie who has taken very good care of me!

That Tornado!!!

Bizarre Tornado!

TV Tuesday

This is a day late but yesterday we were all busy standing in the hallway praying we wouldn't have a tornado! ;-) From: TV Tuesday:

1. What's your fondest memory of something on TV?

2. What's the first show you remember watching regularly?

3. What is the (pick one: stupidest, saddest, silliest, most disgusting..) thing you've ever seen on TV?

~Bonus~ (From the hubby! LOL) What's the best series finale you remember?

My answers:

1. My fondest memories are from my childhood. When I was little little little, I had a pair of Mouseketeer ears. I'd put them on and wear them during the Mickey Mouse Show. I felt like a real Mouseketeer. I can still remember most of the words to the song -- Now it's time to say goodbye to all our company, M-I-C ... see you real soon! K-E-Y ... why? because we like you! M-O-U-S-E

2. The first show I watched regularly was ... Mickey Mouse! Surprise!

3. The saddest thing I've ever seen on TV was 3 year-old-John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father's coffin

The silliest thing I've ever seen was the streaker on the Oscar awards show ... and David Niven being so cool and collected about it!

Bonus: The best season finale I've ever seen was from Falcon Crest's 6th season. Four major characters in the San Francisco Bay along with a baby and the matriarch learns that her nemesis is really her son -- one of the four in the bay. It was so cool!

How about everyone else?

Fired green tomatoes

Yesterday I finished reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
The movie is one of my favorites, but I hadn't read the book.
It was excellant. And I was so sad when it was over.

The funny thing is, it reminded me of this little group. The way it was written
was similiar to reading the entries here.

What are some of your favorite books?
Do you have any authors or books you could recomend?

I usually prefer mysteries.
Elizabeth Peter, Barbara Micheals, Diana Mott Davidson, Charlotte MacLeod,
Katherine Hall Page, Rita Mae Brown, Madeline Brent and Dorothy Cannell to name a few.

One of the best series I have read is one Cassie told me about.
The Outlander series by Diane Gabaldon.

Also I greatly enjoyed Lightening, Watchers, Twilight Eyes, Mr. Murder
and Strangers by Dean Knootz.

New Member!

Cassie's cousin Edith is joining Circle of Friends

New Jersey is Great!

In New Jersey we have a saying, no, it's not what exit are you! It's "if you don't like the weather, wait a minute." Today was no exception. The air was humid and hot, it looked like it would rain at any moment this morning. Cassie and I had Breakfast together at our favorite little hole in the wall local restaurant. It's small but with great food and good prices and most importantly it has a non-smoking section. We then did some shopping at the local Acme. Later in the day I had to take Linda to the dentist. There were moments when it looked like the sun was going to pop out or rain cats and dogs. Around 4:30 PM Linda left with Kennan for another appointment, and it started to pour. The clouds just opened up and dumped on us. The wind was howling there was thunder, lightning and high winds. A major storm. That's when we see the emergency broadcast! Tornado warning! Tornado touches down in central Burlington county, Funnel cloud seen in Presidential Lakes just 15 minutes away from us! Holy Cow! So I tell everyone to shut down their computers and we all gathered in the hallway to wait out the storm. The weather advisory said the storm was headed northeast which would have brought it right over our house. I kept looking out the front and back doors to see what was happening. Nothing! The storm had already passed us before we even saw the weather advisory! That's how quick the weather can change here. After dinner Kristin said that the sun was trying to pop out. This all happened in the space of an hour and a half.
This is why I love New Jersey, there is never a dull moment. two weeks ago we had 13 inches of rain drop on us and some major flooding, today 2 inches of rain and a tornado.
It just doesn't get any better than this!

Carnival Time!

Summer is great for circuses, carnivals and fairs! I have really good memories of the State Fair in Towson, Maryland some years ago. It was fun to look at all the animals, especially the ones raised by kids for a 4-H project. And the barbecued beef and pork was to die for!

I also loved the Renaissance Festival in Churchton, MD. There was a huge castle at the entrance and you walked right into the past. The concession people, shop owners, and just about everyone else dressed according to the times of Henry VIII. They used the old English language and were so realistic at role playing you could almost think you were really there!

The state sport actually is jousting! I remember seeing a couple of them at the Ren Fest. The kids especially enjoyed it because they didn't have to understand what was being said.

People put on spontaneous skits all throughout the place.

Someday I really want to visit again.

But thinking about summer fests and carnivals, here is a fun meme called Tuesday Twosome. Which one do you prefer? You can answer in comments if you want -- or not.

1. Cotton Candy or Caramel Apples:

2. Turkey Legs or Corn Dogs:

3. Lemonade or Iced Tea:

4. Carnival Games or Rides:

5. Fun House or House of Mirrors:

I wanna talk about me!

I guess I should introduce myslef. My Name is Michele. I am Ted's oldest daughter. I am 28 years old and I have 3 and 3/4 kids. I am a stay at home mom and I love every bit of it. My children's names and ages are, Brandon, age 9 (going on 30) Ryan is 8 and taylor Hannah is 3. We are all excited about having a new baby in the house. It is going to be another boy and his name will be Nikolas Aidan.

I don't really have any hobbies, but when I have the time and money I love to make crafts. I guess I inherited that from my Mother.

My husband David and I just recently moved from NJ to Tennessee. My husband has muscular dystrophy and gets disibility so living here has made it better money wise. It is beautiful here and we all love it. The kids adapted well especially in school.

We have 2 cats and no other pets. When we lived in Nj we had 2 black labs. They were the greatest dogs in the world. We weren't allowed to take them with us because we bought a mobile home and the owner of the park doesn't allow dogs over 15 pounds. Our 1 lab was almost 200 so he beat the weight limit. Ryan would love to have a pet turtle. Taylor wants fish and Brandon wants a dog. They all want but I'll be the one to take care of them. Although the kids have been very helpful around the house.

I know that I have been blessed in my life. My Dad married a great woman in cassie. She has been a great step mom and it is great to have 2 other sister's and a brother .

Well that's all about me. I hope to get to know everyone on here.
Michele

Finally

Hi everyone,

Forgive me for not posting this sooner, I'm Dawn and I've been a friend of Cassie's for about 4 years now. We met in an online game for Dark Shadows, and have been friends ever since.

I'm happy to be here, and if anything exciting happens in my life, I'll be sure to post it here first. LOL not that anything ever does. But you'll all be the first to know!

My name is Dawn and I live in upstate NY with my husband Jim. We celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on Oct 4th. The only child I claim to have is my goddaughter who will openly tell you I am her second mom, but also like a sister to her. She and I are very close and spend the weekends doing fun things.

My husband and I also have 2 cats Cocoa and Shadow who we adore.

That's about it for now, pleasure to be here with you guys!

Dawn

Home again

I'm home
Yesterday was a fun day. It didn't start out so well though. Going to Holiday
World was not something I wanted to do. Plus my back has been troubling me.
I wanted to go only because John really wanted to. I knew he needed to have
a day just for fun and to be with me and the kids. But I was worried my back
would cause me to be in pain, the heat would make me miserable and
all the lines and people would get on my nerves.
Add to all that, I spend hours searching the house for fanny packs and my
tote bag.
Cassie is right, the fanny packs and tote must have gone where ever
the missing socks and such go.
At around 2 am, I gave that up. I got out a different bag, one I
use for a carry all. I bought 2 of these great bags, one for each child
when they were in highschool, but both didn't like the bags. So I gave
one to a friend and kept the other for myself. I put in everything I could think
we'd need for the day. Tylenol, tums, small manicure kits with a couple band-
aids tucked in, camera, sun screen, flips flops for me and John, a pen, a book
in a large zip lock bag (in case we went on a water ride), gum, a coin purse,
and a few more odds and ends.
We got up at 5:30. I was not feeling to great. Having only about an hour's sleep.
But after a hot shower and the promise we'd stop for coffee and breakfast
on the way, I kept a good attitude. Finally we got our son, Robbie to get
up and ready.
Some times I feel I have lived my life trying to get this boy moving. LOL

At this time I explained to John about the tote bag and fanny packs.
He did his usual miracle routine and found a fanny pack!! The leather one.
How he does this is beyond me. But everytime I am hunting for something,
he can usually hunt it out. The fanny pack was tucked into a suit case.
How it got there is a mystery. The other packs and tote, even John couldn't find.

We stopped for gas and I got a big cup of coffee. A little bit further along
we stopped at McDonald's for breakfast sandwiches.
John had got directions to the park from a co worker. Which were clear
and easy to follow. But a steady rain began. The weather man had
been predicting a perfect weekend. John began to get angry that our day
would be ruined. It rained almost all the way there. We ended up arriving
an hour earlier then John thought we would and had to wait for our daughter,
Melissa, her friend Emma and Melissa's fiance to get there. The park was not
opened yet anyway.
Waiting is not something either John or I do well. But we sat in the car with
Robbie. Listening to music, looking around and chatting and the time passed.
The rain had stopped and our hopes improved.
Melissa and her gang came just as the park opened.
We went in and got in line for first ride. And here came the rain again!
I could tell John was upset, even though he joked around. But since there was
no thunder or lightening the rides ran. The rain came on and off thru the
day. Other then making it too cool for the water part of the park, it did not
keep us from having fun. We saw 2 music shows and a high dive show.
We bought pictures the park took of us on a roller coaster and log ride.
And I took pictures too. I took care and only rode a couple rides.
My back pained me some, but it was not to bad. The lines went pretty quick.
When I sat out rides, I read my book or chatted with people who were also
waiting.
This park has your drinks included in with your ticket. And there were lots
of drink stations and snack places. We staying until every ride was ridden,
some a couple times.
We checked out the gift shops. John found a rack of Simply Whispers
earrings in one and bought me a pair of little silver heart earrings.
I am allergic to metal, the nickel in metal anyway and Simply Whispers
is a brand that does not cause me trouble.
As we left, Robbie asked to drive home.
John prefers to always be the one driving. But I talked him into letting Robbie.
John and I sat in the back seat, listening to music and talking about the day.
Looking out at the scenery too. It was nice.
I slept all night and woke up feeling fine. I must of been sleeping deeply,
because I didn't even wake up when John's alarm went off or he left.
He called me a few minutes ago in a very happy mood.
His foreman and the general foreman gave him a $500.00 gift card
to a sporting goods store. They know he loves golf
This was to say thank you to him for all his hard work and going the extra
mile. And am so happy for John. I know their acknowledging his work
means as much as the gift card. Plus he will be able to get a new golf toy
This gift is an ususual event. We've never seen anyone at his job get this
before.
This puts a extra special touch to the great day we had yesterday.
And takes away the sting of "back to the grind".
Donna

For Fun

List 10 of your favorite works of art

I wanted to get individual links to each of these but I tried and it didn't work. You go to the main index from this link and then look for the painter if you'd like to see the work. I saw this question and I knew what I liked but I wanted to go hunting down the artists and the names of the paintings. I like some sculptures too but they didn't make it to my top ten.

1. Georgia O’Keeffe, Oriental Poppies
2. Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night
3. Michelangelo, Pieta
4. Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling
5. Claude Monet, Breakwater at Touville
6. Botticelli, Adoration of the Magi
7. Rembrandt, The Mill
8. Andy Warhol, Butterfly
9. Mary Cassatt, Mother & Child
10. Mary Cassatt, Young Mother

How about you guys?

Kids

Why is it that all kids, but my own seem to be bad? I am so used to the way my kids are. They are Polite, Helpful, and very well behaved. Maybe I am just prejudice, but when my friend brings her kids over it is a whole other world. She has 3 boys and they are loud and destructive. Nothing like my boys. Don't get me wrong. My kids aren't angels, but they know how I expect them to act when we are at someone elses house. I know that I can leave them with Family or friends and they won't misbehave.(except they always know how to push aunt Linnies buttons)

While My friend was here I am thinking to myself wow how lucky am I to have such great kids. I guess I owe it all to my Dad for showing me the way to raise my kids. When I was growing up he was strict, and I hated it. I was never allowed to do or wear the stuff that other kids were. Now I have grown to appreciate the way we were raised. Daivd and I think that we aren't hard enough on the kids, but they when we take them out and see they way other kids treat their parents, we say thank God that our kids aren't like that.

About me

Howdy everyone,
I'm Ted, affectionately called TB (Teddy bear) by my sweetie Cassie. I feel like the rooster in the hen house being the only guy in the group so far. I was born in Virginia but lived in NJ 49 years. I lost my first wife, and then met through the Internet, the most wonderful gal in the world whom I chased until she caught me.

I'm 50 years young going on 18 (mentally at least) and enjoy reading, blogging, playing with computers, I love working around the house, building stuff, photography and gadgets, all kinds. (typical guy stuff) I also like to collect stuffed animals especially the animated ones. My office is littered with my collection. I love music and love to sing. I sing all the time. I love music that contains all the elements; rhythm, harmony and melody.

I am the father of 2 girls, Michele and Linda, stepfather to Billy, Heidi and Kristin. I am Pop-pop to Michele's children: Brandon, Ryan, Taylor and soon Nikolas. Also Pop-pop to Tomas, Linda's baby.
Until I met Cassie I didn't care much for cats, Thanks to Cassie I love our 2 cats Mouse and Amber. I even kind of love our A.D.D. Lab, Buddy. (A.D.D. stands for A Dumb Dog!)
I am a Sheet metal worker recovering from a work related rotator cuff tear. This will be my 3rd surgery to correct it.
In spite of the pain I've endured, this last year and a half has been a real blessing to me, Cassie and I have spent a lifetime in the 2 years we've been married. If I had had to work all this time it would have taken many years to develop the kind of relationship, raport and closeness we have together.

So here I am with Tomas

George Lucas fans!

Star Wars #3 has a name now:

My troubles

Hello everyone~

I have been thinking a lot about (or fighting with) my relationship with my boyfriend Kennan. We have had a very rough time trying to find out if we should stay together and get married and do all that other stuff. We go to counciling faithfully once a week, and to me, it seems as if nothing has been accomplished on his part.

First of all, he believes that the woman should work and help out paying bills, I on the other hand grew up thinking that the woman should stay home untill the children are of a decent age to take care of themselves.

Both are good ways to do it but I really thing that it would be best if I was home with Tk.
The next thing I think about is that we (him and I) have been together for three years already, and the thought has crossed his mind to ask me to marry him, but has never got the courage to do it. I have asked why and I don't ever get an answer.
I know there are alot of men that have a fear of commitment, But sorry buddy my patience is extremly thin. I feel I shouldn't have to wait any longer to have the family I so desperately want and need. I also think, aren't I worth it, and why am I even giving this guy so much leeway, and then I look at Tk and then all my troubles just melt away from my mind, (at the moment).

I am so confused at what do to, my family says I would be better off without him, and sometimes I agree.
Have you ever loved someone so much that you hated them at the same time?
That's partly what goes on inside me. (I don't know why I am writing this, but I thought if someone read this they could tell me something that I haven't heard already).
Everyday its the same thoughts, and even now I try to hold back the tears
I'm so afriad of both of the out comes, if I stay, or if I leave him.
Why do relationships have to be so complicated sometimes?

Holiday World

In the morning we are going to an amusement park called Holiday World.
John and the kids are excited. I'm not a fan of roller coasters or rides that
make me queasy, but I enjoy seeing my family have a good time.
I do like the music shows and such that places like this have.
Poor John is wore out. He gets up so early to go to work.
4 am, unless he goes in early. And he does at least a couple times a week.
Plus he worked today. So he fell asleep a couple of hours ago.
I have been searching every square inch of the house for fanny packs and
my big blue and yellow tote bag, with no luck.
It has to be another case of that mystery black hole. It swallows up items
and they are never seen again. sigh....

About Me

TB and I read Donna's post and we thought, wow, that would be neat if everyone who wants to did something similar so we all know who each other are. Does that make sense?

I think everyone knows me from one place or another so I can keep it short and sweet, eh?

I'm a proud nana & mama & happily married to Ted. Ted & I have both been to the lowest low anyone can go when we both lost our first spouses. We are so grateful for the miracle that brought us together.

This year I'm gonna be 50, none of that age-stopped-at-39 stuff!

I love to read, write -- stories or journaling, walking, and play with Little T. I would love to play with Brandon, Ryan & Taylor except they live 12 hours away.

I am so proud of my kids and I love them dearly.

I love my 2 kitties, Mouse and Amber.

I love to listen to music ... all kinds. I like classical, R&B, jazz, golden oldies & classic rock. I don't care for the hip-hop rap music though.

I was born on Long Island and I love the beach.

I love our house.

I miss friends I haven't seen in years.

I love chocolate and ice cream too much!

I collect stuffed animals, beanie babies, candles & Precious Moments figurines.

I even love the dumb dog ... a little, maybe. :P

And that's all I can think of right now.

So here is a picture taken of me & the baby today ...

Our new Van

Wow! it is sure nice to have a bigger car. Especially when it has a TV and VCR in it. The kids are so excited by it that they all want to sleep in it. Taylor wants to go in there and watch TV all the time. She has one in her room, but that isn't good enough for her. Now that we have a bigger car I don't hear Ryan and Taylor fighting. In the Mazda that's all the 2 of them would do. Poor Brandon would get so mad at them and tired of hearing us yell at them that he would scream back at them.

The Van is loaded. It even has a car seat in it for Taylor. It came with a Old nintendo. Not that it is going to stay in there. Now we will all fit comfortably with the baby. We'll even has something nice to ride back to NJ with. I can't wait till we are able to do that. I hope that we will be able to come back after Nikolas is born. This way Nana and Pop-Pop can have fun with the Grandkiddies.

How to get a baby to sleep

This just drives parents nuts!

When the baby cries, you want to pick it up to find out what's wrong. Up to a certain point, responding to a baby won't spoil them ... that's like in the first few months, maybe up to 5 or 6 months. At that point the baby begins to figure out Me crying = Mommy rescuing. That's when it gets hard.

When my kids were babies, I'd put them down for the night and leave the room. Usually they'd start to cry so I'd wait five minutes and then go in. Pat, pat, pat, "Mommy's here, go to sleep" etc etc. and leave again. And maybe they'd cry again. So this time I'd wait 10 minutes. And so on.

It's not so easy to do that when you are rooming with the baby though.

I was thinking the longer the baby is up during the day, the sleepier he'll be at night. Keep the baby up and play with him, maybe that'll work!

I saw this: Friday Foofah

1. Attachment parenting: raising balanced, loving and stable kids - or a nightmare of clingy, needy brats?

I think attachment parenting works well for the first six months. I think that developing a strong bond of trust with the baby helps them get along better as they get older. They cry less and maybe they're happier because they know that someone loves them and will respond to them.

2. Nursing: the healthy natural way or an unnecessary pain in the...?

I think it's healthy and natural but I also feel it's a personal choice and left up to the mom

3. Kids growing up: Great! I can't wait to sit down and have deep discussions with them; or, Sniff, my babies grew up so fast!

It's both. I miss my little babies but I am enjoying the people they've grown into!

Good morning world!

Ever have a sleepless night? I get them often. it's a horrible feeling laying in bed unable to sleep. I went to bed last night at 11:30 PM after some reading, and just laid there with my eyes closed, couldn't sleep! Around 2:30 AM I got up, got a drink and sat down at my computer to read the news, hopefully I would get drowsy enough to finally fall asleep. Around 3:45 AM I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer so I stumbled back to bed. But No soap! Start the coffee going, fed the cats then went back to the computer, and now Cassie's alarm is going off, it's 6:15 AM. That was the night from hell!

The joys of having visitors!

This summer we seem to have had more visitors than we ever had in our lives. I look forward to all of them coming, but it is really stressful. Not to mention expensive. This week My brother and Sister in law and their kids came to visit. We had alot of fun, but with 6 kids in the house it got kind of frustrating. Taylor doesn't like to share her toys with anyone and our 2 y/o nephew loves to make her upset. The boys seem to only want to play X box.

Tennessee is a great place to live, but now there isn't enough time to show off all the sights. One good thing about it is that we are Sevier county residents and we get into almost all the attractions either half price or free. The kids too.
By the end of the week I am looking for the visitors to just go home!

Well I am 32 weeks pregnant and I think that the baby has dropped. I am feeling alot more pressure in my lower half than before. With the help from Linda, Nikolas will be set with clothes and bottles for a good while. We have our crib and that is set up. We just need a few more big things and we are good baby wise. The biggest thing that we have to purchase is a van. We are torn between a big van or a mini. We'll see tomorrow when we go shopping.

Another Mommy dilemma

I checked my email tonight to find if I had recieved an email from baby center.com. Its a great web site for mom's-to-be and parents. Anyway, as I was reading about babies and there sleep patterns, I myself was try to get Tk to sleep in the process. The "experts," as they call themselves, say that its best not to pick up a crying baby when its time for bed, or its not good to comfort them. So here I'm thinking...well that's hard when I'm in the same room as he is, and I really think that its not good to let him cry for long periods of time. But NO the experts say that if you don't let you baby/child cry it out he/she will not be able to fall asleep own ones own. Therefore creating a spoiled child.

I diffinitly know that these "experts" should not have had a child if that is the case, because if Tk cries for about two minutes there is someone comming up to him or I, asking if there is something wrong with him. Which is great because I know that he is loved very much. Naturally, yes there is something wrong, you just have to find out what it is. For instance hunger pains, diaper change, cuddling, or something of sort.

I don't think it it takes an "expert" to know what a baby wants just pay close attention to the type of cry that goes with the certain thing that was given to the baby the last time...of course, I haven't writen a book about it YET...lol but I have my share of advice.

If there are any mothers out there that want to give me some of their advice...I could use all that I can get...I'm willing to try new things!!!!

Heidi is Home

Such adventures from riding a Greyhound bus!

On Sunday, she leaves on a bus headed for Philadelphia ... but it says OMAHA. Then there was the drama and the trauma that ensued when the bus was over an hour late arriving in Baltimore.

Today should have gone without incident. Emma's grandmother drove the girls to the downtown terminal with the idea in mind they'd be a half hour early ... but the terminal wasn't there. Or rather, it was but it was closed because Greyhound had moved!

Can you hear Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle saying "Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise!"

Luckily the grandmother knew about a Greyhound office near Camden Yards. So they took the light train and then a taxi and somehow managed to arrive at the new terminal where they were directed to the wrong gate! I'm so glad I wasn't there. I would have had heart failure, I'm sure.

Once Heidi got on the right bus, everything went smoothly and we picked her up right on time.

Glad to have her back, we missed her!

So Excited!

I am really glad that TB said he could make this kind of blog. I was thinking that it could be really fun and I want to welcome everyone, especially Linda and Donna, who took the first step and posted already.

Sometimes I'll throw out a meme and if anyone is interested in answering it, go for it. They can be fun too! I'm not sure why they are called "memes". Memes are a question or more than one that's thrown out for anyone to answer. Maybe it got the name from posters that would say, "me, me!" LOL...

Anyway, I found this at Thursday’s Tattle:

Heat

How are you handling the heat?

Is your air on?

Do you hate the heat?

What is the temperature where you live?

Do you have a pool to cool off?

It's also kinda a nice way to break the ice and get to know people. Anyway, my answers would be:

I am handling the heat all right because I stay inside most of the time! ;-) My air conditioning is on, not only for relief from the weather outside but because some of us have allergies to the lovely trees and grass outside! :0 The only time I hate the heat is when I am caught in heavy traffic and my AC is off. ARRRRGH! The temp here right now is 86. We have one of those little inflatable pools -- I think it's bigger than 3 feet high and it's around ... 18 feet around? Help, TB! Anyway it's just big enough to be able to get into and cool off.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

Introducing myself

I guess I ought to introduce myself. I have known Cassie for a few years now.
I live in Indiana. I am a homemaker. My husband John and I have been married
25 years. We have 2 children. Melissa and Robbie. They're both grown up now.
I am an avid reader. I enjoy crafts, crochet, cross stitch and cooking.
We have one dog, Rascal. He is a black Lab/ terrier mix. And one cat, Sammy.
She is mostly white with patches of toritose shell.
I just want to say, Thank you to Cassie and Ted for creating this journal.
I look forward to getting to know new friends
Donna

Ponderings

Boy I tell you motherhood is not easiy and I'm really find out the hard way. Thank goodness I have help from my Father and Step-Mother, with out them I would be bald. Actually, Tk is a very good baby, and I thank the lord that I have him. Nana (Step-Mother) is so good with him. I was having trouble getting him to sleep tonight and she went out of her way to rock him to sleep. But of course when I go to lay him down in his crib he awakens! (Just my luck!) He continues to cry until I finally figure out what he wants....

AAHHH, the "never forget", the "wonderful thing that was created", THE BOTTLE! Never fear for it will quiet the baby...When he is hungry...DUH!!!
I kinda felt dumb the whole time he was fussing, but didn't relize it until I gave him his Boby...lol

Tk is going to be six months old on the 1st of August, and sometimes I feel I should know all of his cries by now, BUT nope they keep changing everyday. Just as he is changing everyday, which is very exciting. He is starting to sit on his own and make more distictive words. I can't wait till he start all the major things in his life, but I also do want him to grow up to fast.....Oh what a dilemma!!! lol

So untill next time....I should get to bed before Tk wakes up again..hehehe!

New Friends!

A warm welcome to our new Circle of Friends:
Betty
Linda
Robin
Karen
Dawn
Donna
Michele
Cassie
Jean
TB

Open for business!

This is the first post for our new family and friends weblog, Circle of friends.
Welcome!