06/23/08 10:13 PM, Tanya wrote:

Welcome, Kathy! We're back from our trip...it rained every day we were there and of course according to the weather channel it's beautiful up there now that we've left... sigh... ah well, what can ya do? What is everyone else up to? I had a Dr.'s appointment today and he said he won't let me go past 39 weeks, so that makes my due date more like July 15. Since we have a festival in town the 15th and 16th, I'll have to talk him into like the 11th or 12th so I can be home to watch the parade. LOL Or maybe just go into labor on my own and solve the whole thing. :D

06/13/08 11:08 AM, Tanya wrote:

Hello and welcome to all the new members! I'm on vacation in the north woods, but it's raining like crazy today, so we're taking a computer break... so start some conversations going and I'll be back soon! :) Tanya

06/13/08 08:59 AM, Holly wrote:

Hi. My name is Holly and I have 2 boys ages 8 and 17. Nice to meet all of you and hope we get the chance to chat.

06/12/08 10:23 PM, Nathalie & Stephane wrote:

Hi, I am 42 with 3 boys aged 1, 3 and 23 yrs of age. I also have a step son aged 6 yrs.

06/11/08 10:01 PM, kim wrote:

Hi all I'm 41 , married , with boys aged 21 , 18, 12, 8 and a daughter aged 3 . Also a grandma to a 1 year old girl !

06/05/08 03:12 PM, Tanya wrote:

We're going on a trip to northern Minnesota, up by International Falls. My parents retired this winter so they rented some cabins to squoosh all of the kids, grandkids, them, and my grandpa into for a week to celebrate. After a week of all of us they'll probably want to move south....far away from us all. ROFL I hope it's fun...could get tense if it continues to rain every day like it's been doing...

06/05/08 01:19 PM, MARY wrote:

Congratulations Tanya. Boys are great. I have two boys and one girl. What is everyone doing this weekend? It is 87 degrees right now in Buffalo,NY. I think I'll put up my son's pool when I get home.

06/04/08 10:12 PM, Tanya wrote:

Welcome Judy and Rebekah! We're a bit slow here lately...I think everyone is enjoying summer! Jump in and start some conversations, and tell us more about yourselves! :D By the way, we did eventually get an ultrasound where the baby didn't clamp it's legs together...and yup, it's a 4th boy for us... I had a little cry in the parking lot of the clinic, but that night we went to a pizza place and someone was having a birthday party full of little girls in about 2nd grade...and wow, were they being catty! "Did you see what she was wearing" "She thinks he likes her but he thinks she's stupid"...they sounded like they should have been in high school! So I think God knows what He's doing giving me boys...I'm not sure I could take that kind of drama! lol Still, we've talked about eventually adopting a girl, probably one a bit older, once we get past this baby stage again with our next one... I'll have to find a tomboy. lol Tanya

05/20/08 12:02 AM, Judy wrote:

I am going to guess I am the oldest mommy on the block. I am 50 and my kids range from 5 to 29. I have 8. The first three are birth and the youngest 5 are adopted. My husband of 18 years decided to have a mid-life crisis 2 years ago so I am on my own. Being old, single and the mommy of little kids is not always easy....but then it wasn't always easy with two of us....just more fun. I am definitely more laid back asa parent now. I don't worry about matching shoes and clothes in Wal Mart. You didn't brush your hair before school...."bummer, I guess you'll remember tomorrow." If that was one of the first three, everyone would have been late to school as I would have driven back home for a hair brush. I enjoy more of the little things....bugs, missed bedtimes for extra hugs, juice in the floor because the littlest wanted to help put the juice up. Right now I have to say my biggest joy is watching my 12 year old son with cerebral palsy mow our yard...his way. He has yet to cut all the grass but he is having a great time AND he is doing it by himself. He has perfect use of his arms/hands but limited use of his legs. He reminds me of someone with severe arthritis. I am in Texas and we had our first 100 degree day today. Keep in mind that last week, we had to wear jackets.

05/16/08 06:48 PM, Rebekah wrote:

I look forward to chatting with his group. I am 43, in my second marraige to a wonderful husband and Dad. It's a his, mine and ours kind of family, altogether our children are this old: 23, 22, 19, 14, 13, 12, and 2!! We are not all together, though I would really love to have the chance to have ALL the kids here for a reunion of sorts!

05/02/08 01:03 PM, Tanya wrote:

Hello new members! Jump in and start the conversation. Where has everyone gone? It must be nice weather and everyone is outside! Too bad it keeps raining here! :P

04/28/08 04:10 PM, Tanya wrote:

So what are you all up to this week? How's your weather? Are we excited for the end of school and summer break, or dreading it? I personally love summer break almost as much as the kids. I'm not a structured person, so it's nice to just have each day to do as we please... although I do admit there are those moments... lol

04/27/08 11:18 PM, Tanya wrote:

Our snow was gone, and it was beautiful out...then over the weekend we got a dusting of snow. Further north of us they got INCHES of snow! Yuck. My spring flowers are starting to come up, but it's supposed to be chilly all week. I bet we'll go from 40 to 95 overnight and just skip spring. That or we'll have a cool summer...I don't want that, either! Eli was in the hospital last week, but is home now again and doing fine. If you want the whole, long story, check out my blog. I won't bore people with it here again. So I'm hoping this week goes better. Next Sunday two of my friends are holding a baby shower for me. This should be fun...it's been 20 years since my last one.

04/01/08 01:17 PM, MARY wrote:

All our snow has melted and it is 60 and windy here in Buffalo, NY. My youngest son hates getting his hair cut and it's been getting very long. He told me when all the snow melts he will get it cut. Well I showed him all the snowed melted this morning, so he agreed to sit still, be a good boy, and let my friend cut his hair tonight.

03/31/08 11:19 AM, Tanya wrote:

I'm figuring we'll be the family that everyone says "we know of a family with 4 boys". lol Ah well, any baby is a blessing... Cute about making an egg for the bunny. Did it work? lol We have SNOW here today. Heavy stuff, they even are advising no travel on I90 which doesn't happen often. Last year it was in the 70's by this time. At least it can't last long, and Eli got out of school early, so he's happy!

03/25/08 08:47 AM, MARY wrote:

Tanya, Kids say the cutest things don't they?!? My 5yo had to color an egg for the Easter bunny. He thought maybe the Easter bunny would leave more candy if he did.

03/25/08 08:38 AM, Mary wrote:

That's so cute, Tanya! I know of a family who has seven girls!! They all have both the same parents. My 3 birth daughters have different dads. My oldest daughter's dad died when she was 7, my second husband and I divorced and #3? Well, she's my surprise!!

03/24/08 12:01 PM, Tanya wrote:

Did everyone have a nice Easter? Any funny or sweet stories to tell? This wasn't exactly Easter, but might have to do with all the talk of eggs... but our 4 year old asked us last week if our 2 cats were going to lay eggs and have kittens. LOL I thought that was cute...

03/24/08 12:00 PM, Tanya wrote:

Wow Mary, what a story! Actually, 20 years ago an OB/GYN told me that I might as well stop taking my bc pills (they were making me sick to my stomach) because I'd never get pregnant anyway due to really erratic cycles. Well, here we are, I'm nearly 42 and pregnant for the 5th time! They don't know everything. A friend of mine was just told her husband has kidney cancer and the outlook isn't good...I told her my story and told her to hold on to faith that the doctor is wrong! I'm still wondering, though, what the chances are that after 3 boys we'll get our girl? Anyone know people who have three of the same and then one of the other sex? I know one family in town, but I also know a lot with 4 or 5 of the same sex... Doesn't matter really, we'll love the baby either way...but it would be nice not to be the only female in the house! The last US we had, the baby had it's legs clamped tight with the cord between them, so we couldn't find out. If it's a girl, I hope she keeps those legs together until she's married! LOL

03/24/08 09:45 AM, Mary wrote:

Hi! I am 51 y.o. and the mother of an 11 year old daughter (along with 5 others). After my OB/GYN told me I could never concieve again ( after having cervical cancer twice), There I was...pregnant at 40!!! NEVER take the doc's word for it that you'll never concieve again!! LOL!!

03/12/08 09:12 PM, Annamarie wrote:

Mary, i agree with you, it was just a lapse in judgement on the mothers part, nothing she should have been arrested for. Unlike the mother and boyfriend that left a baby locked into their car seat for a week till it starved to death...I mean where was justice there, were were the cops, etc?

03/12/08 07:27 PM, MARY wrote:

I have never left my kids in the car, except to pump gas and only if I was paying with a credit card so I could pay at the pump. Even then I locked the doors. I do think that this story is getting way out of hand. This mother to me did nothing wrong except a lapse in judgement. She should have stopped at another time to drop off the money with the other girls. The justice system is getting crazy as far as I am concerned. People who abuse their kids get them back only to abuse them again. This mother I feel is a good mother.

03/12/08 06:18 PM, Annamarie wrote:

i live in california, this is a major point of argument with me. both parties were at fault. I never would have left my child, sleeping or otherwise, not even for a split second. Not even if i was within sight of the car, no matter what the weather was like. The other children were probably old enough to walk from the car to the salvation army pot by themselves, with me standing at the car watching them, but i would never have left a child in the car at all. The police officer or guard or whatever over reacted just the same. Both need a good talking to and both need to be slapped on the wrist. That is just my opinion.

03/12/08 05:01 PM, Tanya wrote:

Anyone see this? What do you think? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23594474/?GT1=43001

03/11/08 04:44 AM, Annamarie wrote:

I think we have everyone beat in the weather department. Temps have been well over 80 degrees for the past couple of weeks. I dont mind warm, but i hate having to be out in the sun when its that hot, and in my line of work, that is what i do, everyday. Only a few more days till spring break..that would be great for me, if I got paid for it, but anytime the school gets closed, I dont get paid! I will have my hands full with chores when spring break hits...

03/10/08 10:36 PM, Tanya wrote:

So, what's up this week for everyone? I think it's finally going to warm up some...in the 40's. I'm so anxious for the snow and ice to be gone and the flowers to start to grow! So far our week is pretty calm, but that can always change quickly...

03/02/08 01:33 PM, Tanya wrote:

Awww, we used to have those days for our oldest and call them "Zachary Day". He'd pick whatever he wanted to do and we'd go along with it (for the most part, sometimes we had to redirect a bit!) I was just saying we need to do that for the other boys. I let them take turns deciding things like where to eat when we eat out, but they should have whole days to pick, too. I'm glad you had fun! We're having a pretty laid back weekend, but we did get the haircuts done...they look SO much better...and have had some fun moments.

03/01/08 09:39 PM, Christalle & Kelly wrote:

Just got back with my "date" with my 4 yr old dtr, it was all her choice. We started with icecream at Kaliedescoops, then went to Chucky Cheese for a drink and to play, and ended it with take home kids meal from Burger King. A fun time together. My 6yr old son and 8 yr old dtr are still at the races with Daddy, Uncle, Daddy's friend and his girl and boy....they will have a late night but lots of fun... Hope ya'all were able to share some joy! Best to you all

02/29/08 09:52 PM, Tanya wrote:

Your weekend sounds fun!

02/29/08 07:43 PM, Christalle & Kelly wrote:

This weekend my daughter is cheerleading at an upwards basketball game and my kids are having cousins over to play...Sunday is all filled with church activities. Dad is taking the two oldest to motorcross and the 4 yr old and I will have a special date...

02/29/08 06:51 PM, Tanya wrote:

Ok, back on this junk topic... 12 years ago we lived in a very, very tiny (I'm not exaggerating) cabin on a lake and the only things we had there were the bare essentials. And, thankfully, our family photos which I kept stashed under the bed. Every thing else we'd brought there from our 4 bedroom farmhouse was in storage. The storage unit burned and apart from about 2 boxes of little odds and ends, nothing was saved. So when we moved back to Minnesota we had nothing but the bare essentials. And life was easy! So here I am 12 years, and 2 more kids, later and we have a house just packed with junk. It's making me nuts! Where does it come from? I swear it just multiplies on it's own. Of course, we both have jobs where we work based at home and the companies ship us stuff that we may or may not use for resets in stores...that doesn't help, because that stuff accumulates. Still, it's not all just that stuff... :P There are moments I wish we could have another fire...but somehow not take the house or the stuff I really do love. LOL I have a pile on the porch waiting to go to Salvation Army. So I am making a dent, but it just seems to go so slowly! Anyone else have the clutter, or do you all stay on top of it?

02/29/08 06:46 PM, Tanya wrote:

I love hiding ground up carrots in meatloaf and sloppy joes. lol My kids aren't bad with veges, but extras never hurt. They wouldn't like to know there were veges in their meat, though...foods can't be mixed, you know... lol

02/29/08 02:22 PM, Annamarie wrote:

Jr has something special going on at the school this weekend...its called adventures in learning. He adores school, and he is really looking forward to it, plus they will feed him a good breakfast, so that is a special treat for him tomorrow. As for us, we have loads of things to do here at the house, clean the kitchen, cook, etc...making a very healthy meatloaf dish for dinner tomorrow, the kind of dish you can put veggies in and the kids would never know it! Of course my kid loves veggies so it doesnt matter lol.

02/29/08 01:51 PM, Tanya wrote:

I think I'm going to take Eli and Isaiah in for haircuts...long overdue! And run a few errands. Brent is working this weekend, and pretty much every day from now until May...it's their busy time of year. So we won't be doing anything too exciting. I usually let the kids pick a place to eat once on the weekends that he's gone (then I get out of cooking, too!) It's Isaiah's turn to pick this weekend. Other than that I've been trying to organize/declutter before we add another kid to the flock, so I'll probably keep plugging at that...where does all the junk come from?

02/29/08 09:36 AM, MARY wrote:

So does anyone have anything special planned for this weekend? I am taking Matthew to the movies tomorrow afternoon, then we have my niece's 6th birthday party at night. Sunday we are supposed to be going to the Science Musuem.

02/22/08 04:23 PM, Annamarie wrote:

i wish i could have shown my son the eclipse, or at least taken some shots of it with my camera...but unfortunately its been storming here to beat the band, so no sign of the moon in the past week...have to wait till 2010, well my son will be old enough to appreciate it even more by then.

02/22/08 03:24 PM, MARY wrote:

I watched the ecilpse of the moon. It was amazing. I wanted my son to see it too but it was too late and he was asleep.

02/22/08 11:30 AM, Tanya wrote:

Robin must have joined just long enough to spam us. Nice... Anyway....how are you all today? We spent Wed. night at the ER with our 4 yo...he smashed his fingers in a door at church. It looked horrible...blood all over, big lacerations and dents in his fingers. Fortunately nothing was broken. They glued his lacerations and sent us home...after about 4 hours. ugh. Life with kids... Did anyone watch the eclipse of the moon that night? I wanted to, but...missed it. We watched the last one. It's pretty fascinating. Better get moving here. Have a great Friday!

02/22/08 10:40 AM, MARY wrote:

Thanks Robin, I think I will check it out.

02/22/08 05:41 AM, Robin wrote:

This group might like to know of www.MotherhoodLater.com. It is an on and offline community for those parenting later in life.

02/20/08 05:19 PM, Annamarie wrote:

congratulations Mary!

02/20/08 01:22 PM, MARY wrote:

Tanya, So glad that the baby looks healthy in the sonogram. With my last I wanted another girl so bad. We were going to wait to find out when the baby was born though so it would be a surprise. Well when I went for the sonogram, the baby had his legs spread wide open as if to say - see mom I am a BOY. The nurse didn't even have to tell us - there was no denying that he was a boy. He was a show off then and at 5 yo he still is.

02/20/08 01:11 PM, Annamarie wrote:

mary, like i said, you are lucky then, i dont know anyone that has actually won anything on those sites, or gotten paid from them...i get paid more from the survey sites i belong to, where they send a survey, you answer questions or try a product...i dont like the ones that they send you an email saying check out this site,sign up for it and we will pay you for checking it out...which is what a few of the sites you mentioned did to me. they claim i am still a m ember even tho they never send anything more to me.

02/20/08 01:04 PM, MARY wrote:

Hi everyone, I don't order anything, I just do the freebies - no trials or anything. I too find it hard to keep track of things in time to cancel them, that is why I don't do those offers. I get paid either by check or paypal or gift card on the sites I am on. That way I can spend the money the way I want.

02/20/08 12:43 PM, Tanya wrote:

Mary, have you won anything on those contests? I'm not lucky with that stuff. And I can't sign up for any offers where you have to cancel them later because I'm not organized enough to remember to cancel them! I know those sites can work if you're good at it, but I'm not. :P But thanks for sharing...maybe someone will be able to make a go with them. I have a few that strictly send surveys that they pay you for. I'll post those in a bit... right now I'm going to get some lunch!

02/20/08 12:41 PM, Tanya wrote:

I have a few sites that I earn a little on...not huge amounts, but it's always fun to get that 5.00 check in the mail...ice cream money or something... I'll post the ones I have in a bit... Well, I went for the ultrasound...we're having...drum roll...a baby with it's legs tight together and the umbilical cord between them. ROFL At least my fragile hopes of having a girl this time haven't been squashed yet, and I can hope for awhile longer. LOL The good thing is that all looked healthy and on target, and the baby has all the usual parts. I think the Dr. plans to do an u.s. every month due to some other health concerns I have, so maybe we'll find out in a few weeks.... It's only supposed to be a high of ZERO here today, that's Farenheit (sp.). Ugh. How are things with everyone else? I'm having a fun time reading what you all do for a living... If I ran a candy business out of my house...well, I'd eat all the profit. LOL

02/20/08 11:15 AM, Annamarie wrote:

mary, unfortunately i have been with these groups for years...and have not earned anything...not a dime..most of what they send out is garbage, most stuff they want you to fill out requires a credit card, also most of the forms you fill out ends up being sold to other companies...i suppose its fine if you can constantly go to the site, and have a credit card, etc...but i dont. doesnt do me any good...but thanks for offering.

02/20/08 10:01 AM, MARY wrote:

Annamarie, Here are my favorites sites that I make free money on. Check them out and if you have any questions let me know and I will help you! Mary Jo InBox Dollars: Pay out is minimum of $30.00 You get emails and can do surveys to make money. You get $5 just for joining. The link is below: just cut and paste to sign up http://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=auople Quick Rewards: I love this site. Pay out is minimum of $25.00. You do free offers and surveys. You also collect points for prizes. The link is below: just cut and paste to sign up. http://www.quickrewards.net/?r=mattsmom Squishy Cash: This site is my favorite and I have made the most free money here. You get $3 for joining. You just fill out free offers. They have tons of contests so you can earn extra money. Pay out is $20.00. You also earn chips which you can use for gift cards, prizes, etc. The link is below: just cut and paste to sign up. http://squishycash.com/members/register.php?ref=mattsmom

02/20/08 05:28 AM, Annamarie wrote:

Welcome aboard, Tammy!

02/20/08 12:05 AM, Tammy wrote:

Hi My name is Tammy and I'm 41. I have 18yo, 14yo, 11yo, and 3yo.