Carlene

This is one of many reasons my granddaughter lives with me. Her father is verbally and emotionally abusive to his wife and children. He has been charged twice with domestic violence (assault with bodily harm). He would SCREAM at her, "You are so F*#&+%* stupid!" when she was just a toddler. She had to go into court-ordered counseling. It's too bad you couldn't get that woman's license plate number. Child Protective Services considers verbal/emotion abuse to be an office that justifies removing the child from the home. When Cheyenne (the granddaughter) was about 3 or 4, we were at one of those indoor playgrounds they used to have all over the place - like Playland at McDonald's but on a much bigger scale. A little boy was climbing thru the plastic pipes and just having a great time. His dad was ready to leave, though, and he wouldn't come. Every time his dad tried to grab him, he scampered up the rope thing like a little monkey and back into that plastic tube. Finally, his dad screamed, "Zach, get your ass down here RIGHT NOW!" Cheyenne looked at the guy and said, very sternly, "YOU have a potty mouth!" I loved it. The jerk glared at her. I just dared him to say something ugly to Cheyenne. I would have told him off in a heartbeat.

Yeah....if they won't take it, eat some yourself. Every once in a blue moon (especially holidays) my daughter (Cheyenne's mom) makes some comment about "getting my daughter back". It's just talk, and I know that - probably her guilty conscience talking. But it still pisses me off. This past week the gesture was, "If she weren't so spoiled at your house, I might stand a chance of getting my daughter back." I should send her to her mom's house for Christmas break, don't 'ya think? Might do both of them a world of good.

They have a name for women like that. They call them "mothers".

Boy, ain't it the truth. My fifth grade teacher pointed this out to me very effectively. In some hotly contested olympic event between the US and Russia, the US finished first. The Russian headlines read "Russia takes 2nd place, USA finishes next-to-last" - a technically accurate, though misleading, statement.

Except when she gets THAT attitude (you know the one I mean). Then I look at her and see her mother all over again. LOL

I think the day will come when you cannot smoke ANYWHERE except the privacy of your own home. Newborns in Texas are routinely tested for the presence of drugs and/or alcohol and can be taken into custody by CPS if they test positive. I think at some point in the future, a similar test will be done for nicotine.

The Duggers currently live in a 2400 square ft home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

The Duggers have 16 children, including 2 sets of twins. The last was born about 18 months ago, but there has been no announcement of another pregnancy. Their web site is www.jimbo.info, if anyone is interested. The Duggers are debt-free, an amazing accomplishment for any family. They are building a 7,000 square foot home without a mortgage. If they get paid for TV reality appearances, more power to them. So did Flavor Fav and those other weirdos. Personally, I'd rather watch the Duggers. All their children are home-schooled and play the violin and piano. They take them on field trips and study a very wide varity of subjects, including basic law and medicine. Jim Bob Dugger is able to provide financially for his family, and does. He owns a successful business and has serverd several terms as a State Representative and/or Senator. Although this family may consume more than its fair share of non-renewable resources, I think they give back a huge, positive example to the country at large. Their kids are respectful, well-mannered, and focused. I would bet money that none of them grow up to be on welfare or behind bars. The Duggers have chosen a less-traveled (and less popular) road. That doesn't mean they are "nuts". How well do your young children/grandchildren stack up to the Duggers? Mine tend toward materialism, laziness, and tantrums.

I just hope no one has pictures of me as a nursing (smoking) mother.

She's 14! The absolute worst age! Sometimes I wish she was "little" again. She was my baby diva. When we traveled, we carried a bag full of nothing but hair bows and ribbons. This was a trip to Graceland. She was almost 3.

Congrats, Kathy! I will be 11 years smoke-free next month! You are so going to love being free from cigarettes. One word of advice.....don't even consider having "just one". I did that a year after I quit the first time (it was in the hospital parking lot, the day my grandson died). One is all it takes to suck you back into a nicotine addiction (no pun intended).

YES....and isn't everyone glad?

Well, here we are....DH Bob, myself, granddaughter Cheyenne, and Lucy the Shih-Tzu Color0009.BMP

Here's my tree - one of those "skinny" ones because I don't have much room, and my table.

I absolutely agree. You lose your right to cry "foul" as soon as you step over the line yourself.

I have to say, Wheetsin, I'm glad you don't know me. I think I'm pretty "intensely religious" - I'm just not as loudly religious as some people are.

I have a friend who makes bookmarks out of bead, stones, etc. They are very pretty and quite useful.

Don't rub it in. I am raising a granddaughter. I will be 60 when she graduates from high school.

The people at the end of my street put a sign just like this one in their yard, for obvious reasons. It was stolen. Go figure.

Bullwinkle said in the very first post of this thread that she/he is not a smoker.

I think it was all about the Statue of Liberty holding a cross. That might be offensive to Jewish people. Would you be offended if the statue were holding a Star of David? Maybe it was the Ten Commandments. You know, they aren't actually ours. They were given to Moses, for his people - who were Jewish. What about the crescent moon, the symbol of Islamic belief? I would love, just as a test, to see someone erect a giant Statue of Liberty holding the crescent moon and star. I'm guessing the outcry would be deafening.

What an asinine statement. I read the other day on CNN that 40% of all babies born in the US last year were born out of wedlock. How is that more "conscionable" than two women having/raising a child together? The involvement of a penis does not impart either wisdom or virtue.

"We are winning the war," Army Chief of Staff Gen. Harold K. Johnson said of Vietnam in August 1967. "No, Mr. President, we are not winning the war," Republican Rep. Tim Lee Carter told President Lyndon Johnson. "We shall persist, and America shall succeed," President Johnson said in June 1966. Oct. 25: President Bush said, "Absolutely, we're winning." Tuesday: Robert Gates, defense secretary nominee, told a Senate panel, "No, sir." These guys (Johnson and Bush) have a lot in common. Johnson didn't want to go down in history as the President who lost the war in Vietnam. George Bush is now in the same boat, and it's sinking fast. It sucks to be you, George.

Just thought I'd mention that Dick Cheney's oldest daughter gave birth to her fifth child in July. Not only is she highly educated, but she's one smart lady, as well. And his younger daughter - yes, the Lesbian - is expecting a baby, too. Congrats to them both!

Diane... I am extremely envious. My mom didn't enjoy being a parent. That may have come later, after she and my dad split up, and she had to go it alone, I don't know. She did everything she was supposed to. She kept us clean, and fed. She bought us most of the same stuff the other kids had. She just never seemed happy to be doing any of the mom stuff. She stopped putting up a tree at Christmas as soon as I left home. I always felt like I was a huge burden to my mother. My brother was much older than me, so I grew up almost like an only child. I was a latchkey child, as my older (almost 40 when I was born)single mother worked two jobs most of my life, and she was tired when she got home. She didn't like having a bunch of neighborhood kids in the house, making a mess and playing loud music. It was lonely. I loved babies. My single greatest desire growing up was to get married and have a bunch of kids. I stopped at four, but I tried really hard to be a GREAT mom. I hope my kids think back on their childhoods with half the warmth and appreciation you have for yours.