Can't be without my friends. You all are a big part of my success.

pictures that made me smile today

Hi' date=' Ladies,

C Mom, you are doing amazing. I am in awe of your strength and determination. So happy recovery is going well. It does sound like that nurse needs to GO!!! No one treats my C Mom that way!!! Btw, Delaney is a DOLL! What a pretty name too. How is Ange feeling? My vinyl creations I ordered from Paula were a big hit with Audrey and my bf, Patricia.

Skinny Mini Mouse... you will definitely be in my thoughts as you prepare for the next huge step in your journey. You are so smart and so driven I have faith you will do well. I know it is difficult but you seem to flourish in being challenged.

Terri, sounds like things are going well for you. (except the rain). I am glad you are doing well. Scrapbooking is a good source of fun and escape too. I will have to consider letting "killer" out to protect me in this neighborhood o' mine. ha! He has a very deep bark and can be very intimidating.

Dee, how's everyone doing? I hope the Dee household is healthy and doing well. Are the kids back to school this week? Hang in there with school, my friend. You got this!

Diane, I hope the move is going well and everyone will be settling in soon. How are YOU doing these days?

Carole, thanks for your concern. I hope to be moving in a couple months. It's all dependent on whether my job will allow me to work 5 days remotely. I am just starting to train in a new area and I need to get through that before considering that. As it is, I will be working remotely 2 days per week. I am off this week for moving the kids off, Audrey's 18th bday today, and Ericka coming home late Thurs. Today she is exploring Machu Pichu in Peru. She is having the time of her life.

My ex was going to help move Audrey in Wed and that's not happening, nor is he helping Sunday with Ericka. Doing it alone, yet again. He was supposed to come see Audrey yesterday to Celebrate her bday but was "too tired" from work so she spent a good part of yesterday and the day before in tears. Ugh.

Anyway, I am excited the kids are starting another great year and sooooo excited to see Ericka in a few days. Have a great day!!!

[/quote']

Audrey and tyler are about the same age! Ty turns 18 on Sept 1!

WOW Dawn' date=' sounds like you are going to be busy.....

It is too bad your ex puts himself ahead of his girls., one day he will regret it.

Happy , happy Birthday Audrey!!!!

I'm very excited about Erika's safe return home. She will never forget this time in her life.

Angie is doing well. She's been having back problems, but hey, her back has 30 extra pounds on it.

Loved my PT, she too is pleased with my progress. I just know God has answered all the prayers regarding my surgery and recovery.

Dr also gave me permission to fire RN. She did the same thing as before and I talked with Drs nurse. She said the RN left a long rambling voicemail that made no sense to them, so I no longer need a nurse, yeah! She told me I could shower, Dr said absolutely not.

My hub has been very good to me, out of character for him. He actually brought home a crossword puzzle book for me. His attitude has made this much easier.

Terri, Carole, Dee, Di, Skinny Mini & Dawn, you all mean so much to me. Thank you for your kindmness and support.[/quote']

I don't think her ex will ever regret it unless the day comes that he needs something. He sure won't regret it for the right reasons. How utterly sad. Children think its something about them that is unloveable instead of the inability for their dad to love.

Glad Angie is doing well! By BFF since age 3 just became a gma yesterday. I can't believe we are old enough to be gmas!

Beautiful baby girl. I kinda wanna be a grandmother now but... I can't stand my sil and they obviously can't stand each other so her being a mom is no good. I can wait.

Just a swift hi-bye...I get it line the new pantry and lower shelves today. Our new bedroom furniture arrives on Thursday. Things are looking more positive to be ready for the first waves of house guests in October.

Dawn, cat's cannot "change their spots", and dead beat dads are the same way. He will never change, the the best thing you can do is to help your daughters realize this also so that the amount of hurt and disappointment to them is minimized.

Janet, glad that the nurse is history...keep up with the great job with rehab!

Terri, I understand, much of the traditions which were passed to me through my family are kept alive by me, with only Jay,who has 2 sons of his own interested with preserving them for his sons.

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday...

Carole, sounds like things are coming around nicely. Hope to see pictures of new bedroom furniture.

How far in advance do I need to make reservations??? lol

Dawn, your new foster baby is so cute, I don't know how you foster such a gorgeous dog and then give them up?! It must be hard!!!!

How's your back doing? Band behaving itself?

Di, Hoping now that moms apartment is packed, you have sometime for you. Are you eating properly? I hope and pray!

Dee, I pray Charlie gets serious about his new way of living. He was lucky he had a wake up call and a second chance at life. Like us, he doesn't need to blow it.

Between Charlie, kids, s hool, work and home, I'm worried about you. I hope you can find a few quiet Dee moments. (((((hugs)))))

Terri, You sure are busy too. I think my scrapbooking would start looking like a quilt.....lol

I can't put too much info in this brain of mine, suffering from overload.

Mini, skinny, shrink a dink, I'm on drugs and so confused. How do you keep all your balls in the air?

I have to post this before I close my eyes again. Time for a nap....

PT really worked the knee super hard yesterday. I was able to do what she asked, but boy my knee is not happy. Ice and pills, pills and ice.

Everyone have a good day. PT early today, I want my mommy!!!! lol

love you all!

Forgot to mention, Angela's c section is scheduled for Oct 23.

A quick hi-bye again...the fabricators were here for the countertop measurements. They complimented Jack on the quality of his installation, saying most professional installers do not do the same accuracy as Jack did. We have to cut the sink base down several inches for proper placement for the sink, and then worry about the oven installation, which is separate from the rest of the work.

I am seeing red over the misinformation that the kitchen designer gave us regarding the raised bar...it takes a lot for me to get to the point to complain to management about their lack of accurate information, but we may not have enough of the marble, and may have to purchase more. But is would not be from the same lot, and matching it would be difficult if not impossible. Rant over..

Janet, so glad that you are making progress...I know how painful it can be, but there is an endpoint in sight, so in this also, please strive to keep your eye on the prize. Also happy to know the date for Ange's C-section. The time will fly by...

Dawn, what a special woman you are to foster dogs until they find forever homes...Audrey's birthday picture was stunning! I know how much you will enjoy seeing Erica again...she has had an adventure of a lifetime. Brent still talks about the months he spent in Australia.

Terri, How's the scrapbooking coming along? I would love to see a picture of a sample page...there are so many creative ways to create each work of art.

Got to get back to lining shelves in the kitchen...I hope all have a great hump day!

Hi, Ladies,

A bit of a quick fly by Ericka made it to Miami and will be here a bit after 10 pm tonight. She has never flown internationally and didn't know she couldn't bring fresh fruit/food back w/ her. Thankfully, she "claimed" them so they knew she wasn't trying to sneak anything as they told her it would have been a $300 fine if she didn't. They took everything but her bananas. lol. My gram lives close to the airport so we are stopping to visit her on the way home and gram is staying up late. Terri, I can't wait to hear about her trip in Peru and glad you are in better shape to go on trip. She said they had to climb so many stairs and some people couldn't do it, aside from the endurance needed to do so many stairs, it was hard breathing w/ the altitude.

Dropped of Audrey yesterday, she was so excited setting up room. Had a few bumps as she gets b*tchy when under stress and I wasn't going to have it. She had a couple bouts of that today on the phone and I wasn't having it either. I really think this is a great opportunity for her to grow up and looking forward to that.

Good Evening All,

Finally time to catch up and slow down. I'm skipping exercise this evening...the joints are just too unhappy. I've been exercising an hour 5-6 evenings a week since we returned from Florida, and now am up to a full hour. Not that it's making a difference weight wise, but I usually get energized and get in my ten to eleven thousand steps a day. It felt good while on the prednisone, but now the effects (pain free joints), including increased appetite have worn off.

The new bedroom furniture is here finally, these were the only pieces of furniture to come into this house which were not rained on. I can't figure out how to post pictures from my ipad or iphone to this thread. Does anyone know how???

So, we had to return to Lowe's to pick up the new microwave, as the first one they delivered was badly dented on both sides...and from the outside of the box it looked like it had not been tossed about too much. Good thing while we were there we also purchased a generator, as when we returned home, the power was off, and we have no clue for how long.. Jack got to test it out immediately, and it works. We have been having short power outages periodically for the past few weeks, but they seem to be more frequent now, and likely will be worse over the winter months. So strange to me...we lived in Florida for years, went though numerous hurricanes, and Jack never wanted to invest in a generator. We are just arrived here, and now he wants one. Can't figure him out...

Everyone has been so quiet...I hope all is well with each of you!

Dawn, yes, being out on your own will give Audrey a more realistic understanding of her world. It's good that you set your boundaries firm with her. You are the last person she should be grumpy with!

If no one checks in here...I guess I'll "see" you on FB!

Sweet dreams and hugs...

Hi Ladies,

Had a really busy day today. Went for my one week post op, Dr very pleased with my range of motion. Took off my lovely white embolism stockings, yeah, hot in FL. Removed all bandages and can shower now. Scheduled other knee for Sept 11. Things seem to be moving quickly

Went with Ange to her last high risk ob appt. Got a picture of Emilia, but she wouldn't let go of umbilical across face. Still an amazing shot.

Dawn, you must be so excited having Erika home. Lots to talk about. When does she have to report back to school? Does the new foster puppy like her? How was gram?

Carole, Things are really coming together. Sorry to hear about the miscalculation on counter top. I would have been po'd too. It's not just a little thing.

Can you take a picture of new furniture with your ipad?

Like I told you before, if its on my phone, I email it back to my email acct and then just savs it from there.

Mini must be terribly busy studying!

Dee, busy wrangling kids and Charlie

Terri lost in her scrapbooking.

and where's Di?meet Emilia

Finishing up with Disney pictures today and then I may go back to quilting for a bit!

Welcome to the group Emilia! Your Gram rocks!

Carole, hope the counter tops all work out ok. I know you must be livid about the marble!

Dawn... one out, one it. How long do you get with Ericka before she heads back to school? Audrey will grow up, I promise.

Doreen, how do the kids like school so far. I hope CJ had a fabulous birthday, we need pictures of smiley!

Michele... Hope you are studying hard. We are all here with you!

Diane... more FB than LBT, but hope things are going well with the house expansion plans.

Janet... congrats on the knee progress... next thing we know you will be doing the couch to 5 K!

Love to all for a super weekend, good weather and general happiness!

Good Almost Afternoon all,

Janet, fabulous news from your ortho doctor...I was certainly expecting a stellar report! Thank you for the pic of Emilia...I hope I spelled that right. I am ecstatic that the pregnancy is progressing well! What blessings you have in your life! Keep on moving forward.

Terri, already up to the Disney pictures, I wish I could stay current like that. One of my projects for retire,met is to put the finishing touches on the baby books for all 3 sons. About time now that they are all in their 30's!

Dawn, happy that Erica arrived home safely. I'm certain she will have many adventures to share...and they will be with her forever! What will you do with all your new "me" time and less drama in the house? I'm certain it will be an easy adaptation for you! Enjoy this time.

And Dee, Diane, Mini, may only good things come your way, whatever your current focus is...

I sense that this wonderful group is losing some of it's cohesiveness...but at least most of us can stay connected through FB.

I hope all have a great rest of their Friday, and just in case no one is here, a great weekend as well!

It's a privilege to know you all!

Back to school time of year is busy for everyone. I am sure we will hang together somewhere!

Never going to let any one of you go!!!!!

Trying to wean myself off pain meds. I was able to take half of my usual dose, but it has been hard.

Terri, you are right " couch to 5k" and wanting you all to be there with me. I'm certian Mini can come up with a motivational theme for me, us.

This morning I was back to pre op weight and I'm sure I still have a pound or two of swelling, better than the 7 lbs.

Carole, hope the remodeling is going forward.

Terri, I'm having quiltingnwithdrawal. So hoping to get Maddy's lap quilt done for her birthday. I guess if I put my embolism stockings on, I can sit at machine.

Right now I am sitting on a heating pad.lol It's funny that a nerve that runs down your leg, can give you one pain in the ass.

My band is still super tight, glad I didn't have a fill before surgery.

Dawn, How is your world traveler?

Love you guys!

Thanks for listening to me piss and moan. I promise it won't be forever.

Hugs for you all!

Hi, Ladies,

Sorry, it's been crazy busy. Tonight was a bit rough w/ Audrey. Her roommate went home for the weekend so this is the first time Audrey is alone. She was in tears earlier that she is trying to participate in all the Welcome Week activities and even trying to meet others but no one has talked to her. Her roommate has a lot of friends going there and has been including Audrey but it also makes Audrey feel like she has no friends. I was trying to reassure her it will get easier and she will have lots of friends, etc. I had already planned to go down there tomorrow w/ my dad, stepmom and Ericka for them to see her and her room, Ericka, etc. To which she reminded me and then she will be alone again. At 4, she has more welcome activities and Sunday her roommate comes back. It broke my heart but I knew I couldn't come "rescue" her either and she needed to work through this. Well, she was having trouble getting her laptop connected and started working on that again tonight and got it connected. So, I was happy that she stopped crying and occupied herself. This is probably the first night she has even slept on her own somewhere without me or someone she knows in the next room. So this is big for her. Keeping in mind, 2 years ago I had her in counseling as she couldn't even be in her bedroom without her sister there and be alone. This is a HUGE step for her.

On a happier note, Ericka had a great time on her trip. Terri, you may know all of this already but I guess there are 2 mountains you can climb up to see Machu Picchu. Ericka climbed Mount Machu Picchu. She said it was pretty intense as it was like 8,300 stairs to climb it. I am not sure I could do it as I am so scared of heights. She said the other mountain wasn't as high but the stairs were steeper. I am sure I could make myself do one of them if it came down to it as the views were amazing!!!! I will get some pictures and share them. She had such a great time as I am sure you will. She worked out a couple weeks before she went and thought that helped her lungs and she had to use her inhaler w/ the altitude.

Ericka goes back to school Sunday. Her old babysitter is letting me borrow her car so we can fit everything. Her dad's house is not too much out of the way on our way (he is 60 miles from me) so I told her we can stop there so she can see her brothers. They are so cute.

CMom, aw, the pics are adorable. I am so happy to hear her due date is right around the corner. How exciting!!! I am also so happy to hear how well you are doing!!!

Dee, how are the kids doing back to school? How is Charlie doing?

Carole, so excited about your house coming more and more together. What a relief it will be when you can be more settled in. I love the leaves you posted. Fall is such a beautiful time. I took Ericka to Olive Garden for dinner and they have a seasonal pumpkin pie cheesecake on the menu and it took me a back that it is that time of year.

Mini, I hope the studying is going well and you ace your tests!!! Miss hearing from you and hope you are doing well.

Di, I miss you my friend. I hope you are doing well and that you are getting settled. I also hope you are taking care of yourself.