[Jenniffer]

Hi everyone..and thank you as always for always having the right words!

I've missed you all so so much and think about everyone all the time. I am getting very excited that the New year will begin very soon. I have hope for the future..and now..am committing myself to look good in that future, whatever it may be.

icewoman..How are you feeling?? Any names picked out yet?

Derby..You amaze me each time you post! A huge CONGRATS for being approved in China!!! You must be SO excited. Do you have your heart set on a name yet?

jkfla..You sure have your hands full. I am sure your melting already! I want a pic!!! lol

spartanmom..How you doing? Survive the holiday goodies? I barely did!

Jen..How was Christmas with the baby? I am sure next year will be more fun when he can rip open up all the gifts under the tree! lol

christine..Poor thing! If it's not one thing, it's another. How was your holidays?

1fralick..What can I even say? Thank you.

Sam..WOOHOOOO! Missed you!!! Congrats on the loss!!! Better pat yourself on the back!

Nasus..How have you been sweetie?

[icewoman]

Hello all,

Hope everyone had a good christmas. Mine was good. It started out sad and got better and ended with a crash. I got a call around 9 in the morning from a friend in TOPS telling me that a TOPS members husband passed away christmas eve. He went really quick and painless I guess but not a good time to pass on. The rest of the day was pretty good till after supper when my cousin decided to call her son a moose. He is 14 years old and overweight. I grew up with this type of treatment all my life. I blew up. She also started to compare him to her mother who passed away around 5 years ago. When she started this I could not control myself. I was yelling at her and telling her she is going to ruin her sons life. Her other son had so much ritilin in him that he was emotionless. Didn't talk. She told us she overdosed him on the ritilin. All my life I was compared to my aunt. People telling me I was going to grow up like her and be like her. My dad and I had a talk afterwards and he told me I was alot like her but the good side of her. I was also alot like my dad in the housekeeping not my aunt. We all are packrats but we knew when to quit. My cousin should have been greatful that her mother was around so much in her life. My mom had to work to make ends meet and I saw her but 2 hours a day. Never really saw my dad he was always at work. Her mother was so heavy (lots of medical problems also prevented her from working). She did the best she could with what she had. I feel like my aunt more and more with my life style but I know deep down I am not her. She tried to lose her weight but numerous hospital stays prevented her from losing the extra. Me and her had a really good talk before she died and we talked about how we were alike and different. She didn't want me to grow up like her and be so heavy that I could not work. Where she lived the only jobs around were on her feet and with her medical and weight problems she was subjected to this lifestyle. I love my aunt so very much and miss her around this time of the year. I am sure my cousin does to but the way she talked about her mom amounting to nothing in her life that hurt me the most. Her son is really hurting also. He knew his grandmother very well and loved her more than anything in the world. I just hope he proves his parents wrong and does do something with his life and shows them see you are wrong I am somebody. His aunt and uncle only live a phone call away and he can call them whenever he needs to and they are very supportive of him. I just hope he knows we are all there for him. Thanks all I needed to vent alittle about this and hope I didn't bore anyone. Take care all.

Tamara

[Jen]

Hi all. How was everyone's Xmas? We were okay except that we did too much travelling. I think next year we will stay home and let everyone come to us. Xmas day we went to my inlaws, my brother's and my mom's. It was a long day. Drake got some nice toys though I was surprised that my inlaws didn't get him more (a stuffed bear and a small toy) considering that he is their first grandchild. My mom went nuts and he is her 5th grandchild. Oh well.

I had a bit of a revelation one day last week. I think I've been going along thinking that I'm magically going to lose weight just because I don't have to go to work and should have all this time to work out and do other things that will help me lose weight. The sad fact is that I haven't changed any. I still have the same rotten eating habits and don't drink nearly enough water. The only good thing I can say is that I can usually stick with exercise once I get going on it. But still I have to make some changes in my behaviours, it doesn't matter if I never have to work again, I'm not going to lose weight if I don't make some changes. I suppose this doesn't sound like much of a revelation but I've been going along like oh I have a year off for maternity leave, I can lose all kinds of weight. it hit me that I've gone though almost 3 month of leave and haven't lost anything. Some of that time of course I was recovering from the birth and getting used to having a baby around but really the past month or so I've just been exactly the same as I was before, nothing has changed so you know I'm not going to lose weight if I don't do something to change. so I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I need to do and I hope I am back on the right track.

Tamara - sounds like you had quite a christmas! Your cousin needs to have her son reevaluated about his Ritalin. I really think doctors prescribe it when they don't need to. Sometimes I think it is a lack of parenting rather than problems of the child. I don't know your cousin so I can't say what she is like but I've read a lot of articles about kids that were on Ritalin and the parents got them off it and really put in an effort to help the kid rather than just medicating them. I don't know how well she would take a suggestion to do this, probably not well if she is calling her own son a moose.

Jenniffer - Xmas was okay I think like you said next year will be better when Drake has a clue what is going on. I read your other post, it is definately time to put this year behind you and look forward to a great '02!