Megan, your weekend sounds like it was a great balance of productivity and relaxing. The picture is lovely! Thumbs up on tackling a new workout!

Allison, that is cool about your inlaws both getting the holes in one! Have you had yours yet? I've been within 3 inches - I think I'd be delirious for days if it happened to me. Lovelovelove golf!

Dagmar, I hear you about the practicality of clothing. I have to also come to grips with the fact that my shape is a long way from standard, and that shopping over the web isn't my best option.

Cedar is a lovely material, and I totally agree, the porch is the "smile" of the house. It needs to be right. Good luck!

Michele, good for you getting out! Super bonus that she has a sitting service, just when you might need one. I hope your regular sitter hasn't gone AWOL.

ahna, I didn't get a chance to say welcome aboard. Glad to have you with us!

Jessica, in the process of going through my closet I began to realize that I didn't really buy any new clothes when I lost 20 pounds - I just got rid of the fat clothes and started wearing the stuff again that I'd been waiting to get back into. I've replaced things that I've worn to death, but there isn't anything "new" here. At least with the new space, I can get a much better bead on what I have. It might not take too many pieces to really update things. Hm. Ah yes, Mom as playground equipment ... I remember that! Man, that first year goes fast, doesn't it?

Jen, we're also a loooooong way from gardening. I'm a little concerned that DH may have started the seeds too early. We could be transplanting a couple times! But it's so good to see young green things ...

shannon, boo on XW. Perhaps having her AC out in summer might give her a taste of where her behavior is going to get her! Maybe she can sweat out some of the b!tch!ness?

silver, today's a new day - hope it's a good one for you!

DH is back in KY for the next 3 weeks (weekdays only, thank goodness), and DS is relaxing at Spa Nana for spring break and enjoying lots of movies. Poor Becky is home all alone with the bunnies (oh darn).

Becky Poor Becky whatever will you do all alone?

Dagmar

Have fun Becky!

My pet sitter did come through thank goodness. She says she didn't get my texts and she accidentally sent my invoice to the wrong Michele. I've used her many times and the animals are always happy and exhausted when I return, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. I will see if my friend is available next time around though.

Michele if you'd like to keep this new friend as a friend don't use her as your pet sitter. I speak from long experience - personal relationships and work don't mix. I'm going through this right now with my cousin's wife and it's hard. And family can't opt out of a relationship as easily as a friend can.

Dagmar

Wow! You all are so busy with gardening and wanting to garden. I'm jealous but I've just never been into it. My DH and I both say we want to just get a condo in the future and have no yard. I'd be embarrassed for anyone to see the back yard right now. My MIL is German and I know she cringes when she comes over and looks out at the mess back there. The grass is cut weekly (we are in Florida) but there is a big former flower garden that is a big weed blob. Maybe when I'm off for Spring Break I'll make it out there, but I don't think so. I just need to hire someone to clean it out I guess. There could be snakes back there! EEEK! I don't like snakes and there are lots around.

Michele, Dagmar is probably right about the pet sitting advice. I didn't even think of that when I read you were going to try her out, but then when I read her post I realized she is right! My Spring Break starts next Thursday and then we are off the next week also. FINALLY. It's the latest it has ever been and the teachers and kids are all burned out! We have a fire drill on Thursday morning and today we had an anti-bullying speaker - he was really good. Then in my class at the end of the day one boy said something mean to another boy and I blew up at him. Not in an inappropriate way -- and all the other kids totally supported me. He said "I was just kidding". I said "No! Didn't we just hear a 2 hour presentation on just kidding is still not right if it is mean!" UGH! Boys! I teach mostly boys and at least they are just mean straight out in the open - sometimes the girls are mean but in a secret way that is worse. This is at a Catholic school, of course. sigh.

ICUWishing - I need to do the same with the closet. I only reached my goal about 5 weeks ago and I have been slowly moving out the sizes that are way to big. I plan on taking the good ones to the sharing center here in town.

I have been buying a few clothes the past few months. Of course I can't afford to buy too many at a time, but my pants are just too big so I had to buy some. The shirts I can get away with as big, but some of them that I bought when nothing fit are just way too big. I really do not like to shop or spend money, for that matter! I always pick out things that are too plain, black and khaki pants and big shirts. When my DD shops with me she will pick out things for me to try that I would NEVER try on and sometimes I buy them. Maybe when we are in CA this summer I can buy some new clothes.

Jessica, It's good to get it checked out but I bet it is fine and is a twin thing. However, parents know more than the doctor so if your intuition keeps telling you something is wrong, push for testing. I was completely freaked out because my DD was one of the last kids to read in her first grade class . My DS read in K pretty much on his own. We never helped him, all of a sudden he was just reading. I even bought an expensive Hooked on Phonics set for her because I thought something was wrong! I met with her teacher and she assured me that she would get it. Well, once she finally started, she started excelling above-and-beyond everyone else (not my pushing, just how she was) and ended up top of the class (not Val or Sal, but close) and at a really great university and doing great there. But, of course, we moms have to worry about EVERYTHING! And my DH is the worst worrier of anyone. Half the time I don't need to spend my time worrying because he is doing it for me.

Shannon, XW sounds like a tough situation. I grew up as the child in your situation and it was not fun being in the middle between my SM and M. Now, 40 years later, everything is fine. But things were quite ugly and I didn't really know who was in the right or wrong as a child because both sides talked about the other. Thinking about it I probably was on my DM's side just because of her being my mom, also she didn't talk bad about SM as much as SM talked about DM. So it's good to take the high road. But, it sounds like she is vindictive and that makes it very difficult for you and everyone. Hang in there... it won't be easy but over time it gets better.

In food news, I'm enjoying adding a few calories! Just SO cautious as I do and watching the scale way too closely.

Shannon, we measure milestones by their adjusted age (their actual due date), which means right now they are a little over 9 months. Up till now they have hit some of their milestones on their actual age and most of them by their adjusted age. "Imitate a familiar gesture" is listed under 6 months in our pamphlet and "exchange back and forth gestures with parent" is listed under 9 months though. Other than that they've already covered all the 9 month milestones and a couple of the 12 month milestones.

They do have a couple mirrors to look at. I always wonder whether they know the difference between looking at themselves in the mirror and looking at each other! When they see a mirror they typically go straight up to it and kiss themselves.

That sounds very sweet Jessica.

Dagmar

Jessica,
I wonder if the milestones can be somewhat different for twins just because they experience different interactions that singular babies do? They interact with each other, right? Because most babies don't have that 24 hour experience they do.

Jessica - I love them kissing their reflections in the mirror.

CalCounter - I try really hard not to speak badly about XW. His birthday is a prime example of crazy. For years she refused to allow me to come to his birthday party, though DH and my MIL would go and DH & I would pay for half or more of the party even if it was at her house. As he got older he started to ask her who all was coming to the party, and would ask about me. He would then come back to me and say "I'm sorry that you can't come to my party xxx day, mommy told me you were too busy" or some variation of I had something better to do than be there. I always responded and told him I would be there if I could, without saying that his mom wouldn't let me come. This year he says to me "so all those years mom told me that you were too busy to come to my party or that you had other plans was a lie". Lots of similar incidents over the years, as recently as last Friday when DH had to work late and she was supposed to bring him to our house after an event she had taken him to downtown on our regular weekend, where I was there waiting for him. Instead she told him DH was still at work and unavailable for his family and that I wasn't home either and wouldn't want him there anyway. I try so hard to always say nice things about her and support what she does and says to him, but he's starting to see the lies around him more and more and ask me about them. I don't want to put him in the middle, and I'm sorry that you were when you were little.

Becky - enjoy your alone time.

I got a little more clean up done in the garden last night, and hopefully will be putting out plants this weekend. I'm going to just put them out and go with it I think, if I can get the maintenance I need done. I'm already congested and stuffy and it is barely 10 am. It is tough to garden with allergies.

I'm bummed that you and others think this. I really want to try her out. I'll have to give it some serious contemplation. I think she'll take better care of the pets as she'll stay at the house with them and she keeps a similar schedule to me-- she is a school teacher. She also charges quite a bit less. Hmmm....

Hi Michelle,

I have to weigh in (ha) on the side of those who say don't use your new friend as a pet sitter--at least not right away. You need to get to know her better, first of all.

Second of all, having a friend stay at your house while you're gone can also be a problem. You really do have to know that person better, if they aren't a professional. There are liability issues to consider. And also, friendships can be ruined this way.

We had a friend who was happy to stay at our house while we were gone for 10 days, and during those 10 days she wreaked havoc in our house. She planted a flower garden even though we had told her not to touch the plantings, she moved things all over the place--for a long time we had to call her up to ask her where she put things we couldn't find--she took our clothes off the racks and dumped them into the back of the closet so she'd have room for her clothing (we had left her ample rack space!), and so on. We were so angry that we never spoke to her again--after we found all our stuff!

Clearly this was a special case, but we had no idea that she was going to do any of that. She seemed like a normal person...

Sorry Michele, but you know to do what feels right for you no matter what we think.

Shannon, that's so mean of her! Ugh, but he is already figuring it out which is good. Poor kid, and poor you!

Jessica how cute! They must be adorable!!!

Five more school days till spring break!!

I just got some really bad news (not for us) about one of DH's brother-in-laws. He's been diagnosed with lung and brain cancer and probably has about 3 months left.

All of their kids are grown up and self-sufficient but DH's sister is not. She has MS and epilepsy. She is a pro at "working the system" but I think her husband has been key to keeping her going.

What a sad horrible thing to face. DH's family is not close and there is a big rift between 2 factions of them (we've managed to stay outside of it because we are so far away) but I think either there will be a mending or the sh*t will really hit the fan again.

DH is pretty much on edge these days anyway so this is going to be really, really weird.

Dagmar

Sending supportive thoughts, Dagmar, as you and your DH face really tough news about his BIL.

May it serve as a bridge to the family issues.

Dagmar, Bill said it well - I hope this can provide a bridge.