Paperclippy, so true about some families which split up after the arrival of a newborn. It is incredibly life changing and certainly not a bed of roses. I do think there pressure to have it all....the perfectly content baby....the immaculate house...the pre baby figure in less than 6 weeks post birth. It just doesn't happen. Then there's all the hormones to deal with and the realisation that you have this baby to look after and care for the next 18 years. No wonder partners split up!
My third baby was the most unsettled baby you could ever imagine....would not sleep, didn't much like to be held or left alone and hated going out in his pram. I'm sure had he have been my first baby i would not have had anymore. Doesn't that sound terrible?! But aside from all that he really is a lovely baby (now), he laughs so much and plays well....still hard to take him out but that will change soon hopefully.

Travellinmichele....i'm in a suberb just a little north of london. Whereabouts in London s your brother in law? My DH and i had a rare romantic weekend in the city last week and it was just beautiful....the xmas lights....buck palace....the westend shows and just the overall atmosphere of it. I really love London city.....if only i could afford to live there....sob sob!

Shannon, Nice to know i'm not the only one who find it difficult juggling kids with exercise. I did manage 40 minutes exercise dvd this morning so fairly pleased with that.

Allison-- glad to hear Buddy made it through his vet visit.

Chinadoll-- he is near Kensington. He and his wife have lived in the city since they moved there (independently, then they later married) for about 8 years. They keep trying to buy a townhouse or other property but have had a horrible time getting outbid, etc.

Busy thread! I'm off to the garage this morning to have my snow tires put on and get winter maintenance done. We are taking my car the odd 600 km to North Bay after Christmas this year (DH's relatives all live sooo far away) so I want it to be road ready.

It's cold enough here that the cats are refusing to go out (Mudpie, the furry one with big fluffy feet is the worst for this). They are bored with being inside all day and have taken to fighting and stealing each other's food to amuse themselves.

Something new every day.

Had a big realization about DH's eating patterns while browsing another thread. Now I have to figure out a diplomatic way to present this information to him.

Or maybe not.

Have a great Tuesday all!

Dagmar

It rained here yesterday from dawn into the evening. It was much needed, but we had lots of flooding around here. I got home during one particularly hard downpour and Buddy was lying in the side yard. Mind you, he LOATHES water! I was afraid he'd either died or had fallen and couldn't get up. Well, it was neither. I opened the door, he saw me, popped up and went inside (trailing tons of water, sand and leaves all over the living room). He was extremely happy for me to towel him off. Strange dog--perhaps it's the drugs.

Dagmar~good luck being diplomatic!

Allison - glad Buddy is doing okay!

Dagmar - what was the realization about DH's eating patterns? I'm curious, because it sounds from some of your posts that my DH has similar patterns sometimes.

Stayed OP yesterday, even with mini poundcake in cupcake cups that DHs ex sent over last night. I had a chocolate one for my after dinner snack, weighed it at 25g, and I was 580 calories below my target at that point so I indulged. I will likely eat one of the vanilla ones tonight, and then no more pound cake. (She is a phenomenal baker, and I like to use my calories on the real stuff when I have room to spare. Her baked goods are definitely worth it.)

Cold, cloudy and rainy here today. I missed my sunny afternoon yesterday to try the park, but wouldn't have made it before full dark anyway... Oh well. Treadmill for me today.

Good day everyone!

Hi everyone, I'm checking in again. The girls baked (made from scratch) pecan brownies last night. A few bites of chocolate and I remember why I gave this stuff up (it's addictive).

We finally got our Christmas tree up and it is beautiful. Most of my on-line shopping is now done and I just have to wait for the UPS truck.

Allison, I'm glad Buddy is OK. Our Molly is 7 years old now and she is getting really slow now with movement. Everytime I look for her, she is hiding in our grandsons small tent that is set up in an extra play room.

It has been raining here with light sleet for a couple days now. I haven't left the house in about a week. I see my Dr.'s again next week. I have a rash all over me that is driving me nuts. Also frequent sharp knife-like pains over my liver area. I feel incredibly weak and lazy. I actually miss being able to exercise. I weighed this morning and I'm holding steady at about 150 lbs., but I can easily tell that I'm losing muscle mass while I'm down.

Meg, our mattress is a BeautyRest and it's very comfortable. We also have a king-size to accomodate our furry friends.

So, mostly I've been reading a lot of books. My kids have been prodding me to finish writing my book but most days I just can't concentrate.

My niece is having a really tough time right now, her baby that is a year old was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. She's a great mom and her church is very supportive, but I worry about her and the baby.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!!

Lily - so good to hear from you! I hope all will go well and that you and your family have a wonderfull christmas. I remember you posting about your writing project..funny your daughters mentioning it! Your posts are always very descriptive, so I bet it is a good book1

take care and I hope you'll feel better soon,
Rabbit

Lily, good to hear from you. Evil girls - baking chocolate.

Dagmar, I too am interested in what you learned about your DH's eating.

No rain or snow here, but it was down to zero again this morning. I have an appt on 12/18 to have a remote starter installed in my car - it's my Christmas present to me!

And for those of you who pity us in the far north, there are some compensations. This is Saturday morning's sunrise (granted, about 9 am) from my back deck.

Pat, the sun doesn't rise until 9am??! I'd never be able to get out of bed!! Those are beautiful pictures, though.

Lily, I hope you are feeling much better soon. And pecan brownies... *drool*

Allison, so glad Buddy was ok! Moments like that are really scary. I used to dog sit/house sit for a guy with two dogs, and I got quite a scare from one of them one day.

I've caught a cold and am in that weird state of too sick to really move around and exercise or do much productive, but not sick enough to lay in bed all day. Makes me very restless! I'm going for an early night to bed and hoping tomorrow I'll be feeling well enough to go for a jog.

Pat - gorgeous pictures!!!

Today is december 9 - 12 more days to winter solistice and counting!

Rabbit

Pat Alaska is a thrillingly beautiful place! I am a fan of the show "Dirty Jobs" (host Mike is a hottie in my book) and he had a recent epi that showed a bunch of scenes from Alaska. I was mesmerized - gorgeous, just gorgeous!

Best seen from an airplane though

About hubby's eating habits to those who asked. This was before we move in together. He, when he was a construction worker, used to basically drink coffee and smoke cigarettes all day and then eat when he came home. And eat, and eat. He burned a lot of cals at work and supressed his appetite until he came home.

Now he's totally sedentary and doesn't smoke. But his eating pattern hasn't changed much. He eats breakfast and his lunch when working (3 days a week) because I make them. But the other days I think he just sips coffee.

He has gained about 50 lbs. over the past 5 years. Is there a connection? I think there is. Now to convince him. . .

Dagmar

I relapsed into an old pattern myself last night.

I took my car in for routine maintenance (which turned into a $762.00 bill without the new radiator) and used hubby's for dogwalking.

So hubby's car died during my noon walk. There had been a problem that he thought he'd had repaired.

I had 4 dogs with me and had to walk them all home - that took an hour. Then I had to let my two seniors out for their pee breaks (another 20 minutes) and then head back for the car to wait for a tow truck.

During that whole time (over 2 hours) I did call hubby several times to let him know what was going on. He was at home studying. Did he have any concern for my well-being? NO. Offer any assistance? NO. He just kept griping about the fact that he'd spent $300 on a new starter motor last week.

My 4 afternoon clients, whose dogwalks I had to cancel, all asked me if I was ok and 3 of them offered to pick me up and drive me to wherever I had to go.

I was very upset with hubby but, instead of telling him that, I ate a bunch of stuff in the evening while he was in class. I knew why I was doing it but couldn't seem to talk myself out of it. I thought about posting here but that's as far as it went - a thought.

Guess I still have a lot of work to do on my own behaviour. I'll have another chance tonite. It's rain/snowing out this morning and I have a looong day in it. Hubby's away tonite at band camp and I know I'll have to produce dinner before he leaves. I'll be in prime "feeling sorry for myself" mode.

I'm waring you all in advance - there's gonna be whining from me tonite!

Dagmar

I am in a funk too, Dagmar. My son was sick all week-end and went back to school yesterday. Then five minutes into spin class I got a call from the school and now my daughter is sick. She is home with me again today. So instead of finding a way to work out at home and just getting on with it, I have been eating and eating. :sigh: I know better.

Step away from the snacks that you aren't hungry for, ladies!!! Mindless snacking will not make you feel better!

(Could someone please tell me that the next time I say I've been mindlessly snacking?)

Megan is right. I have just snacked (well lunched) mindlessly and It Does Not Help At All!

Mindless snacking, don't do it.