Jules - Congrats to you on the pound lost!! One pound at a time, right?? Hang in there! That is an awesome sewing project at your co workers church!

I have never been to a Krispy Kreme. Though we have a yummy Sesame Donut shop that I like to go . I think my fave are apple fritters - yum.

Doug made my fave beef rice a roni w/ hamburger for dinner - I shouldn't have but I did have some.

Better get home - chat tomorrow

Well, we now know what is running through Brandon’s system. Tuesday he was as cranky as could be, nothing was helping with his diaper rash, he was tugging at his ears, so I finally got him to take another bath in the afternoon to help his butt. As I took him upstairs, he had diarrhea on me and my shirt. I got him settled in the bathroom, and called to Tommy to call the pediatrician’s office to see if she could fit him in today. I got a hold of the doctor’s office and they couldn’t fit him in today. So, I asked the girl I was talking to if we could take him to the clinic at the hospital. She said yeah and that they were open until 7pm.

We get in the van and off to the clinic we head. We get there and there is another boy waiting to be seen. I get him all registered and the nurse comes in to take his vitals. By the time we got ready to leave the house, he was not cranky anymore but his normal happy self. She checks him over and takes his temp. Back out to the waiting room we go waiting for the doctor to call him back. We get called back and the doctor comes in and checks him out. He tells Brandon “you need to tell mommy to stop worrying so much.” He checks him over, and shows him his stethoscope, and tells Brandon what it is and what it does. Then he says “you are getting ready to start talking soon, aren’t you?” I said “yup, that he is” and he replies with “well, if your first word is stethoscope, then mommy and daddy need to start saving for your college.” His ears check out fine, so the doctor tells me to strip him so he can see the diaper rash. I undress him and open his diaper, and the doctor says “what are you using on it?” I said “Desitin creamy” and he goes “isn’t that stuff white?” I said “yeah” and he goes “then how come I am not seeing any white on his butt?” I said “because he peed and he has been playing and running around out there.” He then goes on to tell me that I have to lather his butt like I would do if I was basting a chicken (I didn’t know you could baste a chicken) and leave a think layer of the Desitin on him so that way it will act as a barrier between Brandon and his diaper. He goes and gets Brandon some stickers and fills out the discharge papers. The nurse brings them into us, and explains what the doctor wrote on the papers. According to this doctor, Brandon has a viral syndrome with a diaper rash. (ie he has a virus with a diaper rash) So I have to call and make a follow up appointment with his pediatrician in 2 to 5 days. It seems that the more Desitin I put on him, the redder it makes his butt. So I will continue doing what the doctor says for a couple days to see if it helps it any.

Update on my FIL: He is still in the hospital. They deflated the balloon yesterday to see how he would do breathing on his own. While my MIL was there, he was breathing fine, so they decided to leave it deflated through the night to see how things would go.

Cristi~ He did sleep through the night the other night. From about 10pm to about 10am. Last night he fought me going to bed for the night, but he did fall asleep on the way home from the hospital. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts for my FIL.

Angie~ Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers. I will most definitely keep you all posted. Brandon hasn’t found the naked phase yet.

I have to post that I did squeeze in some exercise yesterday…and I signed up for the Slim-Fast website to get some motivation from there. So far I am feeling much better since I got that exercise in.

Mel~ Thanks for the prayers and thoughts.

Jules~ Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. You cracked me up when I read your story.

Good morning, ladies!

There's no way I can catch up with everyone, so I'll try to do that next time I post.

Well, Katie is all settled in Florida. She has a really sweet roommate and the 2 girls seemed to bond right away, which was a big relief not only to them, but to me as well. Her apartment is very close to the tennis courts and the pool. Leaving her was extremely hard for me, but I tried to be brave around her. After we got in the cab, I bawled like a baby. Can’t remember when I’ve cried so hard. I truly felt sick - like I might throw up, and my heart was threatening to break into dozens of tiny pieces. But talking to her since then has made it much, much better. Every time we talk, she sounds so happy, and has enthusiasm spilling all over the place. And after all, Neal and I raised her to leave the nest. I keep reminding myself it isn’t permanent. She’s coming back (supposedly) in May to finish college. Her job will be in Animal Kingdom, in Dinoland, and she was elated to hear that since Animal Kingdom is her favorite park at Disney World.

I ate too much while gone, and remembered that the last time I was there I lost over 2 pounds staying OP. Well, that didn’t happen this time, but I am back on the wagon now.

I do want to say hello to Ellen, and say to Cristi - my prayers are with you. There are so many of those false reports - severel people I know have had to go back for a re-do, and I bet that's what it is for you, too.

Gotta run... see you later.

Mindy be aware the kids can have allergies. My son was allegic to Destin and his poor bottom looked like raw meat before the Doctor said......"hum.......maybe he's allegic". Changed rash meds left him bare bottomed alot .........and within a few days he was clear.

Lost a pound and 1/2 this week

Quick stop in during break at work--
Mindee--the babysitter who babysat me & was like a second mom to me(who had all kinds of home remedies) told me to heat some cornstarch and let it cool some and then put it still slightly warm--it worked--but also did the bare bottom thing too like Christine. Both my kids ended up with diaper rash issues it everytime they cut a tooth.....

Jane--glad you're back--can relate to the baby moving out !! It's hard!!!

Congrats on the 1 ..1/2 pounds Christine!:

I am exhausted reading your post Mindee! Wow in all you do with little ones. Hope you like the Slim Fast. I use to drink a shake in the morning w/ a banana when I lost weight back in 2000. Worked! I use to drink the strawberry flavor - yum.

Morning Jules and everyone else!

Welcome back Jane We missed you!! I am sure Katie will have a blast - she sounds like a sweetie.

I didn't walk today. Actually I haven't walked for a few days - waiting to get paid to buy some better shoes. I was reading about this 94 year old man that walked close to 100 miles a week. Crazy - course he has nothing else to do...lol jk. He was 136 and got down to 111 - he got back up to 120 something. Small man - his family buys him shoes every 4 months...lol

Didn't eat oatmeal. Doug made me some eggs with processed cheese I think the cheese will be my downfall Soooooo good though.

Anyway- if I can maintain the 163 I will be happy this week - just seem to be off this week. I miss the walking.

Back to work!!

Good morning ladies...

Man, a second mammogram in two weeks, OUCH! That lady literally flattened my boob like a pancake! GEEZ! Anyway, everything is fine. There was something but nothing major. Apparently, there was something behind the nipple that they weren't sure about so used a different tray and did different angles.The lady came in and apologized for the worry and thanked me for coming back in. Now, why wouldn't I come back in? If there was a question about something, I definitely would want to know what or if something is wrong. She said see ya in a year!

JANE...(((((HUGS))))) to you! I did the same thing when I took Josh to leave for basic. I've even cried each time I've had to leave him but nothing like the first time when he left. Believe me, it does get better. And it's good that you can talk to Katie, I can't talk to Josh except in letters. He said the lines get too long for the phone and people get into fights because everyone wants to talk too long. Glad Katie has a good/nice roomate and she is happy to be working in Animal Kingdom/Dinoland. And March will be here before you know it!

CHRISTINE... on the loss this week!

JULES... on your loss also! For some reason I never cared for Dunkin Donuts. Never really had a thing for donuts period until recently. I heard so much about how good Krispy Kreme donuts are and saw people actually spent the night to be the firsts to get them when they first opened here. I thought well, if that many people are going crazy over it I am going to have to try one. And let me tell ya...when you get them warm, OMG! They are good! But...not spending a night in the cold worthy. There is nothing that worthy.

SUSAN...I don't eat a lot of donuts, but once in a while I get a craving. Just glad that Krispy Kreme is in Wichita and not close to me. And apple fritters, oh my goodness...so good! Don't even want to imagine the calories in one of those things.

MARTI...(((((HUGS))))) to you sweetie! Hoping everything is okay with James' job.

MINDEE...glad you got to the bottom (no pun intended, lol) of Brandon's problem. Keep us posted about your FIL.

ANGIE...I am beating the cold/allergy. As a matter of fact, I am feeling so much better today! I can actually breathe, don't have a headache...but still have some of that icky crap stuck in my throat which is making my voice sound funny. But at least I can talk. How did your lamp shade turn out? Bet it is really nice. Speaking of Tanner not wanting to wear clothes...I have some good pics of Jason when he was little without anything on the bottom. He would wear a shirt but loved to go around without his underwear or pants! Silly kid I ALWAYS had a loaded camera!

Hi to everyone else

Went and did Wally world early this morning. I love getting out early and getting my errands done but at the same time I hate getting up early. And especially the last week...I have felt so sleepy for some reason. Have to force myself out of bed. Anywho...not much going on today. Have some more laundry to do, since I didn't finish yesterday. And need to dust and vacuum and that's about it. Oh, need to get my walk in. After all that I am going to try and sit down and get some reading done. Have those two library books that need to be returned next Tuesday and have only read about 1/4 of one of them.

Take care ladies and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Hiya SUSAN!

Isn't that inspirational! How in the world does that little old man walk that much? Geez, I've set a goal of 50 miles for the month and I think that is pushing it! LOL Made me think of Forest Gump! Just kept runnin' and runnin', funny movie. I too had eggs and cheese for breakfast, egg and cheese sandwich. Every now and then I fix breakfast for lunch or dinner, so good!

Have a great day at work!

Just poppin in for a moment.

James was sent to the Dalles to work....330 miles from here....and that will be his home terminal and he'll work from there to a town called Hinkle (or something close to that) We don't know for how long, a month up to 6mos.

Don't know how often I'll see him! He's going to try and come home every other weekend if he can. I'm so upset w/the RR right now! It's a forced position, not exactly sure what that means.

Just know that he's going to be gone and we have no idea when he'll be able to come home.

So I may be scarce around here for a little bit due to me being a big baby and crying about it.

When I gain my composure, I'll post more.

Wow! Sounds like there's a lot going on lately! I'm preparing my house for my birthday party this Friday. I've invited just about everybody I know and am really excited! Grandma will take Allen overnight, so we don't have to worry about that. I went to the liquor store and was a little overwelmed! My friends are very specific about what they drink, so I got a few things and if they don't like it, they can walk accross the street and get what they want!
And also getting all three of us ready for AZ on Monday. I'm trying so hard not to overpack, but I jsut don't know . . . we don't travel much!
Patriot will be spending the week with my friend, who owns his mom. So they can play and be terrorized by her 2 year old!
Ahh. . . no going to the gym tonight . . . Mark is working late and I have lots to do.

wow - Mel. I thought you meant a childs birthday party at first. What a mom to be getting them liquor Course you mean your own - haha....never mind. I can just see your guest crossing the street to get what they fancy - lol

CHEERS!!

I am getting in the mood to plan Gabys 4th birthday in FEB, I was thinking Chuckee Cheese We have 2 in Portland and believe me she knows where they are at - lol or I was kind of thinking of the Childrens Mus. or Michaels. When I was in there the other day they do parties for kids?? Do crafts and such?? Anyway, that is what I saw - maybe I am wrong.
I think we all would enjoy Chuckee the most.

I could even invite her dad..........course he would have to stay 160 feet away from me.....haha. Restraining order and such........don't all families have that??? lol

Sorry Marti I know it must be hard. Go get a good cry and come back. Maybe you can make it fun by taking trips to Dalles?? I don't know. Seperations are hard but it will work out in the end. Just have to get that cry in and remember you always have us to vent with!!!!

Yes, he is an inspiration Cristi - we can't let a 94 year old out walk us!!! lol Geez.

Christine~ I will definitely keep an eye out for an allergic reaction. His butt already looks much better. It isn’t bright red like it was yesterday, so we are getting somewhere with the desitin creamy. Congrats on the half pound loss.

Jules~ I have tried him with the cornstarch, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I will have to try heating it and seeing if that works.

Jane~ Welcome back!!

Cristi~ It is good to hear that things got cleared up. I am glad we got to the bottom (lol) of his problem as well. I will definitely keep you all posted.

Marti~ I am sorry to hear that James got shipped to another city. I hope he isn’t gone that long.

Mel~ Good luck with the party!

Speaking of parties….I think I know what Brandon’s 2nd birthday party theme is going to be…….John Deere tractors! He loves those things! Now, since we live two hours away from everyone…..where are we going to have it? I was thinking of saving some money and having it at a pizza place (ie Chuck E Cheese, Major Magic’s or someplace like that)

Then, the only other party we will have to get on the horn and start planning is Logan’s first birthday party! I am not sure if we will have it up here or not. Most people won’t come up here after the snow has fallen, so we might be planning it for down there again.

Mindee glad his bottom is getting better....hopefully it continues that way...totally forgot about cornstarch......also good for legs chaffing in the summer

Mel Happy birthday coming soon. My hubby's birthday is on friday too...

Cristiglad the boobs are A OK...a little joke for the mammogram people..ask for anesthetic next time..........num.....num.... nummmy!!! sorry folks.......couldn't help it.....

Marti i'm sorry you're going through it with hubby's work. I guess if you go through years of hubby travel ..........well sometimes i wish mine would travel more but i can remember a time when i was REALLY sad. Probably because I had no help with the kiddies.........hum..........

got a memory card for the DDR so now i know exactly how many calories i'm burning........beating up that dance floor

Marti--when I trained to be a Sheetz manager the closest store I could be trained in was just over 2 hours away in Oakland MD, kids were still in elementary school and hubby was laid off at the time...I put the kids to bed on Sunday night and left soon afterwards-worked Mon-Friday and packed my stuff into the car on Friday morning so as soon as I clocked out on Friday afternoon I could be out of there....good thing the company paid for the phone calls home cause we talked all night. They came up and stayed before school started since there were alot of state parks and lakes nearby. I won't lie and say it was easy...but you will get through it..and we will be here to listen

Mel--happy birthday early and hope you have fun

F&S cat--used to go out dancing all the time--I miss it...

Mindee--I don't know if heating makes the difference, but I believed everything she ever told me---I still start to throw salt over my shoulder when I spill the shaker--DH and kids get a kick out of it...

Cristi--glad it was a false alarm

Susan--I miss the kids being little sometimes...

Jane--I bet you can say the same as above...

Connie, Katy, Angie, Ellen & Kathy and everyone else--hope everything is well for you

EM--WHERE ARE YOU!!!

Hiya ladies, and thank you all for the warm welcome back!!

Christine - yay for the loss!

Ellen - don't go away again, ok? Tell us all about the wedding plans.

Jules - your youngest is 18, right? When did she leave home? That's how old Katie is, and she seems awfully young, lol.

Susan - I was eating oatmeal as I read your post, lol. I keep calories/points back for it or something like that for before bed. Helps me sleep. The party for Gaby sounds sweet. I love Chuck E Cheese's games - can I come too??

Cristi - YAY for the new results of the mammo!! So glad to read that! I noticed you said you have housework after shopping. I find it so hard to get serious about housework once I've been cleaned up and out of the house. Maybe it's the makeup, lol. Btw, I noticed you commented on the Sonoma diet. I'm loosely following it, but didn't feel I could do it exactly as written. Neal and I are both eating the 10 power foods. (Well, I don't do blueberries, but he does.)

Marti - oh, sweetie - this is for you - I hope you'll remember that we're here for you anytime you need us, and we will support you through it all the way. It would be good for you to vent here, when/if you feel like it, ok? Look at all the stuff you guys have supported me through!! And you made it all much easier. So come and talk it out whenever you feel the need, ok?\

Mel - a party on Friday the 13th? You must be like me and consider the day Good Luck instead of doom and gloom. Truly, almost every Friday the 13th, something cool happens to me, and I hope it does to you, too.

Mindee - aww, the John Deere party sounds cute. I've got 5 granddaughters, no grandson in sight, so I've been to a Cinderella party, a Little Mermaid party, a Dora the Explora party, etc. lol. One was a Pooh party, but that's not much testosterone, lol.

Angie - hey, girl. (I forgot what you said on the other page, lol) What day do you go for your surgery next month? Give us an update, ok?

I went shopping today to replenish old Mother Hubbard's cupboard, lol. It was bare, since we were out of town. Loaded up on good stuff. Yikes, the price of blueberries and strawberries is outrageous this time of year, but I got them anyway since they are so good for us.

Tomorrow the soil-tester person is coming to test the ground where the house is going for the septic system. So many steps to all this house stuff.

Take care.