Good Morning Ladies,
Mindee I know that stress does play havic (sp) on the periods. I remember all the first for Brandon and Tanner,,,so long ago.

Marti, I have a love hate relationship with Costco. I love the place, but the money I spend I hate. I did buy one gift this past weekedn,,looked for another gift. Didn't think buying it would be a good idea. Tanner keeps flip flopping on wanting a guitar or violin. Make up your mind !

Jane, relaxing weekend? Anything but...lol Had a 6 hour Q to Q on Saturday, went shopping with Monte, then came home and made the dessert and did the gifts up for the coaches. Went to bed, slept in a bit then went to rehearsal. Got there at 12: 05 left at 8. Tanner left at 5:30 to to his Football Banquet. I couldn't go... When I finally got there they were mostly leaving. Looked across the room and saw Tanner with this huge trophy. He had won best improved player. Considering the kid didn't know how to play at the beginning to being one of the best defensemen...thats pretty good. And I didn't get to see it. I could of cried,,,, Monte was mad at me cause I wasn't there and made him take in the gifts and dessert alone....*sigh What would happen if I died? geesh Anyways he was mad cause the whole giving the coaches the gifts didn't go over very well. I asked him if any other parent came up to help you...nope. I needed to be there to do that. Told him and thats why people keep coming up to me for help....
I hope you get your computer soon, I know how it feels to go without one....*shudder I only found the library computer when our computer was almost fixed...duh Can Katie come over and make dinner for us? I had left over chinese,,,that had too much curry.
Susan,,,you mentioned awhile ago about him possibly going back on the drugs...did he? Can you prove it? Visitation I can see as a good thing,,,under supervision but joint custody? Get a lawyer and explain the situation of his past and your future.
Good mornings to the rest of the Ladies, Cristi, Katie, Ellen..
Angie

Morning ladies and a HAPPY Monday to all~

Not much going on here in my neck of the woods, same old, same old-just a different day. Just wanted to check in and say HI Won't be checking in tomorrow as V and I have the whole day to ourselves. Of course he has a drs appt. first thing in the morning then we have an appt with Direct Buy. Has anyone heard of this? We talked to some guys at the Log Cabin/Home show and you have to make an appt. to go see the warehouse and to even join. But you can buy stuff for the house for super cheap-supposedly. We will find out what it is all about tomorrow. Then off to the Zoo or Cow Town (a western town downtown that is cool, haven't been there in a while-they even did some scenes for some movies there a while back), that is if is doesn't rain and it is supposed to. If so will probably go to see a movie.

Susan~hope everything goes well for ya with Mike and all. I know he could possibly make it very difficult for you with this custody stuff, and is he willing to pay for Gaby to visit him when you move? Wonder if he thought of that? My friend is going through some of this stuff because her ex, well, not ex yet, moved from CA to AR to be with his girlfriend. But instead of flying them to AR he drives to CA to get them and drives them home. I am surprised he isn't tired of it by now. He's been doing it for almost a year now. Cheryl will not let the kids fly alone and it costs to much for the three so...anyway. I hope an attorney can do something for ya-would hate to see it get all messy.

Marti~chili sounds sooooo good! Of course I just had it last week so will wait a week. Glad you and James had a nice time shopping.

Angie~yay for Tanner! I bet he is loving the trophy.

Mindee~Brandon is such a doll! Loved the duck costume!

Jana~was actually going to add some white angels and some glass icicles. It is not a big tree and don't want to put too much on it, just a simple little tree. I do have some white snowflakes that we got in a Swedish town but they are too big for a 3-4 ft. tree, would look silly. on your loss!

Hi to everyone else

That's about all I have. Take care ladies and have a good day!

Hi Gals,
Sorry I didnt post over the weekend, it was somewhat of a hectic one.. We did go back to the doc's on friday and he ordered more bloodwork, so we have to wait 10 days for those results to come back, so nothing new in that department.....
We did get the puppy on friday night, I have a pic of them to post for you all after, Max is a bit jealous, but hes learning to cope with having a little brother. On saturday we got 4 inches of snow here, which was a shocker for us, cause we dont usually get snow this early!!! DBF hurt himself shoveling, so we ended up at the ER for 5 hours...apparently he twisted a muscle which wrapped around his sciatic nerve, causing horrific pain. So most of the weekend got shot!!! Did go to Walmart yesterday and ran a few errands, but that was about it and now it's back to work already!!!
I was so nervous leaving the pups alone when we went to the hosp saturday, because I didnt know how they would get along being left alone, but they did really well, so I was relieved!!!
Hope all is well with you girls, catch up with you later
Julie

Morning-

Cristi- Mike doesn't have money for gas for his car. I am not going to think about airfare. lol........

He is unemployed. He pays rent though and managed a filing fee and 5 for certified mail. So, how is he getting his money??

I don't know if he is back on drugs or not. When he lied about sending $$$ the last time after counseling that was the last straw. We were suppose to be building trust .......haha......I don't regret it. I tried everything with him in hopes Gaby would have a daddy in her life.

His ex wife has sole custody of their daughter and they were married. Mike and I never were.............he isn't getting joint custody!! lol
He isn't getting a 180 notice if I want to move either.

Good news is I don't have to call a long distance number for answers. I do have to respond in his county though. Waiting for a lawyer to call me back.

Anyway- was up at 3am....way too much to think about. The ex wants more $$$$ for babysitting Gaby.....I have no more to give!! I was better off working part time.....geesh,,,,,,

better get.......venting, sorry

Hello Ladies--

Mindee--Poor baby and having his teeth bothering him. Jhanai would always get two teeth at a time. And she really did well, not so much crying during the nights like I thought. Hope he gets them in soon!

Angie--My thoughts exactly on Costco! I really like the stuff I can get and the amount, but the checkbook is always hurtin' after we leave! Congratulations to Tanner for getting a trophy! Sorry you missed it........such a busy woman. When is your next vacation???? You deserve another already!

Julie--Looking forward to seeing a pic of your puppy!! What color is he? Male I take it. Sorry to hear about DBF!! That's must have been painful. Hope he recovers soon.

Susan--I hope you don't get over stressed with all that is going on right now! I'm surprised your ex wants more money for Gaby......why? Does he know of your plans to move to Hawaii? I hope he isn't doing it in spite. My thoughts are with you!!

Hello to everyone else.

This week is going to be a messed up week schedule wise. I have a 2nd. orientation day on Thursday so on Wednesday they had to schedule me early so I would get some sleep since the orientation is at 8:00 in the morning.....so mon & tues will be 6-2:30, Wed. will be 11:30 -8:00 and Thurs. will be 8-6. And Friday I will be back to 6-2:30, but if everything works right I should be able to get off at 12:30 to go get Jhanai. Whew! That was a lot to babble out! I'm going to be losing sleep somewhere in there! but oh well.

I better hit the shower and grab something to eat. You all have a great day and if I have time before work I will check in.

Take Care

hmmm, willl I was kicking closet doors yesterday. I am calm in comparison today Marti....lol

I had some chili and a pumpkin spice latte from Freddies - so good.

One good thing is joint custody won't be granted without both parents approval, so that isn't going to happen.

I don't know why he wants more sitting pay. I have to take care of my own household though. I can find someone who will take what I can afford, it is stressful though!! Can never seem to dance fast enough......

One lawyer wants 2,500 down and 200 an hour *cough *cough....like I can afford that.

better get,......

Better late than never, I guess..

Marti - Christmas sales are everywhere! I just love that, lol. Your schedule will just be wacky for this week during more training? Glad you'll be off early Friday to get Jhanai.

Mindee - Neal and I used to play blackjack with a group of friends, but don't anymore. We play Yahtzee and 500 rummy once in awhile. For Brandon's teeth, give him a cold, whole, cleaned carrot to bite around on - the teeth will come through quicker and the cold carrot will feel good to his little gums.

Angie - aww, doggone it, I'm sorry you had to miss the football banquet! Bet you're all proud of that trophy! Where you gonna put it? Tell him somebody in Indiana is proud of him, and that I said Way To Go, TAN!!!

Cristi - have fun with Vince tomorrow. OIC about the tree. Sounds like it's going to be very pretty!

Julie, Susan, Katy, Ellen, Sue, and anyone else reading this - hello!!

Well, the ISP finally said they had a cut line somewhere, and it didn't get fixed til a little while ago. But at least it's ok now.

Katie stayed home from school today with the flu - poor kid! She tossed her cookies all day. I felt so sorry for her! Finally she kept down some fluids, and is resting now.

Have a good evening, and I'll see you tomorrow!

my little boys, max and scruffy

By the way, a quick hello to all and Cristi, thanks for the card!!!!

Julie

Angie~ I am putting all that on the back burner for now. Cause we have job/insurance issues to deal with first.

Jane~ I hope you get your computer back soon! My sister and her husband just bought a Texas Hold’em poker chip set. We will have to pick up some carrots. He has the baby food carrots, but those won’t help him any. I hope Katy feels better soon!

Cristi~ My favorite pic that my sister took of him in his costume was the one with the ducky background! I will have to get those posted on his page, cause the ducky background really makes his costume and him just pop out of the picture! Thanks for the card!

Julie~ Sorry to hear about your weekend. I hope your week has started out better. Yeah I saw on the news that the west coast and the east coast had gotten the snow that was supposed to be dumped here in MI.

Susan~ I hope things get settled soon for your sanities sake.

Marti~ He is doing better tonight. He went right to sleep and hasn’t woken up since 11:40ish. He has been acting silly lately. He will play with his mouth now. He looks like an older person who doesn’t have any teeth, I hope I don’t offend anyone by saying that. He just loves playing with his mouth now. And when you tell him “shhhh! Be quiet” he will yell or scream as loud as he can. And the more you tell him to be quiet, the louder he gets.

Good morning, ladies!

Ellen - missed you in the chat room. Not sure you even got my PM in time to go there. Hope you're having a good day!

Julie - love the photos of your babies! They are so cute!! Thanks for sharing.

Mindee - funny you should mention Texas Hold 'Em... I just bought the video game for my son for Christmas. It hooks up to the TV and is displayed on the screen. He loves Texas Hold Em, so I'm hoping he will really like this. It looks fun!

Hi to all my Jaded buddies!

Katie is better today, but since she hasn't held down much food, I kept her home again today.

I'm going shopping with Mary later today. Dale is home because he has an appointment this morning, and so he's going to watch the kids. Rarely do Mary and I get out together w/o at least 1 rugrat, lol.

What's on your agenda for the day?

Just checking in with a quick Hi. Didn't make it to the doc with V-kids jumped in the shower first so...no big deal though. I would have just sat in the waiting room for about an hour waiting. But do need to jump in the shower and get ready to go when he gets back. Since it is raining no zoo or cow town. And of course the earliest movie is at 1 pm which is when we are supposed to be at Direct Buy, maybe after Anyway...going to do a little shopping.

Julie your puppy dogs are sooooo very cute!

Susan, do they have some kind of legal aid thing that could help you out. Didn't realize that you and Mike had never married. Sounds like he is just wanting to upset you. Anyway, hope things go well with that.

Jane, glad to hear Katie is feeling better today.

Mindee, I do enjoy looking at the photos of Brandon, and that duck outfit is just adorable.

Anyway, gotta go ladies. Take care and have a good day.

Oh Julie,,,,a new puppy! And you named him scruffy? How adorable!

Jane, poor Katie,,,I hate feeling like that. I don't toss my cookies well...I once popped all the blood vessels in my face,,,and eyes. Nota pretty sight...arghhh
Have fun shopping!

Susan, is Mike's mom possibly helping him out? Can relate to the can't dance fast enough,,,swear a polka is playing and I want a slow song...

Called my mom the other day to tell her about Tanner's trophy,,,and we got into talking about shopping. She asked what I wanted and I told her this makeup case from Costco...she told me she would send money so I can go pick up myself. Was it rude of me to tell her no that I wouldn't go and do that? I teased a bit about her doing her own shopping and stop asking me to do that. Which she has done in the past.

well not much else happening,,,theatre dress rehearsal tonight...preview tomorrow and opening night Thursday. Which is the day of Brandon's surgery....which have to say we are all not looking forward to. Very painful...
ttfn

Good Morning Ladies
How is everyone , sorry I haven't had a chance to Post , it seems things got really busy all at once.My Daughter and I went to the Christmas store , we ended up at a garden gallery ,it was amazing , everthing Chrismas, in every color and style,imaginable there was so many things its hard to know where to look first, it was like, oh ,oh or look at this ,wow ,oh look at that ohhhhhh! it was a lot of fun, after we spent our hard earned money we went for dinner , it was really nice. I did get my cakes decorated, and I began Christmas decorating, my kitchen which took the better part of two days ,every nook and cranny is Christmas,and the kids are happy to see this finally getting started, they still get as excited as they did when they were little.So I have been busy busy busy and today I start the living room , which will take another few days for sure , The fireplace mantle takes quite a while arranging everything.then the tree ,and staircase.I must admit I am extemely tired ,I make a lot of work for myself doing this , you have no idea how much stuff we have collected,and still we went shopping for more ,LOL Crazy girls we are. I see every one has much going on since last I was here,I haven't had a chance to read everything in depth but I will, Hi Jane I'm sorry I missed you this morning, My kitty cat Kobi woke me up out of a deep sleep ,having a seizure ,so I spent a good part of the early morning with him, I hope Katie is feeling better,and have fun shopping today . Hi Julie, I see puppies, and they are so cute, sounds like you had a stressful weekend ,I hope everything is better,Hi Susan I"m really sorry to hear that things are ,getting tense for you I hope that it gets all worked out for the best ,try not to worry to much ,and don't kick the doors or you will have to stress some more about fixing them LOL Hi Mindee I hope Brandons little toothies come through soon ,so he feels better,Hi Marti sounds like you are going to be busy, did you get a chance to have your ME time this past weekend I sure hope so.Hi Sue I hope your having a great time Hi Angie Hows rehearsals going ,it sounds like you never sit down , I bet you are so proud of Tanner ,I know all about the costco scenario they have great stuff I haven't been there for a long time , but I used to buy these huge orange cranberry muffins there, and they were so good ,its so easy to spend a lot of money in a short period of time .LOL Hi Cristi I guess its today your off shopping ,I love stores where you can buy nice house stuff cheap be interested hearing more about it,have a great day. Well girls I have so much to do today I wish I could chat more but I don't want to stop , if I do I might fall asleep and not wake up for days. I hope that everyone is having a great day , now I must go find my coffee.


*ELLEN*

Hi all!
Susan - what Cristi said... legal aid may be the way to go. BTW, I have a friend who went through this with a very well financed former SO and their agreement called for 3 months notice with the courts to move anywhere. This is a guy who had the $$ to challenge absolutely everything...that's a whole other very long story.....Anyway I do have a friend in Portland who is a family law attorney.. call me if you want her #. Her main office is in Astoria, but she lives in Portland and may be expanding her practice to include both towns..may be helpful for you? Don't know if her rates are that much cheaper than the one you mentioned, but I think she does have a system for charging by the item, and not asking for retainers on all cases... at least she used to, I haven't hired her to do anything for me since we had wills drawn up. Good luck....

Jane - sorry Katie is ill - no fun! Have fun with Mary

Ellen - find your coffee yet? Here, have some of mine, lol! Your house sounds lovely... it's getting me in the spirit, that's for sure.

Cristi - I have seen commercials for Direct Buy...definitely would be interested in your opinion of them... they sounded a little too good to be true, but then I again I can be too skeptical at times

Hi to everyone else - sorry I don't have more time to post. I'm off to a meeting for the preschool...then J has a playdate, then I'm off to a preschool potluck....just found out I've been selected to be on the TAG parent advisory council for my son's school district. I'm kind of nervous about it, but also excited that maybe it can be a force for good, you know, hopefully not something for appearances. We'll see.. it's a new group, so that's good at any rate - no inherited garbage. Anyway, that's tomorrow, plus there's a prschool general meeting tomorrow night - whew! So I'll try to get back when I can - will be thinking of you all
Katy

Good Morning-

No, Cristi- we were never married. thank goodness!!!! lol
Though he asked many times - just always knew it wouldn't work out.
We moved in together when I relocated to Portland.
He was already here, we had broken up- I was still on the coast when I found out I was pregnant.
This was in September 2001 - by the time Gaby was born in Feb 2002 he was using drugs pretty heavy and took a month off from his trucking job to "help" me......
He stressed me out though!! lol
He called and asked if I would meet him at the entry to the hospital- he didn't want to come all the way up to help me out with Gaby.
Jerk.....
I said no - he needed to help with with all the stuff........so he finally did but that really told me what kind of person he was....
He took me home and left to do his drugs.....he was wasted the whole month.
I was so stressed I couldn't nurse Gaby- she was losing weight.
FINALLY had to move, he was being really weird and scaring me...
so,,,,,,,,
hooked up with a community agency who offered to help with housing if I agreed to be "case managed" .......which I jumped at because the only money I was getting was from Doug.
So, the first thing they had me do was go to AFS and describe what was happneing and I was given a grant for $2000 to move based on an abusive situation.

Anyway, I called legal aid yesteray and there is a 24/48 response time, so am waiting to hear back from them.

The thing is......and this happened with Doug....if Mike has been there first regarding this issue they won't help me.....which will really PISS me off!! lol

His mother won't help him, I did kind of mention it to her in an email- though I need to apologize to her because it isn't right to put her in the middle. I do like her and she has helped me with $$$$ in the past.

Mike asked his ex wife not to get involved....lol. He asked me the same thing when they were going to court....she will come with me though when we have to go to court......

I will take a 90 day notice!!! 180 is sooooooo silly. I have to be out of here by April....lol.........

Anyway, I have stress with Gaby - need to find her daycare now......

I will take the info on the lawyer Katy! Thanks

best get