Okay, I just have to say this... I'm totally jealous!! I've always wanted to live overseas. congratulations and good luck with all the preparations.... how exciting!!

How terribly sad. May they rest in peace.

congratulations!! Welcome to the new grandma club

LOL!! It happens to me all the time too.

Agreeing with everyone else. I would definitely complain to someone about that... totally inappropriate and gross. Seriously, that sounds like the kind of thing that could get the camp in serious trouble.... as in "what else is going on that we don't see"??

can you share the blog's addy? I can't seem to find it doing a search, less it's the FB one - and I don't have FB

I agree with you Tex-Mex. But, I also find it interesting (and have noticed) that the most insecure are the ones who over post about their lives on FB or do tons and tons of those "ducky" self-poses (just learned that name this weekend). One is my own child, and I really do worry about her. Not so much that she's narcissistic, but that her insecurities are out there for the whole world to see and are being made worse by things like FB. It doesn't seem to me that starlets became LESS insecure the more they became popular.

how wonderful! Congratulations.

I nursed during two pregnancies.. and then tandem nursed after one of my little ones was born. I've never even heard of the possibility of miscarriage while nursing - that sounds like an old wives-tale or something.

There's plenty of above ground pools that aren't terribly expensive. My sis and her husband had a small round one with a pump (so they had to deal with chemicals) and it was about 4'-5' deep. They put it up and took it down every year. That could be a way to try it out just to see how much your family enjoys having a pool and dealing with the work (although it would be on a much smaller scale). My sis and her husband ended up loving it so much they have upgraded to a more permanent type of above-ground pool... But they are sun lovers and don't mind spending hours out in their pool. They're kids are grown and they hope it will be a grand-kid magnet.

LOL!! That is one thing I do miss about our own pool. Swimming with hubby under the moonlight after the kids were in bed.

absolutely not!! It was scary enough when we had a few parties at our home, I would not assume that someone else would be as diligent as we were.... ie. we always had either myself or my husband be the "life-guard" and watch the kids around the pool - no chit-chatting with friends and taking our eyes off the pool. drowning is a silent killer. People do not thrash about like in the movies. They just sink down and no one hears them. And if you have a pool full of rowdy kids playing and rough housing, it's very hard to see into the pool if someone is in danger. Scary, scary!!

prices will vary widely depending on where you live. You said you were moving to a warmer climate, so I would assume that upkeep would be much cheaper than in the mid-atlantic or mid-west where the season is shorter. Of course, a longer and hotter season means more chemicals. I had a 20'x40' inground pool and, the last time I remembered paying close attention, I had a good year if we only spent $500 a season on chemicals. We had well water (no water costs) and didn't have a heater. I never calculated how much we were using in electricity to run the pump. I would run the pump 24/7 when I first opened up the pool and then would go to nights only once it cleared up. The person that built our pool did not put a line to the pump at the bottom of our pool, and it could take a very long time & more chemicals to get the water cleared up. When we bought the house it was estimated that the pool was about 15yrs old - so we had a lot of large bills those first 10years to fix broken pipes and install a new vinyl liner. This was one reason I soured towards an inground pool... if it isn't new, then you'll probably get stuck with some hefty bills. If you're a family already on a tight budget a pool will just be a money pit.

We had an inground pool for 19years and now live in a subdivision with a community pool. I would never move back into a house with an inground pool. I was the chief maintenance person for the pool... hated every min. Anytime something broke it was $1000 or more to fix. I would consider an above ground pool though. There seems to be much less maintenance. Also, if you're having a busy year or the pool has just taken it on the chin and you cannot get rid of the green (hot summers) then you can close it up and call it done for the season. Can't really do that with inground pools... so more $$$ is poured in to get it clear. Also, I found that as the season went on my kids used it less and less. There would be a flurry of swim time early in the season, but come Aug. the kids were bored with it and on to other things to do. While I don't love a community pool it does have some nice benefits. Of course, not having to do the work involved is very nice. If you find a neighborhood with a good comm. pool then it can be a lot of fun (slides, diving wells, etc.). Also, being on a summer swim team can be very nice for the kids. You can check out the community website and see how big/small the community swim team is.

Congratulations!!

what happy news... congratulations!

horrifying! So sad on so many levels.

I think it has changed. Maybe not elitist but definitely some companies are making it specialized. I've heard similar complaints from people who ride bikes.

how adorable... congratulations

I agree... it's a great idea.

thanks everyone. My daughter had a full head of dark hair when she was born, and I think her husband was the same. I think it was inevitable that their little one would have lots of hair. Going back to the hospital for a long grandma visit today. Can't wait!

My daughter gave us our first grandchild on Weds. morning. She had a son weighing in at 8lbs 9oz. ' We're so in love.

We like strong traditional names - nothing weird. I've always been partial to Peter (we have one). It's a nice traditional name that you don't hear very often either. Also, Stephen, Timothy (we have one of those too), Andrew, Trevor, Phillip,

It's not called tipping. It's an honorarium you give for the extra time he spends. It's not generally part of the Protestant culture, like giving the pastor an *honorarium* for doing a wedding or funeral. In sacramental churches the baptism is a complete service unto itself - like a wedding or funeral service. So yes, often in Catholic and Orthodox parishes, the pastor is given a monetary gift. It's not going to be something you're going the "see". Have you ever seen someone give the pastor an honorarium for performing a wedding? It's usually given sometime after the service or sent via the mail with a nice thank you note. But again - it's not a tip. That's offensive.

I have used first names and photos. However, I don't always use first names - mostly I just refer to them by their birth order (Middle daughter, youngest son, etc.) It just depends on my mood, but I'm not against using their first names.