My first baby (literally took the place of children in my most difficult time dealing with infertility) -- Sass Jordan our basset hound. We called her Sassy and she was very Sassy. We still joke about her sassiness. We had to euthanize her and I'm not kidding thirty seconds before the needle was injected she lifted her hound dog nose towards a bowl of doggy treats so the tech gave her one. Then I reached out to pet her and she growled at me as if to say "get your hands away from my treat". I really loved her. I often said I would have to shoot her if she could reveal all the secrets I told her on our walks together (okay I sound like an eccentric nut) or while she was sitting with me. Recently we lost our princess Daisy a five year old Bernese Mountain Dog. I miss her very much. She was so gentle and was such a great companion. She was a perfect running partner, running right next to me. Never pulling or dragging. She loved to hug us and was just a beautiful dog. In between those two deaths we lost two other basset hounds to illness. Our Sabrina was a rescue dog. We received a call one cold January asking if we could take this dog. She was six. One and a half years later she died of bloat. She was such an outgoing, friendly hound and we felt she had finally found a forever home with us. We were very sad when she died. The loss of a pet is very hard. We have a 13 year old golden mix and I am praying she hangs in for a while still. Loosing two dogs in one year would be too hard to handle.

I use it virtually every day for something. I knead bread in it. I make meringues with it. I make cookies, cake, . . . everything. I've had mine for about 5 years. Prior to that I had a braun for 15 years which served me well but it's not the same as my bosch. My sister bought a Kitchenaide after her braun bit the dust. She only kept it a short time before buying a bosch. Well worth the investment! (I bought mine in conjunction with a nutrimill wheat grinder.)

A new friend of mine invited me over for a visit tonight. "Uh, I'm sorry. I'm busy tonight." I'm silent for a moment and then say, "Oh, okay. True confession time. It's the season finale of Lost tonight." Thankfully she understood.

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I'm 43. I've had a hysterectomy. I have three beautiful children. And sometimes I still grieve over the loss of my fertility. It's such a loss of control over an area of life that so many people are able to take for granted. And still, as life unfolds, you treasure the miracles that do happen. It takes time.

Sometimes the situation seems so hopeless and then a miracle happens. I still marvel at the fact that I have three children. I sit at the dining room table and recount the many years my dh and I sat it alone. Even after my daughter was born we figured she would be an only child becuase we had adopted her through a private agency and knew we couldn't afford that again. Then our boys were added to the crew. Life is good.

It always amazes me how many people are touched by infertility and by adoption and I can completely empathize with the sheer magnitude of both of these issues. It's a marathon at times!! Anyway, our celebrations are over today and I am touched by the many responses to our story. We had a lovely day. I'm very emotional because I see the move from young childhood. Where has the time gone!! I have to say, however, in many ways I am really enjoying this age too (most days :glare:). Parenting is journey. For one month I am the mom of a 12 yr old, and 11 yr old and a 10 yr old. June 28th my son turns 12 and the celebrations continue. And yes, I'd better change my signature line.

At the beginning of May in 1996 my husband and I took a cruise from Acapulco to Vancouver with my parents. We had no children and after years (8) of infertility and trying we were going to map out different plans for our lives. Alot changed in the week of our cruise. We had docked in San Diego mid-trip and I decided we should leave the ship to phone home where my nephew was dog sitting our basset hounds (our pseudo-children). Towards the end of the conversation my nephew says "oh yeah, someone named so and so is trying to get ahold of you". My knees began to shake. That some one was the worker at the adoption agency we had registered with two years prior. I hung up the phone to tell my husband and we agreed it was probably a formality call -- you know, checking to see if our info. was current, etc. So I called from the docks in San Diego. That call changed our lives forever. That day we were told by the worker that a young couple (teenagers not seeing each other any more) had selected us to adopt their, as of yet unborn child. Would we be able to meet them on May 14th in Vancouver. We live 400 km as the crow flies, 1500 driving kms away from Vancouver. Our cruise shipped docked in Vancouver May 13th and we were flying home May 15th. We had a one day lay over in Vancouver May 14th. We are Christians and we don't believe in luck . . . God's providence shone brightly in this experience. All the events unfolded in ways we could never have planned. Needless to say the rest of the trip was a right off. We didn't have much info. and we didn't know that they wouldn't change their minds. We were in a constant state of anticipation . . . what if they did choose us. What if they didn't choose us? May 15th arrived and we met this couple at the adoption agency. They were so young but had some incredible questions for us. (Of course, we felt like we were going to die. We were so desperate we did not want to make a "mistake" answering questions in a way that would make them not like us.) After our meeting we went home where we had to wait. The baby's due date was June 7th. They would call when she was born and when they made the final decision. It was a crazy, emotional time. Maybe we would become parents. Maybe not. On June 3rd I was sitting at my desk at work when the agency called to say that the baby had been born May 28th and that we should come pick it up June 7th. The birth mother wanted to phone us herself that night to tell us the sex. Well my co-workers, who knew nothing, thought I was dying because my legs were shaking so hard and I could barely breath. Our dream was unfolding. At 5 p.m. the phone rang at our house. "Hello, this is "birthmom". I want to tell you, you have a baby girl." That was a Monday evening. Friday evening we met at the agency with the birthmom and her family and the birth dad and his mom and they handed her our precious gift. And life has never been the same. My dad cried the day we brought her home and within that year my dad died of leukemia (not diagnosed until a few months after the birth of our daughter). He got to see me become a mom and got to meet our bundle of joy. Today she is 12. (When my son turns 12 next month I will continue the story on how his adoption is related to our daughter's adoption.)

And wash my hair every morning in the sink. I also shower (quick rinse) after running, usually late afternoon, before dinner. My night time bath is a relaxation ritual and I love it.

That's a momentous one -- teenager!! (I've got two 12 year olds this year so the teens are right around the corner for me!)

That sounds yummy! I think I might have to make a small dark chocolate/mint chocolate ice cream cake for me! I think you're right and that one should be sufficient for everyone. Thanks for the input.

Sneaking ice cream cake would be very, very bad -- now sneaking and hiding pizza, well now you're talking my language!:001_smile:

Good suggestions and spoken from recent experience!

I really only want to make one and I don't think anyone needs more (and I probably won't eat one anyway). I just hate being asked for seconds and then have to say say sorry there is no more. This relates back to my childhood -- my mom always cooked mountains -- which explains my constant battle with weight! lol!

They're coming for pizza (homemade) so the cake is for dessert. I don't think there is a need for two pieces but I don't want to seem cheap (even though we are talking about 10 - 12 yr olds and I shouldn't be worried about that).

Or ideas please share!

It's my dd's 12th birthday tomorrow and she's requested an ice cream cake which I plan to make. We are five people in our family and she is inviting 6 friends. I am making the cake in a 9 x 13 pan. Do you think I should make two for this many people?

This was a phrase going around sometime when I was in high school -- "Sorry for living but the graveyard is full." Yeah, corny.:001_smile:

I love it (having grown up in a German home). I love it with sausages. I may succumb to the peer pressure and make that some time this week. (My husband, who also grew up in a German household, does not have the same fondness for this ethnic delicacy. Okay the sausages but not the kraut. Oh well, I'm the chief cook! :001_smile:

And have large breed dogs too. Dog's are great part of a family and what fun that you show yours.

As I was answering the questions I was thinking, "boy I'm cynical". (And my parents thought I was a strong willed child! lol! :001_smile:

My niece is visiting right now and she works as a dental assistant. She says x-rays may or may not show this decay and that the advice you were given is probably credible. (In short, silver fillings expand and contract at a much greater rate than enamel, therefore, over thirty years leakage can happen, causing decay.)

After I posted last night I was thinking back to when I had the procedure and remembered the reason why I didn't take the ibuprophen -- the doctor just sprung the procedure on me. I was in for an exam and consult and he said "let's just do it right now". Yeah, that was fun. I must have blocked out the whole memerable event! lol!:001_smile: Glad to hear it went okay.

This is similiar to my experience. I listened to my mp3 player a lot but had difficulty doing anything that required concentration. So after I got home from the hospital I pretty much lived in my pj's, watched t.v. and listened to my mp3. I recuperated well from my surgery. I did have a few hormonal issues to work out. Overall, I would say the surgery was life changing in a positive way for me. It gave me back ten years of my life. Honestly, today, two years post-op, I am so thankful that I had the surgery.

I don't remember taking 800 mg, probably 400. It wasn't too bad. I was all worked up about it because I had listened to other people's experiences but in hindsight it was over very quickly. I did experience some bleeding for a couple days afterwards.