LadyClueless - I'm so sorry all of this is going on. I guess I have had a very blessed life. My grandparents on both sides were always very close. We always had holidays and big Sunday dinners together - the whole family. It was wonderful.

<img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I can just see it!


children, the older THEY get the older I feel!! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Amen to that!

t&l

Stop picking on us young un's <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Aussie is sound asleep with Mikey in his arms on our bed, hes looks dreadful. Like a living skeleton but is very fit for all of that.. not tellin how I know <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

He cant get over Mikey being so big and hasn't wanted to let him go for long.
He smells like that pink hospital disinfectant.

I like that picture......I want the 2006 Commonwealth Games to last for about 50 more years.

I'm so glad that Aussie is home. I can tell from your posts that you have been missing him sooooo much! I'm quite sure that with some good home cookin', a lot of rest, and sufficient ....er, exercise <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> of the proper sort, he will soon be back to his old smart-alecky self. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thank you, Believer. Both H and I also come from large families...and while the noise and crowds at family gatherings can get sorta overwhelming at times, we both love it.

I do wish I could start this week over, though. I've been sick with a sinus infection...no runny nose and not even stopped up, but with a killer headache behind my eyes, and then came the back-handed invitation (which only came after I called to inquire about what we were doing for GS#2's BD). Then, today, I took off work to stay home and bake GS#2 a chocolate creme-filled cake. Well, that was a bust. My oven cooks too fast (and I've been complaining for at least 2 years about it). It's been burning the bottom of anything I cook for longer than, say, 15 minutes. I do OK with cookies, but I have to watch them like a hawk and use the insulated cookie sheets. Anyway, I mixed up a chocolate cake from scratch. I put the cake pans in the oven on top of an insulated cookie sheet so the bottoms of the cake layers wouldn't burn, and I also set the temperature about 25 degrees lower than required. I was standing there, waiting for the end of the cooking time. I checked once a few minutes earlier, and the centers were still jiggly. Well, the tops were burned to a crisp! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I ended up going to the grocery store and buying a cake. I took it, some ice cream and GS#2's gift down to DS's house. DS, DiL, and my H were over at the new house working. So, all 3 DGSs, along with a friend of one of them and I celebrated GS#2's birthday.

Oh...and I forgot to mention that while I was baking the cake, my kitchen sink started trying to stop up. Sooooo, I put a pan of water on to boil, and poured some baking soda and vinegar down the drain. When I turned around for the boiling water to pour down after the soda/vinegar, the darned stove eye was on fire! Thankfully, I had the soda handy, so I through it onto the fire. H had too much oil in the pan when he was deep-frying some chicken strips last night, and it boiled over into the drip pan. H had very thoughtfully cleaned the grease up off the floor and from around the stove eye, but neglected to clean the drip pan!

Anyway, after I had cake and ice cream with the boys, I went on over to DS's house. I was hesitant to go, but decided that I would go and see what they had to say...and show that I wasn't cutting them out of my life.

Well, apparently, H has been doing his little bit to "smooth things over". Unfortunately, I know that his way of smoothign things over is to tell people not to say anything to me...that I'll get over it....blah, blah, blah. Anyway, DS acts as if we never had any discussion yesterday...DiL is really excessively perky in telling me "Hi". So, yeah, I figure that H is trying to come across like the good guy and acting like being "last on their list" didn't bother him (when it did!). Trouble is...I find his methods of smoothing things over to be incredibly disrespectful of me. I am really sick of his micro-management of my life.

At any case, there WILL be new boundaries set. When we have our Christmas Eve get-together at our house, we WILL be having a meal, so they'd better come prepared to eat and be on time, too! We will NOT be opening presents until AFTER we are finished eating. If anybody asks or begs to open presents any earlier, we will open presents at a later date....and not that night. I'm quite sure that the not eating supper and the "hurry-up and open presents 'cause we gotta get home" are DiL's idea. Well, I'm the hostess at this lil' party...and I'm setting the agenda. Last year, they were supposed to be at our house by 6, got there at 8, opened presents, and were gone by 9. THAT isn't gonna happen anymore!

Q: How many women with MENOPAUSE (or PMS) does it take to change a light bulb?


A: One! ONLY ONE!!!! And do you know WHY? Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb! They don't even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT!! They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out. And, once they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the #&%!* light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CABINET for the past 17 YEARS! But if they did, by some miracle of God, actually find them, 2 DAYS LATER, the chair t! hey dragged to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE FREAKING LIGHT BULBS CAME IN!!! BECAUSE NO ONE EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS PLACE! AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHO CHANGES THE TOILET PAPER ROLL !!

Er, excuse me...I'm sorry...what was the question again?

<img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Here are some more pics of son's house. Excuse the construction clutter in some of the rooms. They're trying to finish up little stuff, but are planning to start moving things in tomorrow. New kitchen appliances are due to arrive on Monday.

You might want to put on sunglasses before viewing DGD's room! It's BRIGHT! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />

Son's house

LadyClueless - My WH and I raised 8 kids - so you know the drill on that one - someone is always late, can't make it, blah, blah, blah. Early in our marriage (after some disappointments), I made a rule - we have dinner at 5:00PM, no matter what. If you are late for dinner, it will still be there, but in the refrigerator.

Grandpa's 91st birthday is today, and bwaaaaahaaaaaaahaaaaaaa we put all 91 candles on his cake.

No, we didn't burn the house down, but it was a close-run thing.

Neaksis helped me light them, or I would never have finished. By about half-way, it just kept getting hotter and hotter and hotter, even burning our fingers at times. When I picked it up and began carrying it to the table, a sheet of flame whooshed across the cake, reducing most of the candles to little wick stubs sticking up out of the frosting puddle.

My cousin said he now has a sunburn on the back of his neck.

Grandpa got them all blown out just in time, in only about 3 breaths, and he hardly wheezed at all. Now he is in the cat's meow reminiscing about the olden days.

Next year I think we will just get him a "9" and a "2".

What "he" cousin? It had better have been an Uncle Bounce he-cousin, and not an Auntie Em he-cousin!! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

t&l

You could have lit the candles faster if you'd used a blow torch. It's a good thing Neaksis helped, or by the time you finished lighting them by yourself, the first candles would have already completely melted and you would have had to start all over again.

Happy 92nd BD, Grandpa!

BTW, my mom will be 90 in September! She's still going strong! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

It was Cousin Lou. What a surprise!

Congrats on your mom's health, Lady.

Hi AW's mom - we love to hear from you! Write again when you can.

I was just about to call Neaksis and ask her why you called him "Cousin Lou" when I figured it out. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> Sometimes you're just too clever for your own good. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Lady Clueless--Neak is right and I was wrong. My dad is "only" 91 this year. Which is OK. I thought I was MUCH too youthful to have a father that old! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /> Turns out I was right. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

t&l

know I'm too young to have a mom 81 and be the mother of a 13yo and a 15yo. Something seems wrong w/ that picture.

I don't think it will violate his anonymity to let everyone else in on the joke, too. His real name is Cousin Jon.

GROAN! My puns are soooooooooo <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Hope you all are having more productive weekend than me....I am nursing daughter back from accidentally not taking her meds since Thursday night or Friday morning. She can do nothing but sleep today it seems. Gotta get her up and moving. Let her sleep in. Now trying to get her out of the house for a bit. That should help. Just missing your Concerta can give your head the fuzzies but missing your Lexapro at the same time can really make your head weird.

LOL!

I thought she was asleep - she's playing games on her graphing calculator.

Egg on my face.
<img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

91 ? wow thats an achievement. Happy Birthday to G'pa!!

Aussie is fine, well more than fine actually <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I didn't get to work until 12.40 today ! haha And I did not feel guilty at all. Mikey & Dad were to have the afternoon to themselves - though the nappy changes might require phone support - you know like a support buddy for a recovering smoker <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

My G'pa is 90's I think - dont get to see him much these days still lives in the bush with his second family ..Aussies family has only one older person in Aust .. his Aunt who turned 80 this year!!

Dear older woman - VERY english upbringing & very correct - with some of Aussies blunt humour and rudeness & a Irish accent .. shes a LADY!! lol
And very political - very left wing - never ever bring up our current PM .. and she 'disapproves' of aussies work & not adverse about telling him so. Repeatedly - "Dont you be lookin away from me laddie, it'll be the death of ye laddie dont ye know, and I've buried enough dont ye know."
Gotta love that woman!!

Oh had excitement today. Had to leave work & go home at 2.00pm as we had a terrorist bomb warning in our buildings so they sent everyone home..so I only had to work for about 2 hours!! Spent the rest of the day home with Aussie & Mikey.

Hes sitting with a beer, chips & watching footy. Its so nice to have him home even for a while. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

And yes it just so happens that Mikey needed a change when Aussie picked me up from work. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

you SURE aussie didnt phone that threat in to get out of nappie changing????? LOL